Send us a text Release your inner child! …I mean through reading, not by letting it burst out of your stomach like some horrible sugar-coated xenomorph. Lora Senf can help. Her Blight Harbor Trilogy is a piece of magic, an umbilicus of imagination between the tired old grump that you’re halfway to becoming, and the wide-eyed wonder you once were. Lora and I talk about the challenge and reward of writing horror for kids, we talk about the influence of M.C Escher and his mad architecture, we talk about Bradbury and King and other inspirations (including the tiny role that I played in this story). And we also talk about the profound heartsick sorrow of loneliness. Enjoy. Other books mentioned: The Hike (2016), by Drew Magary The Library at Mount Char (2015), by Scott Hawkins “Kaleidoscope,” (1949), by Ray Bradbury All Summer in a Day (1954), by Ray Bradbury “There Will Come Soft Rains” (1950), by Ray Bradbury The Foghorn (1950), by Ray Bradbury Pet Semetary (1983), by Stephen King Misery (1987) by Stephen King Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962), by Ray Bradbury Coraline (2002), by Neil Gaiman The House With a Clock in its Walls (1973), by John Bellairs Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to [email protected] Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.