Category Archives: Alternate Perceptions

Androids and Dragons: A Journal of and about Speculative Fiction – SUBSTACK ZINE

Happy September to you all. Autumn is just around the corner, and this is where I start getting a lot of short fiction acceptances and stuff published. Always September through December. And for this website post, I am currently appearing with a reprint in the Substack publication: “Androids and Dragons: A Journal of and about Speculative Fiction.” It has hundreds of followers, hundred of readers. It’s a token-paying market. There’s a lot of these Substack newsletter publications (in the form of modern webzines), popping up these days. In the old days, when I first started getting published, a lot of webzines were hosted by Lycos or Geocities. Or they depended on programs like Dreamweaver and Flash, to look stylish for the time period. It seems Substack is becoming a major platform to build your fiction-reading audience. Stories can be emailed to subscribers, direct to their inbox. You can read a short story anywhere, not just home computer but on your phone on the go. And it pops up really quick on search engines, because the one thing Substack has going for it is many a search engine algorithm. The editor is Jenna Hanan Moore. I’ll leave any links down below, direct or otherwise. And the name of my reprint is: “Past and Present Company Excepted.”

Androids and Dragons: A Journal of and about Speculative Fiction

Substack Publication – Edited by Jenna Hanan Moore

Featuring Dagstine reprint: “Past and Present Company Excepted.”

Photo credit: Androids and Dragons/Jenna Hanan Moore
Photo credit: Caras Jr. on Unsplash, 2025.

The September Edition Opening Page – (click link, be redirected):

https://androidsanddragons.substack.com/p/issue-12-september-2025

My short story – (click link, be redirected):

https://androidsanddragons.substack.com/p/past-and-present-company-excepted

Other New Entries:

And speaking of Substack publications or newsletters, I’ve updated my own personal one recently. But only with a quickie. You can find a link to that right below…

https://lawrencedagstinewrites.substack.com/p/lawrence-dagstine-even-prolific-writers

NEW YEARS ANTHOLOGIES: “The Alien Buddha’s Chaos Countdowns” – Alien Buddha Press

I have a reprint (appeared in DASH Literary Journal about two years ago), that matches the theme of the following anthology. Chaotic or haphazard stories about New Years, and similar celebratory fiction fare to go along with the once-a-year holiday. And what better way to ring in 2025 than with Alien Buddha Press (the publisher), and sharing a table of contents with the likes of NJ Gallegos, Dawn DeBraal, April Ridge, and Bram Stoker-nominee James Dorr. My New Years-themed story has elements of speculative fiction, steampunk, and magic realism in it. Oh, and angel doctors! It’s called Before Measured Time. It takes place right before midnight on December 31st 1899, and the 20th century and universe is at stake! Check out Alien Buddha’s Chaos Countdowns Anthology now on Amazon. Pictures and info down below. Most of all, Happy New Years!

Alien Buddha’s New Years Chaos Countdowns Anthology

Published by Alien Buddha Press

Featuring Lawrence Dagstine reprint: “Before Measured Time”

Available in paperback on Amazon (click preview box below):

Other New Entries: “Books & Anthos”

DASH Literary Journal #16 – California State University (Fullerton – Futurist Fiction)

I’ve currently got a work of futurist fiction (spec-fic with a steampunk aesthetic tossed in for good measure), appearing in the current edition of DASH Literary Journal. No. #16, 2023. This is the official literary magazine of California State University. Out of Fullerton’s Comparative English Studies Department for Language and Linguistics. I actually studied linguistics back in the 1990s but ended up graduating in journalism and the science of publishing. I used to submit to a handful of literary magazines when I was first starting out in the fiction field. DASH No. #16 features poetry AND fiction, and the short stories in Volume #16 come from the likes of: J.M. Williams, Daniel Webre, Robert S. Gordon, Myself, Mark Silcox, Jared Livingston, James Fowler, and there is a TON of non-fiction. It’s very well put together. I will say that. Links, pics below with website info.

DASH Literary Journal Volume #16

THEME: Futurisms – (Futurist Fiction)

Featuring Dagstine Story: “Before Measured Time”

DASH WEBSITE/UNIVERSITY INFO:

https://english.fullerton.edu/publications/dash.aspx

DASH Literary Journal on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/dashliteraryjournal/

To my knowledge, it is available in PRINT only.

Other New Entries: “Magazines”

OG’s Speculative Fiction, Mid-Late 2010… (3rd Acceptance!)

