The CinemaChords Podcast

Howard Gorman

Bringing you up close and personal with the voices shaping film, music, and storytelling today. Each episode dives into candid chats with filmmakers, actors, musicians, and authors — from rising talent to industry icons — as they share the stories behind their work, the challenges they’ve faced, and the sparks that keep their creativity alive.

  1. 10h ago

    #48: Christopher Golden Talks ‘Carry Me to My Grave’: A Journey Into Horror’s Most Human Fears and the Golden Age of Cinema

    Monsters only truly frighten this particular writer if they materialize in worlds we recognize—where the people, places, and histories feel real enough to get lost in. For the better part of three decades, Christopher Golden has understood that the most effective horror comes from that collision between the familiar and the impossible, building an acclaimed body of work across novels, comics, screenplays and audio dramas that has resonated with readers because its fears always feel rooted in something real and close to home. His latest novel, Carry Me to My Grave, publishes tomorrow, July 21, through St. Martin’s Press. Set in 1956, the novel follows Malcolm, who promises his dying mother that he will return her body to her birthplace in rural Maine. But when she dies aboard the Imperial Limited, the cross-country journey descends into a relentless battle for survival as ancient forces emerge to claim what she has left behind. With its gripping fusion of supernatural horror, classic Western, and cinematic adventure, Carry Me to My Grave thrives when the impossible collides with deeply human concerns ranging from family and grief to loyalty and the secrets we keep from those closest to us. Golden skillfully transforms the confines of a long-distance train journey into a pressure cooker of tension, weaving together a timeless tale with unmistakable influences from the golden age of cinema. Ahead of the novel’s release, CinemaChords’ Howard Gorman spoke with Golden about the enduring appeal of horror, the genre’s current creative resurgence, the cinematic influences behind Carry Me to My Grave, and why trains remain such compelling settings for stories where there’s nowhere left to run. The conversation also touches on adapting his work for the screen, with three of his novels currently in various stages of development. But your copy of CARRY ME TO MY GRAVE here: https://amzn.to/4g25HLw

    #48: Christopher Golden Talks ‘Carry Me to My Grave’: A Journey Into Horror’s Most Human Fears and the Golden Age of Cinema

  2. Jul 14

    #47: Araminta Hall on Unreliable Narrator, Narrative Authority and the Elusiveness of Truth

    Brighton-based author Araminta Hall‘s menacing, twist-laden novel Unreliable Narrator is set for publication in the US this 14 July. Offering a fresh perspective on power, memory and the stories people tell themselves, Unreliable Narrator centres on Hope, who, ten years after leaving Somerset in the wake of a tragic event, has built a quiet life while guarding a sinister secret that also protects her former lover, bestselling author Ambrose Glencourt. But when Ambrose publishes a novel that shares blaring similarities with their past – recasting Hope as the villain – she is forced to confront both Ambrose and myriad buried truths. As two conflicting accounts of the past collide, Hope fights to reclaim her story in a world where the loudest voice is often the one taken as gospel. Two of Hall’s novels, Everything & Nothing and One of the Good Guys, were selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club at WHSmith, while four of her books are currently under option and at various stages of production. Most recently, Imperfect Women was adapted into an eight-part series for Apple TV+, starring Elisabeth Moss, Kerry Washington and Kate Mara, which premiered worldwide on 18 March this year.  Ahead of the book’s publication, CinemaChords sat down with Hall to discuss the creative and structural choices behind Unreliable Narrator, including its multiple perspectives, its exploration of privilege, power and, of course, unreliable narration. She also revealed the novel’s balance between journal entries and literary prose, the contrasting philosophies of writing and storytelling it presents, and the ethical boundaries of drawing on real life for fiction. Buy your copy of Unreliable Narrator here: https://amzn.to/4p9Tx5R

    #47: Araminta Hall on Unreliable Narrator, Narrative Authority and the Elusiveness of Truth

  3. Jul 7

    #46: The Gothic Reframed: Charlotte Cross on Carving a Fresh Voice Within the Dracula Mythos in Her Debut Novel ‘The Brides’

    ‘Come to me, and be mine for eternity’ Historical fiction author Charlotte Cross launches her debut novel, The Brides, in the US tomorrow (7 July). Having harboured a lifelong fascination with history, Cross grounds her new narrative in the framework of Bram Stoker’s Dracula—reintroducing familiar figures like Jonathan Harker, Lord Godalming, and Abraham Van Helsing, but entirely reframing the perspective. Written in an epistolary format—and ideal for fans of Kat Dunn’s Bitterthorn and Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian—The Brides is a sapphic horror love story set in 1884. The plot follows Mafalda as she journeys to Budapest to care for her grieving aunt, swiftly followed by her secret love, Lucy, who travels from London with a chaperone and lady’s maid in tow. However, the maid, Alice, is plagued by terrifying visions brought on by “the Sight.”  When their chaperone falls ill, the women head into Transylvania in search of healing waters, ultimately accepting a nobleman’s invitation to Castle Dracula—where their host’s dark ambitions threaten to tear them apart. In celebration of the book’s US launch, CinemaChords caught up with Cross to uncover the “delightfully monstrous” blueprints behind this gothic subversion, tracing her journey to find an authentic voice inside a century-old literary shadow and exploring why horror remains our most honest mirror for dissecting the human condition. Get your copy of The Brides here: https://amzn.to/4p9Tx5R

