Get Clay’s books here!Welcome to my new show, Couchsurfing Critics!The ever-talented and amazing Clay McLeod Chapman has returned for another epic round of conversation with yours truly. This time, we’re smashing duration records and defying interview conventions. It is, I would say, the closest to just us grabbing coffee and chatting that we could have hoped for, and I am very pleased with the result. For those of you looking for a concentrated discussion of Clay’s delicious upcoming release WAKE UP AND OPEN YOUR EYES, might I direct you elsewhere. But! If you want to know what we think about some of the best authors working today, our thoughts on looking at people’s book shelves, and some getting really serious about cancer and the pitfalls of belonging to a family, I’ve got just what the doctor ordered. (and apparently for Nat Cassidy the doctor ordered some Beano, because he is certainly labeled a car farter in this episode. Sorry Nat. I think it was out of love?)In addition to Clay’s amazing examination of the culture of radicalization in contemporary America, I would like to recommend that you listen to his top quality podcast called FEARMONGERS. He gets on the best of horror guests, has delightful conversations, and even cajoles them into reading for us all. It’s a great little library-backed bit of entertainment.Coming up on The ARC PartyI’ve got a lot on the books for the next few weeks. I will be recording a discussion with Eric LaRocca in a few days to support the release of his new novel AT DARK I BECOME LOATHSOME, which everyone needs to read. It’s grief horror done so so so so so so so well. Also, I’ll be talking with Craig Clevenger about the reissue of his debut novel THE CONTORTIONIST’S HANDBOOK. I’m really stoked about this one, as it’s been one of my favorites for a while now.I’ve just recently confirmed with Chuck Wendig that he will be joining me at some point to discuss THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS, which I loved!I am planning something called MALERMONTH, where I have on a guest or guests to talk about some awesome Josh Malerman novels, including hopefully DAPHNE, PEARL, and maybe another. GOBLIN? We’ll see. I’ve also started talks with Cynthia Pelayo’s representation, and have some tentative plans with Joshua Hull, and many more. I’m also very excited for Shortwave Publishing’s first quarterly shipment for 2025 to its Kickstarter backers. The box looks insane and I’m so excited! I’m so scared!Finally for you YouTuberssssss: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thearcparty.com/subscribe