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The Devil Owns Primetime
Josiah Tucker is the richest televangelist in East Texas, whose fame and fortune seemingly skyrocketed overnight. He is the charismatic face of the Last Chance for Faith megachurch and the voice of every late-night Southern Gospel radio station. Even more excitingly, he has taken his sermons to the television screen, preaching the word of the Lord live several times a week at primetime.
There are very few who see the man he is when he steps down from the pulpit. In a fast-moving, free-spending world of sex and drugs, Josiah is a cold narcissist who never stops listening to his own sermons. He keeps a secret boyfriend hidden from his congregation while stringing along his dutiful secretary after (and during) church office hours.
But like the walls of Jericho, Josiah’s world is about to come tumbling down. He will find out that success has come at the price of his immortal soul, and the ink is still wet on the infernal deal he struck six years ago at his most desperate hour. Now the devil is tired of waiting for his due and will take everything Josiah has until the debt is paid. And there is truth in the the higher they are, the harder they fall.
There are very few who see the man he is when he steps down from the pulpit. In a fast-moving, free-spending world of sex and drugs, Josiah is a cold narcissist who never stops listening to his own sermons. He keeps a secret boyfriend hidden from his congregation while stringing along his dutiful secretary after (and during) church office hours.
But like the walls of Jericho, Josiah’s world is about to come tumbling down. He will find out that success has come at the price of his immortal soul, and the ink is still wet on the infernal deal he struck six years ago at his most desperate hour. Now the devil is tired of waiting for his due and will take everything Josiah has until the debt is paid. And there is truth in the the higher they are, the harder they fall.
121 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 10, 2024
36 people want to read
About the author
Sirius .
26 books45 followersSirius is a lover of glory, gore, and monsters. They are a queer, nonbinary artist living in the hot and bothered South; currently residing in a little spot that has been dubbed ‘Halloweentown’, North Carolina. They are the writer of The Draonir Saga, The Gentlemen Demon Series, and The Dread South Series.
When they are not writing, they work as a professional drag performer, weaving the characters from their stories into visual art for the stage.
When they are not writing, they work as a professional drag performer, weaving the characters from their stories into visual art for the stage.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 17, 2025
4.5/5 Stars- Rounded up here
Sirius’ works in The Dread South are like walking around in the most twisted version of a memory. That's the best way I can think to describe how familiar and yet wholly unsettled that it feels. They're shorter bites of horror, unapologetically queer, and quickly becoming a favorite to read whenever I need something spooky.
Josiah has been playing the charismatic televangelist in front of the camera, the kind you'd see on PBS in the wee hours, shouting about fire and brimstone. When the studio lights dim however, he's a disaster- fueled by drugs, narcissistic fervor and overindulgence. He's a nasty little man, and I say that in the most affectionate way.
We get swept into the storm growing around him as Josiah runs from the consequences of his own choices. It's messy, chaotic and viscerally descriptive at times-- and I am obsessed.
Sirius’ works in The Dread South are like walking around in the most twisted version of a memory. That's the best way I can think to describe how familiar and yet wholly unsettled that it feels. They're shorter bites of horror, unapologetically queer, and quickly becoming a favorite to read whenever I need something spooky.
Josiah has been playing the charismatic televangelist in front of the camera, the kind you'd see on PBS in the wee hours, shouting about fire and brimstone. When the studio lights dim however, he's a disaster- fueled by drugs, narcissistic fervor and overindulgence. He's a nasty little man, and I say that in the most affectionate way.
We get swept into the storm growing around him as Josiah runs from the consequences of his own choices. It's messy, chaotic and viscerally descriptive at times-- and I am obsessed.
December 10, 2024
Sirius writes the most horrible little men... Narcissus has nothing on Josiah.
I'm so glad I tuned in to this grimy televangelist. Josiah may have sympathetic roots, but his core is rotten. He's willing to use and abuse until his vices outweigh his blessings. I love the irony of a prosperity preacher amassing an unpayable debt. I recommend checking out this lovely little queer sacrilege.
I'd like to give thanks for the chance to check this ARC out for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.
I'm so glad I tuned in to this grimy televangelist. Josiah may have sympathetic roots, but his core is rotten. He's willing to use and abuse until his vices outweigh his blessings. I love the irony of a prosperity preacher amassing an unpayable debt. I recommend checking out this lovely little queer sacrilege.
I'd like to give thanks for the chance to check this ARC out for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.
December 11, 2024
Sirius is becoming one of my new favourite authors.
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October 14, 2025I read this novella for the SFINCS novella contest. Review to come!
November 23, 2024
Not me over here shooketh to my core with that ending because I’m feeling all the existential things.
Note to self that I shall carry with me for eternity: DO NOT MAKE DEALS WITH CROSSROAD DEMONS. You WILL get everything your heart desires & then end up with a microphone up your ãss. Unfortunately, I don’t make the rules.
Read this book. You’ll learn an entirely new definition of “go fvck yourself”.
Note to self that I shall carry with me for eternity: DO NOT MAKE DEALS WITH CROSSROAD DEMONS. You WILL get everything your heart desires & then end up with a microphone up your ãss. Unfortunately, I don’t make the rules.
Read this book. You’ll learn an entirely new definition of “go fvck yourself”.
February 6, 2025
Another reviewer wrote that Sirius writes the most horrible little men and that’s honestly so true and I can’t get enough of them. They’re just so human and flawed but Reverend Josiah Tucker is awful all the way down to his toes. There isn’t much to redeem but he does get his comeuppance and hot damn if it ain’t what our Preach deserves. Honorable mention to Bee because I love that devil and his cameo had me giggling.
November 17, 2024
This novella is a bit out of my usual reads. I tend to not read novellas because I am a “spare no detail” kind of reader and this book left me with more questions than answers. I wonder about the smaller aspects of the lives of Josiah, Theo, Polly, and the Devil. This being said, I want to know more instead of setting it aside and not thinking about it again.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews