The Ghoulish Times | 08/19/23
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The Ghoulish Times | 08/19/23
spooky smackdown!!!
Hello and welcome to the latest issue of The Ghoulish Times. My name is Max Booth and this is my spooky newsletter.
For those who do not know, I live in Central Texas, and the weather this summer has been cruel and miserable. August especially has been a trying time. It’s the kind of heat that makes you want to give up on life. I do not recommend it.
Unless you’re coming to our bookstore, of course. Then I definitely recommend it. It’s not that bad at all! Someone on TikTok recently asked me to talk about how we started the bookstore, so I recorded a little video doing my best to explain how it happened. Watch it HERE.
I’ll be honest. I’m too hot to think right now. My brain is fried. Last weekend was KillerCon and we had a hell of a great time, but I’m struggling to think of a good way to recap it, so instead of doing that I’m jumping straight into promo stuff. Here we go, ghouls:
I know a lot of you are waiting for news on next year’s Ghoulish Book Festival, and I am hopeful to have some fun things to share soon about 2024’s event, but until then I do have something else very exciting to talk about that’s related to GBF.
Rob Saucedo and I are co-hosting a mini-Ghoulish Book Festival next month during FANTASTIC FEST (aka the largest genre film festival in the United States) on Monday, September 25th.
More information will be announced soon, such as the vendors we have lined up, but if you planned on coming to FF this year do make sure you stick around for our spooky Scholastic book fair on Monday. It’s going to be a wonderful, horrifying time for everybody!
We have cancelled our weekly writing club at the bookstore for the foreseeable future. We have also cancelled this month’s The Ghoulish Show in Austin. It’s just too dang hot.
SPOOKY SMACKDOWN: The only bookstore event still happening in August is next Saturday, August 26th.
We will be hosting an event called SPOOKY SMACKDOWN, and it will involve several writers reading wrestling-themed horror stories to an audience, which will be followed by a wrestling-themed horror movie. This event is FREE.
Scheduled to read: Lucas “Big Daddy Cool” Mangum, Shane “The Hammer” McKenzie, Susan “The Shark” Snyder, and me (Max “The Ghoul” Booth).
The movie we’re screening is a SURPRISE and we won’t reveal the title until showtime. The event begins at 6pm. I should also note that this is basically a book launch party for Lucas Mangum’s Bladejob, which is—yes—a horror wrestling book. We will have copies in stock at the store for Lucas to sign, along with books by all of the authors performing.
View the event page HERE.
Today and tomorrow we also have a vendor table at the Monsters & Mayhem popup event at Wonderland of the Americas mall in San Antonio. Learn more about the event HERE.
Scott Adlerberg was recently interviewed on Vol. 1 Brooklyn about his latest novel The Screaming Child, which is available now through Ghoulish Books.
Read the interview HERE and buy the novel HERE.
Warren Wagner’s The Only Safe Place Left is the Dark has been racking up some great reviews on Goodreads. It comes out on August 29th and I am very excited to finally share it with everybody.
Check the reviews out HERE, and buy the book HERE.
Small update concerning Ghoulish Tales Issue #2 submissions. The deadline is still August 31st. Currently, in our slushpile, there are 368 unread stories, 126 rejected, 6 withdrawn, 4 shortlisted, and 1 accepted. I hope to have all responses sent out by the first week of September.
In the meantime, if you’d like to support this project and the very concept of horror fiction magazines, consider picking up a copy of our debut issue.
Currently writing: Desperately trying to finish an overdue novella titled The Last Haunt.
Currently reading: Magazine slush, A Child Alone with Strangers by Philip Fracassi, Harbor by John Ajvide Lindqvist, The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis, Blackwater by Michael McDowell…I’m fully aware I might be having some issues focusing on stuff lately, if it’s not already clear from how many things I’m reading at once. This also doesn’t include slush for various novels and novellas that have been burning a hole in my inbox.
Currently watching (tv): How to With John Wilson, The Larry Sanders Show, What We Do in the Shadows. Currently watching (movies): Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, May, Smoking Causes Coughing, Sorcerer (rewatch).
Currently listening: “F Myself” by Qveen Herby
Okay, that’s it for now. You can support us on Patreon, browse the books in our webstore, and follow us on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter (PMMP | Ghoulish Tales | Ghoulish podcast | Ghoulish Books | personal).
My new book, Abnormal Statistics, is out now through Apocalypse Party.
Or just click on our LINKTREE for all relevant links.
You can also join us on the Ghoulish Discord.
See you next time, ghouls.