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.
So today is here. Today is the day of my third official story collection: THE NIGHTMARE CYCLE, from Dark Owl Publishing. It is available in print and digital formats (Paperback and on Amazon Kindle). And as the year goes on, straight thru 2024, will be available at book fairs, from various literary vendors, horror and comic-themed conventions, the odd novelty or specialty store, or wherever other fine horror books or goods are sold. I will keep you updated on this website. The spooky fun starts in Arizona first and New York second.
A short story collection is a book of tales by one single author, where an anthology is a book of stories usually centered around a theme from not one but many authors, from many different states or countries or diverse backgrounds. The Nightmare Cycle was an idea for a book that came to me one day in a dream (go figure), but is not about being in a dream. It gets its title from every single story being “A Nightmarish Scenario,” one warped tale leading into the next (the theme of cycling and unending), and then the one thereafter. There is no finality. Just horrific circumstance after circumstance. Undulated terror. Beginning, middle, end. Think Rod Serling’s The Night Gallery, but modern day, my take.
THE NIGHTMARE CYCLE by Lawrence Dagstine
From Dark Owl Publishing – NOW AVAILABLE worldwide
You have mostly new stories between the pages, but you have some obscure offerings as well. Tales from my humble beginnings as a horror author. The 2000s era. There are stories like Thursday’s Children. Imagine pitting zombie youth against each other the same way people hold backroom cockfights for money. The Adopted, where werewolf adoption in Southeast Asia is more complex than you think. Human Transfer, a very dark and dystopic tale of population control, and betrayal by the people you thought you knew and trusted most.
There are Dark Owl exclusives, tales which are theirs and theirs only, such as The Thing about Eden. Imagine Mars in the future where life under one dark leadership only becomes concerning, overbearing, and darker with the next. The Acrylic Man, about a painter of spectral portraits who captures his love interests with not just grace but permanence. The Show Must Go On, a story about a sharpshooting djinn and her western travels, but also her wretched past.
You have new offerings such as Princely Homecoming, a unique take on Snow White, who longs for her long dead prince. There is Pet, a tale set during the backdrop of the Nixon era, which puts a twist on just “who” or “what” constitutes man’s best friend. Genetically speaking, of course. There is Our Family Awaits, a witch’s tale unlike any other, about foster care and deep dark secrets. This is one which will have you clutching the blankets. And there is so much more; there’s even a novelette within The Nightmare Cycle’s pages.
AMAZON KINDLE “EBOOK” VERSION:
(Sample a few pages below, or shoot for the paperback version)
Here’s the horror convention calendar for Dark Owl Publishing and The Nightmare Cycle. This calendar will obviously grow. I will be away in July (after the 4th), but I will have my netbook with me, keep in touch via social media. Dark Owl will also have some of their horror wares and anthologies available from a talented stable of other authors as well, so be sure to keep tuning in to this link below:
Oh, by the way, the fabulous cover art was done by Fernando JFL (Giotefeli), who is a professional horror illustrator and death metal artist from South America. He takes a rather retro, vintage approach to his work. If you are looking for an artist, might I recommend him: https://www.instagram.com/giotefeli, and https://giotefeli.tumblr.com/
The book is available first on Amazon, then Terror Trader second (Arizona’s Number One Horror Marketplace). Then it will go to the usual vendors and themed cons, and through the usual distribution channels/networks.
It is with great pleasure to announce that I’ve nabbed my fifth “Zombie-themed fiction” acceptance in the last year, and it goes to the new publishing outfit Red Polka Books. The name of the anthology this time is called QUARANTINE, and it is a book of short stories featuring many different authors from many diverse backgrounds. I am headlining the book (I’m actually the first short story as soon as you open it up). And it is a book centered around deadly viruses, pathogens, and pandemics. Even worse than Covid-19. It will be available in the States on platforms such as Lulu (Amazon later), should you want a print or digital copy for your daily commute to work, and will eventually creep its way into other countries such as the UK and India. My story is based off a deadly pathogen, and military scientists have to actually shut down a school with kids inside. Undead children who have become victim to HOS (a hostile pathogen with a science behind it, and yeah, some goofiness as well). Read my short story in Quarantine today, entitled, “Classroom of the Dead.”
