L. Marie Wood
Undertaker Books Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Cuthbert just about fell off her chair when she received the news that L. Marie Wood herself--yes, that author--would be signing her experimental horror novella IF IT'S THE BIRDS, WE'RE IN TROUBLE with U.B. Set for release in June of 2026, this collage story is part mystery, part mind bender. In fact, fans of NIGHT FILM (Marisha Pessl), HOUSE OF LEAVES (Mark Z. Danielewski), and DRACULA (come on, you all know who wrote that), will want to reserve their copies as soon as preorders are available. The novella is just that good, and that much fun to puzzle out.
We won't give away the part about the beef jerky.
As for her ideas? Wood says they, too, are a mystery. Or at least their origins are:
"[It could be] a random word a song lyric--I can never tell where my inspiration comes from… It just happens. And I love it! As a pantser, I go with the flow and am as surprised as my characters are as we uncover new twists and turns. This book was no different."
Psychological horror is Wood's favorite subgenre, in part for its versatility.
"You can do so many things with it," she says. "It straddles the line between thriller, suspense, mystery, as well as quiet horror and more."
Her favorite thing about writing IF IT'S THE BIRDS, WE'RE IN TROUBLE was finding out what was waiting around the next corner. And this book has a lot of corners. Like, a LOT of corners. And readers will be afraid and excited to see what lurks around each one.
Until then, L. Marie Wood fans should grab themselves a bulk-sized case of beef jerky sticks to hunker down and wait. This novella will be well worth it.
Bram Stoker Award®-winning psychological horror author L. Marie Wood creates immersive worlds that defy genre as they intersect horror, romance, mystery, thriller, sci-fi, and fantasy elements to weave harrowing tapestries of speculative fiction. She is the recipient of the Golden Stake Award for Literature, the Wings Award, and the International Impact Book Award. She is also a MICO Award-winning screenwriter, a two-time Bookfest Award winner, a four-time Bram Stoker Award® Nominee, an Ignyte Award finalist, a Rhysling and Elgin Award nominated poet, an accomplished essayist, and a playwright. Her work can be found in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, Weird Tales, Nightmare Magazine, Midnight & Indigo, and Night Land Quarterly, among other venues. Her papers are archived as part of University of Pittsburgh’s Horror Studies Collection. Wood is the Vice President of the Horror Writers Association, the founder of the Speculative Fiction Academy, an English and Creative Writing professor, as well as a horror scholar. Learn more at www.lmariewood.com.