Desert Radio by Pamela M. Durgin. Published by Word Horde.

“Desert Radio is one of the most mature and affecting cosmic horror novels I’ve read this side of Laird Barron and Gemma Files. This book is an apprehension engine creating images and sounds (yes, sounds!) that will burrow under all the layers of your skin.” —Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep

Ross Lockhart sent me an email a while back with a list of upcoming Word Horde books. As I was scrolling the list, Desert Radio by Pamela M. Durgin caught my eye. The book synopsis pushed many of my buttons: a 1990s desert setting, night radio, and of course, cosmic horror. I asked Ross to send it to me, which he kindly did.

While I waited for my copy to arrive in the mail, I kept wondering if this book could possibly live up to my expectations. Well, it didn’t; it blew them away. This is a novel that every fan of weird fiction, cosmic horror, and, frankly, horror in general needs to read.

Pre-order it; you’ll thank me, I promise.

(On that note: If you think you’re going to read this book, don’t wait to order it until it comes out. Pre-orders really help publishers and writers to gauge interest. It’s one of the best things you can do for a writer, second only to reviewing it.)

Get Desert Radio here.

Book synopsis:

The California desert hides a lot of things. For Gloria, it is a place to get away from her past and her addictions. Gloria expected to find a quiet place, where salt flats and dunes stretch on and the night sky is littered with stars. What she didn’t expect to find was an oasis, a community, and a job as a late-night DJ on a rock-and-roll radio station.

There is strangeness in the desert. Missing persons. Ancient petroglyphs. Distorted voices on the radio. Ghostly dogs. And more. Government conspiracies, weird rituals, and unfathomable entities that have been visiting the area for centuries.

Sure, the people in the desert are little bit strange, a little bit paranoid. But they’re survivors, just like Gloria.

Things are about to get very weird.

Get Desert Radio here.

Here’s what others had to say:

“Desert Radio is a complex novel with grand weirdness that taps into the curiosity we have as human beings, as well as our many vulnerabilities. The uncanny, the liminal, and the wondrous unfold in so many fascinating ways. It’s Pontypool meets Lost Highway filtered through a cosmic horror lens. One of my favorite authors writing today.”
—Richard Thomas, author of Transubstantiate

“Here’s a PSA for you: Pamela Durgin knows secrets. She knows the great deserts of the American West are as weird as the ancient forests of the North—and she knows these deserts come alive at night. She knows the slow, soft tread of the tarantula, and the scorpion’s sudden sting—and she knows these are not the strangest creatures moving through the dark. Not even close. She knows that the key to so much of the best Weird Fiction—from Blackwood and Hodgson right up till now—is atmosphere. And she knows how to build it. She also knows when to strike. And where. Pamela Durgin knows secrets. Maybe more than she should. In Desert Radio she’ll share them with you. Maybe more than you’re ready to learn.”
—Scott Nicolay, author of And At My Back I Always Hear

“Outré radio transmissions. Clandestine government experiments. Otherworldly beings. Cults and occult rituals. A desert town whose blistering heat incubates dark secrets. Pamela Durgin’s fantastic debut novel Desert Radio reads like Banshee Chapter meets From Beyond.
—Matthew M. Bartlett, author of Gateways to Abomination and Dangerous Creeps

“A shimmering descent into madness. This is a tale of betrayal drenched in a beautiful weirdness. Atmospheric, tense, and delicious, Durgin makes the heat and grit of the desert feel like pleasure.”
—S.L. Coney, author of Wild Spaces, an Esquire Best of Horror 2023 pick

“Pamela Durgin’s debut is a dust devil of fantastic weird fiction and liminal high-strangeness dialed to eleven. Government conspiracy, MK ULTRA, Crowley, & numbers stations all converge in a tale I simply couldn’t put down. Highly recommended.”
—Todd Keisling, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Devil’s Creek and The Sundowner’s Dance