The Other (The Outsiders Sequence)

Author: Annie Neugebauer
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“Very effective... a nearly perfect, claustrophobic novella.” —The Wall Street Journal on the first book in the series, The Extra. It's not a sequel. It's next in the sequence... A couple on an outdoor retreat meet their doppelgangers on a hiking trail and are soon tested on how well they truly know each other. The Other is the second book in the Outsiders Sequence series. This edition features a special preview of The Spare, the third and final book in the Outsiders Sequence.

Posts about this title from ash.reads.horror

ash.reads.horror • Apr 18

Yesterday I made a post on my Instagram involving Three Doppelgänger Horror Books. Today I'm featuring those books and a few more to expand your neverending TBR.

The Other by Annie Neugebauer: I recently interviewed Annie Neugebauer on my page and had a fantastic time talking to her about this book and her other works. Link Here. The Other follows a couple who go camping/hiking with one another and run into another couple that have a similar appearance to them.

The Outside by Stephen King: A small town is shaken when the little league baseball coach gets arrested for a crime he swears he didn't commit. However several witnesses saw him at the scene of the crime. But he also has an alibi at a very public conference several hours away.

Such Lovely Skin by Tatiana Schlote Bonne: A teenage streamer opens the door to something sinister when she downloads and plays a game that a fan sends her during one of her live streams. She unintentionally releases an entity that looks exactly like her and it begins doing horrible things in her name, ruining her reputation and dredging up horrors from the past.

Last To Leave The Room by Caitlin Starling: A scientist in a sinking city finds a door in her basement that leads to another version of herself. This doppelgänger begins to make her lose memories and time...

The Fisherman by John Langan: A grief horror that involves folklore, a dangerous fishing location, and sinister temptation...

Withered Hill by David Barnett: Not everything is as it seems in this delicious folk horror. Told in a dual timeline, follow Sophie before she ended up in Withered Hill, and after...

Author Interview: Annie Neugebauer

I'm bringing author interviews back on Bindery! Today I'm joined by the amazing Annie Neugebauer. Neugebauer is the author of several horror books that we will be talking about today!

I have read both The Extra and The Other and loved them! I will definitely be checking out You Have To Let Them Bleed.

Let's Dive into the interview!

1. I love to use this first question as an introduction. Feel free to tell us as much or as little as you want about yourself!

Annie: Hi! Right now most people know me as the author of The Extra, a novella from Shortwave that has expanded into The Outsiders Sequence, a shared-universe sequence of novellas consisting of The Extra, The Other (this June), and The Spare (next March). I’m also the author of You Have to Let Them Bleed, a short story collection that’s out now. I’m also a poet, blogger, and novelist.

2. When did you first start writing? Was it always horror or did you write genres as well?

Annie: I’ve always been writing, even as a young child, but I began pursuing it seriously when I graduated from college in 2007. I’ve written many novels, but I’ve built my way toward publication with poems and short stories. I love writing in many genres, but I’d say horror is my home base. I’ve been drawn to the dark side for as long as I can remember.

3. @blankets_books from instagram/bindery would like to know What was your inspiration behind The Extra? Any books or media that helped influence the book?

Annie: The Extra wasn’t directly influenced by any other media, believe it or not. I had not yet even seen The Thing, its most common comparison. (I have now; it’s stellar!) The idea of an extra person came to me organically, and the protagonist and situation were inspired by my husband’s former job.

4. Do you go camping and hiking? If so, what has been your favorite trail/campground?

Annie: I love camping and hiking! I’m never happier than when I’m outside somewhere beautiful. Camping in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado is by far my favorite area to return to. I’ve also had beautiful experiences in Austria, Hawaii, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota. One of my most memorable hikes was the Glacier Gorge trail (9 miles) in the Rocky Mountain National Park.

5. You also have a short story collection called You Have to Let Them Bleed that released in March. Care to tell us a little more about that one? Do you have a favorite story from it?

Annie: You Have to Let Them Bleed brings together some of my most successful short fiction from almost two decades of publishing stories. It’s framed by a “collector” who’s gathering shadowlings and sorting them by color. Probably the most well-known story is “So Sings the Siren.” I don’t have a favorite per se, but I’m really proud of and excited about the original in the collection, “The Baby.” It’s just wackadoo in the best way. Folks are loving it.

6. What can you tell us about The Spare (releasing 3/9/27), the third book in The Outsiders Sequence?

Annie: The Spare takes place in the Texas Panhandle at a family camping reunion. As with each of these novellas, the less you know about it going in, the more enjoyable the actual read is. I will say that it, like The Other, is not a direct continuation of storyline and characters from the first two books, but it does bring in elements from each in a way that makes them all most satisfying when read in order. It shares the same tense vibes and unsettling concepts as the first two.

7. Do you have any writing routines or rituals that help you write?

Annie: I wish! I prefer to write at home in a quiet setting, no music or background noise, with my computer setup that includes a special mouse that helps my wrists/shoulder. Other than that, I write when I can through the hecticness of parenting and working. Weekends, evenings, mini-trips, nap times, days off, whatever I can pack in.

8. What have been your top three 2026 horror releases? Movies?

Annie: I don’t know that I’ve read any 2026 releases so far this year. I’m a backlist reader for sure. My most recent favorites are all at least from last year: The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones, and Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker. Movies are the same way. Recent favorites were Sinners and Weapons.

9. What are a few of your favorite backlist horror books?

Annie: Kind of working my way back from when I read them: Nestlings by Nat Cassidy, We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer, Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman, the whole Cal Hooper trilogy by Tana French, The Reformatory by Tananarive Due, Mister Magic by Kiersten White, and then I get so far back everyone probably knows them all. (At this phase in my life, the only time I’m on top of a trend is if I’m lucky enough to set one.)

10. Any upcoming horror books you're excited about? Movies?

Annie: I love Paul Tremblay and hate A.I., so I’m really looking forward to Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep, and Rachel Harrison’s Kiss Slay Replay sounds super fun. I’m even further behind the curve on movies than I am on books, so I usually wait until something is so good that my close friends literally force me to watch it. (It’s not cool, but it’s a pretty effective screening process.) I’m cautiously optimistic about two of my favorite scary books being adapted for film: Josh Malerman's Incidents Around the House and Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts. I have that book-lover’s fear of a movie not doing my mind’s vision of a beloved book justice.

Use the space below to add in anything else you'd like to say!

Annie: I have a couple of really big pieces of news coming any day now, so be sure to follow me online @AnnieNeugebauer.

Special thanks again to Annie Neugebauer for the opportunity to interview her! All books mentioned here can be found below. If you have not read any of Annie's works, be sure to pick up The Extra (out now) and pre-order The Other (June).