So I’m incredibly surprised and honored to share that my JournalStone collection, And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe, made it on the 2017 Bram Stoker Awards Preliminary Ballot.
Wow. Seriously.
Now it’s important to note that this is not a nomination, as it is only the preliminary ballot; voting on the official nominees starts this week, with the final ballot being announced in February. But to make it this far is beyond humbling and thrilling.
It’s been a couple months since I’ve talked too much about the collection on this blog, so I thought I would take a moment and share a few quotes about the book. Because turning it over to reviewers is probably better than me blathering on, right? (And really, I’m still so freaking out excited about the preliminary ballot that I’ll probably just blather right now.)
“I loved this collection. It announces the emergence of a new writer with a strong and distinctive voice, one who is unafraid to take risks, and I can’t wait to see where Gwendolyn Kiste’s wayward talent takes her next. ” — Peter Tennant at Black Static
“Kiste’s collection of short fiction And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe is exactly the book that tears you in two… Imaginative, immersive, emotional.” — The Horror Review
“As it happens often in this collection the unlikely digs in its nails and becomes a fact, something to lose, or burn up. There are fairy tale vibes, twisted and reimagined for tales of death, and rebirth, and mystery… Gwendolyn Kiste offers such an original and wrenching distribution it would be difficult to compare her to many others.” — Unnerving Magazine
“An almost mythical ride through the Weird, blending and deconstructing different themes to create some powerful tales and lasting images.” — GreyDogTales.com
“Kiste has a real gift for pulling reality inside out in her fiction, taking situations, fairytales, and storylines that might seem everyday or familiar at first glance, and then twisting them into uniquely imagined, dark, and haunting tales.” — Maria Haskins
The iMailer newsletter from HWA already went out earlier this week, which included a special link to download And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe, but just in case you missed that, it bears repeating: if you’re an Active or Lifetime member and would like to read my collection, please email me at gwendolyn@gwendolynkiste.com, and I would be thrilled to send you a copy of And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe!
Good luck to everyone on the preliminary ballot! It’s an amazing roster of authors, and I’m so incredibly honored to be among so many horror creators that I admire!
Happy reading!