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The God of the Woods: A Novel
Liz Moore
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A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. JIMMY FALLON SUMMER READS WINNER. ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE READS OF SUMMER 2024.
“The God of the Woods should be your next summer mystery.” —The Washington Post.
“Extraordinary . . . Reminds me of Donna Tartt’s 1992 debut, The Secret History . . . I was so thoroughly submerged in a rich fictional world, that for hours I barely came up for air.” —Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air, NPR.
“Riveting from page one to the last breathless word.” —Rebecca Makkai, New York Times bestselling author of I Have Some Questions For You.
When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide. Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.
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ash.reads.horror\ \ ash\ \ • Apr 17
\ \ 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!\ \
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?\ \ 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?\ \ 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?\ \ 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?\ \ 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 say, 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? \ \ 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?\ \ 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?\ \ 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?\ \ 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?\ \ 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! \ \ I have a couple of really big pieces of news coming any day now, so be sure to follow me online @AnnieNeugebauer and subscribe to my blog newsletter here https://annieneugebauer.com/subscribe/ to get the good stuff. :)\ \ 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).](https://ashreadshorror.binderybooks.com/item/Gk3QQWupgqWgsqwYTC7E/)
Author Interview: Annie Neugebauer
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ash.reads.horror\ \ ash\ \ • Apr 17
Author Interview: Annie Neugebauer
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