I am stoked to help reveal the cover for Steve Hugh Westenra’s upcoming adult horror comedy The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle, coming October 13 (ARCs available–check the bottom of this post)! You might have heard of Steve’s queer epic fantasy The Wings of Ashtaroth, a contestant in SPFBO9 full of political intrigue and demonic shenanigans, but this book sounds like a whole different barrel of fun!
Get a load of this blurb:
Tyler Kyle doesn’t believe in monsters.
A washed-up thirty-year-old actor and reluctant cryptid investigator, Tyler is used to playing the Scully to his best friend Josh’s Mulder on their stupidly popular YouTube channel. But when Tyler receives previously unseen footage of the B movie bombshell mother who abandoned him eighteen years ago—footage linked to an isolated island in the Canadian wilderness—the mystery is one conspiracy he’s determined to investigate. The fact that following the scent gives Tyler an excuse to run away from the “straight” Josh, whom he drunkenly made out with, is just the cherry on the shit sundae.
But Echo Island isn’t what it seems. Its eerily scenic veneer hides a twisted secret buried in its roots as a gay conversion camp, and as Tyler retraces his mother’s footsteps, he discovers a supernatural connection between the residents and the island—one they seem to think Tyler and his mother share.
Even worse, the footage of Tyler’s mom came from someone on the island–a stalker whose obsessive fascination with both Tyler and Josh is about to make Tyler wish he hadn’t gone this one alone. Puppeteered by his stalker, searching for his mother, and debating whether it’s possible to queerbait yourself, Tyler comes to realize that it doesn’t matter so much whether you believe in monsters, if they believe in you.
THE ERSTWHILE TYLER KYLE is an adult horror comedy for fans of GHOST FILES, BUZZFEED UNSOLVED, and TWIN PEAKS.
I know, right? He had me at “debating whether it’s possible to queerbait yourself” and Twin Peaks, to be honest, but it all sounds amazing!
Oh, but you wanted to see the cover?
Well, I guess we can do that!
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TA-DA! I am a big fan of the TV myself, and the red tree curtain definitely gives me the Twin Peaks vibe. I have a lot of questions that need answering, as I’m sure do you! Which leaves you four options, which are NOT mutually exclusive:
- Pre-order the book!
- Add the book on Goodreads.
- Request an ARC.
- Tell a friend about the book by boosting this post!
Check out the wicked Pinterest board Steve made for the book here!
And groove on the Spotify playlist for the book here!
All of Steve’s links are here
Watch this cool video promo Steve made for the book and see if it doesn’t whet your appetite!
And read about the man himself below–I hope to one day get a chance to have tea with him, because he sounds like someone you could have an hours-long conversation with and never run out of things to talk about!
Biography
Steve is a trans author of fantasy, science fiction, and horror (basically, if it’s weird he writes it).
He grew up on the eldritch shores of Newfoundland, Canada, and currently lives and works in (the slightly less eldritch) Montreal. He holds advanced degrees in Russian Literature, Medieval Studies, and Religious Studies. His current academic work focuses on marginalized reclamations of monstrous figures. He teaches the History of Satan; Religion and its Monsters; and Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion.
In 2018, Steve’s lesbian Viking novel, Ash, Oak, and Thorn, was selected for the Pitch Wars mentoring program and agent showcase. During Pitch Wars, Steve was lucky to receive mentorship from fellow queer author, K. A. Doore.
His queer horror comedy, The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle, was mentored by Mary Ann Marlowe in the inaugural #Queeryfest class.
He is a SPFBO9 entrant (Wings of Ashtaroth is available here).
Steve is passionate about queer representation, Late Antiquity, and spiders.
Read my review of Pride, Pain, & Petticoats by Abigail Trusity
