05/17/2025 Uncomfortably Dark Special Report
- Candace Nola
- 13 minutes ago
- 6 min read
This week's recap includes special guest reviews from author Craig Brownlie, a couple reminders about our recent releases, and an update for the Self (S)care Anthology submission call!
Thanks for joining us here in the Dark!
UNCOMFORTABLY DARK 30-DAY TOP TITLES RECAP
TOP FOUR SALES/ORDERS/PROMO DOWNLOADS
CREMATED REMAINS/ ZIPPERS/ THE VET/ OIOS LYKOS
TOP FOUR AMAZON KU PAGE READS
FULL THROTTLE/ THE VET/ BISHOP/ CUCKOO
Thank you to everyone that made our free book week an amazing success!
CREMATED REMAINS by M Ennenbach was downloaded more than 1500 times in the last week!
Be sure to keep an eye out for our next free book week coming in June!
Please remember to say Thanks! by leaving a review for this amazing short story collection anywhere that you review books!
Also greatly appreciate it when readers post our titles on social media and say if they enjoyed it, when they tell a friend, or when they share the cover in a book group with their 'star' rating!
SPECIAL GUEST REVIEW
Author Craig Brownlie Reviews MILLIONAIRES DAY by Kit Power and THE CITY WE BECAME by N.K. Jemisin.
From Graham-Greene-land to Stephen-King-Maine, an authorial geographic flex builds a universe from the specificity of place. Greene inhabits a universe defined as much by the mood as the behaviors of its inhabitants, while King gifts his mythologies with the reality of locations that anyone can visit. Even while King’s books are called horror and Greene’s are placed with thrillers, I would much prefer a King-inspired tour of Maine, which would generate the frisson of a Halloween haunted house. I fear the visit to Greene-land as something closer to rendition.
And here we are with two wonderful horror novels, heavily steeped in their sense of place. Jemisin inhabits the Big Apple, New York City, while Power brings Milton Keynes to life. All right, let’s get the joke out of the way. J.G. Ballard, the lost stand-up comic, penned, “I always suspected that eternity would look like Milton Keynes.” If you will, we can travel once again between mythology and rendition. And I loved both books.
Both books bring us distinct characters following their own paths through unimaginable events which alter the known world. Both bring cosmic horror to shatter communities. In these books, Jemisin and Power start from cities already on the brink of falling apart, though firmly on the side of inertia.
In all honesty, The City We Became is my new favorite cosmic horror book. It is Lovecraft via China Miéville, a reimagining of a disheartening but inspirational figure through the lens of the modern master of literary geographic iconography (if I may be allowed to coin a new subject in search of a Ph.D. candidate).
As cities form and grow, they become personified in one of their residents. This person must protect and cultivate the city so that it can become formidable enough to withstand the vicissitudes of natural and human-made disasters. Cities and their personifications are at their most vulnerable when they are on the cusp of permanence (measured on a scale somewhere between geologic and generational time). Jemisin gives us five borough-based avatars instead of only one and introduces an interdimensional threat into New York City’s bid for urbane life.
Millionaires Day is a powerful read which drags your heart out of your chest as you question the choices the characters make on what should be the best day of their lives. The day turns into a mist-filled dystopia, leaving the reader along with the characters to question how it could all go so wrong.
Everyone in the urban planner’s wet dream of Milton Keynes wakes one day to find themselves lying on a case containing a million pounds. Some people respond by wanting to collect as many cases as quickly as possible. Everyone in town that morning did not stir from dreamland in Milton Keynes because they worked the nightshift or they commuted into MK. Many of those so deprived notice an unusual uptick in the local economy and wish to share in the waking dream.
I love a good travel book. (Drop everything right now and go read anything by Norman Lewis.) I am one of those people who watches Joanne Lumley or Monty Don traipse around in places that I will never likely visit. But I also don’t need to get swept up in endless pages of hill and dale. So, I appreciate the time that I have spent in New York City, Milton Keynes, Bangor, Los Angeles, and so many others much farther afield with writers as guides and companions.
Power and Jemisin accomplish the miracle of mining the space between Greene and King. While King somehow posed the threat of danger if you wander into the wrong place, Greene always left open the possibility of evil intruding into your hometown and life. The events described by Power are universal with their grounding right under our beds. Jemisin mines the city which has become omnipresent in our psyches. The threats both authors present may be beyond our ken, but they are faced by beautifully drawn characters in landscapes that feel fully inhabited.
