The August 2016 installment of The Seers’ Table
The Seers Table!
Welcome to the August 2016 installment of The Seers’ Table—the HWA’s hub for highlighting stimulating and diverse voices in horror and dark fantasy. This month we’d like to suggest an exciting group of authors whose work will enrich your summer reading.
Ace Antonio Hall recommends:
Alaya Dawn Johnson is a two-time Nebula winner, and multi-award-winning author of six novels. The Summer Prince (2013), Alaya’s debut YA novel, is a heart-stopping story of love, death, technology, and art set amid the tropics of a futuristic Brazil. Her Web site
Last month’s 
With the popularity of dark comedies, it should be no surprise that horror and humor can be a compelling mix. However, when it comes to young adult books, few succeed at the balance that keeps a funny horror book from losing its edge or appearing to try too hard. Here are a few humorous elements used in YA horror to enhance the story, characters, or setting without sacrificing their horror-ness. 
Whether it’s the beeping of an alarm clock marking a night over too soon, a school buzzer announcing the start of a test period, or the chime of a grandfather clock in an old house declaring the start of the witching hour, there are lots of ways that time can provoke dread. So, when writers look no further than flashbacks and verb tenses, they miss out on timely tension opportunities.