QUARANTINE – Anthology of Modern Pandemic/Horror Tales
Featuring Lawrence Dagstine’s: “Classroom of the Dead”
QUARANTINE – DARK LOCKDOWN TALES for the 21st Century
Edited by Simon Dubois & Rasiika Sen – for RED POLKA BOOKS
I’ll have a Professional-Level story coming to Calliope Interactive (I also have another professional level tale floating out there, details to come on that in the coming months, and a horror-themed story collection out from Dark Owl Publishing as well). Calliope Interactive is rather new. It is a reading app specifically for fiction stories, maybe if you are into platforms like Instagram per se, but from what I do know, you can download this app, read stories from a tablet or a phone, maybe if you are in bed, or on the bus or the subway on your commute to work. The stories span many genres (in my case, horror, and it is my FOURTH zombie tale accepted in the last 12 months). I don’t know when the exact premiere date is. I will leave the website link down below and you can subscribe to their email newsletter for updates. They will most likely tell you how to download the app. Who knows, maybe the stories will be delivered to your inbox. The stories might be illustrated as well. All I can say is, I worked with a wonderful team of editors, and it was a very rewarding experience through and through, so I have high expectations for the application.
CALLIOPE INTERACTIVE -Featuring fiction by Lawrence Dagstine
For late January-Early February 2023 I have yet another science fiction tale, this time a brand new short about alien parenting, entitled: Forgotten Species. It comes to you within the very well laid out, well designed pages of COSMIC CONTACT. This is a science fiction & fantasy anthology on the subject of aliens making “first contact” with humans and other species. It is a rather big beefy book put out by the folks at Pulp Cult/Culture Cult Press. They’re the same people who did the exorcism anthology I CAST YOU OUT and the haunted house anthology HAUS in 2022.
Cosmic Contact has some interesting interior design, fonts, layouts, and even features a lot of familiar short story authors from out of the 2000s era, names such as Ken Goldman, Elana Gomel, Matt Shaw, Thomas Stewart, and DJ Camden. I’ll leave ordering info down below, links and pics, and also to the right-hand side.
It is with great pleasure to announce that yet another anthology featuring one of my tales has been released this month, this time a science fiction adventure story featuring a team of old school astronauts (think the days of Apollo & Sputnik, that style). So it has a pulp bent to it, but with an unexpected finish. Red Penguin Books presents, SHOOT FOR THE MOON. I’m not sure if it is available on Amazon, but it IS available in select Barnes&Nobles locations (check the scifi section), and as an Ebook (probably Nook). I’ll leave any links and pictures down below, as well as to the right-hand side. And I’ll be seeing you on the next one.
Buy it now from B&N. In Print or for your NOOK eReader (click below):
My latest credit comes to the dark and doomed romance anthology series, Soulmate Syndrome! Volumes One and Two. My story, a tale about forbidden love (the kind you cherish but can never have), curses, affliction, and lycantrhropy, can be found in Volume One. The name of the story, “The Romance of Vegada.” Just who and what are the Wolves of Caliente? Why is the love in my story, at its core, unobtainable? Find out in Soulmate Syndrome Volume One, along with dark and doomed and paranormal-style romances by a plethora of other great writers. I’ll provide pictures and ordering info (links) down below or to the right-hand side as always. And I’ll be seeing you on the next one.
