If you haven’t heard the news, we are so excited to announce that Emma, our Adult Services Librarian, has released a book of horror short stories! We just can’t help but brag on her behalf and spread the news.
Dark Blood Comes From the Feet by Emma J. Gibbon, was released on May 22 has already sold out on amazon.co.uk!! It is available wherever books are sold, and of course, we will have a copy here at Topsham Public Library!
Within its pages, you will meet secret societies who contract deadly diseases on purpose, dancers helping each other avoid “below,” monstrous children who must be loved before they return to the sea, a taxidermy-obsessed mother, small blue devils in the Maine woods, a black cat that retrieves the dying, the last witch in Florida, and “a huge dog of potentially supernatural origin.” Visit haunted houses, a Hollywood nightclub, limbo, Whitechapel, and other stops on a death tour, and a childhood hangout that spells destruction for kids and dogs alike. Listen to a punk rock sermon in a post-apocalyptic matriarchal society, witness crustaceans that have trouble staying dead, a cannibalistic romance, a gothic love story to tuberculosis and a downtrodden wife’s transformation.
Other writers have chimed in as well:
“Careful, or you might cut yourself on these stories—little gems with sharp edges which deserve to be treasured alongside the jewels of Shirley Jackson and Sylvia Townsend Warner—in the tradition of the illuminating dark.”
—M. Rickert, World Fantasy Award-winning author of You Have Never Been Here
“Visceral, searing, and whimsical all at once, Emma J. Gibbon’s work somehow combines and carries on the bloodlines of Shirley Jackson, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, and Johnny Rotten. Dark Blood Comes from the Feet is a perfect rainy-day read. The Mary Poppins of Horror has arrived!”
—Morgan Sylvia, author of Abode
“Gibbon invites us to macabre destinations, including a strip club in Purgatory, a Lovecraftian orphanage, and a day at the beach that would make Cronenberg proud. In this collection of short stories, we meet relatable characters in horrific situations, and may even recognize ourselves among the pages.”
—Michelle Renee Lane, Bram Stoker Award®-nominated author of Invisible Chains
“Gibbon is a compelling new voice in horror. Part punk, part metal, part crooner, her work resonates beautifully.” —Catherynne M. Valente, NYT/USA Today Bestselling Author of Space Opera and Deathless
Emma is originally from Yorkshire and now lives in a spooky little house in the woods with her husband, Steve, and three exceptional animals: Odin, Mothra, and M. Bison (also known as Grim).
Her stories have appeared in various anthologies including Wicked Weird, Wicked Haunted, and The Muse & the Flame and on the Toasted Cake podcast. She also has a story upcoming in Would but Time Await: An Anthology of New England Folk Horror from Haverhill Publishing. This year, she has been nominated twice for the Rhysling Award for her poems “Fune-RL” (Strange Horizons) and “Consumption” (Eye to the Telescope). Her poetry has also been published in Liminality, Pedestal Magazine and is upcoming in Kaleidotrope. She is a member of the New England Horror Writers, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, the Angela Carter Society, and the Tuesday Mayhem Society. Learn more about Emma and read some of her other stories on her website, emmajgibbon.com.