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Watch “The History of Horror” Now!

On Tuesday this week, I had the honor to participate as a guest on a panel for FanFi Addict’s #TBRCon2022. (You might recall I was also a guest last year.) For the uninitiated TBRCon is a completely free online convention for all manner of speculative fiction—horror to science fiction to fantasy. Once again, I had an absolute blast. I joined the “History of Horror” panel moderated by Mother Horror herself, Sadie Hartmann, featuring a great group of fantastic horror writers, including Adam Cesare, Tim Meyer, Laurel Hightower, and Gabino Iglesias. I’ve found that people in the horror community are always excited to welcome and meet fellow writers and fans and this group was no exception. Conversations like this feel like conversations with family and given the chance we could have gone on for hours.

#TBRCon22 – “The History of Horror” w/ Sadie Hartmann, Gabino Iglesias, Laurel Hightower, Adam Cesare, Time Meyer, and me.

Like last year, I’ve embedded the recording above. The whole discussion is a little over an hour, and we delve not just into Horror’s history and origins but also where we think it’s going as a genre in the future. In the end, we all give out a ton of fantastic recommendations of some of our favorite recent or classic horror reads and I’ll link those below.

Big thanks to Sadie for her efforts at wrangling us, and thank you to my fellow panelists for being so welcoming. David Walters of FanFiAddict deserves considerable praise for doing so much of the heavy lifting behind the scenes. Be sure to subscribe to all of FanFi’s social media channels, so you don’t miss out on what he’s up to next.

It ain’t over! #TBRCon2022 continues through Sunday, January 30th! You can find out much more here and tune in for free on YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook. Miss a panel you wanted to see? All recordings of previous discussions are posted on FanFi Addict’s YouTube page. Be sure to go back and check out the panels you might have missed. There are a ton of great content to peruse at your leisure.

“History of Horror” Panel Recommendations

At the end of the panel, we all talked about what we were working on and shared some recommendations. I’ve tried to list them all and include any specific books that were mentioned. Links go to the author’s webpage or blog, and most book links will go to Indiebound.(Support your local bookstore!)

Sadie Hartmann – Nightworms

Tim Meyer – Malignant Summer

Adam Cesare – Clown in a Cornfield

Gabino Iglesias – The Devil Takes You Home: A Novel

K. M. Alexander – Gleam Upon the Waves

Laurel Hightower – Crossroads

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Come See Me at TBRcon 2022!

FanFiAddict’s streaming speculative fiction convention TBRcon is coming back next year, and once again, I’m going to be a part of it! Join Moderator Sadie Hartmann (aka Mother Horror) along with Adam Cesare, Laurel Hightower, Gabino Iglesias, Tim Meyer, and myself as we discuss The History of Horror on Tuesday, January 25th, at 10 A.M. PST. Horror panels are always a fun time, and this is a fantastic crew of people. I’m really excited.

The convention will stream online from January 23rd through the 30th and feature live panels and live gaming sessions. I had a great time last year. (Check out my recap here.) Also, be sure to check out the official TBRcon 2022 page for details about the other panels this year, as well as schedules, sponsors, times, where-to-steam, and much more. (I’ll announce details as we get closer to the convention.)

TBRcon is free to stream. So mark your calendars and join us!

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A Return to the Indie Pub

Back in May I was lucky enough to be the first guest for J. Rushing’s indie-publishing focused podcast, The Indie Pub. Well here we are a few months later and in the waning days of summer and I’m excited to say I’ve returned to the pub for its tenth episode! Listen to it below.

This time around Jim and I discuss maps—how they’re used in fantasy books, how to go about creating them, and the toolsets I provide to empower creators to make their own authentic looking maps. We had a great discussion and I was happy to share another aspect of the writing process I’m passionate about. I think you’ll dig it.Tell your pals, drop Jim a review, and subscribe to the Indie Pub from any of the links below.

Anchor

Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Castbox

Breaker

Spotify

YouTube

RadioPublic

Overcast (see app)

Pocket Casts

Enjoy the episode everyone!

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Join me for Dead Drop Live

Dead Drop is the name of my infrequent newsletter. (Subscribe, heathen!) The name comes from the method of espionage tradecraft used during the cold war era to exchange information. I always felt it fitted a newsletter that only comes once or twice a year (if you’re lucky). But, on Tuesday, March 30th, in celebration of the launch of Gleam Upon the Waves, Dead Drop is emerging from the shadowed spaces and going LIVE.

Join me for Dead Drop Live
Tuesday – 3/30/21 – 6–7 PM PST
– On Twitch at twitch.tv/kmalexander –

I’m going to be doing a reading from Gleam Upon the Waves. (Probably Chapter 4.) I’m going to be answering questions. I’m going to be showing the new swag. Maybe we’ll do a giveaway? Who knows! I’ve never done this before! I’m old. Streaming is new and weird to me. Let’s make it extra weird. So, mark your calendars and come join me! You’re invited.

Can’t make it. Don’t worry, the stream will be recorded and available later. But really, what else do you have happening on a Tuesday night in March during a pandemic? Exactly. I’ll see you there.

The Indie Pub
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Let’s Visit the Indie Pub

It’s Saint Patrick’s Day, and it’s tradition to make a trip to the local pub. But that’s not entirely feasible since we’re still dealing with a pandemic—so why not join me and my pal, fellow writer, and travel buddy J. Rushing for the inaugural episode of his new podcast, The Indie Pub! Episode one is out today, I’m the first guest, and you can listen to it below.

I had a lot of fun chatting with Jim, and I think that comes through. I hope I get another chance to visit the pub in the future. His plan is to start releasing new episodes every other week and he’ll be discussing all aspects of indie publishing with a whole swath of great guests. So tell your pals, drop him a review, and subscribe to the Indie Pub from any of the links below.

Anchor

Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Castbox

Breaker

Spotify

YouTube

RadioPublic

Overcast (see app)

Pocket Casts

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone! Enjoy the podcast.

The Indie Pub
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Join Me at the Indie Pub on March 17th

My good friend, fellow writer, and occasional travel buddy, J. Rushing, has started a new bi-monthly podcast called The Indie Pub. As he pitches it: “it’s drinks and discussions about the world of self and indie publishing.” It launches one week from today on Wednesday, March 17th, and somehow I finagled my way into being his first guest!

Each episode will vary as Jim interviews writers and creators from all aspects of the indie world. In the inaugural episode, we discuss all sorts of things. I’m sure you’ll be shocked to know that cosmic horror comes up, as does writing within a mythos, the differences between adaptive fiction vs. fan fiction, broad talk on cities and texture, and much more. Together we also explore the complexities of The Pallid Mask, the cocktail Jim and I developed for the Barely Tolerable Tales reading from last November. (It’s delicious, but take caution, adventurer. It packs a wallop—recipe below.)

The Pallid Mask

  • 2 oz. young Mezcal
  • 1 oz. Dry Vermouth
  • 1 oz. Green Chartreuse

Mix all ingredients in a shaker. Stir with ice—strain into a cocktail glass. Squeeze a sprig of rosemary over the top and throw it in as a garnish. (If you like your drinks a little sweeter, consider adding a 1/4–⁠1/2 oz. of simple syrup.)

There are many ways to subscribe, all of which are linked from The Indie Pub Homepage. Be sure to follow the pub on Twitter as well. Jim’s told me about some of the future guests he has planned, and there’s a lot of incredible people and amazing interviews to come.

So, grab a seat and join us on March 17th at the opening of the Indie Pub. It’s going to be a good time.