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In this newsletter:

· The Haunted House

· Free Books

· Where you can find me next

What is the draw to reading about or watching haunted houses? Apparitions and hauntings have been noted in literature and history for eons. Some, of course, can be debunked through checking out faulty wiring, plumbing, intoxication, and just plain misunderstanding. What about the notion of an actual haunted house? Manor. Castle. Boat. Whatever. Why do we still love a good spooky place? When I wrote Stars Like Gasoline, I didn’t want Celia’s house to be a “haunted house” (I just made air quotes you couldn’t see) per se, but rather, the “You Are Here” marker on the map of where the ghosts annoy her the most. And it was often in the art museum. I wasn’t writing a haunted house book, instead a story in which the spirits have access to a person whose foot is on the other side. “Un pie en el otro lado” as her abuela says. When it came to writing Bromeliad House, my forthcoming book, releasing next April, I wanted a haunted house.

Not only would the house be haunted haunted, but it would be sentient. And, Delphine, its sole heir, would herself be haunted. Without deep diving into the theory of Hauntology*, I will say that I think examining a mix of how depression and a myriad of mental health struggles is a literal manifestation of a haunting—being trapped within the unreliable bounds of our own mind, and perhaps the occasional need to scare the ever-loving shit out of ourselves in order to move the needle on what we are supposed to be doing with our lives might be a hint.

Or, you know, maybe haunted houses are cool. Reading about one lends a dollhouse effect. We get a voyeuristic view of the past and present colliding in a sometimes grotesque manner. Though we are moved and disturbed and looking over our shoulder, we are not the characters. We weren’t the one having made the decision to enter a place that was either not meant for us, or, as the fates might say, is tailored just for us. This is the worst kind, I think, because a bespoke haunting is rather a frightening thought. Yeesh. Whatever compels us to read or watch about haunted houses, one thing is certain: media about ghosts entombed within a place isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Furthermore, if history has any say, the more unsure and unsafe the political and economic climate, the more desire there is for unsettling and haunting material to consume. If you’d like to preorder Bromeliad House, you can do so from my publisher direct, or from Amazon for the eBook. Wider distribution preorders will be up soon.

Speaking of spookiness…Happy Halloween! Halloween is the book birthday of my Another Beast’s Skin fantasy series and as my present to you all, I am making the kindle version of ALL THREE BOOKS, free. Another Beast’s Skin, A Braiding of Darkness, and Of Chaos and Haste, will all be FREE on kindle 10/31-11/1! And, because I don’t like leaving anyone out, both Stars Like Gasoline and BloodLily will be on Kindle Countdown Deals over those two days as well (price goes up incrementally every six hours). If you’ve been meaning to try one of my books and haven’t had the money/time/haunted house scaring the poop out of you in order to make you do it, now’s your chance. If you do take advantage of these deals, please, consider leaving a review (good or bad, I don’t read them. I just need them because commerce, ya know?). If you prefer to read physical books, they are all available to order wherever books are sold, including your favorite Indies. Some here in SoCal have signed copies.

As for where you can find me next, my schedule has slowed down for the end of the year, though I suspect I’ll be adding some holiday fun to my schedule soon.

Saturday, 11/1: Underdog (nonprofit) Bookstore in Monrovia, CA for the commencement of the Witches and Whimsy Howl-O-Ween Auction. BloodLily is one of the books in the auction and I’ll be in store with more of my book babies.

312 South Myrtle Avenue
Monrovia, CA 91016

On Sunday, 11/23, I will be a signing author at La Fleuria Playa Vista Book Market from 1-4pm.

6200 Playa Vista Dr

Playa Vista, CA 90094

I hope you have a lovely Halloween and slip comfortably through the veil into November and the beginning of storytelling season.

-Jessika

*to read more on Hauntology, look for the lodestone text, Spectres of Marx written by Jacques Derrida and Mark Fischer’s Ghosts of My Life: Writings on Depression, Hauntology, and Lost Futures. More academic texts can be found as well if you want to go deeper.