Talking Scared

The Dark Tower Deep Dive #7 – The Talisman

We’re on the road again with our Dark Tower journey, running through adjacent worlds, lighting out for the Territories.   Our latest side-quest takes us to The Talisman, the 1984 epic dark fantasy, co-authored by Stephen King and Peter Straub. It’s a wild, hallucinatory ride, that contains my favourite King character of them all!   Nat, Chris and I talk about that dude, as well as discussing where Jack Sawyer ranks in the league table of King’s childhood heroes. But mostly we try to pin down the connections between this mad story, and Roland’s great quest.   Do we succeed? Do we just make up all manner of wishful thinking nonsense? You decide.   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

265 – Yah Yah Schofield & Pretty Words for Ugly Things

We're Southbound for monster-loving this week on Talking Scared.  Georgia writer, Yah Yah Schofield comes to discuss her Southern Gothic debut, On Sundays She Picked Flowers – a story of monsters, spirits, swamps, and generational trauma. There’s a very bad mama and a very haunted house.   Yah Yah and I talk about mother-daughter relationships, the difference between ghosts and haints, the influence of elders, and why the rules are different for Black ‘weird girls.’   Plus, in Yah Yah’s own words – we discuss tongue-kissing monsters.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: The Haunting of Hill House (1959), by Shirley Jackson Haints: American Ghosts, Millennial Passions and Contemporary Gothic Fictions (2011), by Arthur Redding The Colour Purple (1982), by Alice Walker Beloved (1987), by Toni Morrison Sula (1978), by Toni Morrison In the Dream House: A Memoir (2019), by Carmen Maria Machado The Lamb (2025), by Lucy Rose We Are Here to Hurt Each Other (2022), by Paula D. Ashe Between Two Fires (2012), by Christopher Buehlman Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

264 – Courtney Summers & Dead Is Not Better

Imagine you’re back in high school – but worse! The shuffling idiots actually want to EAT you!   That’s the premise of Courtney Summers’ This is Not a Test, her 2012 zombie novel of teen despair amongst the undead, now reissued in a fresh ‘definitive’ version for 2026. When better than a time in which the mindless, greedy and brutal are running amok in the real world.   Courtney and I talk about zombies in 2012 and now, we discuss optimism versus despair, we track the challenges of writing a survival thriller with a suicidal protagonist, and she offers advice on rapid character building and writing teen dialogue.   It’s a good one.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: The Project (2021), by Courtney Summers Room To Dream (2018), by David Lynch and Kristine McKenna The Stand (1990), by Stephen King   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

263 – Kristi DeMeester & The Purity of Anger

The year may have started with more real-world horrors from old white dudes, but here on Talking Scared they get their comeuppance – in the form of Kristi DeMeester’s Dark Sisters.   Kristi returns to the show for the first time since 2022, to talk about her novel of religious hypocrisy, patriarchal control and feminine revenge. It’s a three-timeline story of curses through the century and the dark magic that underpins everything.   She tells us about her own childhood in the fundamentalist church, we look back at the cruelty culture of the mid-noughties, and we revel in the wrath of witches with nothing to lose.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: Such a Pretty Smile (2022), by Kristi DeMeester Itch (2025), by Gemma Amor Gather the Daughters (2017), by Jennie Melamed Grey Dog (2024), by Elliot Gish   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

262 – The Best Horror Books of 2025

No need for a big intro this week. You know what this is about.   The year is over, and it’s time to offer my thoughts on the best books that made it bearable. Here’s my top-10 favourite horror novels of 2025.   I invite comment and debate. The polite kind. Don’t make me set Ted on you.   Enjoy.   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices