Valentine's Day Dispatch
Welcome to the 21st issue of C.J. Dotson's Dreadful Dispatch!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I hope you get to have your favorite treat today!
The Writing
I recently finished all the major revisions on book two! One of my favorite things when working on a book or a story is getting good feedback (by which I mean, feedback that shows me that whoever has read it Gets It—indicating that I’m on the right track—but also feedback that is actionable and helps me find ways to make my book better), and then finding the best ways to go about implementing that and strengthening my story. That’s the part of the process I most recently finished up on for book two, and I’m feeling really good about it!
Now that those big edits are done, I’m looking to get back into working on my campground horror book after having had it beta read by a few trusted friends, but with all the excitement (and a healthy dollop of the jitters) about THE CUT coming out in only 53 days, I’ve been finding it a little hard to focus. I think I’m going to try knocking out some of the short story ideas I’ve had kicking around in my brain; maybe the shorter format will let me move past this nerves-and-excitement hangup
THE CUT
It does not feel real, to think that THE CUT will be out in less than two months!
For the last few months I’ve included some very amateur sketches I’ve made of characters from THE CUT, but today I have a drawing made by my friend and very talented board game artist, Beth Sobel, who was also an early reader for THE CUT.
Here’s Sadie, a pregnant young mother on the run from an abusive relationship, temporarily working as a housekeeper at past-its-prime L’Arpin Hotel:
“Alright, Mom,” Sadie sighed. She took her glasses off with her free hand and rubbed her eyes again with the back of her wrist, then forced out the words, “I’m sorry I haven’t called in a while. Things have been…” Her thoughts tumbled up against each other, the problems of the last couple years too many and too large to be distilled into something her mother would understand in one phone call. “Not good. It’s a long story. But I—” she had to say it fast, a rush of words, or she’d never get it out, and even so her voice dropped to nearly a whisper: “—I’m not sure Izzy and I are safe where we are.”
As if saying it made it somehow more true, the words left Sadie twisted up inside, cold and a little breathless.
Recommendations
Cold Eternity by S. A. Barnes
I have talked about Barnes’ space horror books in a previous newsletter and I will talk about them whenever there is a new book, because I love them.
Cold Eternity, coming 4/8/25 with pre-orders available here, follows a young woman going by the name of Halley, on the run from the potentially dangerous fallout of a scandal she didn’t want to be involved in. In an effort to remain out of sight and to earn enough money to get away more permanently, Halley takes an isolated job as a caretaker on a space ship that started its life as a high-end cryogenic facility, then when cryogenics failed to pan out became a museum ship, before finally being closed to the public.
The job comes with some drawbacks (aside from being surrounded by the not-quite-dead frozen “residents” of the ship); Halley is required to do rounds every three hours so her sleep schedule is in tatters, the only other awake and aware human on the ship is the shady dude who hired her and he never leaves the engine room—which might be a blessing, since he’s a huge asshole who guesses just enough about Halley’s situation to hold it over her head—instead communicating with her solely through screens, and the former theater area of the ship’s life as a museum houses a buggy AI that Halley is both frightened of and drawn to.
But something strange is going on inside this ship, and the same altruistic impulses that got Halley into trouble in her former life make it impossible for her to ignore when things seem wrong. Isolated and sleep-deprived, she finds herself stumbling upon—or hunted by—layers upon layers of secrets, deceptions, and impossibilities that threaten not only her sense of self and her very life, but her understanding of our universe and what is possible.
This was my favorite Barnes book yet. Halley’s internal struggle—whether our intentions absolve us from the results of our actions or inactions, what it means to do good or how to even make a difference in a world stacked against goodness and full of “the lesser evils”—is timely and important, without feeling like the narrative is nagging or badgering the reader about these subjects. Also the absolutely perfect setting, the blending of physical fear and existential dread, the top-notch body horror, and the character writing were phenomenal. Cold Eternity didn’t hit a single wrong note, and I thought the ending was perfect. I loved it, and I highly recommend it.
A Date in the Park by Cloak and Dagger Games
A couple months ago I recommended the game The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow from Cloak and Dagger Games. Recently I was looking for another indie horror game that would be entertaining without asking much of me and I found their older game, A Date in the Park, currently available for free on Steam. I had fun with Hob’s Barrow, free is a great price for me, and with Valentine’s Day in mind I liked the idea of playing a horror game centered around a date.
A Date in the Park follows Lou, a Londoner who recently moved to Lisbon, Portugal, and met the girl of his dreams last night. He’s meeting her for a date in the Tapada das Necessidades, but when he arrives she’s nowhere to be found.
This is another point and click game, heavy on clue following and exploring the map to find interactable items. Also, A Date in the Park came out in 2014 and does have one or two technical issues; there’s no option for adjusting the screen resolution, and I had to use key commands to take it out of full screen in order to make the game playable on my laptop. This game uses pixelated photo style graphics rather than the pixel art I enjoyed so much in Hob’s Barrow, but I think that getting to explore a little bit of a real location makes up for that. A Date in the Park is much shorter than Hob’s Barrow was, which makes it perfect if you’re looking for something brief and easy but still neat, with a couple of good, unsettling moments and an ending that caught me off guard both in its suddenness and in the way it played out. Especially for a free game, if you have a half an hour or so to kill and want to play a quick and creepy little date game for Valentine’s Day, I recommend giving this one a try!
Events
April 2nd, 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 the first horror movie I remember traumatizing me when I watched it way too young, Night of the Creeps, followed by signing and exclusive early sales of THE CUT
Lucky 13 Saloon
644 Sackett St
Brooklyn, NY 11217
April 8th, 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 8th, 2025, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Book Launch at the Fairlawn, Ohio Barnes & Noble
4015 Medina Road
Akron, OH 44333
April 12th, 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 24th, 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 26th, 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 12th – June 15th, 2025
I’ll be attending Stoker Con in Stamford, Connecticut, this year. I’m very excited!
Pet Pics
The End
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