SOULMATE SYNDROME Volumes 1 & 2 – (read Lawrence in Volume One up above; ordering info below)
published by WICKED SHADOW PRESS
WICKED SHADOW PRESS ORDERING INFO:
Buy a Paperback copy of SOULMATE SYNDROME VOL. 01 from Lulu.com:
Happy Halloween 2022! I am pleased to announce that I am in yet another anthology this autumn, this time again from Culture Cult Press. And it’s a horror short inspired by “real life events.” The name of the story is: The Nightmare of Bayhurst. And you can find that short story along with 33 other fabulous authors weaving their own little tales of haunted mansions, manors, houses, dwellings, apartments, what-have-you. My story centers around the time I first moved to Brooklyn, New York City between 2000 and 2001. Hard to believe that was so long ago. I was in my twenties, it was my first place, and I had lived in the basement of a few-story walk-up (what some in NYC would call a very small, dinghy six-apartment tenement). It was close to subways, a movie theater, drug stores, a baseball card store, parks, and shopping. The rent was fantastic. I paid around 650 to 700 per month. You’ll never see that kind of rent again in New York. But there was something eerie and ominous coming from the boiler room, which I just happened to live next to. And the super/owner, as well as a few of the tenants knew about it too. Strange sounds, strange occurences. Like a young girl moaning. Well, now you can read a fictional account of those events in the Halloween Book, ‘HAUS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF HAUNTED HOUSE STORIES.’ That is basically the theme, and like my last anthology from Culture Cult Press (I Cast You Out!), this is also edited by Jay Chakravarti. It is available in paperback, and sold in the US, UK, and India. I will put any and all necessary pics, banners, links, book covers below or to the right-hand side for your convenience. It is on Amazon right now, matter of fact.
I’m pleased to announce that I am in yet another genre anthology for 2022. Keep them coming. This time it’s not horror, or even body horror, but hard crime and whodunits. Tales of unspeakable crimes and unforgettable ones, from the eyes of detectives AND murderers. There was such a good reception with this one, it actually garnered TWO thick volumes, rather than one. UNSPEAKABLE: Volumes 1 & 2. From Culture Cult Press. Edited by Jay Chakravarti, and available in the US, UK, and even India. My short story features Detective Harry Folsom, whose character underwent many edits over the years, and was originally called Ted Wolgast. I had written a series of stories on Ted Wolgast, even a novel on this futuristic Kolchak the Night Stalker character in the 2000s, but it never panned out to anything. Now Ted Wolgast has become Detective Harry Folsom in this day and age.
My UNSPEAKABLE story has elements of cyberpunk, but I wouldn’t really call it that. I would call this tale “futuristic noir.” That is the best way to describe it. The name of the tale is: “The Curious Case of the Gene Pool Victim.” It takes place in a rather dark, grim unlikely future. One where a grizzly murder takes place. I am in Volume 1. Remember, there are two books, two volumes. I’m in the first one. Promotional material and pics down below.
Complete lineup of other authors are just above. I’ve put smaller book links on the right-hand side for your convenience.
My vampire novelette The Paraplegic has finally found a proper home, and in both print and digital form, in the fairly new pulp fiction publication, SERIAL MAGAZINE. I appear in Issue No. #12, Late August 2019. I believe it is a biweekly. You don’t see too many biweekly publications anymore. Great artwork, great interior layout, has that real gritty 1950s feel to it, the kind of magazine you’d find legends Fritz Leiber and Ray Bradbury hanging out and about with their lurid genre classics. I even made the front cover! It is edited by the very talented Tanya Ferrell. I will leave pictures and links down below so you can order a copy, direct from Serial Publishing (the print version is even discounted for the month of August 2019, so hurry).
I have a science fiction story in Left Hand Publishers speculative fiction anthology, titled: CLASSICSREMIXED. Edited by Karen T. Newman. This is a big beefy book, chock full of imaginative stories of characters we know from past fairy tales, novels, and folklore. What happens when you take famous story characters and put them in different scenarios, speculative situations, or twist around a fairy tale? You get Classics Remixed. An anthology of classic characters REMIXED and REIMAGINED into something new and different. It has beautiful cover art, and as always when I update my website, I will leave pictures of book covers, a lineup of the author talent (Table of Contents), and links to the publisher’s website and places like Amazon, where you can order this book in trade paperback form.
Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother Tells All by Jill Hand
The inside story behind one of our favorite fables
Sailor’s Saga by Steve Rouse
Old Man and the Sea meets Moby Dick meet 20,000 Leagues
Not a Single Soul by Tom Howard
A good witch, a wicked witch, but which witch is which?
The Maze Under the Clouds by Blake Jessop
A sci-fi spin on the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur
The Upper Hand by A.P. Sessler
In a spin on “The Monkey’s Paw,” be careful what you wish for…
Of House and Home by Eric Andrews-Katz
Were Hansel and Gretel the victims? Not so much.
Solomon’s Moon by Kevin M. Folliard
Not all invisible men are created equal. Some are just bad.
A Taste of Wonderland by Gregory L. Norris
Starvation twists Alice, Wonderland, and all its inhabitants
Gluttony by Henry Herz
What happens below decks, stays below decks in this biblical misadventure.
Moby n’ Queegs by William Ade
This ain’t your daddy’s Moby Dick
Follicles, Fables & Follies by Paul K. Metheney
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down … never mind
Jane, Designed to Love by Brandon L. Summers
Jane Eyre or A.I.? Do androids dream of electric love?
Ding Dong the Pitch is Deadly by Jonathan Shipley
There’s no place like home plate
Catcher in the Crawlspace by Jay Seate
Catcher in the Rye or Stalker in the Crawlspace?
Curse of Avalon by Anthony Regolino
That’s no Lady of the Lake…
Treasure Moon by Robert Allen Lupton
Treasure Island with a sci-fi twisted sense of humor
Noah from Mars by Lawrence Dagstine
Science fictions versus one family’s faith
Strike the Match by Robert Petyo
The Three Musketeers go bowling. Seriously.
Handsome and Greedy by Katherine Brown
Hansel and Gretel like you’ve never seen them before
Copper County Fair by Cheryl Stevens Clark
The story of the Minotaur comes to Copper County
Mermaid by Karen Janowsky
The Little Mermaid in modern day prose
A Novel Gathering by Neil Childs
A band of fictional rogues who attempt to rob the poor to feather their own nests
I will appear with a werewolf story in the late May digital anthology, CREATURES, by Tell-Tale Press. Edited by Andrea Dawn. There will be two versions to this anthology. A short story edition and a novelette edition. I’m in the short story edition. It will be free to read on the Tell-Tale Press website, then available in ebook format from Amazon in the event you own a Kindle. The book, along with various other titles from Tell-Tale Press, will also be available on May 23-26th at Phoenix Fan Fusion Comic Book Convention. They will have a table there. So if you live in the Arizona area, be on the lookout for CREATURES ANTHO with my story in it, and many other talented authors. I will leave pictures, links, author lineup below. Just click on them (be redirected).
With Horror Stories By: Oreoluwa Arowobusoye, Kenneth Bykerk, Lawrence Dagstine, Danielle Davis, Dan Fields, Eric J. Guignard, A.M. Harte, Isabella Hunter, Jennifer Loring, Nicola Lombardi, Matthew Lyons, Jamie Mason, Jason McCuiston, Gregory L. Norris, P. R. O’Leary, D.C. Phillips, Mark Silcox, Melissa Watkins Starr, T.J. Tranchell, Joseph Walker.
You can now find a story of mine in the reprint anthology, RE-LAUNCH: Science Fiction Stories of New Beginnings. Available in ebook form, for Kindle. And edited by Kelly A. Harmon and Vonnie Winslow Crist. Re-Launch is just one of many genre titles in the Re-Imagined Series. This particular one being my forte, pulp science fiction. If you like pulp-stylized stories of astronauts and cosmonauts and space travel and interplanetary landings, this might be up your alley. I’m not sure if a print version exists but I will provide an Amazon link down below along with the author line-up.
