The DEVIL Is Amongst Us

Trigger warnings, book tour, possession videos and Goodreads serenades

The devil is nearly here. I’m gonna make one last pitch for my horrormance novel DEVIL INSIDE, forgive me…

TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING

First, I want to include the content warning that’s found at the very beginning of DEVIL INSIDE. It’s my first novel to have a trigger warning. It felt important to have with this book, and I wanted to share it here for readers.

A Note on “Horrormance”

Horror and romance are two sides of the same coin: they’re visceral and propulsive and terrifying and beautiful. One amplifies the other and the HEA for a love story doesn’t mean there isn’t room for some brutal and scary moments.

If you’re a horror reader: this book is rife with horror elements, but it’s also a romance. It’s full of giddiness and yearning and emotions and messy, broken people finding ways to make themselves whole again.

If you’re a romance reader: this is a love story that doesn’t shy away from violence, murder, and bad things happening, sometimes in gory and squelchy ways. The nature of a possession story means grappling with what it means to agree (or not) to hosting a demon. Devil Inside explores suppressed desires, toxic relationships (including dubious consent), and what you would give up or take from someone to find your true love.

TWISTED SPINE PREORDER CAMPAIGN

The kind folks over at The Twisted Spine are offering up a lovely preorder campaign for DEVIL INSIDE. There’s still time to preorder here. Check out this video to see what lovely perks we’re offering for folks who order:

BOOK LAUNCH AT THE STRAND

The Strand Bookstore is hosting my book launch for DEVIL INSIDE and I need need neeeeed folks to come. It’s my first headlining event at The Strand and I’m nervous!

Rachel Harrison (KISS SLAY REPLAY) and Nat Cassidy (WHEN THE WOLF COMES HOME) have graciously offered to converse with me. It’d mean the world to me if you could make it. Tuesday, August 11th at 7 PM. Register ahead of time here.

BOOK TOUR

I’m gonna be on BOOOOOK TOOOOOUR between now and, like, um, October. So many events. Click here to see if I’m coming close to you. Here are the first few stops:

8/11 at 7 PM: Book launch at The Strand Bookstore w/ Rachel Harrison and Nat Cassidy, NYC.

8/12 at 7 PM: Word Bookstore in Jersey City, NJ.

8/13 at 7 PM: Brookline Booksmith w/ Kylie Lee Baker, Brookline, MA.

8/14 at 7 PM: An Unlikely Story w/ Christopher Golden, Plainville, MA.

8/15 at 6:30 PM: Bookstore Romance Day at Gibson’s Bookstore, Concord, NH.

8/17 at 7 PM: Ripped Bodice w/ Mallory O’Meara, Los Angeles, CA.

8/20 at 6:30 PM: Thrillerdelphia/Cupid’s Bookstore join event w/ M.L. Rio, Philadelphia, PA. (NOTE: This is at Cupid’s Bookstore’s NEW shop.)

8/21 at 7 PM: Dark Ink w/ Chuck Wendig at Doylestown Books, PA.

8/22 at 1 PM: Fountain Bookstore w/ bookseller Andi in Richmond, VA.

8/26 at 7 PM: Beyond the Book Jacket series in Cuyahoga County, OH.

8/27 at 7 PM: Authors! series in Toledo, OH.

8/29: The Possumtown Book Festival in Columbus, MI.

9/3-9/7: DragonCon in Atlanta, GA.

9/12 at 5 PM: Asbury Book Cooperative in Asbury Park, NJ.

…there are many many many more events in September and October, but this should get everyone started! Check back here or on my site for more stops.

POSSESSION VIDEOS

I made a bunch of cheeky promo videos for DEVIL INSIDE, trying to list off my Top 5 favorite possession movies… but I topped myself halfway through. Here’s four:

HEREDITARY

EVIL DEAD II: DEAD BY DAWN

POSSESSION

OBSESSION

I also did a live event at The Twisted Spine for a secret screening of JENNIFER’S BODY, where I dressed up like Megan Fox, which I think technically counts as five.

GOODREADS SERENADES

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Goodreads reviews aren’t for the writers, they’re for the readers. That said, I read all of my Goodreads reviews. It’s not really healthy.

I thought it might be fun to serenade some of my favorite Goodreads reviews, positive, negative or otherwise, and share them. Again, I burnt out pretty quickly… I tried to do ten, but I only made it to six. My social media battery blew out, y’all.

SONG ONE: 5 STARS

SONG TWO: DNF

SONG THREE: 4 STARS

SONG FOUR: 5 STARS

SONG FIVE: 5 STARS

So… truth told, I only made it halfway through. Real talk: I was planning to sing/serenade a couple one/two star reviews… but then I realized that that might be inappropriate, and I didn’t want to belittle/undermine those readers feelings/opinions.

The second I press share on these, for, like, the next two or three hours, all I can think about is how much of an idiot I look like. Does any of this actually get people to preorder a book? I have no clue… Does it actually stop me from posting it? Nope.

DEVIL INSIDE is a dark book. It’s definitely, definitely not for everyone. It’s a horror story embedded within the framework of a romance novel, which is a scary thing. The biggest rule when writing a romance novel, I learned, is that there must be a HEA (happily ever after), which sent our two lovers toward an ending that… yes, is happy for them. But not for anyone else. And there lies one of the central horrors of the novel.

DEVIL INSIDE is on shelves August 11th. I hope it finds its readers, whoever they are. If you’re one of them, thank you. If you’re not, I appreciate you giving me a chance. It’s a big ask these days, I know, so thank you.

Take care,
CMC