C.J. Dotson

Found something tentacley checking out a copy of THE CUT at my mom's house....

THESE FAMILIAR WALLS is out today!!! If you like haunted houses, relaxing by a bonfire, dual timelines, coming-of-age in the late 90s, the voice whispering from your closet, complicated family dynamics, mirrors doing things, secrets and revelations, and, of course, murders, then you'll dig THESE FAMILIAR WALLS!

Hey, hey, friends! This evening at 6:00 PM EST, Sam Rebelein and I are going to be on Instagram Live, chatting about our books, horror, writing, and other fun stuff! Join us!

I know they're just pinecones, but they're wee baby pinecones and I think they're cute

Found a mutant dandelion

So cozy and yet so exasperated

📖 BOOK REVIEW 📖 Thank you @cj_dots and #partner @stmartinspress for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own. Title: These Familiar Walls Author: C.J. Dotson Length: 320 pages Rating: 5 stars Shocking, twisted, and deliciously dark, These Familiar Walls was as atmospheric and eerie as it was heart-pounding, graphic, and chilling. One of the most well-written haunted house stories that I’ve ever read, it quite literally gave me a nightmare that might’ve been the worst that I’ve ever had. Although, as much as that dream left me drenched in sweat, the plot in this hair-raising tale outdid it by at least a factor of ten. Between the supernatural vibes, eye-popping imagery, and sinister secrets, this is one book that you’re going to want to read with the lights on after you check the locks on all of your windows and doors. You see, not only did the horror-based plot deliver in spades, but it finished up with an ending that will leave any thriller lover with a gigantic grin. Twisty, mysterious, and haunting, nothing was as seemed as the unease ratcheted higher and higher. What else made this book into a five-star stunner for me? Well, on top of the well-drawn suburban setting and creepy neighborhood child, the unreliable narrator was second to none. Was she seeing disturbing, supernatural things in her new-slash-old home or losing her mind? I promise you that the uncertainty of the situation made it even more unsettling as I raced through this novel in well under twenty-four hours. The best part of this fever dream of a read, though? That was most definitely the nail-biting climax and gasp-inducing conclusion. You see, despite figuring out a few of the twists along the way, that last revelation was a *chef’s kiss* kind of move. Altogether, this book was an intense, adrenaline-fueled, anxiety-inducing, unputdownable ride of spine-tingling chills, messed-up family drama, and flawed, believable characters. Rating of 5 stars. 👉 Go to my Amazon Storefront and search for the title to order. As an Amazon Associate, I earn through qualifying purchases and I’d love your support (link in bio). ⁉️QOTD: Give me some horror recs! Or what are you up to this weekend?

The top of a moss-covered fence post.

🔥Book Review🔥 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🔹️These Familiar Walls by @cj_dots 🔹️Publication date: April 14th, 2026 🔹️Published by @stmartinspress ⁉️QOTD⁉️Would you stay 1 week in a locked haunted house for 5k? What would you do first if you looked in a mirror and your reflection was wrong? If you could erase one memory forever, would you? Do you believe places can hold on to energy? 💬These familiar ______?? 📚In 1998, lonely and young Amber forms a dangerous friendship with a boy who gives off immediate bad idea energy. He's obsessed with fire, emotionally cold, and impossible to fully understand. That connection doesn't last long, but it leaves a mark that refuses to fade. Fast forward to 2020: that same boy resurfaces, murders Amber's parents, and dies in her childhood home shortly after. Now, Amber inherits the house, the very place where everything started and everything shattered. Trying to rebuild her life, she moves back in with her husband and kids... but the house isn't just holding on to memories. It's watching, whispering, and it's not done with her yet. As Amber slips into strange dreamlike states, reflections behaving wrong, voices creeping from the walls, she's forced to confront the idea that this isn't grief... it's something far more real. 💭These Familiar Walls isn't loud horror. It doesn't need to be. It builds this quiet unease that settles in and just... stays there. Amber's story unfolds in layers, flipping from past to present in a way that slowly tightens the knot of anxiety. You start connecting the dots before she does and that anticipation is brutal in the best way! There's this constant tension between what psychological and what's possibly supernatural, and this book plays in that gray area very well. This isn't just about a scary house, it's about what we carry with us, the things we try to forget, and what happens when those things refuse to stay buried. And that atmosphere? Heavy. Still. Suffocating but expertly done! If you love slow burn horror that leans into dread and memory this one delivers! 🖤Thank you to NetGalley, CJ Dotson, and St Martin's Press for both the eARC and physical copy!

Hey, hey, friends! On Thursday, May 14th at 6PM Eastern, catch Sam Rebelein and I chatting about books and horror and writing and other fun stuff! And you can use the QR code or the link in my bio to go over to Gibson's Bookstore's website to pick up Sam's and my books (and browse the rest of their great selection while you're there)!

One more daffodil picture, all aglow

Our daffodils are finally in bloom!