Author | Critic
I now have digital ARCs of Darkest Hours: Expanded Edition (coming June 11 from Journalstone). This version includes all 16 original stories, plus 17 essays on horror cinema.
Contact me here if you’re interested in reviewing and/or interviewing.
Mike Thorn returns to Losing the Plot talk about his latest novel, Shelter for the Damned (Journalstone) but he also has a rerelease of his short story collection Darkest Hours coming out and a new collection, Peel Back and See, out towards the end of the year! Wild!
Mike Thorn sat down with House of Mystery‘s Alan R. Warren and David North-Martino to discuss Shelter for the Damned.
It was such a treat to get to chat with Mike Thorn. He’s in good company here with his early exposure to Stine and King, but the way he stacks jobs is pretty commendable as well. In this interview, we’re getting to know Mike and celebrating the release of his new book Shelter for the Damned.
Author Mike Thorn (Shelter for the Damned) joins us for a spoiler-filled discussion of the 1843 short story, “The Black Cat,” by Edgar Allan Poe. Before that, though, we each discuss our Week In Horror with brief reviews of John Lees’s latest comic series Hotell, Sci-Fi & Scary’s body horror anthology Twisted Anatomy, Alien: The Cold Forge by Alex White, Joanna Koch’s The Wingspan of Severed Hands, John Farris’s The Axman Cometh, and Alessandro Manzetti’s collection of horror poems inspired by Jack the Ripper, Whitechapel Rhapsody.
“Throughout the course of the episode, we talked about Shelter for the Damned, his influences, coming of age narratives, toxic masculinity, suburban horror, Stephen King’s Dreamcatcher, possession films and so much more. We had a lot of fun recording this episode and hanging out with Mike. We hope you guys enjoy the conversation as much as we did!”
“Mike Thorn’s debut novel, Shelter For the Damned was just released from JournalStone on February 26, 2021. It recently received a 4-star review from IndieMuse. He is also the author of Darkest Hours, a short story collection.
We cornered Mike in the days leading up to his first novel release to learn a little more about him and his latest book.”
At first it seems like the perfect place to quietly enjoy a secluded smoke, but three teens soon discover that their supposed safe haven is actually something downright sinister in Shelter for the Damned, the debut novel from Mike Thorn (author of the short story collection Darkest Hours). With Shelter for the Damned out now from Journalstone, we caught up with Thorn in our latest Q&A feature to discuss the journey of writing his new book, the influences that inspired him along the way, and his upcoming releases that readers can look forward to from Journalstone.
Geez, it’s been a while since we got spooky on the show, hasn’t it? High time we brought back Mike Thorn to talk about how Wes Craven fused meta storytelling and horror in two franchises: A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. We’ll permeate the membranes of reality, disassemble Craven’s views on horror’s social and political value, and laugh about how Matthew Lillard yells “BOO-GAH” when he imitates a gunshot.
Mike Thorn 