May You Have A Thrilling Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone!

May you eat lots of candy, drink lots of beer, watch lots of Treehouse of Horror reruns, and, if the mood strikes you, whip up some Skittlebrau.

Also, if you have a Kindle, might I suggest buying Boroughs of the Dead to celebrate this spookiest of holidays? It's only $2.99 and the stories in it are terrific (in the old, medieval sense of the word), as this review will attest. What? You know I don't go in for false modesty. Spinster Aunts tell it like it is.

XO,

SA

Thirteen Days of Halloween (pt. 7) -- Our favorite spooky tales

Read writers' (including me!) picks of their favorite horror stories at The Second Pass.

Thirteen Days of Halloween (pt. 6)

Alfred Hitchcock's Ghost Stories for Young People makes my day a whole lot more awesome.

Thirteen Days of Halloween (pt. 5) -- Fun with cemeteries!

Go West Young Man. Horace Greeley's monument in the setting sun....

I always enjoy seeing my name in print.

Thirteen Days of Halloween (pt. 4)

Another smorgasbord of trailers, links and general All Hallow's fun:

Trailers from Hell covers that wonderful witchy romp Bell, Book and Candle.

Slant covers the 25 Best Horror Films of the Aughts.

And Cracked gives us more Creepy Urban Legends.

And my book giveaway is still going strong! So enter now!

Thirteen Days of Halloween (pt. 3) -- Book giveaway!

First of all, I am happy to announce that Boroughs of the Dead is now available at St. Mark's Bookshop and Babbo's Books in Manhattan and Brooklyn respectively. If you live in or near NYC please do try to buy your copy at one of these bookstores. Popping into St. Mark's yesterday was so fun. Browsing was amazing. The kindly old man behind the counter was adorable. Walking through the neighborhood, by Grace Church's elegant spires, on a crisp, refreshing autumn day was everything you imagine it would be from the way I phrased that sentence. There's nothing quite like going to a real bookstore.

Now! Speaking of books.... I am going to give away one free copy of Boroughs of the Dead between now and Halloween. Contest rules are simple: tell me what you think is the scariest thing about New York City and why. It can be anything at all, from the jokey/mundane (Broadway musicals) to the I-really-do-find-it-very-frightening (Willowbrook). The best answer will be selected on Halloween. You can submit answers here in the comments section, or to @SpinsterAunt on Twitter.

Thirteen Days of Halloween (pt. 2)

So many curios to put into the wonder cabinet today!

There are, to begin with, the trailers for Hugo and Woman in Black (Woman in Black trailer via Daily Dead).

My new favorite podcast, devoted to M.R. James: A Podcast to the Curious.

Tor makes suggestions for Halloween reading with their All Hallows Read.

And I, why today I shall spend my time putting together my Gallus Mag costume and working on a soon to be announced top-secret project!

Thirteen Days of Halloween

So I feel like I've been buried alive, and my tomb was my own ambition. Hustle, hustle, hustle, to get that little book all ready and shipped out in time for Halloween. Send out lots of little emails begging for reviews. And now... wait. Frankly, I'm glad! I'm getting a little tired of being so businessy. We all know that's what I'm worst at.

Now to get back to what I'm best at! Strolling through autumn leaves and letting my mind wander! For the rest of the month I think I'll just savor the lead-up to Halloween, reading and watching as many spooky things as I can, traipsing through Green-Wood, giving ghost tours, and generally enjoying life instead of clickety-click-clicking relentlessly on my sales figures. And you will benefit, dear reader, by not being bored to death hearing me drone on and on about my bloody book!

I'm off to the movies now! Can't wait to share things with you soon.

XO,

SA

Boroughs of the Dead now available on Amazon.com

Hello friends and readers!

I am pleased to announce that my collection of short stories is now available in trade paperback on Amazon.com.

I am working on getting it listed on Amazon.ca as well (for you Canucks out there) and in e-reader editions. It is already available for Kindle, with a slightly different cover.

Thanks for all your support!

SA

A.J. Sweeney strikes again

That fang-toothed hussy has been busy lately. As usual, she's been shamelessly flogging my writing to any number of magazines and brazenly claiming credit for it. She's sidled up to the following publications, batting her lashes and whispering in their ears until she gets what she wants...

The Horror Zine
Bards & Sages Quarterly
SNM Horror Magazine

Her story in The Horror Zine made Editor's Pick this month -- whose editor Jeani Rector called it "original and awesome" -- and placed third in SNM's October Opiates issue. Third! Ha! She'll never be number one. She'll have to kill me first.