AUTHOR LINE-UP: Douglas Smith, James Dorr, Kris Austin Radcliffe, Eando Bender, Wendy Nikel, Stewart C. Baker, Meriah Crawford, Gregory L. Norris, Jennifer Rachel Baumer, Jonathan Shipley, Vonnie Winslow Crist, Lawrence Dagstine, CB Droege, Jude-Marie Green, Steven R. Southard, Calie Voorhis, Anthony Cardno, Andrew Gudgel.
I have a story up in the Kindle Unlimited publication, Alien Dimensions Magazine. Issue #14. Or, also known as Alien Dimensions Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Metaphysical short stories. This is an ePublication focusing heavily on alien races and alien influence. Other authors appearing beside me in Issue #14 include: John Hegenberger, Neil A. Hogan, Olga Werby, Sean Mulroy, Jeremy A. Brown, and Regina Clarke. I’ll place clickable links below the current issue’s cover, along with their main website. Be sure to check it out. Enjoy.
ALIEN DIMENSIONS MAGAZINE – ISSUE #14, November 2017-2018
I’m pleased to announce that I have a short story in the successfully “Kickstarter-funded” science fiction anthology, AN ATLAS TO TIME, SPACE, AND BONFIRES. Old school and new school short fiction authors, 350+ pages, 120,000 words in length, and presented by Michael Daugherty and Stephen Landry over at Save SciFi.com. I’ll put all necessary pictures, links, banners below. It is available as a thick print book or in digital format on storefronts like Amazon (Kindle) and Smashwords. Each author’s story is also presented with original artwork by artist, Stephen Landry. It is chock full of new and reprinted stories from across the universe. A must-own (and a must-read) for the science fiction anthology enthusiast.
NOTE: As of the writing of this website post, on this date, AN ATLAS TO TIME, SPACE, AND BONFIRES has done extremely well. Not only being a successful Kickstarter campaign, but also pushing a hundred or so print copies at a science fiction convention (in Harrisburg, PA, I believe), and hundreds of digital versions (eBook format). Also, thank you to Michael Daugherty, Stephen Landry, and the people who funded this book over on Kickstarter. Much love. Save science fiction. Pictures and links below.
You can find a brand new Steampunk story of mine in the latest issue of Tales of the Talisman. This would be my 5th appearance with David Lee Summer’s long-running genre periodical (formerly Hadrosaur Tales in the 90s). This particular edition, Volume 8, No. 4, is a “themed” issue. It’s all about Steampunk. All about airships, cogs and wheels, receptor rays and bubble guns, star liners and Victorian garb, and more. Table of contents below, along with a link for ordering. It should also be available for Kindle. Get your copy today.
With steamy good fiction and poetry by: O.M. Grey, Christine Morgan, Tom Lynch, Denise Dumars, James Webster, Jason Andrew, Neil Weston, Douglas Empringham, N. E. Taylor, Simon Perchik, Mike Wilson, Livia Finucci, Clinton A. Harris, Patrick Thomas, David S. Pointer, W.C. Roberts, Gary Every, Lyn McConchie, Neil E. Leckman, David Lee Summers & Karissa Sluss (book reviews), and Lawrence Dagstine.
Previous Issues w. Lawrence Dagstine (click banner):
And so this marks my 4th magazine appearance in a month. I won’t have any more till year’s end, so I hope everybody enjoys their summer, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t drop by. There will be free fiction (see Free Stories), free ebooks (short stories or novelettes), a new section on retro items, and more on the current book projects I’m working on, which will eventually lead us into 2014. You stick around; it’s going to be fun, you hear.
I have a horror story in the latest electronic issue of Dark Eclipse, Issue #23 (I just recently appeared in their sister publication, Dark Moon Digest). Chock full of fiction and poetry, this is Dark Moon Book’s official e-publication. You can download it now for your Amazon Kindle for the low cost of $1.99. Or you can subscribe.  Your choice. Table of contents below. To order, click on either the picture or main website link.
