Hellnotes, a major reviewer of horror fiction, film, and art, has reviewed my latest short story collection, The Shadows Behind, and given it a rave! Reviewer Elaine Pascale has written: “The stories within tell of lingering loss via imaginative and incredibly smart writing. Schoonover writes of grief and regret that follows like a shadow, and the stories in this collection will remain like a shadow for some time after you finish reading…the writing is intelligent and the themes transcend genre. Add this book to your summer reading list.”
I am SO EXCITED about this! You can read the full review here: https://hellnotes.com/the-shadows-behind-book-review/
You can get your copy of The Shadows Behind here: http://bit.ly/shadowsbehind. Or, if you want a signed copy, reach out to me through my Contact Page or in the comments and I’ll get in touch with you about making arrangements.
The crew and fans of the DARK DISCUSSIONS podcast get ready to see THE MEG at the Regal Cinemas Waterford 9 in Waterford, CT at our annual meet-up in August of 2018. From left: co-host Abe, listener Kevin, listener Leo Pond (also host of THE DORKENING podcast), co-host Eric, co-host Phil, me, listener Pam and co-host Mike.
Wanna watch a movie and attend a taping of Dark Discussions? Now’s your chance! Read the rest of this entry
Man, I did NOT want to cut this gorgeous cake! It was worth it, though: a thick layer of cream cheese frosting sandwiched inside yellow cake, smothered in butter creme icing! YUM! Photo by Tom Libonate.
It seemed like it would never come, but it’s here: release day for my short story collection, The Shadows Behind! Want a preview? Here’s a reading of the first half of the short story, “Roots,” at the release party this past weekend.
You can get your copies where books are sold or through Amazon here: http://bit.ly/shadowsbehind
If you’d like a signed copy shipped directly to you instead, drop me a line through my contact page with your email and we can make arrangements.
My sister-in-law, Rebecca Avery-Petersen, spent countless hours making me these special cookies for THE SHADOWS BEHIND release party.
My sister-in-law, Rebecca Avery-Petersen, loves to bake, and is really good at at it (much like my late mom). One day a few weeks ago, she messaged me and said she’d been playing around with doing something out of her comfort zone with her sugar cookies: my book cover.
If you’ve seen the book cover for The Shadows Behind, you know this is not a small undertaking. I really loved them, and she then volunteered to send me a few dozen for my release event this weekend.
I had to share, because she’s amazing. That’s a pretty cool person who just volunteers to take on that kind of thing out of pure love and passion. And suffice it to say the only thing I can bake is the stuff that comes out of those round tubes!
This isn’t the electric bunny my family had when I was a kid, but it’s similar.
Whether or not you celebrate this holiday, I don’t think any of us can deny that sometimes, Easter decorations—especially vintage ones—can be creepy.
Growing up, we had a rather freaky plastic Easter Bunny that lit up. I have no Read the rest of this entry
It’s been an exciting few days! The first shipment of copies of my new short story collection, The Shadows Behind, arrived on Wednesday. I’ve also received many requests for signed copies and have shipped them or am in the process of shipping them out!
In other news, Amazon now has the paperback available for pre-order (the Kindle edition will be available for pre-order shortly). Both will ship/deliver on April 30, Books and Boos Press’ official release date. You can check that out here: http://bit.ly/shadowsbehind
If you’d like a signed copy shipped directly to you instead, drop me a line through my contact page with your email and we can make arrangements.
I spent part of the morning reading interviews of Triangle Shirtwaist Fire survivors. Prepare to have your heart broken. From survivor Mary Mary Domsky-Abrams. Why isn’t this story more known and these men lionized for losing their lives trying to save others?? A group of men made a human ladder of themselves in an attempt […]
via St. Vincent’s Hospital and Triangle Shirtwaist Survivors — Stacy Horn
Riverside Avenue in Fordlandia, which was near the Tapajos River. This image was printed in Grandin’s 2010 book, FORDLANDIA.
If you’ve read my work, you know that settings are something about which I’m passionate. A unique, vibrant setting always makes for a more interesting piece.
I’d always wanted to write a story involving a place called Fordlandia—a city Henry Ford built in Brazil in the late 1920s so he could have his own supply of rubber for his manufacturing; a place that is now abandoned and overgrown. I finally got the chance when I wrote “Attempted Delivery,” which appears in my forthcoming collection, The Shadows Behind.
Never heard of Fordlandia? Lots of people haven’t (when I mention it I usually get “what the hell is that?”) There’s a reason for that. The experiment in a utopia, meant to mirror a factory town in the Midwest—complete with a school, movie theatre, dance hall, church, modern hospital and paved roads (but no alcohol or tobacco)—was an unmitigated disaster.
“The houses sucked for the environment, the food made people sick, the rubber trees wouldn’t grow or just plain died of a strange blight,” notes the marine biologist, Juliane, in my short story “Attempted Delivery.”
That’s the short version. The land was infertile, cargo had trouble reaching the city unless it was the rainy season, and Amazon wood—which Ford had hoped to sell in order to cover costs until rubber trees took hold—had no value. At one point the workers rioted. By 1945, Fordlandia was abandoned, nothing more than a broken dream.
One of the houses that remains in Fordlandia today. This is a screenshot from a 2008 Spanish documentary on the subject.
Today, there are people living in Fordlandia, Read the rest of this entry
I’m thrilled to show off the cover for my forthcoming short story collection, The Shadows Behind, coming from Books and Boos Press on April 30, 2019! The cover’s art is by A.L. Cortez, who had some interesting things to say about its creation. You can read that on the press’ website here: https://booksandboospress.com/2019/03/21/the-shadows-behind-cover-reveal/
This collection, which is foreworded by Damnation Island author Stacy Horn, contains six long out-of-print favorites, among them “Doors” (Carpe Articulum, 2010), as well as four featured in various, esoterically-themed anthologies (which, if you didn’t buy those anthologies, you probably haven’t read).
What’s most exciting are the seven new Read the rest of this entry
Some wonderful thoughts about writing in the in-between–no matter what your in-between is.
I haven’t written on this blog in more than four years. The last post is about joining Storyful, and I haven’t worked there in months.
I was laid off last summer, one of the casualties of what has been a hard few months for the news industry as a whole. It’s been a hard topic to talk about on social media as you fight to find your next adventure, though the in between has been its own adventure too. How do you talk about this thing that has been making you feel horrible because everyone feels horrible when they’re laid off? How do you promote yourself when you’re not feeling good about yourself?
And that brings me to writing on this blog, something I’ve wanted to do for awhile but wasn’t quite sure how to do it, especially with the thing weighing heavy on me. What do I write about?…
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The anniversary of this tragedy was just last week (March 25). This is a post Stacy Horn wrote about the survivors a couple of years ago, but I’m reposting it here because I think what she wrote is beautiful.
