Month-end Recap: February 2025
Another busy month but an exciting one! All new authors for the 25-26 publishing year have been signed. Release schedule will be finalized within the next week and shared with everyone! We just had our second release of the year, with the third fast approaching, more details on those are below.
For sales, our top ordered book for the last month was Transformation by Candace Nola, followed by Cuckoo by M Ennenbach and Roads to Ruin by Brian Bowyer. Page reads remain strong, with Cuckoo leading, followed by Transformation and Shadow Manor! All great to see!
AuthorCon V is fast approaching, and we are working as hard as we can to get all the orders in, especially for the newest releases, so we can have those on hand for all the readers in Williamsburg, VA. Look for at least 4 brand-new books on hand, along with tons of new swag, raffles, and more at the Uncomfortably Dark table.
Authors M Ennenbach, Patrick Tumblety, Nikolas Robinson, and Aaron Lebold will be there with me to represent Uncomfortably Dark, sign books, chat with readers and generally have a great time! Hope to see you there! Check out the Scares That Care website for details!
New Release from Candace Nola & Next Release from Uncomfortably Dark
NEW
NUBS
by Candace Nola
Kitty has a secret. Kitty has a problem. Kitty is a normal, healthy, well-adjusted young woman, except for this tiny little thing.
Kitty wants to touch it. Kitty wants to stroke it. Kitty wants to shove it in her mouth and gnaw on it for hours. Kitty wants a nub.
Such a curious kitty.
Get it on Godless here:
NEXT
SUBJECT A
by M Ennenbach
You've heard the tale of Alice in Wonderland, but never quite like this. Alice has fallen down the rabbit hole, and nothing is as it seems in this strange world.
Welcome to Wonderland.
“Ennenbach is one of the most unique and talented voices in literature today. Every work is provocative with a sort of unusual wildness that is both captivating and suffused with a comforting sense of ‘otherness’ that I think so many of us crave...”—Megan Stockton, author of LOVELY, DARK, AND DEEP
Pre-order here:
Releases Feb. 28, 2025!
Indie Horror Authors You Need to Read
Under-rated, hidden gems, and up and coming stars, do not miss out on books by this month's spotlight authors!
Nicole Givens Kurtz- She has been called “a genre polymath who does crime, horror, and Science Fiction and Fantasy (Book Riot).” They’ve named her as one of the 6 Black SFF Indie Writers You Should be Reading, 30 Must-Read SFF Books by Black Authors, and The Best of the West: 8 Alternative History Westerns (Sisters of the Wild Sage). She’s a two-time Atomacon Palmetto Scribe Award winner.
Check out her work here:
Tonia Ransom- She is the World Fantasy Award-winning horror writer and creator of “NIGHTLIGHT”, an IGNYTE Best Fiction Podcast featuring creepy tales written by Black writers, and “Afflicted”, a horror thriller best described as Lovecraft Country meets True Blood. Tonia has been scaring people since the second grade, when she wrote her first story based on Michael Myers. She successfully scared her teacher—not in the way she intended, but she got hooked on that feeling and the rest is history. She lives in Austin, Texas. You can follow Tonia @missdefying on all the socials.
Check out her work here:
Steve Van Patten-He is the author of the critically acclaimed Brookwater’s Curse trilogy that features an 1860s Georgia plantation slave who becomes law enforcement within the vampire community. In contrast, the titular character in his Killer Genius series is a modern day hyper-intelligent black woman who uses high-end technology as a socially conscious serial killer.
SVP’s well reviewed short fiction includes contributions to nearly a dozen horror anthologies, including the Bram Stoker Award nominated Under Twin Suns as well as Even in The Grave and multiple appearances in Tales from The Canyons of The Damned. Among the plethora of honors and accolades, SVP won three African American Literary Awards in 2019, two for Hell at The Way Station (Best Anthology and Best in Science Fiction) and one for Best Independent Publisher.
Check out his work here:
In Case You Missed It
Check out these horror happenings from around the industry that were announced this month!
