The ARC Party

Pre-Order HERE I say it in the episode, and I’ll repeat it now. I’ve been ride-or-die for Zoje’s writing career since I read BABY TEETH in 2018. I think Zoje’s writing voice is so charming and consequential and relatable. At some level, I’d always hoped to hear what’s been going on with Hanna since BABY TEETH, but I never pushed it into he arena of hope. I guess Zoje has been so good at making all...

It’s a hell of a time for horror stories, and it seems like camp slashers are especially making a comeback. Josh Winning is out with his latest book, HEADS WILL ROLL. Set in a digital detox camp, it’s a story of a sitcom star who gets cancelled for an off-color tweet, who decides to get away from the scandal for a little bit. What she’s not aware of is that this may as well be called Camp Cancelle...

PREORDER HERE First, I have to acknowledge that there were some serious technical difficulties with the recording of this episode. After a couple failed attempts to use the platform I regularly use, we finally switched to some old school Skypin’. Thankfully, I was able to cobble all of the various recordings together and it sounds really good. What we did talk about is Josh’s upcoming novel, LETTE...

2024 is still here! I know I’ve been planning my reading for the year for a while now. How about you? Are you in need of some recommendations? I have just the thing! It’s MORE of The ARC Party’s Horror Preview! The reason this episode exists is because Emily Hughes aggregates a ton of information about forthcoming horror books every year, and posts a comprehensive, and frankly amazing list of them...

Clay McLeod Chapman, for me, arrived at a time where I was in-between podcasts, and going through some health things, etc. Which is to say that I kinda missed his emergence onto the scene. So, I heard him on podcasts talking about his then-new book GHOST EATERS, and I became interested. Last year, it didn’t work out to interview Clay for WHAT KIND OF MOTHER, which was disappointing. SO, when I cau...

What happens when a group of friends get their hands on a VHS tape that, when viewed, teleports you six feet away - arriving with a feeling of intense euphoria? SO much! The Third installment of Shortwave’s Killer VHS series has a lot. Stoners, teleportation, urban myths, feral junkies, government agencies, creepypasta, friendship! It’s a super-entertaining, quick read. In this episode, I chat wit...

Josh Malerman and Wow Town got together while I was up in Michigan, for a rehearsal of their June 23 performance commemorating the release of Josh’s book INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE. I was there, I recorded it, and now I’m sharing it with you all. For the YouTube folks (no video! Audio only): Quick note This recording was made at a racecourse, so you will regularly hear racing engine noises in the...

Part three! This time, we talk about Josh’s recently-filmed documentary For All The Books . In case this title isn’t familiar, for years Josh has been looking for something beyond social media where he can express the full experience of writing a book. I could go on, but I’ll just let you listen to Josh explain it. It’s a pretty cool story, and the documentary is great too! I got to screen the mos...

If you’re looking for a discussion about Josh’s upcoming book INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE , go back one episode. It’s all about the book, and you get to hear Other Mommy speak! This time around We have a few drinks and talk about super fandom, the lost art of writing letters, and the importance of capturing and archiving the creative process. It’s a sloshy fun time, and especially considering the t...

This is the first in a series of episodes with Josh Malerman I’m calling Interviews Around The House, from my recent visit to Michigan for a weekend of hanging out with Josh. If you want to know more about what that weekend was like, check out this post . In this episode We primarily talk about Josh’s awesome upcoming release INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE. In future episodes, we talk about Josh’s doc...

I’m giving away 25 bookplates signed by Paul Tremblay. All you have to do is pre-order your copy of HORROR MOVIE using my bookshop.org affiliate link, and tell me about it! Step 1: Pre-order using THIS LINK Step 2: Email robb@thearcparty.com and tell me your Bookshop order number, and your mailing address. The first 25 orders using my affiliate link will have a bookplate signed by Paul sent to the...

FIRST LIGHT is coming out on April 23rd! It’s the much-anticipated sequel to Kerin’s debut novel NIGHT’S EDGE. First thing’s first: Order FIRST LIGHT right now! And if you’re new to Liz, you can also order NIGHT’S EDGE at the same time, on my Liz Kerin list on Bookshop Now that that’s taken care of. If you haven’t done so, go back and listen to my interview with Liz for NIGHT’S EDGE. I don’t know...

