C.J. Dotson
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cj-dotson.bsky.social
C.J. Dotson
@cj-dotson.bsky.social
1.5K followers 1K following 1.1K posts
Generally cheerful, scaredy-cat horror-lover & horror author. THE CUT is available now! THESE FAMILIAR WALLS coming 4/14/26

https://read.macmillan.com/lp/these-familiar-walls-9781250336583/

rep: Chris Bucci
member HWA | #PitchWars 2020
bi, she/her
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cj-dotson.bsky.social
Woke at 3 to a godawful clanging and came downstairs to find three of the cats trying to disassemble one of the baseboard radiators to get at the mouse hiding up inside it. (mouse has been removed, cats have been given treats to assuage their disappointment)
Two sleek black cats huddle around the end of a baseboard radiator, a fluffy gray cat watching as they try (loudly) to pry open the metal cover to get at the mouse inside the mouse inside the baseboard radiator
November 25, 2025 at 8:43 AM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
Good morning, friends! Happy Friday! I've made a 2025 awards eligibility post for my published horror fiction this year!
C.J. Dotson's 2025 Awards Eligibility: Debut Novel The Cut - published by St. Martin's Press in April of 2025 What do the things that go bump in the night--and drip in the walls, squirm in the tub, and slither in the halls--at L'Arpin Hotel want with Sadie Miles and her unborn child? She must find out, because until she and her toddler get back on their feet after escaping their abuser, they're stuck here. Order a copy: https://tinyurl.com/56zn6jts C.J. Dotson's 2025 Awards Eligibility: Short Fiction No Biting - produced by Creepy Podcast in May of 2025 Tensions are already rising after a long day of travel, when a family vacation goes suddenly and very unexpectedly wrong Listen for free: https://tinyurl.com/ydxf3u3u Every Last Gossamer Strand - produced by Pseudopod in May of 2025 A pregnant woman with a secret lures her unsuspecting photographer into the woods surrounding the beautiful lodge where they're holding her maternity photoshoot. Listen for free: https://tinyurl.com/4vzhpp7t
November 21, 2025 at 9:58 AM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
tempted to end today's writing session a couple hundred words early...
screen shot of MS Word's word count tracker, at 6666 words
November 20, 2025 at 2:20 PM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
Good morning, friends!

Look, a giveaway!

Between now & Halloweeeeeeeeeeen (which is coming up way too soon, gosh I don't want October to end) you can enter for a chance to win a paperback ARC of my upcoming dual-timeline haunted house novel, THESE FAMILIAR WALLS!

www.goodreads.com/giveaway/ent...
It's time for another GOODREADS GIVEAWAY. Now through Halloween you can enter for a chance to win one of 25 paperback copies of THESE FAMILIAR WALLS! https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/enter_choose_address/419013-these-familiar-walls In 1998, desperate loneliness pushes preteen Amber to ignore the misgivings of her family, particularly her younger sister, when she befriends the troubled new kid in the neighborhood—a boy with dead eyes, a fascination with fire, and no remorse. Their turbulent relationship is brief but creates lasting consequences. Twenty-two years later, in 2020, he resurfaces to kill Amber’s parents, and is in turn betrayed by his accomplice and killed in Amber's childhood home. After the deaths, Amber inherits the house and, in an effort to save money, moves in with her husband and two children, hoping to reclaim some sense of stability in the grief and chaos surrounding her. Instead, she finds that the familiar walls are haunted by more than just bitter memories and lockdown stress. She shifts in and out of dreamlike trances, her reflection won’t blink, and a menacing voice whispers to her from the gathering shadows. Although she tried to brush off the strange happenings as stress-fueled hallucinations, Amber is soon forced to admit that something much more real—and more dangerous—haunts her family. But Amber has deadly secrets of her own, and she must resolve these long-buried truths or lose the life she’s contrived for herself.
October 23, 2025 at 8:31 AM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
When I was young, I had a cassette tape of Shel Silverstein reading some of his own poetry from Where the Sidewalk Ends. Now when I read those, I hear them in his voice.

