5/5/26

Big day yesterday for Daniel Kraus, and for the horror genre. His novel, Angel Down, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Dan is one of the sweetest, most genuine people currently working in this business, so this is extra special.

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The first two weeks of June were supposed to be very busy for me, with trips to Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles (in that order). But the thing I was going to check out in Milwaukee has been canceled, and the filming in Los Angeles has been rescheduled for later in the year, so now it’ll just be Pittsburgh. That’s the Bram Stoker Awards ceremony. I’m not attending for the full weekend. Mary, myself, and Somer Canon are just coming in together Saturday for the awards banquet.

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Women In Horror Year: Day 30

Wrecks & Violets by Mehitobel Wilson

Paperback

Cimarron Street Books is pleased to bring you Wrecks & Violets — Mehitobel Wilson’s newest and biggest collection of flammable short fiction. She’s been doing this since 1998 and it’s time you caught up with her singular voice, pinpoint prose, caustic ways and devilish imagination. Be prepared to be caught unaware. As Bel says, “It’s unnerving when one’s reptile brain has something to say, especially when it whispers secret truths.”

With an Introduction by Brian Keene.

Praise for Mehitobel Wilson:

Caustic, classic, classy, nasty, elegant, relevant post- punk horror for people who give a ****.
— China Miéville, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the British Fantasy Award.

Think of Bel Wilson as a Ralph Ellison or a J.D. Salinger of horror. With mere words she chisels art out of darkness, and manipulates prose the way Munch, Bosch, and Goya manipulated brush strokes. Her exceptional skills couldn’t be better exemplified than in Last Night at the Blue Alice, likely the most intriguing and original horror-fantasy book I’ve ever seen, and Dangerous Red is purely and simply one of the five best horror collections I’ve ever read in my **** life.
— Edward Lee, author of The Bighead, Header and The Dunwich Romance

Bel writes dark but she writes from the heart. You won’t find any cliches here. you’ll find clean lines, tight work, and somebody who gives a damn about you. Meanwhile, you will be scared.
— Jack Ketchum, author of Off Season and The Girl Next Door

Mehitobel Wilson (no relation) doesn’t write nearly enough, so something new from her is a cause for celebration. “Last Night at the Blue Alice” reveals a writer in full control of her considerable talents. The unique premise lifts it far above other tales of hauntings as each character comes alive on the page and pulls you in. Do not miss this.
— F. Paul Wilson

As I say in the Introduction to this Splatterpunk Award nominated collection, Bel Wilson is a writer’s writer — meaning she’s the author your favorite authors are all reading. The wait between a new story or novella by her can seem interminable, but it is always, always, ALWAYS worth it. If you want to read a writer that Brian Keene, David J. Schow, Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, F. Paul Wilson, Michael T. Huyck Jr., Geoff Cooper, J.F. Gonzalez, Weston Ochse, Tom Piccirilli, and more all list as among their absolute favorites, this collection is the perfect introduction to her work. It’s available in paperback from Cimarron Street Books.