They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with Theresa Glover, whose Monster Hunter is featured in Falstaff Pride, released back in June, and who is also releasing the third installment of the Caitlin Kelley series, Trouble in Mind, on July 23rd from Falstaff Books!
What does Theresa love when she’s not writing about monster hunters in New Orleans? Spoiler alert: magical elixirs, a specific kind of scary story, a place that lets you read books for free, dropping F-bombs in the most creative way possible, and building up decks. Curious? Read on to learn more!
Coffee
My life begins with coffee. Well, perhaps not my life per se, but without the steaming hot elixir of nervous bean juice, my personality will definitely show up a couple of hours later than I will. I love my coffee hot and black, but being a New England girl at heart, a good iced coffee (also black) in the summer hits me right in the soul. I’m a real sucker for a cold brew with a ton of ice. And a chunk of good dark chocolate to enjoy with it.
Reading Scary Stuff
My favorite kind of story is one that gives you chills, that sucks you in and has you racing through it as fast as you can comprehend it. I love being scared by a book, and it’s an enduring love that has been with me since I was a teenager. This kind of reading used to be called horror fiction but now, there’s a whole lot of non-fiction more frightening than the novels I’ve read over the years! Still, I’m addicted to reading horror or horror-adjacent novels. My favorite new trend is authors reclaiming Lovecraft’s mythos. Though H.P. Lovecraft wrote some chilling stories, there’s a decided “ick” factor that makes it hard to truly enjoy his work. But in books like Lovecraft Country, authors like Matt Ruff are using it in ways that would probably give Lovecraft nightmares, and there’s beauty in that. My favorite with this twist is definitely The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin. It’s a heady mix of New York City (my favorite city), and the weirdness and monstrosities that made Lovecraft so memorable, and all I really want out of life right now are the next two books in Jemisin’s series. Like, right now. Seriously. Right now.
My Library
Recently, I’ve been in a position where I’ve been able to take advantage of going to my local library more than I have since I was a kid, and it has been magical. I’ve been able to explore works I’d never have otherwise stumbled across, and borrow books that have made me curious, but not enough to impulse buy. Like The Grand Dark by Richard Kadrey or The Martian by Andy Weir and Children of Blood and Bone (and the rest of the Legacy of Orisha series) by Tomi Adeyemi. I’ve been fortunate that my library is still open for online reservations and curbside pick-up throughout the pandemic, and I’m hopeful it will continue to stay that way.
Crafting
From crocheting F-Bombs (for which I earned the moniker “The F-Bomb Queen” from Patrick Dugan), to making hobbit door pendants, fairy doors, gnomes out of fuzzy socks, or DIY-ing the heck out of some face masks, I’ve dabbled in a little bit of everything, and will continue to do so. There is nothing I fear to mess with — from metal stamping to resin, to needle felting (which is a great way to alleviate stress through stabbing a ball of wool until it yields the shape and density you want). I’ll try to make just about anything that captures and I know it will start off with the most famous last words any crafter ever uttered before dropping three figures in their favorite craft store, “Oh, that’ll be easy, and I can save money by making it myself.” Ahh, there’s nothing like denial, or the stream of cussing that heralds the imminent end of an ambitious project requiring skills I have yet to master.
Magic: The Gathering
Yes, I’m that nerd. I chase rares, build jank decks and spend far too much time organizing my ever-expanding collection in order to find that one card I know I must have…somewhere. I came late to the game, but in the (couple) handful of years I’ve been playing, I’ve developed an addiction to the cardboard crack that is Magic. I mean, how can you resist the competition of trying to out-do your friends while playing with mini works of fantasy art often underscored by dark (and sometimes sarcastic) storytelling? It’s impossible. I’m still not a great player, but I have gotten a lot better at almost all versions — except draft. I’m too distracted by the shiny, both in the literal sense of foil cards, and in the figurative sense of chasing cards I like, rares, or cards I think other people at the table would use to stomp me into the ground. I love sitting down with friends, talking smack and trying to out maneuver their dirty tricks with things they aren’t expecting. My friends and I primarily play Commander and revel in building decks that amuse and annoy as much as dominate (*ahem* Kaalia *ahem*), all while pursuing the art of foiling them out. Shiiiiiiiny.
Theresa Glover is the author of the Caitlin Kelley Monster Hunter series from Falstaff Books and spends her days plumbing the dark depths of the human psyche in search of new, frightening character inspirations. The third book in the Caitlin Kelley series, Trouble in Mind, will be released on July 23rd, 2020. To get notified when it releases, join the Falstaff Books mailing list.
When not planning or attending conventions, wrangling the kittens behind the scenes at Falstaff Books, or wreaking editorial havoc on copulas and other writerly sins, Theresa also develops content for Author Essentials, a group dedicated to providing support and services to professional writers of all every stage of their career.
Theresa lives in North Carolina, and when all else fails, you can find her buried in a book or devouring horror movies alone in the dark.
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Author Photo by Poprock Photography
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Those F-bombs are everything. I adore those!
I love the F-bombs. This really makes me want to read The City We Became because I loved Lovecraft Country.