The way he repeated "How did it go?" at the end of Forgotten Language always made me sad, in a way I didn't understand as a kid.
Forgotten Language Once I spoke the language of the flowers, Once I understood each word the caterpillar said, Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings, And shared a conversation with the housefly in my bed. Once I heard and answered all the questions of the crickets, And joined the crying of each falling dying flake of snow, Once I spoke the language of the flowers. . . . How did it go? How did it go?
October 6, 2025 at 9:04 AM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
NOT NOW, researchers awakening 40,000-year-old frozen microbes
a screenshot of a science headline reading "Researchers awaken ancient arctic microbes frozen for 40,000 years" with a picture of someone in PPE boring a hole in what I'm assuming is very dirty forty-thousand-year-old ice
October 5, 2025 at 8:45 AM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
If you hadn't heard, Thrift Books is having an 8 Days of Horror special--for a limited time, earn double points with every horror purchase!

So hurry and grab THE CUT in hardback (or pre-order the upcoming paperback edition), & pre-order THESE FAMILIAR WALLS!

www.thriftbooks.com/w/these-fami...
8 DAYS OF HORROR 2x Points on horror books thriftbooks In 1998, desperate loneliness pushes preteen Amber to ignore the misgivings of her family, particularly her younger sister, when she befriends the troubled new kid in the neighborhood—a boy with dead eyes, a fascination with fire, and no remorse. Their turbulent relationship is brief but creates lasting consequences. Twenty-two years later, in 2020, he resurfaces to kill Amber’s parents, and is in turn betrayed by his accomplice and killed in Amber's childhood home. After the deaths, Amber inherits the house and, in an effort to save money, moves in with her husband and two children, hoping to reclaim some sense of stability in the grief and chaos surrounding her. Instead, she finds that the familiar walls are haunted by more than just bitter memories and lockdown stress. She shifts in and out of dreamlike trances, her reflection won’t blink, and a menacing voice whispers to her from the gathering shadows. Although she tried to brush off the strange happenings as stress-fueled hallucinations, Amber is soon forced to admit that something much more real—and more dangerous—haunts her family. But Amber has deadly secrets of her own, and she must resolve these long-buried truths or lose the life she’s contrived for herself. Buy Now: The Cut hardcover Pre-Order: The Cut paperback available 3/17/2026 These Familiar Walls hardcover available 4/14/2026 A historic hotel long past its prime and huddled along The Cut, a questionable Lake Erie beach, isn’t Sadie Miles’ ideal place to raise a toddler while also navigating her second pregnancy. After finally fleeing her abusive ex-fiancé, though, Sadie’s new housekeeping position and free room at L’Arpin Hotel are the best she can manage. On her first night, Sadie runs to help a guest struggling in the hotel’s pool only to find the water calm and empty when she gets there, leaving her with a lingering unease. When a guest then goes missing and her manager insists they simply left without checking out, Sadie suspects he’s covering up darker goings-on in the hotel. After her ex, Sadie won't let anyone convince her that what she’s experiencing isn’t real again. So, she keeps digging, quickly uncovering suspicious interactions with the staff, mysteriously vanishing security cameras, more missing guests, and things that go bump in the night...and drip in the walls, slither in the tub, and squirm in the halls. Everything isn't as it seems within the dim hallways of L’Arpin. Sadie has nowhere to go and nowhere to hide; she'll need to keep her wits about her to survive and keep her toddler and unborn child safe from whatever lurks nearby.
September 25, 2025 at 11:20 AM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
Good morning! Happy Sunday! I need to get up to use the restroom but one of my cats is sleeping on me so instead I suffer.

(note: when we adopted Noodles she was already 5 or 6 and had been a stray when she was little, shelter said the curls on her ear-tips were from sunburn, they don't bother her)
A white cat sleeping on a yellow-blanket-covered lap
September 21, 2025 at 10:07 AM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
In today's episode of "writing research likely to get me put on some kind of list," I'm having a hard time finding an answer to this question. Does anybody know?
google search bar with entry reading "what type of clothing is least likely to rot on a corpse"
September 6, 2025 at 11:29 AM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
Less than two days left in the goodreads giveaway, less than two days left to take your chance to win one of 50 print copies of THESE FAMILIAR WALLS!

(also good morning and happy weekend friends, I hope you're all about to have a great day!)
screenshot of "Enter Giveaway" button on goodreads, under image of THESE FAMILIAR WALLS book cover, with a caption saying "Win a free print copy of this book!" and a countdown (already outdated because of the time it took me to make the image and post after taking this screenshot so hurry hurry hurry!) reading "1 day and 22:14:55" In 1998, desperate loneliness pushes preteen Amber to ignore the misgivings of her family, particularly her younger sister, when she befriends the troubled new kid in the neighborhood—a boy with dead eyes, a fascination with fire, and no remorse. Their turbulent relationship is brief but creates lasting consequences. Twenty-two years later, in 2020, he resurfaces to kill Amber’s parents, and is in turn betrayed by his accomplice and killed in Amber's childhood home. After the deaths, Amber inherits the house and, in an effort to save money, moves in with her husband and two children, hoping to reclaim some sense of stability in the grief and chaos surrounding her. Instead, she finds that the familiar walls are haunted by more than just bitter memories and lockdown stress. She shifts in and out of dreamlike trances, her reflection won’t meet her gaze, and a menacing voice whispers to her from the gathering shadows. Although she tried to brush off the strange happenings as stress-fueled hallucinations, Amber is soon forced to admit that something much more real—and more dangerous—haunts her family. But Amber has deadly secrets of her own, and she must resolve these long-buried truths or lose the life she’s contrived for herself.
September 6, 2025 at 8:53 AM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
Hi friends! If you liked the snippets I've shared this #AUGhost, then you should check out my upcoming dual-timeline haunted house novel, THESE FAMILIAR WALLS!

GR giveaway: www.goodreads.com/giveaway/ent...

Netgalley: www.netgalley.com/catalog/book...

Pre-order: read.macmillan.com/lp/these-fam...
An image of THESE FAMILIAR WALLS, a hardcover book with the title font taking up most of the cover, white lettering wreathed in thin orange/yellow flames. In very small white lettering with no flames below that reads "A NOVEL" and below that in slightly larger plain white lettering my name, CJ DOTSON. The cover's image behind the lettering is a view of a house seen from the corner and at a high angle, showing mostly the roof and second floor windows, with a bright orange glow coming from the windows. The book image is set against a matching orange background In 1998, desperate loneliness pushes preteen Amber to ignore the misgivings of her family, particularly her younger sister, when she befriends the troubled new kid in the neighborhood—a boy with dead eyes, a fascination with fire, and no remorse. Their turbulent relationship is brief but creates lasting consequences. Twenty-two years later, in 2020, he resurfaces to kill Amber’s parents, and is in turn betrayed by his accomplice and killed in Amber's childhood home. After the deaths, Amber inherits the house and, in an effort to save money, moves in with her husband and two children, hoping to reclaim some sense of stability in the grief and chaos surrounding her. Instead, she finds that the familiar walls are haunted by more than just bitter memories and lockdown stress. She shifts in and out of dreamlike trances, her reflection won’t meet her gaze, and a menacing voice whispers to her from the gathering shadows. Although she tried to brush off the strange happenings as stress-fueled imaginings, Amber is soon forced to admit that something much more real—and more dangerous—haunts her family. But Amber has deadly secrets of her own, and she must resolve these long-buried truths or lose the life she’s contrived for herself.
August 31, 2025 at 8:04 PM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
It's the final day of #AUGhost! The prompt for today is #triumphant, so here's a "victory" line from THESE FAMILIAR WALLS!
Only a few jagged pieces remained within the frame. Gone. The mirror was gone. She’d won this one. Amber tried to feel the rush of victory, but fear still chilled her spine and made her eyes sting.
August 31, 2025 at 7:33 PM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
Hey friends, there's just over a week left to enter this goodreads giveaway for a chance to win one of fifty paperback ARCs of THESE FAMILIAR WALLS!

www.goodreads.com/giveaway/ent...
The book "THESE FAMILIAR WALLS" in hardcover, cover art having the title in all caps with thin flames on the letters against a dark green background with a high corner angle view of a green-tinted house with an ominous orange glow in the windows, the book itself is against a plain orange background that compliments the window color on the cover
August 30, 2025 at 2:26 PM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
Finally, for yesterday and today's #AUGhost, we've got the prompts #dissipate and #flip, both of which do appear in my upcoming dual-timeline haunted house novel, THESE FAMILIAR WALLS!
Marigold shrieked at the exact frequency that made the skin on the back of Amber’s neck crawl. She closed her eyes for two heartbeats, and when she opened them it was to see the front hall again as it had been in the crime scene pictures, the bloodstain spreading across the floor. She blinked hard and flinched. The image dissipated and with a grimace Amber straightened her spine and took a firm hand on her emotions, trying to ignore the stinging of her eyes and the trembling of her knees. Still, she skirted the spot on the floor where that bloodstain had been. A soft whine escaped her, and Amber clapped her hands over her mouth. If she cried out now, she wouldn’t be able to stop. She’d scream and scream. She’d lose her control. Bed. She had to get back to bed. Get back to Ben. Make this all not be happening anymore. Her stomach flipped and her feet were lead, weighed down to the floor. The first step was a wrench, took all of her will. Her fingers pressed into her cheeks where she still covered her mouth as the very act of turning for the exit from the living room made the urge to scream surge higher, a physical force pushing up her throat.
August 30, 2025 at 10:39 AM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
And continuing playing catch-up, the excerpts for #AUGhost days 27 and 28, prompts #brood and #ruckus (for which we're going with next-best-synonyms "fret" and "racket" instead)!
Police had identified the killer-turned-victim as Nathan Teldegardo, a man who had lived in this neighborhood when they were both kids. Amber tried hard not to think about the cops still working to identify the second killer, tried not to worry over whether they'd made any progress or if they knew anything they hadn't shared with her, or the million other things to fret about. To distract herself, she gave into a morbid thought—one that made her catch her breath and squeeze her eyes shut but didn't fill her with the kind of paranoia that would have her checking over her shoulder for the rest of her life: had her parents recognized Nathan that night? “You always sleep through it,” Amber said, rolling her eyes with an indulgent kind of envy. “A bomb could go off on the bed and you'd never know it.” Ben laughed but didn't deny it. “So, what? She sneaks around at night?” “You saw that movie about Manson? The scene when his cult guys snuck into houses and rearranged everything at night?” “Nope.” “Huh. Well, they did that. Anyway, sometimes Mari goes around at night and moves shit. Sometimes she makes a huge racket. Xander must sleep like you,” Amber snorted.
August 30, 2025 at 10:17 AM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
Let me tell ya, #AUGhost, it's been a hell of a week and I forgot about bsky, lol. Here's the excerpts for days 25 and 26, prompts #page and #perforate (the latter of which is not a word in THESE FAMILIAR WALLS, but a decent synonym—penetrate—is). Snippet one is in 1998, snippet two is in 2020.
The first week of her grounding, Amber followed the rules. She spent seven sullen days in her bedroom, emerging only for the restroom or to silently join family meals. Re-reading her books quickly lost its appeal, and after the first few vitriolic pages she had nothing new to write in her diary. Through her window she heard the sounds of summer break in full swing, but she had nothing but boredom. Within that boredom, defiance simmered. When she skittered out into the living room, a scent of smoke and an incongruous chill penetrated her single-minded focus. Amber stopped moving, and when Ben drew in a breath behind her she raised her hand sharply, silencing him. “Do you hear that?” she whispered. Flames crackling.
August 30, 2025 at 9:47 AM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
Goooood morning, friends, happy Monday! Just a quick beginning-of-the-week reminder that if you head to goodreads right now, you still have two weeks left to enter the giveaway for a chance to win one of 50 print copies of THESE FAMILIAR WALLS!
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/ent...
Goodreads Giveaway! Enter to win a free paperback copy of THESE FAMILIAR WALLS! Win one of 50 print ARCs by entering here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/enter_choose_address/419012-these-familiar-walls Open now through September 7th! Available to residents of the US and Canada only In 1998, desperate loneliness pushes preteen Amber to ignore the misgivings of her family, particularly her younger sister, when she befriends the troubled new kid in the neighborhood—a boy with dead eyes, a fascination with fire, and no remorse. Their turbulent relationship is brief but creates lasting consequences. Twenty-two years later, in 2020, he resurfaces to kill Amber’s parents, and is in turn betrayed by his accomplice and killed in Amber's childhood home. After the deaths, Amber inherits the house and, in an effort to save money, moves in with her husband and two children, hoping to reclaim some sense of stability in the grief and chaos surrounding her. Instead, she finds that the familiar walls are haunted by more than just bitter memories and lockdown stress. She shifts in and out of dreamlike trances, her reflection won’t meet her gaze, and a menacing voice whispers to her from the gathering shadows. Although she tried to brush off the strange happenings as stress-fueled hallucinations, Amber is soon forced to admit that something much more real—and more dangerous—haunts her family. But Amber has deadly secrets of her own, and she must resolve these long-buried truths or lose the life she’s contrived for herself.
August 25, 2025 at 9:19 AM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
Today, #AUGhost day 24, the prompt is #gelatinous... which does not show up in my haunted house book. But ooze does!