CRYSTAL LAKE PUBLISHING NEWS
Crystal Lake Publishing had several big releases recently, including Edmund Stone's SOUL MIRROR, Brad Ricks' new vampire novel THE NIGHT CREW, and in conjunction with their new partnership with Sinister Smile Press, EVIL LITTLE FUCKS!
Be sure to check all those out and check their website for a lot more new and upcoming indie horror releases!
Get SOUL MIRROR here:
Get THE NIGHT CREW here:
Get EVIL LITTLE FUCKS here:
INDIE AUTHOR NEWS
ARON BEAUREGARD
Aron Beauregard is always doing big things and his new release, HANDYMAN is no different. His exclusive hardcore bundle is only available on his website. Check out those details today and be sure to snag some cool merch while you are there!
KRISTOPHER TRIANA
Kristopher Triana recently announced his new release PURE EVIL, 13 Tales of Extreme Horror. You can snag it in a cool bundle pack on his website below! Be sure to check out all his incredible merch, apparel, and bundle packs while you are there!
KRISTOPHER RUFTY
Kristopher Rufty also just released a brand-new collection, BONE CHIMES 3. In this third installment, you can experience 9 nine tales of terror that range from sheer fright to downright gory!
Grab it on amazon at the link below:
Be sure to stop by his website for all his signed books and more!
Indie Movies You Need to See
CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD By Adam Cesare has just announced its movie release!!
Read all about it here and be sure to snag the books before the movie comes out! Massive congrats to Adam on this fantastic news!!
Clown in a Cornfield Trailer:
Grab the books here:
Sea of Madness: Siren's Revenge movie dropped to streaming on Jan. 11, 2025. Based on the book from indie author Jonathan Tripp. Be sure to check this out and support this incredible talent in the community!
Movie Link:
Book Link:
Books to Music? A new project from author John Watson
Author John Watson has been creating ambient music to fit the themes of indie horror books. Such a cool project and I was thrilled to see that he created one for my gothic horror Shadow Manor.
Check out his channel below:
Artist Interviews by Paul Carro
Author Paul Carro is doing book cover artist and illustrator interviews on his website. Check out the series at the link below. Be sure to stay and check out his work as well. Paul is a great author and one to watch!
For the Gamers
This month, we have a new author joining the Uncomfortably Dark blog team! Help me welcome Besu Tadesse to the team! He will be sending us some video game reviews that are either horror, or horror adjacent for all the gamers out there!
We also welcome guest reviews or suggestions, so send us those game recs to check out or share your thoughts on a recent game you're playing and loving!
POPPY PLAYTIME REVIEW BY BESU TADESSE
Poppy Playtime, the episodic survival horror puzzle game by Mob Entertainment,
has just released its latest chapter, providing the darkest and most chilling entry to date.
Initially releasing its first chapter in October 2021, you take on the role of a yet-to-be-
named protagonist returning to their job at the Playtime Co. toy factory, where you are
greeted by a haunting welcome by one of the company’s C-level executives.
Your player retrieves the Grab-Pack, a two-handed tool that allows Playtime technicians and other
employees to venture around the facility to access different rooms and find key objects
to continue your quest. Your motivations are unclear, a point that is reinforced with each
subsequent chapter in the series. With each entry, the whimsy of toy making and
excitement of providing laughter and fun to children is contrasted against an
increasingly grim realization that the factory holds more secrets than could possibly
have been imagined. Likewise, the veneer of that same whimsy is peeled away as each
chapter reveals the fallout of scientific experimentation, abuse, revenge, and general
capitalistic greed.
The game is fun and has a low learning curve, just a few direction buttons and
two clicks of the mouse. There are moments when chase scenes are difficult and
require some intense focus, but nothing is overly complicated and can be overcome
with some tenacity and an appropriate graphics card. If you’re looking for something you
can sink your teeth into with a quick learning curve, I recommend Poppy Playtime. The
first chapter is free on Steam, so check it out!
Check it out here:
More about Besu Tadesse:
Besu Tadesse is an emerging horror author and musician. He enjoys reading works of his favorite comtemporary colleagues, as well as performing as a musician. He currently resides in Maryland.
Check out his books here:
NEW, NEXT, AND COMING SOON!!
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