Ally joins to show to talk Mystery James, teen readers, and keeping horror fun.

About guest

Ally is the author of It Came from the Trees. She grew up on a steady diet of Halloween parties, horror films, Unsolved Mysteries, and Goosebumps books. She has always loved scary stories and got her MFA from Simmons University and, eventually, a job working in children’s publishing. In the past, she has written about all kinds of spooky subjects for the Tor Nightfire blog. She hails from Pittsburgh—ground zero for the zombie apocalypse. Ally lives with her husband and her two black cats, Nox and Fury. She’s afraid of the woods, the dark, and heights.

Topics discussed

Content warning: This episode contains mature themes. Listener discretion is advised.

During the show, we discuss:

• The Mystery James Duology
• Why Middle Grade Horror?
• Supporting Middle Grade
• Bridging MG and YA

Connect with Ally

• Instagram
• Bluesky
• TikTok
• Threads

Buy Her Books

• Books By Ally

Support the podcast

• Contribute to the Ko-Fi
• Send a message

Support Nailah

• Buy Dead Pretty
• Read my column

Kennedy joins to show to talk about her debut novel, There Used to Be People Here.

About guest

Kennedy Cole is a speculative author with a BFA in Creative Writing and a Certificate in Publishing. Born in North Carolina, she lives by the beach with her partner and enjoys playing games, puzzling, sipping matcha, and collecting tattoos. Her creative portfolio includes an array of published fiction, poetry, and nonfiction with Oakland Arts Review, Carolina Muse, Second Story Journal, and others. There Used to Be People Here is her first novel.

Topics discussed

Content warning: This episode contains strong language and mature themes. Listener discretion is advised.

During the show, we discuss:

• The realities for debut authors
• Mixing crime, thriller and the paranormal
• Community vs safety
• Surveillance, othering, and hope

Connect with Kennedy

• Instagram

Buy Her Books

• Preorder There Used to Be People Here

Support the podcast

• Contribute to the Ko-Fi
• Send a message

Support Nailah

• Buy Dead Pretty
• Read my column

A.P. Thayer joins to show to talk about his debut novel, Tapeworm.

About guest

A.P. Thayer is a speculative fiction author who grew up loving weird, dark, and fantastical stories. His writing explores identity, folklore, and the surreal dreamworld, where he draws from his Mexican-American heritage and third culture kid upbringing.

His debut novel, Tapeworm, is an exploration of failed relationships, decaying friendships, and queer exploration of desire. It is upcoming from Evil Twin in August of 2026. His second novel, tentatively titled Sorrow Lake, is slated for August 2027 with the same publisher.

Thayer is also a prolific short fiction writer, where he combines horror, magical realism, and weird fiction to create a genre he calls nightmarism. His short stories and essays have appeared in Apex Magazine, Dark Matter Magazine, Uncharted Magazine, the Los Suelos multimedia anthology, and others.

Topics discussed

Content warning: This episode contains strong language and mature themes. Listener discretion is advised.

During the show, we discuss:

• Inside Tapeworm
• Reinventing vampires
• Why the desert works
• Balancing body horror
• Millennial adulthood

Connect with A.P. Thayer

• Instagram
• Substack

Buy his book

• Tapeworm

Support the podcast

• Contribute to the Ko-Fi
• Send a message

Support Nailah

• Buy Dead Pretty
• Read my column