The trilogy is complete, so it’s time to bring you our third and final deep dive into the books in the Indian Lake trilogy: THE ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE. With this installment, that brings the deep dive talk time to about six and a half hours, and I must say that we could have talked so much more ! For the sake of ease, here’s all the YouTube versions of the episodes all together, so it’s easy to acce...

Eric Larocca is a master of exploring the boundaries of horror, and often going beyond them. His upcoming collection THIS SKIN WAS ONCE MINE AND OTHER DISTURBANCES consists of two longer, novella length stories, and two shorter ones. If we’re talking overall theme, Eric says that this book is looking into the concept of human connection. Along the way, we get some fetishes, some deaths in the fami...

Stephen Graham Jones has two books out this year. One of them is the third book in the Indian Lake trilogy, THE ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE. It’s the epic conclusion to an amazing story. What better way to celebrate its arrival, than to take a closer look at all three of the books. So, that’s what I decided to do. Greg Greene - a noted Stephen Graham Jones scholar. He’s managed to collect all of Stephen’...

Cynthia Pelayo’s love for Chicago and its history and people is on full display in this sweet, creepy, sad, entertaining novel. As a Chicagoland native, it was so fulfilling to be able to picture the places she mentions, know the culture of the people that fill the book. But, that’s lucky me for knowing the area. You don’t need to know Chicago to fall in love with this book. And I was lucky enough...

Chloe Spencer wrote a hell of a novella with MEWING. A young hopeful model and social media influencer finds her way into an influencer enclave, and will do anything to make her dreams come true. It’s a commentary on ambition. It makes us think about what we sacrifice when we create our online personas. It turns our stomach - all while being an entertaining and fun story. Chloe has had a hell of a...

Stephen Graham Jones has two books out this year. One of them is the third book in the Indian Lake trilogy, THE ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE. It’s the epic conclusion to an amazing story. What better way to celebrate its arrival, than to take a closer look at all three of the books. So, that’s what I decided to do. Greg Greene - a noted Stephen Graham Jones scholar. He’s managed to collect all of Stephen’...

2024 is here! I know I’ve been planning my reading for the year for a while now. How about you? Are you in need of some recommendations? I have just the thing! It’s The ARC Party’s first ever Horror Preview episode! The reason this episode exists is because Emily Hughes aggregates a ton of information about forthcoming horror books every year, and posts a comprehensive, and frankly amazing list of...

Here is the sixth, and final, LitReactor ARChive episode. In this one, I chat with the two head honchos of LitReactor about the genesis of the site, the goals of the site, and some of the highlights over the years. Peppered throughout are some call-in audio clips from contributors. It’s a nice little tribute to the site, and a fitting goodbye. I appreciate everything it worked for and represented...

LitReactor, as we know it, is closing down. I’m reposting the episodes I hosted for Unprintable (their podcast) over here on The ARC Party, so that they don’t go away when the site shuts down. This is the fifth of six episodes - a deep dive into grammar featuring LR’s managing editor, and two LR columnists who both have written and/or taught classes on the topic of grammar. One more to go after th...

In this episode, I say this is the third of six episodes. It’s the Fourth. Oops! Check out an awesome conversation between me and Brian Keene and Michael David Wilson, where we talk about the art of interviewing someone. We share some personal stories from our years of experience, share what really matters to us when it comes to respecting guests, cultivating engaging questions, and delivering a g...

It’s the third of six LitReactor Archive episodes. In this episode, Sadie Hartmann (Mother Horror), and Becky Spratford (The Horror Maven/RA For All) Joined my on LitReactor’s Unprintable podcast to talk about the art of book reviews. If you were ever curious about what goes in to a book review, or what some of the dos and don’ts are, this is the episode for you! Hear a social media influencer tal...

This is the second of six ARC Party episodes, where I’m reposting my small run of episodes of their Unprintable podcast. As LitReactor is closing down, I wanted to give my episodes a place to live on, because they were great conversations that should not be lost to the ages. In this episode, Rob Hart joined to cohost an interview with SA Cosby, about his then-latest book RAZORBLADE TEARS. Rob was...

With the lights at LitReactor going dark for good in the coming weeks, I wanted to find a way to archive the handful of episodes that I recorded from them back in 2021. This is the first of six episodes, where I “re-air” the talks I hosted on their podcast, Unprintable. In this episode, Rob Hart joins me as a cohost to speak with Alma Katsu about her then-newly released book RED WIDOW, and also he...