Cosy, Eerie, and Splendid, a writer’s blog

February Tea and a Book: V for Victory, by Lissa Evans

Last month I shared a Persephone novel -- Young Anne (1927), by Dorothy Whipple. This month's featured contemporary novel is V for Victory (2021), by Lissa Evans. This novel is a sequel to Evans' Crooked Heart (2014) and shares backstory with Old Baggage (2018). In...

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January Tea and a Book: Young Anne by Dorothy Whipple

Just before Christmas, Steve and I spent some time in Bath, and I was excited to finally visit the shop for Persephone Books. Here's an introduction from the website: Persephone Books reprints neglected fiction and non-fiction, mostly by women writers and mostly...

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Folk Horror options for your Halloween Viewing

What is Folk Horror? Wikipedia offers a helpful explanation: Folk horror is a subgenre of horror film and horror fiction that uses elements of folklore to invoke fear and foreboding. Typical elements include a rural setting, isolation, and themes of superstition, folk...

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August Tea and a Book: Lanny, by Max Porter

August's "Tea and a Book" offers Lanny by Max Porter, published in 2020 and long listed for the Booker Prize. This is a strange book with an experimental narrative style, but it swept me up so completely that I finished it in a day. (See more professional accolades...

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July Tea and a Book: The Wild Hunt, by Emma Seckel

For July's "Tea and a Book" I'm recommending The Wild Hunt, published in August 2022 by Tin House. Author Emma Seckel is a Canadian photographer and writer who has studied at St. Andrews and Cambridge. (No slouch, this one! Check out her website.) Seckel's debut novel...

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June Tea and a Book: In the Night Wood, by Dale Bailey

June's offering is a novel I devoured a couple of years ago and lately was tempted to reread, particularly because of its folk horror elements. (I didn't know much about that genre when I first encountered the book.) I so enjoyed revisiting In the Night Wood and was...

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May Tea and a Book: The White Hare by Jane Johnson

Here I am again at the last minute with May's horror reading recommendation. Continuing with last month’s theme of folk horror, I offer a mysterious and romantic tale set in Cornwall shortly after World War II. Check out this synopsis from the publisher: In a Cornish...

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April Tea and a Book: Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand

This month I have another Gothic offering to enthusiastically recommend: Wylding Hall, by Elizabeth Hand. [Is the above the UK cover? The PB edition? Not sure, but I like it.] Synopsis (from the publisher): When the young members of a British acid-folk band -- known...

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March Tea and a Book: Weyward by Emilia Hart

Before I tell you about this wonderful new book, I wish to celebrate the fact that I've read more this month than I have in a long time. I've struggled to focus on novels for a while now, and in most cases it was very slow going. This month, however, things have...

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January Tea and a Book: Wakenhyrst, by Michelle Paver

It's a brand new year for Tea and a Book! This year I didn't choose a particular genre or time period. As it turned out, every book I read this month was wonderfully GOTHIC. My favorite of the bunch was Wakenhyrst (2019) by Michelle Paver. In Edwardian Suffolk, a...

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Holiday-themed Novellas

  I love stories set during Christmas! However, it can be difficult to settle into a cozy holiday novel when you're looking at a seemingly endless Christmas to-do list. With this in mind, I'm offering a list of highly recommended Christmas novellas, three of...

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