A haunted mask and ancient evil take the stage in Kevin Lucia’s new book

It’s that time of year and we’re kicking it off with one hell of a horror story! Friend of the show Kevin Lucia joins us to talk about his debut novel, “The Horror at Pleasant Brook,” out on Oct. 13 through Crystal Lake Publishing.

This Halloween, a malevolent, creeping horror invades a small, isolated town nestled deep in the Adirondacks. It cares nothing for this town’s secrets, prejudices, or flaws. Its only desires are to consume everything in its path and spread, until nothing else remains.

A small group of people stand in its way. They are the leftovers, the ignored, the excluded, and the dismissed. However, as the evil grows, they prove to be the only ones strong enough to stand and fight.

Cool synopsis, huh? Kevin, Curtis and I talk about the menacing force that we’re introduced to in the first chapter and the real-life origin that happened during his day job as a teacher. Kevin’s a familiar name in the horror publishing industry through his work at Cemetery Dance, and he shares how this helped him in the writing process.

We’re introduced to some of the heroes of the story and what makes them stand out, and discuss some of the character types that reflect life in 2023. We look at some of the tropes in horror and the ones he hoped to avoid in this story.