Horror Aficionados discussion

Latasha wrote: "I'm reading this, about 30ish % in. No idea whats going to happen but i'm ejoying the ride. I really loved Ghost Eaters, btw."

It's been interesting to see how folks who enjoyed Ghost Eaters react to this one... I'd say they share certain DNA, but are different beasts at the end of the day. I'll be really curious what you think at the 40% mark... the 50% mark... the 60%...

Ok I’m gonna stop reading the thread for a minute. I just finished this and was totally not expecting that at all! I liked this story very much and will give it 4 stars. I’ll write my review sometime this weekend. I’m gonna be honest, I did like Ghost Eaters a little more but it’s kind of unfair. (view spoiler)[ I freakin love mushrooms and I’m very interested in what they can teach us and in the medicine they can offer. So as soon as I knew they played a role in that book, you had me hook, Line & sinker lol. I’m pretty sure I went into it blind, based off the tile & cover. (hide spoiler)]
I really love the way you wrote about palm readers & how they offer hope. I had my palm read once and some of it has came true. I read tarot & oracle cards but not palms or anything else. It really is about giving hope. But anyways, i liked that you changed Skylar. (view spoiler)[ him being a peeler is way more exciting! (hide spoiler)] I love the way you tell a story, I read this is in 2 or 3 sittings. I was really interested in the characters & what happens to them

Ugh my message cut off and I couldn’t see it anymore. Whatever GR app 🙄 anyways, I was interested in the characters and what happened to them as well as just finding out what happens next. I think you did a great job and can’t wait to see what you write about next.

Latasha wrote: "Ugh my message cut off and I couldn’t see it anymore. Whatever GR app 🙄 anyways, I was interested in the characters and what happened to them as well as just finding out what happens next. I think ..."

So glad to hear you enjoyed it, Latasha! And thanks for coming back after Ghost Eaters... Honestly, it's 100% A-okay to like that one better than WKOM for whatever reason, fungal or otherwise.

WKOM is a quieter book to me than Ghost Eaters. Where GE is a little more brash and loud, WKOM (to me, at least) quietly drags you under... That you stuck with it, and the characters, means a lot! Thank you!

Excited for this. I loved Ghost Eaters. Happy to remain elbows deep in horror during the holiday season!

Amanda wrote: "Excited for this. I loved Ghost Eaters. Happy to remain elbows deep in horror during the holiday season!"

'Tis the season to be scury!

Hey Clay! Have to take advantage of this group read while I can! I believe I was better prepped for WKOM with the acoustic playlist. Before Pub Day, I was already calling WKOM, ‘Clay Unplugged,’ and was ready for anything. That said, another question, this time about Grace!

Was there a point where you were going to have something supernatural about Grace? The way she was introduced and the miscarriages… one could say teenage Henry was head over heels and the stork being zapped out of the sky was an omen but I have to ask!

And finally, maybe not in the immediate future, but is there a chance of seeing Skyler again? If not in novel, maybe in comic? I could only imagine how artists would illustrate him…

Thank you again!

I love it, Rex... Honestly, ask as many questions as you want. I'm so here for it. It makes my day and I can't thank you and everyone else in the group enough for having me on.

I love the idea of Clay Unplugged. That was definitely what I was going/hoping for... Something that felt acoustic, hand-strummed.

Grace. Of all the characters in the book, she's the one my heart goes out to the most... and who I feel like I've done wrong. So much of her story functions off the page, from the POV of other characters. She never gets a chance to tell her side of the story and I regret that.

She was never going to be supernatural, but I felt like, in the telling of her story, I wanted her to feel elemental. Of nature, almost. I thought it was necessary to integrate these notions of folk tradition/horror through her character, even if it's from the perspective of Henry or others... She was an outsider and therefor different than the rest. That made her otherworldly, if not supernatural. My heart goes out to her. How different this book would've been able to tell her side of the story!

Skyler... As much as I'm tickled by the idea, it definitely doesn't seem like the world at large is clamoring for more. I'm definitely down, though. We'll see. Never say never, right?

I finished this book yesterday and I loved it. I'm a Clay McLeod Chapman fan now. Thank you for the story, and thanks for your engagement and insight here. I'm going to go and read all of your other books.

You keep comparing this to Ghost Eaters (which sounds awesome btw) but I see you've written 2 other books as well. How does this book compare to those? And which should I read next? I'd love your recommendation.

