Light & Shadows
Thus far in my career, I have rarely sat down with the intent of writing a book. With the exception of some longer pieces written for licensed work, most of my books have been collections made up at least partially of previously-published material, whether that be short stories or movie columns.
That said, when I’m putting together a book, there’s almost always a moment of genesis where that specific book is “born.” Sometimes it’s a title or phrase, as it was with Painted Monsters; other times it’s a conversation, as it was when Silvia Moreno-Garcia and I co-edited Fungi.

When it comes to Glowing in the Dark, that genesis came from two sources. One was when no less a personage than John Langan expressed his desire that such a book should exist, lamenting that there was no volume that collected my more scattered essays, reviews, and other nonfiction writing on the horror film.
The other was a phrase that I wrote myself, in my story “Night’s Foul Bird,” which first appeared in Innsmouth Magazine all the way back in 2013 and was reprinted in Painted Monsters. In that story of a girl obsessed with silent horror films, I gave a brief description of what it feels like to watch a horror movie, when it all really works.
“Terrified, yes, by every creak and flutter, but something else, too. Alive, illuminated. I could feel the beating of my heart, feel the rush of blood in my veins. I felt as if I were glowing in the dark, as if I were giving off light.”

That description became the foundation around which Glowing in the Dark came to exist, and it informed the cover art and design, by the always great Yves Tourigny. (We wanted to actually make it glow in the dark, but that proved unfeasible.) That final cover was recently unveiled over at Unwinnable, where many of the essays and reviews in the book made their first appearance.
Glowing in the Dark is up for pre-order now and should be on your shelves just in time for Halloween. I’ll have a lot more to say about it between now and then, including a list of some local events that I’ll be participating in as part of the book launch festivities (and my usual busy October programming schedule), but for the time being, just enjoy that beautiful black-and-white cover that – like the best movies of the silver screen – seems to almost glow in the dark, hit that pre-order link, and as always, share far and wide on social media. A book like this relies on the word-of-mouth of folks like you so, if you’re as excited as I am, let people know.