What do you think?
Rate this book
Shagging the Boss
"Lesson number don't get attached to anyone. Being a cannibal is the only way to truly succeed in this business." He placed one hand on the door handle, then thought a moment and smiled to himself. "The problem is, once you take a bite, it will never be enough."
After a fortuitous encounter at a local book convention, a liberal arts graduate accepts a position at a flashy publishing company under the tutelage of its charismatic owner only to learn that the press is led, and fed, by a literal boogeyman.
After a fortuitous encounter at a local book convention, a liberal arts graduate accepts a position at a flashy publishing company under the tutelage of its charismatic owner only to learn that the press is led, and fed, by a literal boogeyman.
82 pages, Paperback
Published June 30, 2022
62 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Rowland
47 books280 followersRebecca Rowland is a Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author, a Bram Stoker Award-nominated editor, and the recipient of a Godless 666 Horror Fiction Award. She is an Active member of the Horror Writers Association and International Thriller Writers, and having lived in Massachusetts for most of her life, she chooses to set most of her fiction there.
Despite earning graduate degrees in English, Education, and Information Science, she miraculously managed to pay off her student loans before retirement and/or death.
In her spare time, she pets her cats, eats cheese, and drinks vodka, though not necessarily in that order.
She is represented by Becky LeJeune of Bond Literary Agency.
Despite earning graduate degrees in English, Education, and Information Science, she miraculously managed to pay off her student loans before retirement and/or death.
In her spare time, she pets her cats, eats cheese, and drinks vodka, though not necessarily in that order.
She is represented by Becky LeJeune of Bond Literary Agency.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 31, 2022
You're going to have expectations going into Shagging the Boss, so go ahead and just leave them at the door right now. This is a truly unique and entertaining novella.
Against her better instincts, a recent graduate takes a position at a publishing company. Looking back, she wonders why she didn't run when she had the chance, but hindsight seems to always work like that. Her boss is a literal boogeyman, of the Yara-Ma-Wha-Who type. I wasn't familiar with this Australian lore but Rowland takes care of all of that for you, filling you in without beating you over the head with lengthy descriptions or boring history lessons.
And is there any better industry to feature a cannibalistic monster than that of the Publishing world?
This is a quick read, featuring what I've come to see as Rebecca Rowland's specific brand of humor that can be biting at times, and is always smart.
"biting" see what I did there? I'll let myself out...
Against her better instincts, a recent graduate takes a position at a publishing company. Looking back, she wonders why she didn't run when she had the chance, but hindsight seems to always work like that. Her boss is a literal boogeyman, of the Yara-Ma-Wha-Who type. I wasn't familiar with this Australian lore but Rowland takes care of all of that for you, filling you in without beating you over the head with lengthy descriptions or boring history lessons.
And is there any better industry to feature a cannibalistic monster than that of the Publishing world?
This is a quick read, featuring what I've come to see as Rebecca Rowland's specific brand of humor that can be biting at times, and is always smart.
"biting" see what I did there? I'll let myself out...
July 19, 2022
I know what you’re thinking and you are dead wrong. When the new graduate finds herself with an opportunity to work for a publisher that specializes in celebrity biographies she jumps at the chance. However, her boss is looking for more than a piece of her. What’s it like to work for a boogeyman?
“I watched in confused horror as his fingertips tore ten round incisions into my body, breaking the skin, each digit disappearing up to the first knuckle.”
This was so much more than I expected. I don’t know how Rebecca Rowland packed it all in but I’m so glad she did. It was original and quick so I don’t want to give any more away except to say that there are more ways to climb the corporate ladder than by shagging the boss.
“I watched in confused horror as his fingertips tore ten round incisions into my body, breaking the skin, each digit disappearing up to the first knuckle.”
This was so much more than I expected. I don’t know how Rebecca Rowland packed it all in but I’m so glad she did. It was original and quick so I don’t want to give any more away except to say that there are more ways to climb the corporate ladder than by shagging the boss.
May 21, 2022
In this lean, mean book from Rebecca Rowland, a recently-graduated English major becomes the protege of Daniel, a publisher who is also a Yara Ma Yha Who, a kind of vampiric creature from Australian lore who has a novel (and gruesome!) way of consuming its victim. Those of us who have followed Rowland's work over the past few years will delight in how she explores new frontiers by borrowing from Aboriginal mythology, resulting in a narrative that functions as a scathing satire on the publishing world while still delivering the goods as a horror story. Original, engaging, and impeccably plotted, this novelette will hopefully add more readers to Rowland's legion of fans, especially those who enjoy their horror served with wit.
August 30, 2022
We really don’t see enough workplace horror, especially post-pandemic. And while ostensibly that’s what Rebecca Rowland’s slim book is, there is a lot more to it, from modern angst of trying to find one’s place in the world to how far we are willing to go to get what we want. Her prose is clean, allowing the pace to zip past so quickly that you barely have time to register what you’re reading. A small book with big ideas. And typically Rowland in its characters, and its gore. A winner.