Fun fact—in 2020 my family moved into a new house, and my son, almost 5 at the time, said Marigold's exact dialogue in this scene. That was the inspiration for this whole book!
She neared the family room, and from out of sight she heard Marigold asking her brother, “Who lives in this house?” Amber paused. She and Ben had tried to prepare the kids for the move, and this was a good chance to see how Xander was handling things. “We do,” he said, and Amber smiled. Xander elaborated, “We live here now.” “No, I don't mean us,” Marigold answered, her voice casual. “Someone else lives here, too.” Cold oozed through Amber. The little girl added, perfectly matter of fact, “Hiding.” Did the whispers from upstairs sound in the air around her again, distorted and unintelligible, a noise more felt on the skin than heard in the ears? A heartbeat later it was gone, if it had been there at all.
August 24, 2025 at 10:16 PM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
Ooh friends, I dropped the ball on #AUGhost! For day 22 the prompt was #flee, which does show up in THESE FAMILIAR WALLS. For day 23 the prompt was #zigzag, which does not, but "twist" does! And coincidentally these two snippets happen in order, the one following fairly quickly after the other!
Closer, she wanted the flame closer. Letting go of Ben with one arm she reached out, but the candle stood just a few inches too far away. If it could just rest nearer the bed, Amber knew the last of her distraction would flee like shadows before light. With the blackout curtains still drawn and the candles all snuffed, now, twists of smoke rising from each one, the space was more shadow than room, and for several dizzy seconds Amber couldn’t tell if this was her bedroom, or her parents’. Then she blinked and there, of course, stood Ben, still next to the bed, his jaw hanging open even as he hastily grabbed the comforter to obscure his nudity. His eyes met hers, and Amber knew he was going to ask her what they'd seen. If it was real. What was going on.
August 24, 2025 at 10:12 PM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
I missed #AUGhost day 21! 😱 Annnnnd not once does the word #repulse show up in THESE FAMILIAR WALLS. There's "disgust" but when that word comes up tends to be spoiler heavy. So here's a 1998 excerpt with "sick" instead!
“Hey, I said I'm sorry.” “I thought you were my friend,” she answered, trying to shake his grip off. He didn't let go, insisting, “I am your friend! I just...” “You just didn't realize what a big loser I am?” She didn't need to look at him to know she was right; it wasn't the first time this had happened. “I'm sick of it,” she said, and saying it broke through the hurt and let the anger out instead. She turned on Nathan and shoved him, yanking her arm out of his grip as he fell back a step. The cold air stung as she widened her eyes, and her hard breaths puffed in a cloud between them, but she didn't feel like she was in danger of crying anymore. “People think I'm okay to hang around with as long as nobody else finds out, and it sucks. And you suck, too, if you're too scared to admit we're really friends.”
August 22, 2025 at 4:10 PM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
Day 20! #AUGhost! Today's prompt is #wag, which comes up once in THESE FAMILIAR WALLS, my upcoming dual-timeline haunted house novel.

