Introduction
The year 2025 sucked. On so many levels. I started this newsletter the same way as my last TWO because it's still relevant. 2026 is also quite a year. In the States, we’ve had ICE murdering people in the streets. We’ve had the President doing his usual damn thing. Not to mention that but my personal life has just been blah as hell with querying, the repercussions of last year’s losses, and feeling extra exhausted. How’s a girl to cope?
The path of cozy
For a while, publishing was going full on cozy because the world was in such a messed-up state that they wanted to give people positive, uplifting things to read. It makes sense, right? The world is full of scary, unfortunate things, so of course you want to balance it with happiness and rainbows. And this does work for some people, don’t get me wrong. Some people need a break from the darkness by playing in the light. And that’s great!
So what’s the problem, C.J.?
It just doesn’t work for me. It’s not that I can’t read a cozy or happy book, but it doesn’t scratch the existential itch. It doesn’t make me feel comforted in rough times. Why? I don’t know for sure, but if I had to guess, it’s that it feels disingenuous. Why do I want to read about people who don’t struggle or whose struggles feel so paltry when I’m looking out and seeing horrors all around me? I don’t. What I need is to see people really struggle, and maybe to come through okay but maybe not. Ymmv.
Comfort horror
That brings us to horror. Horror, you say? A genre designed to terrify and disgust? Yes! Horror, for me, is the perfect way to compartmentalize. It’s a safe way to experience evil and pain. It’s a safe way to feel fear without actually being in danger. It’s a safe way to process the feelings I’m having about the world. I’ve been doing this since I was little, reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I needed to know, especially as a kid, that the monster was real, but that I could come out on the other side, not unaffected but still alive. (Although, this requirement has changed for me as an adult; sometimes it’s cathartic to watch the world burn.)
Playing in the dark
As an adult, finding my comfort horror has required some trial and error. I did learn that I can’t just do historical horror based on real atrocities, like Angel Down or The Reformatory—too real, gotta read those in the daytime—but when it’s all fake, like This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer? Yeah. Give me some blood and guts. Midsommar? Let’s get culty up in here. Even better, Midsommar I can watch over and over, so it gets the added benefit of being a re-watch, aka my brain gets the good feels from knowing what’s coming. But new movies can be great too, because they give me something to get excited about. Depends on the day.
Some of my favorites
My comfort horror generally lies with movies, again because of the easy replay factor. Notable exceptions are Grimm’s Fairy Tales, which I reread like every year. As far as comfort movies, I already mentioned Midsommar. Another favorite is The VVitch for its bleakness and delicious witchy feminism. Then there’s The Exorcism of Emily Rose, one of the first movies to really scare me. Finally, we have Donnie Darko, which is at the very least horror adjacent, which I watch every Halloween.
In conclusion
Comfort art is going to be very personal. Some of us need cozy vibes, while others of us cope a little differently, by facing the horrors head on and diving into the deep end of the pool—in a way that’s safe and ultimately pain-free, unlike what we’re going through outside of the page or screen. However you do it, comfort art is important. We can’t be fighting 24/7. The best activists take time to care for themselves too. So find something that scratches the itch, and run with it—even if other people don’t really get it.
Thanks for reading! What is your comfort art?
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But wait! There’s more!
C.J.’s Corner
Get to know me and what I’m up to. Read it all or skip to your favorite section. (Links work only in web version.)
I’m writing:
Watch this space. Things are moving…slowly.
I'm still querying my adult contemporary horror novel, And the Dark Will Know My Name. For a full pitch, check out the new section of my website.
The Enter Here anthology has been released! We finally got our physical copies in and they’ve been arriving to Kickstarter supporters. Didn't do the Kickstarter? No worries. Get it here! If you are a reviewer with a site or booktok or whatnot and would like a free review copy, contact us at enterhereanthology(at)gmail(dot)com.
I have been writing Miracle Girl, a contemporary horror novel about a woman possessed by her dead sister and a defrocked priest with nothing to lose. I hope to draft it in a couple months and then get to revisions and expanding! I’ve been writing it in 100 words per day which sometimes means 100, sometimes means 2000, just depends on how I’m feeling.
In case you missed it, my story “The Creeping" was reprinted in the December issue of Penumbric Speculative Fiction Magazine. Read it for free here!
I’m reading:
I'm working on reading one thing at a time. I know, how weird.
The Knight and the Moth - Rachel Gillig | |
|---|---|
My non-writer friend begged me to read this. I'm loving the organic worldbuilding, gorgeous prose, and cheeky narration style. Plus some horror elements! Back on my fantasy bullshit. I’m more than halfway through this one and the worldbuilding is just, omg. |
I finished:
Some short stories! I’ve been catching up on my backlog issues of Nightmare Magazine, Seize the Press, and Apex Magazine.
I’m watching:
I'm getting back into horror movies!
Bring Her Back: Wow, this one was intense. Uh maybe don’t watch if you can’t handle scary stuff with kids. But if you can, then this was a hell of a ride. My first five star movie of the year. Absolutely sickening, dark, and thrilling, pulls no punches, and doesn’t let go at the end.
28 Days Later: My boss’s boss’s/friend’s favorite horror movie and a classic that I missed. Love how bleak and timeless it feels. A young Cillian Murphy too! Another great example of how the real monsters are human.
I’m listening:
My writer friend Lex Duncan got me into Spiritbox and Ice Nine Kills. I've been listening to INK's Welcome to Horrorwood album, which is full of homages to Psycho, Child's Play, and other horror classics. Yes, I’m still listening to this album. I have a problem. It’s on repeat. But I’ll be checking out The Silver Scream this week so at least new stuff?
I’m playing:
My video game brain is so dead. Stand by.
I’m doing:
More crochet! I have been working on a lion plushie for a friend's kid. I’m also making an adorable frog wizard. It’s going to be massive.
The body of a freg
I've also been doing a lot of art. I'm working on hair and rendering. If you want to check out more of my art, you can look at my Cara portfolio.
Demeter, Greek goddess of the harvest
