Sley House Presents

We welcome Dennis Mahoney, author of Our Winter Monster, to talk about the craft of characters. We talk about how he thinks of character, how he thinks about conflict, story, and plot, and why he writes to break archetypes in his fiction while still remaining authentic to the human messiness of art.

You can find Dennis Mahoney online at www.equinoxsociety.com, and you can find Our Winter Monster at your local library or favorite...

Hana Lee, author of the Magebike Courier duology, joins Trevor to talk about the two novels, Road to Ruin and Flight of the Fallen. Together, they talk about her worldbuilding, inspiration from Mad Max: Fury Road, and why fiction is useful in addressing real-world conflicts, plus a whole lot more.

You can find Hana Lee online on most social media platforms, and you can get the Magebike Courier duology at your local library or yo...

In this interview, Trevor sits down with author Patrick Barb to talk about his novella Night of the Witch-Hunter, available now from Shortwave. They talk about the politics of horror, about writing characters with empathy, and about witches and witch hunters, plus a whole lot more.

You can find Patrick Barb online at patrickbarb.com and you can find Night of the Witch-Hunter with exclusive swag from Shortwave Publishing at short...

This week, Trevor visits with New York Times and Sunday Times best-selling author Sarah Pinborough to talk about her latest novel, We Live Here Now, available now from Flatiron Books. Together, they talk about her book's Gothic roots, about why she writes psychological thrillers and their importance to women readership, and about her philosophies of human psychological nature, plus a whole lot more pertaining to the book.

You ca...

Trevor visits with author Matt Serafini about his new book Feeders, available May 20 from Gallery Books. They talk candidly about their feelings on social media, about how the book presents horror, about transgressive literature and its ability to speak to real human issues, plus a whole lot more.

You can find Matt Serafini at mattserafini.com and get Feeders from your local library or your favorite book retailer on May 20, 2025...

Trevor is joined by author Emily Tesh to talk about her new book, The Incandescent. Listen in as they discuss the book, the origins of dark academia, how The Incandescent plays with familiar expectations, and how the book reflects on the craft, labor, and importance of teaching.

You can find Emily Tesh at emilytesh.net and The Incandescent at your local library or book retailer on May 13 from Tor.

Gothic author extraordinaire Paulette Kennedy is back to talk about her latest book, The Artist of Blackberry Grange. Alongside Trevor, she talks about caretaking and dignity in aging, about history and the need for a dialogue with it, about how art shapes us and how we need to think about shaping art in the coming age, and a whole lot more.

You can follow Paulette Kennedy at paulettekennedy.com and get The Artist of Blackberry ...

Trevor sits down with author and artist Collin Armstrong to discuss his debut novel Polybius, available April 29 from Gallery Books. Together, they talk about the origins of the novel in urban legend, about the nature of art and our aspirations for it, about the way we think about and confide in media as information, and more.

You can find Collin Armstrong at collinarmstrong.com and get Polybius today from your favorite local bo...

Nat Cassidy is back, this time to talk about his novel When the Wolf Comes Home, published in April 2025 by Tor Nightfire. Alongside Trevor, he talks about chase novels and shapeshifting, about acting, masks, and improvisational meaning-making, about how we live by saying "yes, and" to life, and a whole lot more about the changing nature of fear and our reactions to it.

You can find Nat Cassidy at his website natcassidy.com, an...

In this episode, Trevor speaks with Ai Jiang, the award-winning author of novellas I Am AI and Linghun about her new novella A Palace Near the Wind. They converse about alternative futures, about the importance of science fantasy as a genre in addressing human problems, about the novella's concerns about the conflict between ecological preservation and industrial progress, and a whole lot more.

You can follow along with Ai Jiang...

Join in with S.A. Barnes as she explores all of the good, the weird, and the weirder in her latest book, Cold Eternity. Together with Trevor, she explores how the book frames a contemporary moment in life, power, and politics, as well as dives into all of the weird and wonderful elements fleshing out the novel's sci-fi horror worldbuilding.

You can support S.A. Barnes by following her at staceykade.com and by reading Cold Eterni...

Trevor is joined by Stoker Award-winning author Christa Carmen to talk about Beneath the Poet's House, her recently released second novel. Together, they talk about the book, about the legacy of Sarah Helen Whitman and Edgar Allen Poe, how the book acts in conversation with established history and its residual hauntings, and a whole lot more.

You can find Christa Carmen at christacarmen.com and you can get Beneath the Poet's Hou...

In this episode of the show, Trevor sits once again with author KC Jones, this time to talk about his new novel White Line Fever. They dive into what makes the book's terrifying road trip so fun, talk about the book's origins and its road to getting published, about the road trip as metaphor for life's journeys, confronting change and fear, and heaping praise on what is one of Trevor's favorite books to date this year.

You can f...

Trevor is joined again by best-selling author Erika T. Wurth to talk about her new novel, The Haunting of Room 904, now available from Flatiron Books. Together, they talk about the book and its ideas regarding history, about indigenous futurism as a creative impulse, about the importance of craft and how craft is addressed within various fictions, and a whole lot more.

You can support Erika by requesting The Haunting of Room 904...

Joining Trevor this episode is Saratoga Schaefer, the debut author of Serial Killer Support Group, available from Crooked Lane Books on March 18! Together, they talk about the book's serial killer surprises, about how the book posits ideas about the American justice system, about our cultural fascination with true crime and serial killers, and about who we tend to overlook in addressing instances of violent crime.

You can help ...

In this episode, Trevor visits with Leslie J. Anderson, author of The Unmothers, which released from Quirk Books in August 2024. They talk about the book's major themes and ideas, including a dive into its anger and anxiety over issues pertaining to small towns, closed secrets, pregnancy, and parenthood. They also talk about the importance of demystifying the secrets everyone keeps surrounding birth and death, about building commun...

Trevor and Sley House intern Amelia Hirsch join in for a conversation with Rebecca Thorne, the author of the best-selling Tomes & Tea cozy romantasy series to talk about her novels and publishing goals. Together, they explore what makes a book cozy, how Rebecca transitioned from self-publishing to traditional publishing, how her books evolved from online criticism, and a preview of the conclusion of her Tomes & Tea series.

You ...

Trevor and Sley House intern Anna Bisbee are joined by author Amal El-Mohtar, whose new book The River Has Roots is available from Tordotcom on March 4, 2025. Together, they talk about the book, about its origins as an audio project and its relationship to music, about the structure and nature of art, about magic as mundane and wonderful, and a whole lot more.

For more joyous things from Amal El-Mohtar, you can follow her at her...

In this episode, Trevor talks to Kerstin Hall about her latest novel, Asunder, published by TorDotCom in 2024. Kerstin shares her ideas about complex fantasy worldbuilding, about honesty and authenticity in telling the story you want to tell, and with Trevor explores how art as metaphor can address complex issues with nuance while remaining fun and engaging intellectually and creatively.

You can (and should) support Kerstin Hal...