Nickronomicon wrote: "I finished this book yesterday and I loved it. I'm a Clay McLeod Chapman fan now. Thank you for the story, and thanks for your engagement and insight here. I'm going to go and read all of your othe..."

Thanks so much for the kind words... I'm in awe, honestly. Thank you.

This has been so much -- too much? -- fun for me. I'm having a blast just chatting with folks! Happy to answer any questions or simply shoot the shit because, hell, when am I ever gonna get another opportunity like this again, you know? I never do. Know, that is.

Any comps between WKOM and Ghost Eaters on my part my simply be given the fact that they're my most recent books. Ghost Eaters is as close to a book of mine leaving an impression on folks, so I feel like it becomes (for me, at least) the bar in which I compare/contrast everything else by. For better or worse. Probably worse.

They share some themes... grief, mostly. Losing someone. And apparently they're both gross.

But I do think/hope/wish they're very different from one another, or that the approach into the stories themselves is different. Let me know what you think...

You know... it's funny. Not in a laugh ha-ha kinda way, but in a cosmic, this-is-my-career kinda way, but I've been fortunate enough to write and publish books for over 20 years now WKOM was book #11. It wasn't until I came to Quirk Books and started publishing with them that I finally hit my stride... or maybe people just started to notice. It's been a long career of ups and downs, but I've been able to get some stuff out there that I'm proud of.

If you're looking for recommendations...

REST AREA (2002) short stories
HOMEROOM HEADHUNTERS (2013) middlegrade novel
GHOST EATERS (2022) novel

There are others, and some comic stuff, too, but those are the ones that seem to've left a mark... and the ones that I'm most proud of.

Clay, just want to say your books made an impact on me since I first discovered you with The Remaking. And having read your past 4 novels and 2 chapbooks, your evolution as an author is very noticeable. Going back to The Remaking, I may have known this at the time, but can't recall. What was the real life inspiration for The Remaking?

Ohh tell us more about the comic stuff? Plz!

Alan wrote: "Clay, just want to say your books made an impact on me since I first discovered you with The Remaking. And having read your past 4 novels and 2 chapbooks, your evolution as an author is very notice..."

Thanks so much... for sticking with me through all these books/projects, and for the kind words. Learning, you know?

The inspiration for The Remaking comes from a few different places, but the root-source is "the Little Witch Girl of Pilot's Knob, KY."

Here are a few resources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8DMM...

https://www.timesleader.net/opinion/m...

https://www.louisvilleghs.com/LGHS_MA...

Then, as far as the cinematic inspiration, I basically fan-ficced one of my personal favorite films... LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-NZT...

If you can find it, I'd highly recommend watching it... because I do think it kinda enhances the reading experience.

I don’t know about the little witch girl of KY so I guess I’ll be reading that one!

Latasha wrote: "Ohh tell us more about the comic stuff? Plz!"

Ha! I've been lucky to write for Marvel off-and-on through the years, so that's been a utter blast: https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Catego...

Top 3 Marvel comics are:

Edge of Spider-Verse #4: https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Edge_o...
Absolute Carnage: Separation Anxiety #1: https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Absolu...
Scream: Curse of Carnage (#1-6): https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Scream...

I've also gotten to do a couple creator-owned series, my favorite of which was called LAZARETTO for BOOM! Studios: https://leagueofcomicgeeks.com/people...

There's other stuff, but that's some of my faves... Next year, I'll have a new creator-owned series coming out (sssh more in 2024), which I'm suuuuuper excited for.

Clay wrote: "Alan wrote: "Clay, just want to say your books made an impact on me since I first discovered you with The Remaking. And having read your past 4 novels and 2 chapbooks, your evolution as an author i..."

Let's Scare Jessica to Death as inspiration?! Adding The Remaking to my TBR to read ASAP.

Hey Clay!

Quick question regarding Easter eggs, since you mentioned before Charlene was in a short story of yours. I also think the Pentecostal stepfather was another Easter egg, but I was wondering if Bill was an Easter egg too!

Thank you!

Rex wrote: "Hey Clay!

Quick question regarding Easter eggs, since you mentioned before Charlene was in a short story of yours. I also think the Pentecostal stepfather was another Easter egg, but I was wonderi..."

You mean Bill at the end? The epilogue-fella? Sorta... He's my grandfather. He passed away while I was writing the book, so it seemed like a fitting tribute to write him in... even though he'd never in a million years read a horror novel, even if I wrote it.

He was, true story, the Poet Laureate of Shell Oil. He would, no lie, go crabbing before work, slipping on the hipwaders over his business suit and everything. Luckily, however, he never found a... well, you know.

