Goodbye 2020

I'm feeling very fortunate to end this year on a high note, thanks to New York Times horror reviewer Danielle Trussoni. It's been a great year for horror books (though otherwise a horrifying year), and I'm ecstatic to see WONDERLAND on this list. 

Wishing you all a healthy & happy New Year!!

Best of 2020

I'm chuffed to see WONDERLAND on some Best of 2020 lists, including Book Riot's Best Horror Books of 2020 and OverDrive's Best AudioBooks of 2020. I'm especially grateful considering it's been such a weird year in publishing and a competitive year for horror fiction. Thank you, Readers!

GETAWAY - coming summer 2021

It's official - my next novel, GETAWAY, will be available summer 2021! This is a very personal novel in many ways - and I'm looking forward to sharing Grand Canyon photos and miscellaneous what-not in the coming months.

Halloween Author Events

 'Tis the season for horror authors! Just in time for Halloween, I'll be doing a pair of
virtual events. Both are free and open to all, but please register to receive the Zoom links.

OCT. 27, 7pm ET: Women in Horror (hosted by Belmont Books): Mallory O'Meara will be moderating a discussion with me, Alexis Henderson, and Elisabeth Thomas. Click here for more info & to register.

OCT. 28, 7pm ET: Horror Showcase (hosted by McNally Jackson): NY Times Book Reviewer Danielle Trussoni will be moderating a discussion with me, Stephen Graham Jones, Phenderson Djeli Clark, and Maria Dahvana Headly. Click here for more info & to register.

Celebrate the Horror Genre on Goodreads!

October is here! Cooler days, beautiful colors, golden light... and horror! I'm thrilled to find my books on THREE of the Goodreads horror recommendation lists:

WONDERLAND is included on the list of 2020's Top Horror Novels.

BABY TEETH is on The 40 Most Popular Horror Novels of the Last 5 Years list, and 48 Horror Recommendations by Terrifying Tropes (under the category "Humans Are the Biggest Monsters of All").

For those of us who write scary books we love that October gives readers an "excuse" to explore the horror genre... and maybe start reading scary books year 'round?

Women in Horror Panel

Just in time for Halloween, I'll be participating in the Women in Horror panel hosted by Belmont Books. Join me, Alexis Henderson, Elisabeth Thomas, and moderator Mallory O'Meara on Oct. 27 @ 7pm ET. The event is free and all are welcome to attend via Zoom. (Register here for the link)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Feature

I had the pleasure today of waking up to a text from a local friend, congratulating me on the "beautiful page" in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I has no idea what she was talking about, and the article wasn't available online. 

Fortunately I already had plans to leave the house today, so I picked up a couple copies of the paper while I was out. Even with the head's up, I wasn't quite prepared to see a FULL PAGE feature about WONDERLAND in the Weekend Magazine section of the paper.

As many readers have noticed, WONDERLAND is not BABY TEETH. This was the first deeply thoughtful professional review I've seen of WONDERLAND that also sought to explore themes, and juxtapose the family elements in my two books in an insightful way. It's an extremely rewarding thing as a writer when a person reads your book deeply - and even the article's title is a succinct summary of what I was trying to create:

Stage's new supernatural thriller is a provocative, philosophical page turner.

Thank you so much to Bill O'Driscoll and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. (Read the review online here.)

BOOKED Podcast

I feel very fortunate to have the support of the guys from Booked podcast, Livius and Robb. I love the way they talk about books! 

They posted their review of WONDERLAND on the book's Pub Day. And last week I had the pleasure of chatting with them about WONDERLAND and being an author and being a reader - and that podcast went live today. You can listen to the main part of the INTERVIEW here - but there is also a second part that contains spoilers which you can access by donating to their Patreon.  

Where Evil Lurks (New York Times)

Kate Dehler, NY Times

I'm quite chuffed to see WONDERLAND lead off Danielle Trussoni's newest horror column in the New York Times! 

“If art imitates life, horror fiction is a great mimic, predicting and exploring the frightening and surreal realities of the contemporary world. Exhibit A: Zoje Stage’s mind-bending, trippy second novel…the question of responsibility for the nightmare lingers, as does the line between reality and imagination…”

This is a hot summer for horror! You can read the full New York Times article here.

WONDERLAND - NOW AVAILABLE

WONDERLAND in the window at Riverstone Books
(Pittsburgh, PA)

WONDERLAND is officially out in the world! We had a great online book launch, hosted by Mystery Lovers Bookshop here in Pittsburgh. I wasn't sure if an online book launch would really "feel" like a launch, but I got to "see" people I hadn't seen in a while and answer lots of interesting questions. So yes, it did feel like a launch! And Mystery Lovers has signed copies of WONDERLAND that can be ordered online.