April 15, 2025
Another book I went into blind and it was a fantastic read! Don't judge this book by it's title. It's workplace horror meets folk horror featuring a vampire type creature from Southeastern Australian Aboriginal mythology. It's a quick read and you won't be sorry you read it!
April 2, 2024
A quick read that gives a whole new meaning to “Shagging The Boss” 😂
August 18, 2022
A charming publishing executive with an insatiable hunger takes a young employee under his wing, but his mentorship comes at a price. This is a fun one: the creature stuff is offbeat and the humour is pleasantly arch.
June 2, 2022
Rebecca Rowland was once again awesome enough to send me one of her books for review. Behold the beautifully weird novellete with the perfectly bizarre title 'Shagging the Boss'. (There is no Austin Powers connection. I promise. Not an erotic workplace story either)
The story opens at a book convention, when a liberal arts graduate is offered a position at a prestigious publishing company under the guardianship of its charismatic yet utterly strange owner. Soon enough it will be revealed that the publishing world is full of cannibals and the scariest of them all is very very close.
When the 1st lesson is: ' don’t get attached to anyone. Being a cannibal is the only way to truly succeed in this business', then you suspect something is already very wrong.
When the lesson continues with, 'The problem is, once you take a bite, it will never be enough,' then you know for sure you are in trouble.
Couple that with the Aboriginal tale of the Yara Ma Yha Who, a creature who hides in the trees until visitors walk by...... and you have a dynamite of a story, impactful enough to shake you and keep you revisiting the crazy scenes and dialogues for maaaaany days after reading.
The author managed to put together a great short story that grabs you from the hair and nails you to your reading spot. It will make you come face to face with a bizarre, extremely well penned, boogeyman character that will haunt your dreams until you get fully consumed and emerge anew.
It will shake you up and leave you thinking about it and that's the beauty of it. Soon, you will be looking out for similar boogeymen in your everyday life...
A lovely, short horror story with a bite (or two) . One you need to consume, or be consumed by the soonest.
This wonderful beast will be unleashed to the world on June the 30th.
The story opens at a book convention, when a liberal arts graduate is offered a position at a prestigious publishing company under the guardianship of its charismatic yet utterly strange owner. Soon enough it will be revealed that the publishing world is full of cannibals and the scariest of them all is very very close.
When the 1st lesson is: ' don’t get attached to anyone. Being a cannibal is the only way to truly succeed in this business', then you suspect something is already very wrong.
When the lesson continues with, 'The problem is, once you take a bite, it will never be enough,' then you know for sure you are in trouble.
Couple that with the Aboriginal tale of the Yara Ma Yha Who, a creature who hides in the trees until visitors walk by...... and you have a dynamite of a story, impactful enough to shake you and keep you revisiting the crazy scenes and dialogues for maaaaany days after reading.
The author managed to put together a great short story that grabs you from the hair and nails you to your reading spot. It will make you come face to face with a bizarre, extremely well penned, boogeyman character that will haunt your dreams until you get fully consumed and emerge anew.
It will shake you up and leave you thinking about it and that's the beauty of it. Soon, you will be looking out for similar boogeymen in your everyday life...
A lovely, short horror story with a bite (or two) . One you need to consume, or be consumed by the soonest.
This wonderful beast will be unleashed to the world on June the 30th.
May 30, 2022
Video Review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klimp...
4 1/2
This may be a stretch, but I look at "Shagging The Boss" as Rowlands tale of the cannibalistic world of publishing, both figuratively and literally. Maybe it is just the way I tried to reads between some of the lines and I allowed my mind to wonder a little too much.
I do know the story overall is very interesting. I had a blast reading it. Rowland brings in a little mythology to help carry us along. Australian Aboriginal Mythology to be exact.
We have a grad student being thrust into the world of this flashy in-your-face publishing company, with a very larger-than-life owner. He has, some quirks.
Well, he’s a Yara-ma-yha-who. This is a squirmy little fella who likes to eat his victims, then spit them back up. HE’S A REGURGITATING VAMPIRE! What have I gotten myself into?
Look, as weird as that sounds, I think you will find pleasure in this story. It's sprinkled with a lot of my kind of weird humor. Tongue-in-cheek action a few times.
But don't allow the weird boss and the humor to block your view of the main story at hand. We witness a person on a journey to figure out their true self, while finding their proper place and purpose. Rowland is able to have a deep thought provoking plotline without it being too deep thought provoking. She plays the subtleties perfectly.
Masterly paced, the story takes off and doesn't let up on the accelerator. It blends a few situations and characters together, leaving us to interpret conversations and meaning for ourselves.
