I read. I write.
Sadly, I’ve learned over the years that I am an awful reviewer. I can converse about books, but when I set out to write about them, the critique part of my brain devolves into grunts and hoots. Any intelligible attempt at an academic critique finds my original thoughts replaced by clichés and tropes. The same for my emails (all subject to endless drafts and restructuring).
But not today, Satan.
Today, I blurb. I can blurb. That I can do.
Hence the style of this column.
Warning, all books are praised. A few, more than you think possible.
Are these books truly excellent?
Yes. Yes, they are. They fire my pleasure centers in a way that has imprinted them on my reader’s psyche and has stayed over the years, and, in one case, over coffee this morning. YMMV.
In the interest of transparency, I note my relationship to the author and/or book. A few books are on the same press as mine. This was my introduction to these authors and their work, and I am proud to be counted among them. Others, I met in my travels online or IRL. If I dig your book, I often seek you out. (I slide into DMs like I’m at a water park.)
We cannot remain silent about books we love.
Troll by Dave Fitzgerald (Whisk(e)y Tit, 2023)
“This is one of the most profanely hilarious books I have read in the last 10 years.” – David Scott Hay (author of The Fountain)
That is not hyperbole, that is a statement I repeat when working the Whisk(e)y Tit table at book festivals. Right away, you know if the book is for you or not.
I read the first half of this as a digital ARC and as a treat to myself, waited to read the second half when it was in book form. To be able to take a reprehensible character and make him entertaining, empathetic, and relevant is nothing short of a miracle, and then do it backwards and in heels aaaaand in second person.
Pop culture references (germane to the character and story) galore, like DF tapped into the Adderall-laden brain of an elder millennial misfit son spawned by Douglas Copeland and Dennis Miller. Several set pieces in here would have been genius climaxes for other books. But here, it’s just another encounter in the life of an internet troll.
Wholeheartedly recommend this book, and I’m not alone. Kirkus Reviews named it one of the top 100 indie books of 2023 (I’m only 2% jelly). Oh, if you’re a fan of Friends, read at your own risk.
DISCLAIMER: Fitz and I are on the same indie press and have guerilla-shelved our books together in London. This is how I was introduced to him and his work. Now he is a cat that can write a critique to end all critiques. So, I shot myself in the foot and asked him to write the introduction to my new book. Which means he can’t review it. [sad trumpet]
Bedlam by Charlene Elsby (Apocalypse Party, 2023)
“With a forensics pathologist’s precision, Charlene filets and examines the dark thoughts that we often bury at night in our private graveyard.” – David Scott Hay (author of The Butcher of Nazareth)
Charlene cuts deep. Unsettlingly so. She pulls those fishy thoughts on board, examines them, flays them, and fills out an autopsy report in an unflinching and relatable manner; sometimes she cooks a feast, other times she pushes our heads down for a closer look. Tear up your idea of the Reader / Writer Social Contract before diving in. (Yes, I have combined a metaphor of ME & fisherman.)
DISCLAIMER: I’ve met CE, and she has blurbed my new book. I scooped up one of her short stories in Bedlam for an anthology I am editing: Connoisseur Vol 1. FEAST. So yes, a plug, but also, come on, I’m not reprinting material over here because of a dearth of free time.
The Drowned Woman by Abigail Stewart (Whisk(e)y Tit, 2022)
“Reads like a lost black & white French movie, where Truffaut is a woman staking her claim to creativity in a world of pearl-clutching men.” – David Scott Hay (author of The Fountain)
While I enjoyed the read, I couldn’t figure out what made it a Whisk(e)y Tit book (I do keep an eye out for potential Tit authors). And then the book sucker punched me, knocking my doubts out of my head along with my front teeth.
DISCLAIMER: Abby and I are on the same press. Hers was one of the first Whisk(e)y Tit books I took home.
The Grinder: a Beowulf retelling by T. Carl Hardy (2024)
“Thrilling and provocative with wit and heart, yet braided with the desperation of living your destiny.” – David Scott Hay (author of The Butcher of Nazareth)
Combine a restrained Bernard Cornwell and Cormac McCarthy and you will find a satisfying larger than life (okay mythical) coming of age tale. Well-seasoned and researched, The Grinder was such a treat to read, and a great take on Beowulf (my high school memories of the original def failed me here). Was delighted to see a good amount of camaraderie, humor, and friendship at its center. Short for a historical novel (just under 300 pages), the research served the story. You won’t be tempted to skim.
