Getting ready for RIP (thanks to Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings)

          So there I was, enjoying the sunshine, that it is still summer, and I went to Carl's page and saw this post by him, and read the stunner of a story he links us to, Mrs Henderson's Cemetery Dance by Carrie Cuinn.   It has a delightful humorous touch, a gothic feel, a melancholic dead skeleton story, for lack of a better description.  Not ghosts.  Skeletons. It is very good.  And it put me right into the frame of mind for Carl's upcoming Readers Imbibing Peril VIII challenge coming up in the fall.

So, even though I have a shelf already full of books ready for RIP, and it's still sunny and very warm outside, I ended up going to one of my favourite sites for finding what's new and good in the world of horror and science fiction and fantasy:  Locus Magazine, online.  Carl, by the way, also has a post up about Locusmag, because he has the July edition featuring NEIL GAIMAN on the cover, and darn it, I let my subscription lapse in April. Boo me!  I have just resubscribed, and am hoping I'm in time for the July edition.  Anyway, it looks a really good interview by Neil in it, so if you're a Neil Gaiman fan, go and take a look.

In the meantime, when I wandered to Locus Magazine to see what was happening, I discovered that they have a listing of all the current nominees and winners of the various awards given out for science fiction, fantasy, and horror, the world over.  This is an excellent way to find out what's good in any of these areas of literature.

I have promptly added (and drooled over) the following books I didn't know existed:

All nominated under 2013 British Fantasy Award Nominees,  Anthologies:
- Magic, An Anthology of the Esoteric and the Arcane, ed Jonathan Oliver.
- The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women, ed Marie O'Regan
- Terror Tales of the Cotswalds - ed Alison Littlewood

Nominated for Best Horror (the August Deleth Award), under the same British Fantasy Awards:
-  The Kind Folk -Ramsey Campbell
- The Last Days - Adam Nevill
  Neither of which I knew was out, and I will be seeking at the library.

Here is the entire list of 2013 British Award nominees.  I am happy to see Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan nominated, as is Railsea by China Mieville.  I am delighted to see Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce, nominated in both categories, as I have it on my pile to read asap.....

The  2012 Bram Stoker Awards were also announced in New Orleans in June, winning list is here.  There are some very good books on this list too.  Caitlin Kiernan (Drowning Girl, which I have to read), Maggie Stiefvater, Bentley Little (I just found one of his books to try), and The Diviners by Libba Bray, which I am so hoping to read for RIP!!  when a list includes these names, there are going to be some really good horror/dark fantasy/ghost stories to read somewhere on it.  Even more awesome, a list of poetry books!!!  And when Joyce Carol Oates wins in a tie for best collection, well, there is something for everyone for RIP.

Have fun planning!  Enjoy the summer daylight while it lasts, and soon autumn will be here, with cooling days and darker nights....., and thank Carl for this, today!