Darkest Hours is now available to order in paperback and eBook. Get your copy.

“The element of surprise is a tribute to Thorn’s ingenuity; the assuredness of his prose is due to his extensive knowledge of the horror genre.”
— S.P. Miskowski, author of Strange is the Night

“Mike Thorn is brilliant.”
— Waylon Jordan, iHorror

“When you first encounter Thorn’s writing, a number of qualities impress themselves: the macabre intelligence (brutal really), the chilling wit, the naturalness of the dialogue. Plus there’s the skill and style of the prose.”
— Robert Dunbar, author of The Pines and Willy

“This is subversive literary horror.”
— Tim Murr, Biff Bam Pop

“Mike Thorn has delivered a promising debut with this collection showing off his commitment to stories of nuance, heart, and of course… darkness.”
— Daniel Braum, author of The Night Marchers and Other Strange Tales

“The hallmark of great horror is that it surprises, scares, and most importantly, entertains. Darkest Hours succeeds on all these levels.”
— Brandon Wilson, The Weal

“Mike Thorn writes with refreshing originality and hides fangs behind a smile.”
— John C. Foster, author of Mister White

“Mike Thorn’s debut story collection is not to be missed by those who enjoy an academic intellect with a potent flair for fiction.”
— Dustin LaValley, author of A Soundless Dawn

For Roadie Notes, I wrote about some sources of inspiration/influence on my collection Darkest Hours (coming tomorrow, November 21).

Read the post here.

Waylon Jordan reviewed Darkest Hours for iHorror. Here’s a glimpse of what he had to say:

“I knew two things when I finished that story [‘Hair’]:
1. I was completely repulsed and disturbed by what I’d just read.
2. I would have missed the chance of a lifetime if I’d skipped this announcement because Mike Thorn is brilliant.”

Read the full review in iHorror.

Mike Thorn’s debut collection, Darkest Hours, lurks just around the corner. It will be published through Unnerving Magazine on November 21^st and the cover art alone has me frothing at the mouth. Add to this the fact that I already know Mike can spin a good yarn having come across his work in Dark Moon Digest. I also know he is passionate and knowledgeable about the horror genre and its writers. His Thorn’s Thoughts reviews over at Unnerving Magazine provide in-depth analysis about books and I always look forward to reading them. I thought now would be a good time to get to know a bit more about Mike Thorn and his new book.

TGR: Mike, thanks for stopping by. Firstly, who are some of the authors that have helped shape you as a writer and where did your love of dark fiction come from?

Thanks so much for having me! I think my love of dark fiction came fully into being when I was suspended from school at thirteen years old, and I picked up Stephen King’s Pet Semataryrather than reading my assigned class materials. Since then, I’ve always associated horror expressly with more productive and adaptable forms of transgression.

When it comes to writers who have inspired me, I always have a hard time compiling an exhaustive list. In addition to King, a few of my favorite working horror writers are Kathe Koja, S.P. Miskowski, Eden Robinson, Robert Dunbar, Thomas Ligotti, Joyce Carol Oates and Gwendolyn Kiste. I also read a lot of stuff outside of the genre—off the top of my head, I love Herman Melville, Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens, Jim Thompson, William Faulkner, Hubert Selby Jr., William Blake, Flannery O’Connor, Georges Bataille, Don DeLillo and Roberto Bolaño. I’m sure I’m forgetting some essential names here, but those are definitely some of my major influences!

Read the full interview on The Grim Reader.

Eddie Generous invited me to discuss Darkest Hours (coming Tuesday, November 21) on Unnerving Magazine Interview Series. We also chatted about the writing process, navigating difficult subject matter, and the Friday the 13th movies, among other things.

Find links to hear the episode here.

“Mount Royal University alumnus Mike Thorn is establishing himself as a premier horror fiction author. His book of short stories titled Darkest Hours is being released in both digital and print form on Nov. 21, and one of his first stops is his alma mater.

He will be reading from his collection during the What the Writers Say: Fiction Edition event on Friday, Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. at the University BookStore.”

Read the full article.

Many thanks to Armand Rosamilia for having me on Arm Cast: Dead Sexy Podcast. We talked about Darkest Hours, the writing process, music, and many other things.

Also on this episode: Erin Al-Mehairi, who discusses her new book BREATHE., BREATHE and other interesting stuff!

Listen to the full episode here.

The first batch of Darkest Hours paperbacks has arrived, and I couldn’t be more excited. Order yours on November 21. If you’re in Calgary, come check out the triple book launch and reading featuring Bill Bunn, Randy Schroeder and me: December 6, 7pm at Owls Nest Books.

“Looking for stories to send chills down your spine? There’s no need to wait for the next blockbuster horror flick or nostalgia-based Netflix series. U of C master of arts alumni Mike Thorn is releasing his debut fiction collection, Darkest Hours, through Unnerving on Nov. 21. The collection consists of eight previously published and eight never-before published short stories that all fit somewhere within the vast realm of horror fiction.

The collection, which was written over the past two years, ranges in style ‘from satirical to brutal horrifying realist fiction, to more supernatural horror,’ according to Thorn. Darkest Hours has already received substantial praise from notable horror writers such as S.P. Miskowski and Robert Dunbar.”

Read the full interview on The Gauntlet’s website.

Two Calgary book launches/readings have been announced for Darkest Hours in collaboration with Bill Bunn (author of the upcoming YA novel Out on the Drink) and Randy Schroeder (author of a forthcoming novel, title unannounced). 

The first, “What the Writers Say: Fiction Edition,” will take place at the Mount Royal University bookstore on Friday, December 2 at 2 PM.

The second, “IGWIG Triple Reading and Book Launch,” is set to be at Owls Nest Books on Wednesday, December 6 at 7 PM.

Bill Bunn is an associate professor in the Department of English, Languages, and Cultures at Mount Royal University. He is the author of four–soon to be five–books, and many essays and articles. His next young adult novel, Out on the Drink, will be out in December of 2017. He’s published two other young adult novels: Kill Shot in 2015, and Duck Boy in 2012. His published essays were collected and published as Hymns of Home in 2013. In 2003, he published Moon Canoe, a children’s picture book. Moon Canoe was translated into French, and released as Canoë Lune, in 2005. When he’s not writing, Bill makes sausages, plays guitar, and wanders the hills of Millarville. He is a founding member of the Intensive Genre Writing Inquiry Group; he currently serves as the group’s first Superintendent.

Randy Schroeder is an associate professor in the Department of English, Languages, and Cultures at Mount Royal University. He is the author of one book of fiction, one co-edited anthology, many short stories, a few bits of poetry, and a moderate but curiously indeterminate number of scholarly articles. His new novel will be published in Fall of 2019 by NeWest Press. It has no title yet, but he can tell you that it concerns three aging punk musicians, a tour into the Canadian Arctic, a renegade CSIS agent, and a demonic snowman who may or may not be a hallucination. Randy is a founding member of the Intensive Genre Writing Inquiry Group. He splits his time between Calgary and The Porcupine Hills, where he frequently visits his coauthor and arch-enemy, A.M. Arruin.