The 20th Dispatch

Welcome to the first issue of 2025!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Yes I know, we’re almost two whole weeks into the new year already, but happy 2025 nonetheless!

The Writing

I’m still working on revisions for my second book, but finally the pace is picking up. In November and December there was a bit of a disruption to my routine, and on top of that my habit when editing is to pick my least favorite type of revision to do first, so for a while there I was dragging myself along a bit. I’m back in the swing of things now, though, and I’m on to the revisions that I have a clear plan for, that will be fun to make, and that I am excited to work on, so things are picking up really quickly now. Hooray!

Also, in fun short story news, I’m very excited to share that later this year my story “Every Last Gossamer Strand” will run on PseudoPod! I’ll post updates on my socials and here in my newsletter soon.

THE CUT

Wow wow wow there’s less than three months until my book is out in the world! I hardly know how to handle the bursts of nerves I keep getting, and I have no idea how to stop myself from thinking about this literally all the time.

Here’s some new character art! (pls remember that I am very amateur and these sketches are just for fun, but also this is the one I drew that I’m probably most pleased with). This is Gertie Harper, a long-term guest at L’Arpin Hotel and a bit of a busybody.

“Some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth, but I’ll eat my slippers if poor Henry there wasn’t born with a stick up his bum.”

You can pre-order THE CUT now, here.

If you don’t want to wait until April 8th, then now through February 2nd you have a chance to win one of 25 physical advance reader copies of my book by entering the GoodReads giveaway for THE CUT here.

Or, you can request a digital ARC through NetGalley here.

Recommendations

At Dark, I Become Loathsome

This is a viscerally disturbing and gorgeously written story that drags the reader down with it. Ashley, the protagonist, is at once understandable yet also increasingly disturbing. At the same time, as he increasingly embraces the loathsomeness he claims to feel within himself from the start, there remains this thread of almost relatability there, and that relatability feels more and more personally upsetting the further the book goes. I highly recommend pre-ordering this one here, or just run out and grab i if you’ve found this issue of the newsletter after this book comes out on 1/28/25.

Home Safety Hotline

In this little indie horror game you play a new call center employee whose job is to field calls from residents with problems around their home, and provide them with correct information about their particular hazard, so that they can resolve their issues. As the work days go on and the calls come in, the player is granted access to files on weirder and more menacing household dangers, and the consequences of misdiagnosing a caller’s problem can become severe. This game is horror more in theme than in terms of actually making the player feel scared or uncomfortable—I would recommend for people who love unsettling vibes but don’t want to get too freaked out. Home Safety Hotline would also be great for fans of Welcome to Nightvale and SCP stories, for analog horror lovers, and for people who feel nostalgic for the 90s. With wait times between calls and in-story system errors forcing the player to rely on memorizing an increasingly large list of dangers, it’s a little rough for people with poor memories or who struggle with their attention span (me, on both counts). I’m not sure if there is a “good” ending (it is a horror game, after all), but I got what I think comes closest. Home Safety Hotline was fun and interesting, and a nice if brief distraction. I’m looking forward to finding some spare time to try the holiday themed DLC.

And speaking of PseudoPod (you know, like five or six paragraphs ago, but still), you should give a listen to “The Things That Wash Up on Marble Beach.” I just loved this one!

Media and Events

Media:

I mentioned in the last issue of my newsletter that the anthology Found 2: More Stories of Found Footage Horror, which includes my story “A Place Where the Sun Has Never Shone” among many frightening works of short fiction, was favorably reviewed by HorrorDNA. This time I’m excited to share that Found 2 was included in the reviewer’s Top Reads of 2024.

THE CUT was mentioned in the December 2024 edition of The ARC Party’s twice-yearly Horror Preview episode, when they talk about forthcoming horror books they’re looking forward to in the next six months.

On Instagram, the_wandering_reader included THE CUT in this reel of 13 anticipated 2025 horror novels, and almostallthecake included THE CUT in this post of exciting upcoming horror releases.

FanFiAddict’s Most Anticipated Reads of 2025 includes THE CUT

As of this writing, THE CUT is currently the 16^th most requested horror novel on NetGalley

THE CUT is also included in GoodReads’ list of Readers’ Most Anticipated Horror Novels for 2025

Underground Books includes THE CUT in their list of most anticipated reads of 2025:

Events:

April 2^nd, 2025, 7:00 PM
Dark Sparks: Films That Ignite Horror Authors
Hosted by The Twisted Spine and the Brooklyn Horror Society, at the Lucky 13 Saloon
A reading from THE CUT and a screening of a horror movie (TBD), followed by signing and exclusive early sales of THE CUT
644 Sackett St
Brooklyn, NY 11217

April 8^th, 2025, 10:00 AM
I’ll be signing copies of THE CUT at the new Canton, Ohio Barnes & Noble
5501 Dressler Rd NW
Canton, OH 44720

April 8^th, 2025, evening—time TBD
Book Launch at the Fairlawn, Ohio Barnes & Noble
4015 Medina Road
Akron, OH 44333

April 12^th, 2025, 1:00 PM
I’ll be signing copies of THE CUT at the Rochester, New York Barnes & Noble
3349 Monroe Avenue
Rochester, NY 14618

April 24^th, 2025, 6:30 PM
Eric LaRocca and I will be talking about THE CUT and Eric’s stunning new book, At Dark, I Become Loathsome, at Gibson’s Bookstore
45 South Main Street
Concord, NH 03301

April 26^th, 2025, 6:00 PM
Horror Haven digital event, in conversation with Cynthia Pelayo, author of Forgotten Sisters
Hosted by Four Seasons Books
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/horror-haven-with-authors-cj-dotson-cynthia-pelayo-tickets-1104752236679

June 12^th – June 15^th, 2025
I’ll be attending Stoker Con in Stamford, Connecticut, this year. I’m very much looking forward to a weekend of fun and friends and frights!

Pet Pictures!

Pebble, about .03 seconds before trying to jump into the dishwasher

There has never been a cozier cat than Jupiter

Kamina is the first cat I’ve ever had who never tries to attack during a belly rub

Cutie Newt! (I never realized how tricky it can be to get good pics of black cats)

Noodles’ favorite part of Christmas was the leftover boxes.

This is the clearest pic I have of Cooper, who is on the move almost 100% of the time

The End

Thank you for checking out another issue of C. J. Dotson’s Dreadful Dispatch! If you liked it and haven’t subscribed, you can do that right here:

See you next month!