"The Well" Revisited

Today, I'm over at the ever-charming Sabrina Ogden's blog, talking about my short story "The Well" as part of her blog series dedicated to the stories included in the FEEDING KATE charity anthology. Thanks for having me, Sabrina!

CM: If you wanna find hell with me...

At Criminal Minds this week, the topic involves our protagonists' mothers. I think the idea was to write something sweet for Mother's Day. If so, I missed the mark, because the closest thing Sam's got is Lilith. Hints about THE BIG REAP abound. There may also be some gratuitous Glenn Danzig, on account of he's the source of my post's title.

A DEAD LETTERS Rave!

Over at Every Read Thing, Brandon Sears (an avowed short story skeptic) dives into my new short story collection, DEAD LETTERS, and declares:

"At the risk of sounding like a fanboy, I can’t get enough of Mr. Holm’s work. Between his Collector series and now this short story collection, he’s an author that everyone should be looking out for..."

Thanks, Brandon, for the kind words! DEAD LETTERS is available here for your Kindle or Kindle app.

Happy Book Release, Dan O'Shea!

Today, Dan O'Shea's much-anticipated debut novel, PENANCE, is available in stores the US over, and on ereaders worldwide. I was lucky enough to get an early peek at it, and here's what I had to say:

“PENANCE is a rare novel, at once staggering in scope and achingly human. A brutal, white-knuckled tale of betrayal and redemption in which the sins of the fathers are laid upon their children tenfold, O’Shea’s astonishing debut delivers pulse-pounding thrills and the beating heart to match. Fans of Le Carré and Lehane had best take note.”

You want a copy? (Let me field that one for you: you want a copy.) Click here to find out where. Or march into your local indie and demand they order a copy or ten. That way, when Dan blows up huge, they can say they saw it coming.

Every Read Thing Guest Post

A while back, Brandon at Every Read Thing asked me by to talk about short stories that've stuck with me over the years. Poor guy had no idea the can of worms he was opening. But I managed to get my list down to eight (okay, maybe nine, depending on how you count), featuring the likes of Chandler, Poe, Lovecraft, and Powers, as well as newer stories by Hilary Davidson, Stuart Neville, and Steve Weddle. And in the comments section, I've posted links to (legally) read a bunch of my picks!

A Collector Double-Whammy!

Jeff at CheffoJeffo posted a great double-review of DEAD HARVEST and THE WRONG GOODBYE for your reading pleasure. You can read it here. (Spoiler alert: he liked 'em.)

Thanks, Jeff, for the kind words! Oh, and fear not: you'll find out about that cat soon enough...

CM: Grain of Salt, or Salt in Wound?

This week at Criminal Minds, we're talking reviews. Today, I discuss the inevitability of bad reviews, and reveal my two tried-and-true methods for dealing with them without resorting to violence, whiskey, or public shaming.

CM: Best Laid Plans

Today at Criminal Minds, I channel my inner Dexter to ponder the question, "When you come up with a brilliant fictitious murder, are you just a little bit frustrated that you can't actually off some jerk?" Click through if you dare. (Editor's note: Dare away. Chris' inner Dexter is apparently a mamby-pamby peace-loving wuss.)

Possibly my favorite review ever...

So Amy Durant dove into my two short story collections over at Insatiable Booksluts, and here's a (large, but totally justified on account of how flattering it is) snippet of what she had to say (click through to read the rest):

"I’m officially a Holm fan. The man can write. Oh, can the man write. His mind is a twisty place, a dark one, and it’s quicksilver-fast. I couldn’t get enough. He can do in just a few words what some authors attempt (and fail) in an entire novel. He’s talented and he’s wryly funny and he’s very intelligent. If he can manage to make me forget my dislike of crime fiction? Well, he’s a talented man."

Um, wow. Also, thanks! Also also, feel free to engrave any part of that on my headstone.

My Spine, It Tingles

Well, ladies and gentleman, it's that time of year again: voting for the Spinetingler Awards is now open! I'm delighted to say that not only did DEAD HARVEST garner a Best Cover nomination (more the doing of Marc Gascoigne and Martin Stiff than I, but still, I'll take it), but two anthologies in which I appear (BEAT TO A PULP: ROUND TWO and SHOTGUN HONEY PRESENTS: BOTH BARRELS) are nominated as well!

Congrats to all the nominees. Now go get voting!