Check your location for errant cosmic events and then dive into both these wonderful reads
Bio: Craig is currently editing the anthology Five Raging Hearts: Splatterpunk for the Soul. Look for Craig's recent work in Demons and Death Drops, Wands: Year of the Tarot, and Unspeakable Horrors 3. He has three books out in his Little Books of Pain series: Hammer, Nail, Foot; Thick As A Brick; and A Book of Practical Monsters. These are in addition to the re-release of his middle-grade novel Comic Book Summer.
Recent Releases from Uncomfortably Dark! Have You Missed Any?
In recent months, we have released the below titles under Uncomfortably Dark & Kindness in the Dark, the imprint from Candace Nola.
See below for links to order signed copies direct from the store! All orders come with bookmarks, free UD swag, and signed bookplates or personally signed by Candace Nola, (for her titles).
UNCOMFORTABLY DARK SHOP
ORDER THE FULL THROTTLE LIMITED-EDITION HARDCOVER NOW-ORDERS CLOSE MAY 31, 2025:
SELF (S)CARE ANTHOLOGY SUBMISSION CALL
Check below for reminders, updates, and next submission window! Don't miss out!
All submissions must have been or will be originally self-published within 2025.
Must be part of solo author collection, be a standalone story or chapbook, and be available for purchase on at least one platform online such as Amazon or Godless.
Can NOT be part of any anthology from any press, big or small.
PLEASE BE SURE TO CHECK ALL GUIDELINES BELOW BEFORE YOU SUBMIT!
COVER ART BY DON NOBLE OF ROOSTER REPUBLIC
FOREWORD WILL BE WRITTEN BY LAUREL HIGHTOWER
EDITED AND CURATED BY CANDACE NOLA & PAUL CARRO
PUBLISHED BY UNCOMFORTABLY DARK HORROR 2026
INDUSTRY NEWS FROM AROUND THE WEB!
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS WEEK!
Micah Castle has a new release, HOMECOMING, coming June 6, 2025!
Pre-order it now at the link below!
KN Gould has his new book, PATH OF TOTALITY, on pre-order at the link below:
Aron Beauregard's new book, THE UGLY TRUTH, co-authored with John Skipp and Shane McKenzie on pre-order now! Check out those details below:
Kristopher Rufty has recently released several new books including updated versions for his Pillowface series and the brand-new novel THE SLEEPOVER MUMMY MASSACRE. Link below!
Daniel Volpe's new book RUNTS is available now, direct from him, on Amazon, and coming soon to Audible!
The Kickstarter for DARKEST DEPTHS, a new horror graphic novel anthology, is starting soon! Be sure to sign up for the launch at the below link! This anthology will contain my first graphic horror story, as well as stories from Nick Roberts, John Durgin, James Aquilone, and Taylor Grant!
Be sure to check out THE LINEUP for a ton of information within the industry, including book releases and reviews, new horror movies, and more!
THE LINEUP HOME PAGE
HORROR BOOK PAGE
JUMPSCARES by Emily Hughes just announced their list of May New Releases! Check that out below:
Somer Cannon, Mary San Giovanni, and Matt Wildasin are back with a new podcast, GHOST HOSTS MOVIE NIGHT, where they watch weird movies, so we don't have too! check that out below and be sure to subscribe!
AUTHOR NEWSLETTERS & WEBSITES YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT!
Last but not least, check out these newsletter links for some of your favorite indie authors below and sign up! Be the first to get special deals, see cover reveals, hear what's next, and more!
The Legendary Ronald Kelly
Debra Castaneda has an amazing website and newsletter, sign up below & check out her website!
M Ennenbach: Did you know our own M Ennenbach has a site where he posts original poetry and more several times a day?
Rebecca Rowland's website is jam-packed with all her latest releases & upcoming news!
Todd Keisling has a newsletter as well as an awesome website, sign up below!
L. Marie Wood has a fantastic website full of all her incredible work, upcoming release news, and more. Sign up to her blog below:
Kristopher Triana has a newsletter that you can join here to keep up with all his latest news!
Candace Nola: Blog for reviews, personal thoughts, writing tips, authors notes, and more!
Home Page
Sylvester Barzey has a website full of all his amazing books and more!
Check that out below, snag a free book and sign up for his newsletter!
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