Love Letters To The Devil

Hey, hey, how you doing? Look at me with a bunch of red velvet cake on my face. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done a newsletter and I wanted to share some fun news.

But before that… I just want to ask: How is everybody doing out there? I’m waiting for edits on my next novel MR. LONELYHEARTS, and I’ll admit, I’m anxious. New publisher, new editor, new book, same ol’ anxiety. It never ends, this nervousness.

How lucky am I, though? To be able to have this opportunity… To write. Tell stories. I never want to take that for granted. Please—don’t let me ever take that for granted.

I’m requesting readers send me a love letter to their own personal demons. Or from their personal demons? Either/or. Do what you will. Real letters, emails, videos. You choose. Pick a demon, any demon. Your demons? My demons? Tell ‘em how you feel.

So… here’s what I’m gonna do: I’ll probably end up doing a silly/cheeky video reading the love letters I get… which you can either DM me or send through proper channels.

But! The top three love letters…? I’ll pick my favorites, who will receive an advanced reader copy of my upcoming horrormance novel DEVIL INSIDE.

Shall we set a deadline? How about we say March 18th? That’ll be the next session of DATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL on IG Live, at 5 PM/ET. Be there!

STOKER NOM-NOM-NOMS

I just found out that two books of mine crawled onto the final ballot for this year’s Bram Stoker Awards: ACQUIRED TASTE in the Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection and SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE in Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel categories. This is absolutely wild. I’m losing my mind. I just want to say thanks to the Horror Writers Association and all the readers for making this dream come true.

You can read the full list of nomnomnominees here.

THRILLER AWARD NOMINATION FOR SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE!

My YA sci-fi horror novel SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE has been nominated for a 2026 Thriller Award in the Best Young Adult Category. Thanks to the International Thriller Writers for this amazing honor. So WILD. Check out the other categories here.

DISTRIBUTION FOR “THE RESTORATION AT GRAYSON MANOR”

News broke that our queer killer hand movie, The Restoration at Grayson Manor, that I co-wrote alongside filmmaker Glenn McQuaid, finally got a distribution deal.

Chroma will be releasing our film later on this year, hopefully in a theatre near you. Or at least a streaming service near you. Read all about it here.

Restoration stars Chris Colfer (Glee) and Alice Krige (Ghost Story), who I have such a crush on. I got to visit the set back in 2024 and meet her and she’s the bestest.

NEW ANTHOLOGIES

I’ve been lucky to have a few stories of mine pop up in some upcoming horror anthologies, including ALL HALLOWS, edited by Ellen Datlow, as well as the recently announced WHERE DEVILS STAND, edited by Johnny Compton, and HAUNTED MINDS: TALES OF POSSESSION, edited by Nick Roberts. A few more anthologies will hopefully get announced soon, but it’s been a good year for stories.

DEVIL INSIDE COMING TO THE UK

My upcoming horrormance novel is coming to the UK, compliments of Titan Books! Look at the devilish cover! Hits shelves across the pond on August 11, 2026.

I have envy in my heart for Nat Cassidy. Damn him. Straight to hell.

I wanted to shout out some books that I’ve read recently that are sticking with me:

WORRY BOX by Chris Panatier. Chris is reinventing every genre he tackles.

THE RED SACRAMENT by Sara Hinkley. Lush, vibrant, full of Anne Fried Rice.

NOWHERE BURNING by Catriona Ward. Bow down to Master Cat.

HEADLIGHTS by CJ Leede. God damn, CJ Leede just does something to me.

OUR CUT OF SALT by Deena Helm. Beautiful, aching, tragic, painful.

THE MINIMALIST by Kailee Pedersen. This is some major headcheese. I loved it.

BONE OF MY BONE by Johanna Van Veen. God damn, this book is brutal.

2/27-3/1: AUTHOR CON: Williamsburg, VA. Nonprofit Scares That Care is hosting its annual event, where I’m a Guest of Honor alongside a whole slew of amazing authors.

2/28: The Restoration at Grayson Manor at The Dublin International Film Festival.

3/4: “Feast” Anthology signing at The Twisted Spine.

3/5 @ 7 PM/ET: In conversation with Chuck Wendig (STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS) at The Twisted Spine.

3/6: The Restoration at Grayson Manor at FrightFest UK in Glasgow.

3/6 @ 6 PM/ET: VIRTUAL: In conversation with Bill Wood (BE RIGHT BACK) at The Twisted Spine.