In 1998 Amber first meets her new neighbor, who'll grow up to murder her parents inside her childhood home, & be killed in turn by his accomplice before he can flee.
“That was some wipe out,” a strange voice interrupted. Hannah’s eyes flicked over Amber's shoulder, and Amber turned. A kid stood in one of the neighboring yards, next door to the Nowaks’ house, his arms on the fences where the corners of their backyards touched. The Nowaks’ dog, Lacey, sniffed around the bottom of the fence near the boy, tail wagging.
August 20, 2025 at 10:22 PM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
It's day 19 of #AUGhost and the prompt today, #evict, shows up 0 times in my haunted house story THESE FAMILIAR WALLS, so I went with "remove" instead.

Amber can't do this anymore, something's gotta change.
Only when the children woke and wandered downstairs wanting breakfast, only when she was no longer all alone, did any of the terror fade, giving Amber a chance to think clearly. Something must be done. Ignoring it was not working, just as it hadn’t worked on bullies in her childhood. She needed a plan, and she knew what the first step would be. When Ben got home, they’d remove every mirror from the entire house, and she could not bring herself to care even the littlest bit if he still had a problem with that.
August 19, 2025 at 10:32 PM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
I'm late this evening but I did not forget! #AUGhost day 18, #sag. It's the summer of 1998 and 12-year-old Amber has been grounded for drinking wine at the neighborhood troublemaker's house, but at night sometimes he sneaks into her back yard to keep her company below her window.
Most nights Amber stayed awake after bedtime, staring up at the dark. Nathan didn't always come and throw rocks at her window, but often. In the dark, the hours crawled by. Flat on her back in bed, Amber's eyelids sagged. She blinked hard, pulling them open again with difficulty. Widening her eyes as far as she could, she willed them not to close again, but her arms and legs felt heavy, her body soft and warm. Amber's breathing slowed. She didn't want to fall asleep, told herself she wouldn't, then did. Tap. The small, sharp sound jolted her awake. Her bedside clock told her it was nearly two in the morning.
August 18, 2025 at 10:05 PM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
Hello, hello, friends, it's day 17 of #AUGhost! There are no #catacombs in These Familiar Walls, and there aren't any crypts, mausoleums, tunnels, caverns, or caves. The few times the word "grave" comes up are fairly spoiler-y. So I went with skull! Those are in catacombs, right? Right.
The darkness in the hallway hung thick and cloying. Marigold laughed again at whatever the voice said. The laughter rang healthy and pure, but it crawled in Amber's ears and reverberated in her skull. Tears slid down her cheeks, wetting her fingers where they clasped over her mouth. Why was she weeping? Her breath shuddered in her lungs.
August 17, 2025 at 3:20 PM
cj-dotson.bsky.social
The prompt for day 16 of #AUGhost is a super easy one, it's #bad! Here's a "bad" snippet from THESE FAMILIAR WALLS.

Also, fun news! THESE FAMILIAR WALLS is currently the 2nd most-requested horror novel on Netgalley (tinyurl.com/4pfvrvm5), AND it's in a goodreads giveaway (tinyurl.com/4d94hyzj)!
Morning came groggy and gray, and Amber would have slept through her alarm if Ben hadn't shaken her shoulder after it failed to rouse her. “Another bad night?” he asked, the sympathy on his face and in his voice underscored by a sense of routine. All of Amber’s nights were bad nights, after all.
August 16, 2025 at 3:49 PM