Bodies of Work by Clay McLeod Chapman

I know I have said this before, but Mr Chapman is just a really great person. Not only has he been kind enough to respond to all my social media posts, but his online presence is genuine, silly, and fun. Getting to know the person behind the words is something that really solidifies my enjoyment of an author’s work. Thankfully to social media, Mr. Chapman posted that ARCs were available and I instantly requested a copy. I’m always greatful to have this opportunity so thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley.

Bodies of Work is Clay McLeod Chapman’s latest Novella coming in at 176 pages and releasing on April 7, 2026. This is a revenge horror story but with a supernatural twist. Winston Kemper has always been a background character, even in his own life. Winston lives in his mind dreaming of better worlds and knows that sometimes you have to protect those words. Because of this, Winston sees the real world a little differently and he collects his butterfly warriors to fight the raging war going on that threatens his other world.

Cryptic I know and there are better summaries, but I hate risking giving anything away. Winston’s Butterfly Girls are the women who are runaways that he collects and puts into their cocoons so they can evolve. This story is told from his warriors perspective as they have become apart of Winston’s mind and seen his life and childhood. Everything in Winston’s mind is at their disposal.

I will admit this took me some time to get into. I honestly have no idea why because it starts out fast with the collecting of girl number 6. Then we get the story of why Winston does this with backstory. A little over half way through there is an epic battle sequence which was really well detailed. This was a fun read and I’m always excited to see what Mr Chapman comes up with next. I do still have a good deal to catch up on but I’m making my way. 🥃🥃🥃🥃 Read for me and I do encourage fans of horror and maybe light Sci-fi to give this a read when it comes out.