the last few weeks i have been reading a new author i discovered called laird barron whom although had been writing for ages had only just fallen under my radar. it's not often i find someone who's work i devour and whom i respect completely as a talent that would influence me so greatly but i'm in awe of his work. from the short stories which are gripping and unpredictable to his novels, 'x's for eyes' and 'the croning.' such incredible storytelling i wrote the previous one in his honour. 
laird writes horror fiction but it's so much more than what horror conjours up in our minds, his stories are literate and intelligent while also being imaginative. his dialogue is witty and precise, while his characters are rich fascinating men, part hemmingway part detective noirish and hugely flawed. i really loved 'x's for eyes' and wished it would just go on for much longer but the collection of short stories i read 'the imago sequence' was fantastic as well. there's a complexity to his stories that keep you focused and a threat you never really see coming and when it does it stays with you for days. 
i still have a few books to read of his but it's so exciting to discover a writer i like that i feel the inclination to devour all his work. i love that feeling. and i love the way laird has changed my approach to writing as well.
that's a cool thing, when you feel a connection and it's not something that just imitates but it influences. 
'the croning' is a good starting point, a short novel but it will keep you awake at night and wow, is it good. i am not a lover of horror, william burroughs was horrific enough but i do like good writing and some horror is better than others. for example i liked william peter blatty's exorcist books, they were very clever and very well written. i loved thomas liggotti and dan simons whose book 'song of kali' reminded me a little of 'the croning' although i should add not in story or style but in the way it made me feel.
if i had to describe his work in a few lines i'd say it's about the idea that once you experience something other and by that i mean something completely illogical and irrational beyond normal reality, you can never un-know it.
anyway the story i wrote about hopti is a kinda a quick idea in homage to liard and a thank you for inspiring me.