Depends. Some Internet critics have a following. Others ... not so much. You're best bet is still to go after PW and Kirkus.

Rue Morgue and Fangoria don't really dedicate a whole lot of space to literary criticism. I'm not surprised at no inroads being made there.

Horrorworld is a good site.

Is it to the point yet where internet critics are being given as much or more weight than traditonally published critics? I guess I still think of magazines and newspapers when I think of lit critics.

Robert Morrish at Cemetery Dance has been extremely kind and generous about my work. I have a lot of respect for him. Shroud Magazine is making quite an impact just now, and I think Kevin Lucia (who does their book reviews) is amazing. Also Joan Turner at Dark Scribe does a terrific job too (smart, insighful, eloquent). I've never been able to make a dent at Fangoria or Rue Morgue or Dark Discoveries, but maybe you'll have better luck. (And don't overlook places like Hellnotes or Horror World.) Hope this helps.

Just out of curiosity....who are the "go to" critics for horror lit? Cemetery Dance is the only mag I've seen with serious, thoughtful, and insightful criticism on the subject. Who are the critics that authors pay attention to..and where do they publish?

The tree is a main character? Really? Sounds delightful. Must pick up a copy.

<<And can you recommend others where you feel the character of a setting/surrounding played a big role in a work of horror or dark fiction?>>

This suggests the very thing critics are forever singling out in my work to praise or condemn. (And I use the word critics loosely.) The hate mail in particular tends to focus on setting, as in "I hate descriptions!" I get lots of that. Literary quality in general seems to be the other pet peeve. Actually, I'm paraphrasing. Or translating. What I mostly hear (devoid of any trace of irony) is "This book is so stupid, I can't even understand it."

There are days when one despairs of this genre ...

I'm making my way through the Red Tree, not at the brisk pace mentioned by a number of enthusiastic reviews I've read, but I'm thoroughly engrossed in this tale, which really has two main characters, one human, and the other a tree. In truth, it's almost the landscape as much as the specific object within that landscape, which captures my imagination--the New England rife with lore, and backdropped by farmland, woods, rivers, etc. What do you all think of this book? And can you recommend others where you feel the character of a setting/surrounding played a big role in a work of horror or dark fiction?