Rowland's voice is strong, telling a story while highlighting issues and situations from todays society without the message being overbearing taking away from the entertainment of the tale.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klimp...
4 1/2
This may be a stretch, but I look at "Shagging The Boss" as Rowlands tale of the cannibalistic world of publishing, both figuratively and literally. Maybe it is just the way I tried to reads between some of the lines and I allowed my mind to wonder a little too much.
I do know the story overall is very interesting. I had a blast reading it. Rowland brings in a little mythology to help carry us along. Australian Aboriginal Mythology to be exact.
We have a grad student being thrust into the world of this flashy in-your-face publishing company, with a very larger-than-life owner. He has, some quirks.
Well, he’s a Yara-ma-yha-who. This is a squirmy little fella who likes to eat his victims, then spit them back up. HE’S A REGURGITATING VAMPIRE! What have I gotten myself into?
Look, as weird as that sounds, I think you will find pleasure in this story. It's sprinkled with a lot of my kind of weird humor. Tongue-in-cheek action a few times.
But don't allow the weird boss and the humor to block your view of the main story at hand. We witness a person on a journey to figure out their true self, while finding their proper place and purpose. Rowland is able to have a deep thought provoking plotline without it being too deep thought provoking. She plays the subtleties perfectly.
Masterly paced, the story takes off and doesn't let up on the accelerator. It blends a few situations and characters together, leaving us to interpret conversations and meaning for ourselves.
Rowland's voice is strong, telling a story while highlighting issues and situations from todays society without the message being overbearing taking away from the entertainment of the tale.
July 14, 2022
A fascinating, satirical take on the publishing industry, Shagging the Boss lets all of us readers in on a secret: cannibalism and publishing are rooted in the same need to ingest parts of an individual for personal profit. Rowland teaches us this lesson through an Australian boogeyman (Daniel) with an insatiable appetite for flesh, although I felt that Daniel’s episodes of feeding were meant to be less frightening than a metaphor for the symbiotic relationship between author and publisher; essentially, you give me a story from which I can profit and I will keep selling you and keeping you relevant.
In addition to Rowland’s quick wit and ability to spin a tale of horror that intersperses humor throughout, I particularly enjoyed all the Easter eggs for those of us with that useless English degree. Her nods to Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Shakespeare made me smile. However, I am left with one question that will continue to haunt me…what is the protagonist’s name?!
In addition to Rowland’s quick wit and ability to spin a tale of horror that intersperses humor throughout, I particularly enjoyed all the Easter eggs for those of us with that useless English degree. Her nods to Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Shakespeare made me smile. However, I am left with one question that will continue to haunt me…what is the protagonist’s name?!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2022
Rowland's tale is a transgressive mindfuck that will leave you irreparably unnerved.
July 30, 2022
Intriguing and unique concept, excellent writing and execution. This is a short novella but packs a powerful punch!
August 10, 2022
If you're expecting a certain type of book based on the title, then you're going to be disappointed.
This is a tale of the boogeymen that lurk in the publishing industry and what skills you need to make it to the top. It packs lots into its short page count, there's some pretty nasty imagery and the ending is just straight up horror. Well worth reading
I received a copy of this for reviewing
This is a tale of the boogeymen that lurk in the publishing industry and what skills you need to make it to the top. It packs lots into its short page count, there's some pretty nasty imagery and the ending is just straight up horror. Well worth reading
I received a copy of this for reviewing
August 30, 2022
A tragedy of a name for this creature feature horror book, giving off vibes in direct contrast to the actual story.
I’d be lying if I said it didn’t do it a big disservice in the form of expectations.
That said, It was fairly well written though felt rushed in places.
A young go getter trying to break into the publishing world meets just the right man, the head of Xanadu publishing who agrees to take her under his wing but only after making a lunch of her fingers first.
I could definitely see reading much more about the boss creature in this story, backstory and motivation etc. as well as more about our MC who feels like a shell of a real person in just the 80 pages we get to know them.
This is just a small taste of something that could be much bigger. I look forward to seeing what Rowland writes in the future.
3.5 stars ⭐️
I’d be lying if I said it didn’t do it a big disservice in the form of expectations.
That said, It was fairly well written though felt rushed in places.
A young go getter trying to break into the publishing world meets just the right man, the head of Xanadu publishing who agrees to take her under his wing but only after making a lunch of her fingers first.
I could definitely see reading much more about the boss creature in this story, backstory and motivation etc. as well as more about our MC who feels like a shell of a real person in just the 80 pages we get to know them.
This is just a small taste of something that could be much bigger. I look forward to seeing what Rowland writes in the future.
3.5 stars ⭐️
May 30, 2023
Fellow horror author Rebecca Rowland sent me her wonderful book, Shagging the Boss, and I loved it 😈 I don't review many books, but this was a great, fast read and I will always try to support the indies as much as possible.
