From a New York Times By the Book interview headlined “Victor LaValle Likes to Stare Directly at His Deepest Fears”:

“People sometimes ask why I want to read horror at all, let alone write it,” says the horror novelist, whose new book is “Lone Women.” “So much writing glances off the hardest and worst experiences, but horror confronts the worst that happens. … A good horror novel doesn’t lie to you.”

What books are on your night stand?

“The Black Guy Dies First,” by Robin R. Means Coleman and Mark H. Harris; “The Survivalists,” by Kashana Cauley; “Mott Street,” by Ava Chin.