    #46: The Gothic Reframed: Charlotte Cross on Carving a Fresh Voice Within the Dracula Mythos in Her Debut Novel ‘The Brides’

  4. Jul 3

    #45 - Chuck Tingle Talks ‘Fabulous Bodies’: Turning Influencer Culture into Blood-Soaked Midnight Movie Mayhem

    “These days, nobody seems to care about the experience, they just expect everyone else’s time for doing absolutely f*****g nothing.” So declares one of the key characters in Fabulous Bodies, the highly anticipated new novel from USA Today bestselling author Chuck Tingle. It’s a line that hits shockingly close to the bone, perfectly encapsulating a book that’s bound to become a major topic of discussion when it publishes this coming July 7th through Titan Books in the UK and Tor Nightfire in the US. For us, Fabulous Bodies is a brilliantly bonkers, genre-fluid chiller that reads like a late-night ’80s midnight movie for the online age. Melding the close-quarters, adrenaline-inducing stakes of Michael Mann’s Collateral with the cult sci-fi schlock of The Hidden, the novel drags an initially detestable delinquent into the orbit of a sinister, charismatic figure. Yet, beneath its trippy, B-movie exterior, you will find a fiercely sharp critique of influencer culture and our insatiable appetite for shock value, exposing a modern narcissism that rewards increasingly extreme behaviour for fleeting attention. The result is a wildly entertaining but deeply resonant critique that ultimately forces readers to reckon with whether great art can ever truly excuse destructive impulses. The novel charts the misadventures of Poppy Stringer, an aspiring fashion influencer by day who moonlights as a Palm Springs grave robber by night to make ends meet. When her ultimate idol – the flamboyant, piano-slamming rock icon Eddie Michaels – unexpectedly dies, Poppy is offered a lucrative payday to snatch his corpse from the medical examiner. What should be a straightforward final score quickly turns into absolute, unadulterated chaos when the deceased rock star suddenly wakes up, triggering a fabulously blood-soaked joyride of pure grindhouse cinematic carnage.  In anticipation of the book’s release, we caught up with Tingle to discuss how he merged this contemporary satire on fame and performance with the raw energy of an ’80s midnight movie. The author also opened up about using “America’s iconic answer to Elton John” to interrogate the sinister side of creative genius, and just how much the narrative was informed by his own experiences navigating the surreal reality of meeting personal heroes. Grab your copy of the book here: https://tinyurl.com/FabulousBodies

    #45 - Chuck Tingle Talks ‘Fabulous Bodies’: Turning Influencer Culture into Blood-Soaked Midnight Movie Mayhem

  5. Jun 26

    #44: Paul Tremblay Talks ‘Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep,’ AI, Human Agency and the Horror of Surrendering Ourselves to Technology

    One of our most anticipated books of the year, Paul Tremblay’s latest, Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep, is all set to publish this coming June 30th through Bloomsbury. Taking aim at contemporary AI anxieties and the growing influence of technology giants, the book spins a surreal, darkly satirical and terrifying work of speculative fiction about technological overreach and human fragility that feels all too plausible in the not-too-distant future.    The book follows Julia Flang, a twenty-something temp, who is tasked with remotely guiding a man in a vegetative state – whose implanted AI links him to a shifting, nightmarish reality – across the country. As his memories resurface and danger mounts, Julia and her unlikely charge must navigate a surreal, grotesque world while uncovering who he really is and who he must find. In anticipation of the book’s release, CinemaChords sat down with Tremblay, who reflected on the unsettling inspiration behind the novel’s AI-controlled Weekend at Bernie’s premise, its examination of humanity’s growing deference to technology, and why lived experience, memory and art remain vital antidotes to a future increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.Grab your copy of the book here: https://amzn.to/4f1tp9ESUBSCRIBE To Howard's Haunt on YouTube so as not to miss out on any upcoming videos: https://bit.ly/2KUmvrp

    #44: Paul Tremblay Talks ‘Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep,’ AI, Human Agency and the Horror of Surrendering Ourselves to Technology

  6. Jun 19

    #43: Daniel Kraus on His Sci-Fi Frightmare ‘The Sixth Nik,’ Cronenbergian Biotech, and the Fight for Human Emotion

    Fresh off taking home the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his World War I novel, Angel Down, New York Times bestselling author Daniel Kraus is all set to take readers on a galaxy-spanning adventure in his latest release, The Sixth Nik, which publishes this June 23 through S&S/Saga Press. Part cosmic space opera, part body-horror frightmare, The Sixth Nik transcends genre to take readers far beyond the edges of civilized space where The Sickness—a sentient ship woven from living biomatter—is charting a course toward uncharted cosmic terror. Onboard is Sisilla, a nine-year-old cultist with a brain enhanced by arcane tech known as “niks,” sent to uncover why a plague-ridden planet has suddenly gone rogue.But the planet is far from the only threat. Trapped with a volatile, NonModded captain with a score to settle with Sisilla, a hacked robot that thinks she’s its child, and a living ship that is terrifyingly mutating from the inside out, Sisilla needs to survive long enough to uncover a cosmic secret far more terrifying than anyone could ever have imagined. In anticipation of the book’s release, CinemaChords sat down with Kraus, who shared his inspirations for creating a world that defies the laws of physics and leans into unprecedented, futuristic, Cronenbergian (bio)tech, sure to give you recurring, claustrophobic nightmares. We also discussed the novel’s exploration of deeply nihilistic themes, particularly how the “Niffakoq” colony draws bleak parallels to our own tech-saturated world. This includes how emotion becomes a form of rebellion in a society obsessed with absolute efficiency, and how we can’t stop progress—we can only mop up the mess. And, despite the book’s grim backdrop, we also covered the story’s glimmer of hope in how Sisilla’s struggle to unlearn her programmed instincts serves as a much-needed lesson in moral sovereignty. Secure your copy of The Sixth Nik here: https://amzn.to/4ebLmAK Add it to Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242986069-the-sixth-nik

    #43: Daniel Kraus on His Sci-Fi Frightmare ‘The Sixth Nik,’ Cronenbergian Biotech, and the Fight for Human Emotion

  7. Jun 8

    #42 - Grief, Folklore, and Highway Horror: CJ Leede Talks Grimy New Shocker Novel 'Headlights'

    CJ Leede has fast earned her stripes for her ability to make readers care before she makes them scared. Her knack for pairing pure, unadulterated terror with deeply empathetic character work is unmatched, and her brilliant new shocker Headlights doubles down on that signature formula. Born from a deeply personal period of grief and disillusionment, the book uses the backdrop of Colorado folklore to map the sinister anatomy of highway murders. For anyone fond of the tightly wound, sinister procedural thrills of Seven, "True Detective", or "Hannibal"/The Silence of the Lambs, this is bound to be your next absolute obsession - a relentlessly tight procedural where the book's grisly roadside horrors are matched blow-for-blow by the brilliant psychological depth of a deeply scarred cast. The novel centers on Special Agent Daniel Stansfield. On the brink of stepping away from the FBI, Stansfield is pulled back to Denver when seemingly innocent people are discovered on highways wearing the skin of total strangers, each with a single strand of hair tied around their tongue. To stop the cycle, he must confront both his own traumatic past and the entity behind these gruesome crimes before more lives - including his own - are claimed. To celebrate the book’s release tomorrow, June 9th, via Tor Nightfire,CinemaChords caught up with Leede to reflect on the novel’s geographical grounding in Colorado, her dedication to scratching that "anchored-in-reality" itch so the supernatural elements carry real resonance, and how her prose consciously rejects the reductive, single-trauma shorthand often found in fiction, opting instead for nuanced character studies that ultimately lend the book’s visceral horrors a satisfyingly profound psychological anchor. Secure your copy of HEADLIGHTS here.

    #42 - Grief, Folklore, and Highway Horror: CJ Leede Talks Grimy New Shocker Novel 'Headlights'

  8. Jun 1

    #41 - Author Leah Rowan on rewriting horror history by giving one of the genre’s most famous victims her own voice in ‘Marion’

    What happens when one of fiction’s most famous victims gets to tell her own story? Author Leah Rowan’s debut novel Marion arrives this week, reimagining one of the genre’s most enduring stories. Taking Robert Bloch’s Psycho as its starting point, the novel recasts its central victim as a resourceful and morally complex protagonist whose story resists the certainties of the original. Brimming with suspense and high-stakes tension, Marion echoes the moral and narrative instability of 1959’s Psycho, keeping readers uncertain about where their sympathies should lie. After stealing money to help her sister escape an abusive marriage, Marion finds herself stranded at a remote inn, where she kills a threatening innkeeper in self-defence. Now on the run as both thief and killer, she must navigate mounting dangers while uncovering dark secrets in a bid to protect both herself and her sister. Ahead of the book’s publication on June 2, CinemaChords sat down with Rown to discuss taking on a story as culturally entrenched as Psycho, finding space for her own voice in its shadow, the competing visions of womanhood embodied by the novel’s maternal figures, and the role fear plays in shaping the boundaries of a woman’s freedom. BUY YOUR COPY OF MARION HERE: https://amzn.to/4981DUQ

    #41 - Author Leah Rowan on rewriting horror history by giving one of the genre’s most famous victims her own voice in ‘Marion’
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About

Bringing you up close and personal with the voices shaping film, music, and storytelling today. Each episode dives into candid chats with filmmakers, actors, musicians, and authors — from rising talent to industry icons — as they share the stories behind their work, the challenges they’ve faced, and the sparks that keep their creativity alive.

Information

  • Creator
    Howard Gorman
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    48
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Howard Gorman
  • Show Website
    The CinemaChords Podcast

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