A flurry of activity has been happening with WONDERLAND these last few days. My favorite podcast, BOOKED, did a review. I'd been very anxious, as they were big fans of BABY TEETH and I really respect their opinions, so I've been on pins & needles for awhile, hoping that WONDERLAND would live up to their expectations. You can listen to their review here.

I was also featured in the Pittsburgh City Paper, and WONDERLAND was selected by the editors of Audible as an Audible July Pick. I try to update the WONDERLAND PAGE with all of the most pertinent news, so check it out from time to time if you're interested. 

BookPage July 2020

I got a sneak peek from BookPage of the feature/review they were going to run for WONDERLAND,and I'm so excited to finally be able to share it. This is a crazy time to be publishing a sophomore novel (or any novel) - amid a pandemic and political and economical uncertainty - so now more than ever I have to celebrate the bright moments when they happen. And this review was definitely a bright moment! Not only does it make ME want to read WONDERLAND, but it shares the same page with Paul Tremblay's SURVIVOR SONG - which I've been dying to read. 

(If the pic is too small to read, you can find the review online here.)

WONDERLAND Virtual Book Launch

Everyone in the world is cordially invited to attend the virtual book launch of my new novel, WONDERLAND! We will be hosted by Mystery Lovers Bookshop online via Zoom (Click here to register). So wear your favorite pajamas, hoist your favorite beverage, wave at the screen, and ask a question or two. See you online July 14, 7pm ET! 

Summer Reading Lists

Warm weather is finally here and the Summer Reading Lists are starting to come out. I've been thrilled to see WONDERLAND on two great lists in the last two days!

First, PopSugar's 30 Best New Books to Dive Into This Summer.

And then CrimeReads Most Anticipated Crime Books of 2020: Summer Reading Edition.

It is always an honor to have a book on lists like these - so many books are published, and so many books are submitted for consideration, hoping for a sliver of the publicity pie. In just under two months WONDERLAND will be out in the world!

Basic Lighting Tips for DIY Authors

Hey author friends! Seeing how we're all at home now doing online events and making our own promo videos, I decided to record a few tips on setting up lights. The arrangement described in the video is primarily meant to create a "flat" lighting look without major shadows. The softbox I purchased is a Mount Dog, and I neglected to mention in the video that it comes with its own lightbulbs (and also a carrying case).

I'm a big believer in "Making It Work" without a lot of expense or fancy whistles. Obviously you could invest a lot more - in lighting or video equipment - and produce more professional results. But at this point we all just need something to get us started.

I kept trying to post clips of this on Twitter, but it wasn't working. So you can watch the full video here:

All About WONDERLAND

At the request of my publisher, I made a little video to introduce readers to my forthcoming book, WONDERLAND. The book doesn't come out until July 14, but I figured I better make the video now before my self-trimmed hair gets even weirder. 

Virtual Author Event

I'll be doing my first virtual author event this Wednesday, April 29 at 6:30PM (EST) via Zoom. I was supposed to travel to Rochester, NY in March for the first Greece Reads! book event, but due to the pandemic obviously we needed to cancel that. I will be answering questions about BABY TEETH from the library moderator, as well as fielding audience questions. While this was originally set up as a live appearance for Rochester, NY there are more spots open if anyone else would like to "attend." Click here to register for the Zoom link.

Starred Reviews

In the midst of this strange time, life continues on (albeit in isolation). WONDERLAND is having quite the week, with new blurbs from fabulous authors, and not one but two starred reviews in trade journals: Booklist (link to come), and Library Journal.

When BABY TEETH received its starred reviews I was quite ignorant about the business and how things worked. This time around I knew that - for better or worse - WONDERLAND would be held up against BABY TEETH, and I've been metaphorically holding my breath for quite some time, wondering what the verdict would be. It means the world to me to see these early starred reviews come in! 

The Kids Are Not All Right

BABY TEETH is still finding its way to new readers, and I love seeing articles like Tor Nightfire's "The Kids Are Not All Right: Brian Evenson On Making Monstrous Children." I really appreciated their summary of BABY TEETH:

Baby Teeth, Zoje Stage

This 2018 debut novel concerns a girl, Hanna, who is exceptionally bright and also exceptionally manipulative. She refuses to speak and slowly tries to drive a wedge between her parents so that she can have her father for herself. Exceptionally deft in its depiction of child psychology, this might be a book that you’d put in the same category as The Bad Seed except that as it progresses you begin to see the mother’s legacy of damage from her own mother and how she might be passing it along, as well as the mother’s desire to have her husband all for herself.  After a harrowing ride, it’s all the more remarkable that Stage puts us in a position where we can understand and even warily sympathize with the potentially psychopathic Hanna.

WONDERLAND Blurbs #2

WONDERLAND has received its second author blurb, and I am thrilled! Thank you so much to Kathleen Kent, bestselling author of "The Heretic's Daughter" and "The Dime."