DISCLAIMER: I found this book through the Kindle algorithm. (Yes, Kindle. I read a ton of sample chapters before heading to the bookstore. Except in this case it was late, and I was in bed and convenience won out.) I’ve reached out to Hardy on IG, but as of this writing, the message in the bottle still bobs in the digital sea of noise. I believe his book was self-published, but I can easily see it on a bigger indie label. T. Carl Hardy, DM me!
Future Skinny by Peter Rosch (Art Cult Books, 2022)
“It’s a wicked, twisted puzzle piece of a trip with a wholly original premise and a ballsy ending.” – David Scott Hay (author of [NSFW])
The premise of this “crime” novel is original: binge-eating causes a health-conscious man to have visions of the future. The more he eats, the longer into the future he can read. Cue those who would exploit this ability. It stuck with me long after hundreds of other books came and went. It’s an early novel for Rosch (I believe he self-pubbed), and not without its flaws, but it nails the landing. I can’t wait to read his “debut” novel, What The Dead Can Do, out August 26, 2025.
DISCLAIMER: This book was my introduction to Peter’s work. We had been friendly on IG, and I ordered a copy of Future Skinny. Finally, I read it, and I reached out to him and had a lovely chat.
Saint Dymphna’s Playbook by Hillary Leftwich (University of Hell, 2025)
“A vital voice, Leftwich does not scream into the Void so much as she whispers from within it.” – David Scott Hay (author of The Fountain)
This is a hard book to read. Think Bedlam, but non-fiction. Filtered through flash fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, this slim book shares the most horrific of experiences and the damage it leaves not only in its wake, but in the path forward.
And yet, within there is a thread of hope and perseverance.
I wrote that last line so as not to scare potential readers off, but also, I feel like I am tagging on a stupid joke to an Afterschool Special to make everyone comfortable. So know this: the last line of the back matter reads: “… and what it means to be alive in a society where women vanish in more ways than one.”
DISCLAIMER: Hillary and I are friendly on socials. We swapped books a few years ago and have been in touch since then. She’s a lovely person. Her first book, Aura, won the Big Other Award for non-fiction.
Mexicans on the Moon by Pedro Iniguez (Space Cowboy Books, 2024)
“Whimsical, yet culturally significant; satirical, yet warm; speculative, yet familiar. One of my favorite and surprising reads this year.” – David Scott Hay (author of The Fountain)
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. I saw an IG post for this collection, and being a good literary citizen, I ordered it. I read it, not knowing Pedro, not knowing any of his other work, and was delighted to find a warm, thought-provoking, creative collection of poems that made sense, that read more like microfiction (flash fiction?). And who doesn’t love a book you can dip into when the mood strikes you?
This whimsical and satirical collection gives you a warm bear hug, only to leave you mauled in ways that leave you pondering your own significance and compliance in a world (especially now) that employs secret police targeting citizens by their skin color.
You don’t have to be a Mexican on Earth to appreciate this collection. Highly recommend. I read several out loud to my wife, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Oh, and it just won the Stoker for Best Poetry Collection.
Luckily, I snagged a piece to include in the anthology, which now opens with his The Epidemic of Shrink-Ray-Gun Violence Plaguing Our Schools Must End.
DISCLAIMER: This book was my introduction to Pedro’s work. As stated above, I saw a post on IG and ordered it on a lark. Wow. We’ve since struck up a correspondence (I slide into DMs like I’m at a water park). No disclaimer needed. Just trying to hit my word count. Heh.
David Scott Hay is the author of the critically acclaimed novels, The Fountain, [NSFW], and the forthcoming The Butcher of Nazareth (Feb. ’26).
A veteran of the Chicago theatre scene, he now lives in a valley between the ocean, the mountains, and the desert with his wife, son, dog, library, and a dozen typewriters. Davdiscotthay.com for more whatnot.
PRE-ORDER: Connoisseur Vol 1. FEAST
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