I enjoyed the heck out of this one, Clay! I have liked all of your books I have read (Whisper Down the Lane was the one that scared the heck out of me!). I have to say (gonna bracket this because spoilers) (view spoiler)[ I LOVE monster horror, and Skyler's transformation was one of the creepiest and coolest ones I have read. I've been thinking about it over the past few days, and the more it marinates in my head the more I love it. (hide spoiler)] I love the folk horror elements too, and the way the whole story just feels saturated in the river.

This is one of the 3 books I’m trying to hustle through as the library helped me find them later than I’d of liked. I’m going to set this one aside for now. There’s a bit of regurgitation with info and it’s lackluster as of p42. I do love the concept of what appears to be the form of future communication through the veil.

Hayley wrote: "I enjoyed the heck out of this one, Clay! I have liked all of your books I have read (Whisper Down the Lane was the one that scared the heck out of me!). I have to say (gonna bracket this because s..."

I can't thank you enough for the kind words, Hayley... Really appreciate it. I'm so glad -- relieved -- to hear you dug our l'il Skyler. He was fun to imagine and to watch him, ahem, grow.

And hey... thanks for the kind words on Whisper Down the Lane. I feel like it's a true honor to've shared two books with you. Definitely don't take it lightly that you'd come back for another book, so thank you. Heck, maybe we can do it again?

Christine wrote: "This is one of the 3 books I’m trying to hustle through as the library helped me find them later than I’d of liked. I’m going to set this one aside for now. There’s a bit of regurgitation with info..."

Hope it picks up for you, Christine!

Hi Clay!

As the sun is setting on the last day for this group read, I wanted to thank you for answering all of my questions and being a great ambassador for the genre. The tour, the readings, the podcast, social media, the group chat and your new title for next year with the HWA… if 2023 didn’t tire you out, we can all look forward to what you have in store for us in the years ahead!

So I have only just one question left that’s played in my head, leading up 11th hour on this group chat: Was Madi ever going to call Henry out on the guitar? A quip about remembering there were six strings when he pulled it out from the truck? That’s all I got!

I also want to thank you for taking time from your busy book tour to join us. It was a real blast chatting about your books with you, and I look forward to reading more from you and seeing your fun social media posts. They're always a hoot.

I’ll piggy back on all the kudos, sir! I really enjoyed both your HA book reads on Goodreads, Ghost Eaters, and this crabby folk horror. Thanks for being a cool author!

Rex wrote: "Hi Clay!

As the sun is setting on the last day for this group read, I wanted to thank you for answering all of my questions and being a great ambassador for the genre. The tour, the readings, the ..."

Ha -- Madi SHOULD have said something about the guitar! "Why's there only five strings?" Ooof, that would've been intense.

Do I have a new title with the HWA? Did I do something? I'm totally blanking at the moment...

You're truly spoiling me here. All of you. I can't thank you enough for engaging with me here, Rex, asking as many questions as you have. Honestly, that's all I ever want... To actually have a chance to discuss the book with people who are curious about it. It's such a gift, to be frank. So thank you again and again.

Hell... Here's hoping we can do it again in 2024!

Alan wrote: "I also want to thank you for taking time from your busy book tour to join us. It was a real blast chatting about your books with you, and I look forward to reading more from you and seeing your fun..."

I feel like such a goofball with those posts... but social media is such a swamp to me, most days I just feel like I'm casting out these missives and no one's seeing them. The videos are fun and frivilous, and I'm just happy talking about books I like... so hopefully they're not too tiresome.

Netanella wrote: "I’ll piggy back on all the kudos, sir! I really enjoyed both your HA book reads on Goodreads, Ghost Eaters, and this crabby folk horror. Thanks for being a cool author!"

If I make the cool cut, well, I'm totally honored... Thanks for saying that. Trying to write good stuff, books people will dig, and just connect with readers. That's all I've got...

HWA title, I meant you being part of the Summer Scares, sorry!

Rex wrote: "HWA title, I meant you being part of the Summer Scares, sorry!"

Ah ha! Yes, that's it! Whew... I thought I was going to be in trouble there for a second.

I'm severely late to this party, and the room is now empty LOL but I'll drop this info in case anyone is so lucky to reside in Maine near this location for a book signing on 6/15/24.
From his website: https://claymcleodchapman.com/events/...

Just finished reading this yesterday, my first book by Clay, and I LOVED it!