Being that this was my first time reading Rebecca's work, the first thing that immediately struck me was how WELL she writes, like a true veteran. I honestly don't set aside much reading time these days with my writing schedule, but at a brisk 78 pages, who can't fit that in? Good on the author for not feeling the need to stretch out a great story for arbitrary word or page counts. This was a great read, something along the lines of The Devil Wears Prada meets American Psycho meets....Alien?
Highly recommend this novella, and I look forward to reading more from her in the future!
Being that this was my first time reading Rebecca's work, the first thing that immediately struck me was how WELL she writes, like a true veteran. I honestly don't set aside much reading time these days with my writing schedule, but at a brisk 78 pages, who can't fit that in? Good on the author for not feeling the need to stretch out a great story for arbitrary word or page counts. This was a great read, something along the lines of The Devil Wears Prada meets American Psycho meets....Alien?
Highly recommend this novella, and I look forward to reading more from her in the future!
April 22, 2023
This little book is chock-full of story and characterization. Don't let its unassuming size fool you... It is not lacking anywhere. Went into this one totally blind and glad that I did. What I initially thought might have been a dark humor, erotic horror, or thriller ended up being a subtle workplace horror with a surprising creature/folk horror element. I think there's a metaphor to be respected here about climbing the career ladder, and what you sometimes have to do in order to achieve success.
March 30, 2023
I wasn't really into this when I first started reading it, it was quite slow to start and it felt like it was going to turn into more of a weird drama. I never should have doubted Filthy Loot.
The second half of this book was amazing, gory and dramatic, and the ending! Superb. Definitely didn't go where I thought it was going to go.
Another great one from Filthy Loot, definitely recommend!
The second half of this book was amazing, gory and dramatic, and the ending! Superb. Definitely didn't go where I thought it was going to go.
Another great one from Filthy Loot, definitely recommend!
June 1, 2023
Started and finished on Friday May 26th 2023
A 23 year old liberal arts grad is taken under the wing of the head of a large publishing company. And he might be the boogeyman.
Quirky genre fare aesthetic mixed with some very honest biting moments that keep it relatively grounded
Felt like a gory Devil Wears Prada with a hint of that Anne Rice chic
Very quick and snappy around 80 pages
I liked that the entire history and physiology of the horror wasn’t entirely explained and you were in the same position as the central character trying to piece it together as you’re being assaulted by it
It kept it more mythical
Cannibalism as a euphemism for the publishing world felt fitting and well tailored
Great use of sex through death symbolism near the end
As an object the book is munchkin sized in contrast to the punch it packs on the inside
Effortless flow to the word styling
Very charming and cute
Put a smile on my face
A 23 year old liberal arts grad is taken under the wing of the head of a large publishing company. And he might be the boogeyman.
Quirky genre fare aesthetic mixed with some very honest biting moments that keep it relatively grounded
Felt like a gory Devil Wears Prada with a hint of that Anne Rice chic
Very quick and snappy around 80 pages
I liked that the entire history and physiology of the horror wasn’t entirely explained and you were in the same position as the central character trying to piece it together as you’re being assaulted by it
It kept it more mythical
Cannibalism as a euphemism for the publishing world felt fitting and well tailored
Great use of sex through death symbolism near the end
As an object the book is munchkin sized in contrast to the punch it packs on the inside
Effortless flow to the word styling
Very charming and cute
Put a smile on my face
February 22, 2024
did not go into this expecting corporate cannibalism but hey, i’m not complaining!
the figurative and literal meaning of becoming a cannibal to survive in the corporate world was perfect. it was short but so so gross and the ending was satisfying.
another great filthy loot book 👏
the figurative and literal meaning of becoming a cannibal to survive in the corporate world was perfect. it was short but so so gross and the ending was satisfying.
another great filthy loot book 👏
January 14, 2023
Kinda saw the ending coming on this one but still a fun little read.
March 20, 2023
A delectable tale! Review to come!
September 16, 2023
3.75 stars
Read
January 18, 2024Shagging the Boss is a thoroughly weird, highly metaphorical novella about the blood-sucking nature of the publishing industry.
June 16, 2024
Very well written and very bizarre. Rowland is one to look out for!
August 20, 2024
Dang. Publishing is a rough business.
I loved everything about this one. Excellent. This is a novella done right.
I loved everything about this one. Excellent. This is a novella done right.
December 22, 2024
This is the strangest book I have ever read. Cannibalism at it's finest.
August 22, 2023
Hints of Barker and Gaiman are filtered through Rowland’s own Massachusetts upbringing to create a work that is magical and wicked. With Shagging the Boss, Rebecca Rowland has once again proven she is a writer of immense talent. Urban folk horror that isn’t what you’re expecting! I can’t recommend this book enough.
December 7, 2023
wtf did I just read I dunno? Plus…Jello.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews