Tenebrous Press stands above much of the competition in the crowded indie publishing world. Their mission to focus on New Weird Horror is a noble pursuit. We live in a weird, horrible world, Our literature should reflect that.
Joshua Hall’s novella, Mouth, out March 2024 (or thereabouts) at Tenebrous, fits the bill quite well. Centering around a giant, ravenous yet sensitive mouth that lives in the ground and the man who unknowingly inherits the property, and thus the care and feeding of Mouth.
There is much to like in Mouth. The humor is front and center and peppered throughout a story of overcoming adversity and personal growth (sometimes quite literally). The prose is sharp and to the point, proving that Hall is deft at creating work that begs to be read.
Rusty is drifting through life when he meets a man who gives him the offer of a lifetime. Rusty will get to inherit all of the man’s property and land as long as he promises to care for Mouth. And as you might have suspected, things from there get very weird.
Hall co-wrote the little weird eldritch film Glorious, directed by the immensely talented Rebekah McKendry. If you haven’t seen Gloious, do yourself a solid, because, for a movie with one human character and another from somewhere wholly other, it delivers a ton of fun.
Needless to say, I am a champion of independent media as my creative endeavors will reflect. You should support the little guy because more often than not the little guy is you. And the little guys rule the roost in Mouth. As it should be.