Closing Time
(short story by J. M. Jennings)
Terror and Terrorists
(column by Manny Frishburg)
The Book
(poem by Mathias Jansson)
Death and Diners
(short story by Ian Austin)
Ghost Hunting
(flash fiction by Jack Ivey)
Grandpa
(short story by P. G. Harvey)
Richard Laymon and Dreadful Tales
(column by Kurt Reichenbaugh)
Blood Lust
(poem by John Hawkhead)
The Calling
(short story by Rebekah Shardy)
Jean Bouchon
(classic short story by Sabine Baring-Gould)
The Chimerical Dark
(column by Sean M. Davis)
Crime Scene Report
(flash fiction by Brian Gaskill)
A Touch of Impersonal Pain
(poem by A. J. Huffman)
Book Review
(reviewed by Nicholas Paschall)
Bullet on the Wall
(flash fiction by Rick Allden)
Starry Starry Night
(short story by S. W. Smith)
Bits of the Dead
(column by Jay Wilburn)
Hypnotized
(poem by David DuBose)
andÂ
Not Everybody’s Hobby
(short story by Lawrence Dagstine)
I’ll be at the 2013 Wizard World “NYC Experience” Comic Con with books on hand, including my alternate history novella, A CHILD WEEPS IN MOSCOW, for two out of the three days. Only $40.00 a ticket, children under 10 get in free; why pay more at the door? There will be loads of comic book artists, TV personalities and movie stars, WWE superstars, genre book authors, and character toy and comic merchants. Also, in the near future, stay tuned to a new section on this website devoted to vintage toys and collectibles, comic books, and retro video games. Should be fun.
WIZARD WORLD COMIC CON in NYC
Basketball City (Pier 36) – 299 South Street #36, NY NY 10002
Some of the TV personalities, artists and guests this year include: Norman Reedus, Jon Bernthal, Laurie Holden, Chandler Riggs, Michael Rooker (basically, the whole cast of The Walking Dead), James Marsters (Buffy, Angel), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Patrick Stewart (Star Trek TNG), CM Punk (WWE Superstar), Wil Wheaton (author), Dean Cain (Superman & Lois), Sara Underwood, Lawrence Taylor, Henry Winkler (Fonzie), Ray Park, Neal Adams, Boris Vallejo, Stan Goldberg, Michael Golden, Paolo Rivera, Greg Horn, Pam Grier, Anthony Michael Hall (Breakfast Club), the legendary Stan Lee, and hundreds other.
I have a gothic horror story appearing in the 2013 issue, No. 9, of Fortress Publishing’s Cemetery Moon. Nice looking Cthulhu cover art, perfect for this particular edition. I guess it’s themed. Features short fiction by Me, AJ Huffman, Gerald E. Sheagren, Brian Barnett, Larry Hinkle, Dr. Bill deArmond, Allen Koop, Donald C. White, William Andre Sanders, and William Amundsen. If you’d like to order it, just click on the link or pic below. Only available in print; they really should put out a digital version to this.
I had remembered appearing in this particular digest a long time ago, but I couldn’t place when. Then I remembered, I was in the premiere issue with authors Kristine Ong Muslim, Kenneth Goldman, and Barry J. House. Now that publishing is collapsing, with mass publications relying heavily on publicity expenditures and print magazines in the final stages of extinction, I’m going to miss these little pulps from yesteryear. One could step back in time and relive the days of when authors like Ray Bradbury, Fritz Lieber, John Campbell and A.E. Van Vogt were just starting out.  I must confess, I’m going to miss it; oddly enough, another part of me isn’t.
You can find a new story by me in Sky Warrior Books’ charity anthology, HEALING WAVES. Healing Waves is a digital anthology, and all proceeds from the purchase of the eBook go to help the victims of the devastating quake/tsunami earlier this year. There are stories by Jay Lake, David Lee Summers, Lawrence Dagstine (me), Sara Mueller, Indra Chopra, Barton Paul Levenson, Patricia Correll, Maggie Bonham, Carol Hightshoe, and MORE. Please consider purchasing a copy. It’s available for your Amazon Kindle and through outlets like Smashwords.
Lawrence Dagstine: Author 
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