3/7 @ 1 PM: Eastford Public Library.

3/10 @ 6:30 PM/ET: In conversation with Damien Ober (VOIDVERSE) at PT Knitwear.

3/18 @ 5 PM/ET: VIRTUAL: Date Night with the Devil. Only on IG Live.

3/21 @ 2 PM/ET: B&N Fest Horror Panel w/ Joe Hill, Andrew Joseph White, ML Rio & Olivie Blake at Barnes & Noble Union Square.

3/28: Leigh Valley Book Festival.

I’ve got three books releasing this year—novella BODIES OF WORK, horrormance DEVIL INSIDE, and the paperback edition of WAKE UP AND OPEN YOUR EYES. Look, I’m not too proud to beg. I’ll beg. Do you want me to beg? I’m begging.

BODIES OF WORK (Titan Books: 4/7/26): Preorder here.

A murderous artist is haunted by the spirits of those he has killed in this surreal and chilling supernatural revenge novella. From the acclaimed author of Ghost Eaters, and perfect for fans of Joe Hill and Delilah S. Dawson.

At sixty-six years old, Winston Kemper has always been a nonentity. No one notices him. His simple existence barely registers for those who come into contact with him. Some call him feeble-minded. He is a janitor at the local church, a groundskeeper by default, and that’s it. No friends, no family. When he’s done with work, he returns home—a remote, single room apartment located above a garage—and that is where his true work begins.

Winston Kemper is a collector of voices, and his magnum opus—The Butterfly Girls—is a sprawling epic of untapped imagination. It has no single canvas, no particular frame. It is everywhere—scribbled on the walls, the floor, and countless notebooks.

Winston is creating a fantasia which exists in words, images and blood. As part of his ‘art’ he has been murdering forgotten women. Poor souls who slip through the cracks of society, who no one’s looking for. Mothers, sisters, daughters to someone, but no more.

Winston takes their lives, their voices. But now he can hear them. They whisper to him. They talk of revenge.

Winston Kemper might not believe in ghosts, but he is about to learn they are very real. And they are very, very angry.

A surreal and dreamlike novella about the ghosts of our past and the dangerous, obsessive pursuit of art, from the “true master of horror.” (CJ Leede, Maeve Fly)

DEVIL INSIDE (Mira Books: 8/11/26): Preorder here.

A man who’s back from the dead meets a woman who’s from somewhere even worse in Clay McLeod Chapman’s new horrormance about love, possession, and just a little murder.

After a traumatic accident that almost cost Jordan his life, he’s finally starting to feel normal again. Well, maybe not normal. Everything tastes like ash, and when he looks at the people around him, their faces start to melt. At least he’s not dead, right? His friends are doing their best to get him back on his feet, maybe find someone to talk to, perhaps even find someone to take his mind off his last failed relationship.

Then he meets Lilith. The two share an instant connection but after a wild and passionate night together, she ghosts him. Jordan searches the city for Lilith, desperate to see her again. But when a woman claiming to be Lilith shows up, wearing a different face but knowing intimate details about Jordan, he worries he’s losing his grip on reality. As he grows closer to this mysterious woman, he discovers that happily ever afters sometimes come at a cost. How far will Lilith take him, and how much darkness will he embrace to find love?

WAKE UP AND OPEN YOUR EYES (Quirk Books: 4/21/26). Preorder the paperback!

From master of horror Clay McLeod Chapman, a relentless social horror novel about a family on the run from a demonic possession epidemic that spreads through media.Noah has been losing his polite Southern parents to far-right cable news for years, so when his mother leaves him a voicemail warning him that the “Great Reawakening” is here, he assumes it’s related to one of her many conspiracy theories. But when his phone calls go unanswered, Noah makes the drive from Brooklyn to Richmond, Virginia. There, he discovers his childhood home in shambles and his parents locked in a terrifying trancelike state in front of the TV. Panicked, Noah attempts to snap them out of it.

Then Noah’s mother brutally attacks him.

But Noah isn’t the only person to be attacked by a loved one. Families across the country are tearing each other apart—literally—as people succumb to a form of possession that gets worse the more time they spend glued to a screen. In Noah’s Richmond-based family, only he and his young nephew Marcus are unaffected. Together, they must race back to the safe haven of Brooklyn—but can they make it before they fall prey to the violent hordes?

That’s about it from meeeeeee… Still here? Well, you’re the best. Thank you.

Take care…

CMC