Time to inject a little dark life into this blog…
This past weekend (08/03/24),
The Doylestown Bookshop held their first (of what many attendees and authors hope) was the first
Dark Ink: A Day of Horror event, celebrating horror in its printed form. You can see from the promo image above, the event featured some of the leading voices in the horror genre.
I’ve visited the Doylestown Bookshop a few times over the years, usually when Chuck Wendig is involved in the event (the release of
Wayward in 2022 and before that, in the before-times when Chuck Wendig, Fran Wilde, and Kevin Hearne had an
event celebrating the release of Kevin Hearne's Scourged.
Back to the Dark Ink...
Although I have to cross the State Line dividing New Jersey and Pennsylvania, I’d consider the Doylestown bookshop is the closest, good independent bookshop that supports Fantasy, Horror, and Science Fiction.
As for Dark Ink, when I saw the line up of writers who would be featured, it was a no-brainer for me to make the 30-minute drive to attend.
The first panel featured
Adam Cesare (whose
Clown in a Cornfield teen slasher trilogy is fantastic), Rachel Harrison (whose horror novels are modern classics, like
Black Sheep and
Such Sharp Teeth), and new-to-me writer Caitlin Marceau. Panel moderator
Violet James McMaster did a great job leading the discussion. I hadn’t encountered Marceau’s fiction prior to that day, but hearing her on the panel pushed me to buy a copy of (what I think may have been the last copy)
This is Where We Talk Things Out. It was great to briefly chat with these three writers as they were signing my books and I was able to confirm with Rachel Harrison that the amusement park mentioned in
Black Sheep was indeed a certain
Land up in North Jersey I visited many, many years ago as a child.
The next panel was about Cover and Book Design and featured
Andie Reid, the Creative Director at
Quirk Books and
Todd Keisling graphic designer and author in his own right, moderated by
Marguerite/Peg Turley. This was a fascinating “look” into who at Quirk makes their books look so appealing. They have some of the smartest, and most eye-catching designs in the genre. I told Andie and Todd, when I had Todd sign my copy of
Devil’s Creek that when my wife and I attend NY Comic Con every year, the Quirk Books booth is a must-visit because we each always find something we want to buy. I’d heard / seen really good things about
Devil’s Creek including the fact that Sadie Hartmann features it in
101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered, which is enough of an endorsement for me!
Following that panel was a “Story Doctor” workshop with Clay McLeod Chapman and Chuck Wending, that I unfortunately wasn’t able to join. There was a sign-up online I missed and seating/participation was limited. I took a little break and strolled around lovely downtown Doylestown for a while and grabbed a beer. Soon enough, I returned for the panel featuring Clay McLeod Chapman, Paul Tremblay, and Chuck Wendig. Although I own the majority of Chuck Wending’s novels, most of Paul Tremblay’s horror novels, and most of Clay McLeod Chapman’s horror novels, hearing them talk about horror in person was a great opportunity. Collectively, these three writers have a very high “batting average” when it comes to delivering books that connect with me strongly. Chapman’s
Ghost Eaters remains one of the most creepy novels I’ve read in maybe the last decade. Huge kudos again to
Peg Turley for doing a fantastic job moderating this panel as well as the Quirk Books panel.
There was one more panel, which featured Nat Cassidy, Sarah Langan, Brian McAuley, again moderated by Vi James. I’d heard both Nat and Brian on a few podcasts over the years (including the required listens of
Talking Scared and
Books in the Freezer) so I felt compelled to purchase at least one of their books. I already have a couple of Langan’s books, too. As it turns out, Stephanie, the host of
Books in the Freezer was in attendance so it was cool to meet her and Neil’s
Talking Scared was a point of discussion by the writers and many of my fellow readers while we waited on line to get our books signed. Because I had something already on the schedule for the evening when I learned about the event, I didn't sit in on the last panel since I had something scheduled before I knew about this event, but because I had books by Cassidy and McAuley on my amazon wishlist, I figured I pick them up during the event.
There's a pretty decent chance one (or more) of the books I purchased (and pictured above) will be featured over at
SFFWorld during our annual Hallowe'en Reads during the month of October this year (2024).
The folks at the Doylestown Bookshop (and Lahaska Bookshop) should be proud and happy with how this event turned out. There were a lot of readers, some fantastic conversations throughout the day, and many books bought! The sentiment from the staff was that this could be just the first event of its kind. I for one, hope more of these book celebrations, especially featuring horror (or fantasy) will happen in the future. One of the big themes of the day is that Horror makes us Happy and that sentiment could be felt throughout the day, from the writers, staff, and fans/readers.
Thanks to the staff of the store and the writers for making it such a wonderful day.