A couple of weeks ago I grabbed my third acceptance to the long running speculative fiction/science fiction magazine on the Web — available as a free PDF Download to read and eventually purchase on LULU as a magazine for cons — The Opinion Guy (aka OG’s Speculative Fiction).  This would be my second acceptance in one year to them, and they’ve featured some very talented and familiar names in the science fiction arena.  Both short stories and poetry.  Matter of fact, this third credit comes right after my 2nd, and bolstered me up to the 400 credit mark.  Editor is Seth Crossman, and he also provides an Internet site full of informative articles.

 

Lawrence Dagstine RETURNS to OG’s Speculative Fiction

Third Acceptance – Click on the link(s) for some free reading in PDF format

MAIN HOMEPAGE:

www.theopinionguy.com

Previous Dagstine Stories:

https://lawrencedagstine.com/2010/03/25/ogs-speculative-fiction-march-2010-2nd-acceptances/

Other New Entries: “Magazines”

OG’s Speculative Fiction, March 2010… (2nd Acceptances!)

You can find me for a second time in the long-running, speculative fiction magazine and PDF webzine: OG’s Speculative Fiction.  Issue #23, March to April 2010.  Previous issues include an appearance in Issue #9.  Edited by Seth Crossman, this particular issue not only features myself but stories by Wayne Helge, Poetry by Darrell Lindsey, and Cover Art by Jem French.  It’s a classic issue, in both free format and print format (eventual release through LULU)…  Online articles, too.  Enjoy!

“Still one of my favorite stories we have ever published. We hope you enjoy the issue.”

— Seth Crossman, editor of the Opinion Guy

OG’s SPECULATIVE FICTION Issue #23 – Feature Author

Available in print via LULU, or as a free PDF – THE OPINION GUY.

HOMEPAGE (with articles):

www.theopinionguy.com

FREE PDF DOWNLOADS (for most readers):

http://theopinionguy.com/2010/03/ogs-speculative-fiction-issue-23/

http://theopinionguy.com/ogs-speculative-fiction/

PURCHASE A PRINT ISSUE (Convention Copies):

‘Also featuring Lawrence R. Dagstine’

ORDER SAMPLE ISSUE BELOW:

Other New Entries: “Magazines”

The Random Eye, Volume #2… (2010 Edition!)

The 2010 edition of The Random Eye is now up — an annual e-Zine dedicated to alternatives, communication that breaks the mold, universes or altiverses that are parallel in nature, and where, for the new decade, tea is the ongoing theme.  Edited by Melissa Jones, The Random Eye is also The Random Radio.  Published annually.  Come, click, and have a cup.

The Random Eye, Volume #2

MAIN HOMEPAGE:

http://therandomeye.atspace.com/index.html

THE RANDOM EYE on TWITTER:

http://twitter.com/therandomeye

FREE FICTION – THEME: TEA…

http://therandomeye.atspace.com/thegirlwhodreamtportals.html

Other New Entries: “Magazines”

Alternate Perceptions #46, Spring 1999…

And now, direct from the DAGSTINE LAND archives… A Blast from the Past…!

November’s Blast from the Past brings us a MAJOR non-fiction UFO/Paranormal magazine from the 1990’s, which was available on Newsstands and in Borders.  Back in the spring of 1999 I put my journalism skills to good use and nabbed my first two-page spread, and my first non-fiction/freelance writing credit.  Hard to believe that was over eight years ago.  I even had my picture between the pages with a theoretical article on a religious subject we know very little about: Angelic and Human association.

alternate_perceptions.jpg

The name of my first non-fiction article: “Origins of Man: Were Angels our Teachers and Forefathers?” Between the pages of “Alternate Perceptions”, Non-Fiction Journal of UFOs, History, Native Spirituality, and Paranormal Phenomena.  Yeah, I know… All that fun ‘unsolved mystery’ kind of stuff.  To my knowledge, they’ve switched to an irregular online format: http://www.mysterious-america.net/

Here’s what the magazine and editorial staff were all about:

http://www.answers.com/topic/alternate-perceptions

The links above are all that remains of this once great magazine.  When I walked into Borders with my mother and saw Issue#46 on the magazine rack, she told me how proud of me she was.  After all, this was my first non-fiction sale.  I was only 25.  Other features to this issue included an article on Nostradamus by Dr. Greg Little.  Also, non-fiction by Dr. Susan Shumsky, Al Fry, Scott Dow, Brent Raynes (editor), and Dr. Berthold Schwarz MD, among others…

Until next time… 😉

Lawrence R. Dagstine