There is no relief from a heat wave like a movie theatre. When it’s too hot to breathe, please give me a cold dark cinema, popcorn, and a good movie. For me, a good movie is one that makes me think. I love when images stick with me long past the run time. And I can’t wait to watch it again to find all the things I missed the first time around. Put all that in a compelling story and I’m there for as long as the theatre will have me.

Last weekend Random House did me the huge honor of comparing JACKAL to Jordan Peele’s NOPE. Looking beyond the mind-melting compliment, I started to think about how marginalized creators work in the horror genre. Writers like Peele, Tananarive Due, Octavia Butler, Victor LaValle, and P. Djèlí Clark (to name a few), have been a huge influence on me and my writing. In an effort to spare folks any spoilers, I want to offer up some quick thoughts on Black folks in horror.

Horror is becoming a major force across all mediums. There are a plethora of think pieces on why the genre has become so popular recently. For years, horror was a place for me to visit, but not a space for me to belong. Often the horror protagonists make choices that I have audibly “nope”ed. Wanna go check out the strange noise in the basement? Nope. Heading into the woods? Nope. Splitting up? Nope. There’s good reason for Black folks to be suspicious. Historically, we don’t make it to the end. I often count the scenes until the one person (cause there’s only one) who looks like me is inevitably murdered. But what happens when the story is in my hands?

First, it has to continue. If the hero dies, then death isn’t the end. Second, all these behaviors we’ve come to expect are going to have to change or, at the very least, be interrogated. If we’re going in the woods, whether it be a character trait or circumstance, there is a damn good reason. If facing the woods means facing death, what does that say about our hero? Subtly, the story shifts. The avoidance that would usually stop a horror narrative in its tracks suddenly becomes the solution. Maybe the thing your hero said “nope” to 200 pages ago, is the one thing they must do to save the day.

NEXT UP: Writing the Wound: How do I engage with trauma?

Press

**CORRECTION. Please note, last month’s newsletter utilized the incorrect pronouns for Jo Writes Fantasy. Jo uses they/them. Thank you.**

Book Riot featured JACKAL on their list of Mysteries and Thrillers that use fear to explore racism!

August Giveaways

The winners of my signed ARC newsletter giveaway are: N. Sheehan and Devyn V.! Congrats!

Thank you to all you entered! Thank you for your suggestions! I’ll be folding them into future newsletters, so keep your eyes peeled.

There’s still a chance to win the ARC giveaway through my publisher on Goodreads.

More exciting giveaways are coming up this month and next, so be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter to get updates there.

What I’m Reading

Saturnalia by Stephanie Feldman (also out 10.4.22!)

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James

Thank you for reading! Dog Tax below.

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