JD Robb/Nora Roberts 

Lynn Cahoon

Susan Elia MacNeal

Shelly Laurenston

Edgar Allen Poe

Victor LaValle

So I have to say that some of my favorite Halloween Bingo Authors are probably the same people that everyone else has.

First, Stephen King. That man's books fit about every square I think. I do wish that King would get a bit better about writing women though. Sometimes he's so close and then it kind of falls flat (see "The Outsider.")

Second, Shirley Jackson. Her books though not always conventional "horror" definitely can make you sit up and think. I ended up reading her book called "The Witchcraft of Salem Village" and thought it was brilliant.

Third, Victor LaValle. I may not have liked all of his books (see "The Devil in Silver") but he really kicks butt at showcasing books where POC are the main characters and touching upon really good horror elements (see "The Ballad of Black Tom."

Fourth, Octavia E. Butler. Wow. She blew my mind after I finished "Kindred" and I lapped up the next book I read by her, "Dawn". She was a very big force in science fiction/fantasy as well as speculative fiction. Her Xenogenesis trilogy has a lot of themes that I think readers would love such as a look at sexuality, gender, race, and species. 

Fifth, Daphne du Maurier. Come on people "Rebecca" is not only a timeless classic but it has so many horror elements that feature a house that feels haunted, a dead wife, and a character full of menace. 

Sixth, Robert R. McCammon. "Boy's Life" still makes me cry a bit just thinking about it. He combined horror, fantasy, science fiction, and magical realism all together into something really special. I also got a kick out of his "Mystery Walk."

Seventh, Mark Z. Danielewski. We all did a "House of Leaves" buddy read back in 2016 (I think) and it was great. I loved that book and the discussions that followed. It would be fun to do another big BL buddy read again. 

Eighth, Clive Barker. He is the author of the Hellraiser series that I need to get back to. I also read one of his books of blood. 

Ninth, Helen Oyeyemi. I have only read one of her books, "The Opposite House" and felt okay about that one. However, I have heard her newest, "Gingerbread" is fantastic and some of her earlier works are very good. I have plans to see if I can work some of her books into my bingo play this year. 

Tenth, I will throw Dean Koontz out here. I loved his earlier works and pretty much abhor his later ones. I loved "Strangers," "Phantoms," "Demon Seed," and "Velocity."

Rather than go spooky or gory, I went vintage fashion (Brighton Belle) plus a background that is less fashion and a bit more gritty (Mr. Churchill's Secretary, Princess Elizabeth's Spy, and Death in the Air). I love the AU version of Wonder Woman as Rosie the Riveter. The last two covers are for the upcoming bingo (the true crime square and a square to be named later). The last cover screams autumn and I love it. 

From Halloween Bingo 2018:

The Siren by Kieran Cass

In Her Bones by Kate Moretti

Mr. Churchill's Secretary (Maggie Hope #1) by Susan Elia MacNeal

From Halloween Bingo 2017:

Saga Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples

DC Bombshells Volume 1, 2 by Marguerite Bennett et al

Call of Crows series by Shelly Laurenston

From Halloween Bingo 2016:

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor Lavelle

Vision Volume 1 by Tom King et al

I think Victor Lavalle sums up perfectly the intent of this novella in its dedication - “For H.P. Lovecraft, with all my conflicted feelings.”

This story is set in New York in the 1920s. Charles Thomas Tester is a man from Harlem who earns money to support himself and his prematurely aging father by grifting. He has the reputation of being a go-to guy to fetch esoteric objects, and it is when he is hired to fetch a book for a white woman in Queens that the story begins.

It’s a tale of magic and power and the appropriation by whites of power paid for in black flesh. The streets of New York are toxic with hate, and a final tragedy, relating to the book, leads to Tester having nothing left to lose. A freedom that allows him to dare where others falter in fear.

It’s a beautiful narrative, taking the best and the worst from Lovecraft and showing it from the perspective of a person of colour. It’s full of gorgeous prose and leaves the reader feeling richer for the experience. Tester/Black Tom is constantly overlooked and underappreciated, but it is he who will triumph, albeit in a pyrrhic victory.

The opening of the book sets the stage perfectly -

“People who move to New York always make the same mistake. They can’t see the place… They come looking for magic; whether good or evil, and nothing will convince them it isn’t here.”

Other quotes I love -

“Nobody ever thinks of himself as a villain, does he? Even monsters hold high opinions of themselves.”

“The more I read, the more I listened, the more sure I became that a great and secret show had been playing throughout my life, throughout all our lives, but the mass of us were too ignorant, or too frightened, to raise our eyes and watch. Because to watch would be to understand the play isn’t being staged for us.”