You can now pre-order one of the finest hand-illustrated horror mags available in the Small Press. Only 110 copies will be printed up, and with stunning ink-to-paper art by some of today’s leading artists in the field (such as Tom Moran), who wouldn’t want to own a copy? This is a limited edition horror digest with fantastic original art!
Fiction and poetry by: Douglas E. Wright, Paul Anderson, Greg Schwartz, MontiLee Stormer, Sam W. Anderson, Lawrence Dagstine, Mark Tullius, Sean Logan, Mike L. Lane, Russell Jackson, David E. Greske, Kris Williams, Jason Hauser, Matthew Bey, James Futch, C.C. Parker, Patrick Rabe, Mo Irvine, Scott Virtes, Kristine Ong Muslim, and Aurelio Rico Lopez III. 17 short stories and 4 poems in all.
Never expected this, but here is what turned out to be a very interesting discourse over at SHOCKLINES (www.shocklines.com). If you’re into horror, you can always depend on meeting some cool people in the business or getting your jollies off there. The subject matter is something I’d been meaning to ask, something I’d been pondering for quite some time. A few of the answers actually surprised me; some even got me thinking. For me, writing is very much an addiction — yeah, sometimes the buck ain’t so bad either — and at the same time that addiction can also be very therapeutic. It’s kind of like a drug. Depending on the strength of the addiction, sometimes it leads to better opportunities, other times it doesn’t. It’s something you need to get out of your system; nevermind the withdrawal symptoms I call “Writer’s Block”.
Now I don’t blog too much, because I don’t really understand the full concept of it. I merely self-promote and give plugs. But like any drug writing is something which is hard to quit. Still, I’m living in the “here and now”. Many an author’s work do cease to exist. Even the way our society is adapting, revolving, just generally changing, and at such a rapid pace, paper may soon disappear and reading as we know it may switch formats and cease to exist too!
My friend once said, “Have fun with this. See where it takes you. See who you meet. But don’t ever make something big of it.” Then he went on how I’d be looking back at this moment in twenty years time, perhaps the victim of diabetes, stroke, or a heart attack. What would I really think about writing for immortality or money then, when I’m old and gray with age? Something to consider…
And here’s a quick appearance from over two months ago to THE RANDOM EYE: An Ezine Dedicated to Alternatives. You can find a lot of cool stuff here (from alternate history to parallel universes). SFWA member Rick Novy is also in this issue, and I believe we’ll be appearing in some other stuff together later in the year. Great writer, and an even greater fella to chat with. In the meantime, be sure to read the premiere edition; it’s only published once per year.
Featuring Work by: Robert Freese, Eric Steele, Robert Paul Blumenstein, M. Jones, Jeffrey Sims, Richard S. Levine, Rick Novy, Emily Neiley, Lawrence R. Dagstine, and Mark Fewell. Edited by Melissa Jones.
No, it has to be a PR stunt as Russell T. Davies leaves the show and Stephen Moffat takes over. It’s a terrible lie, I tell you! No, the next doctor is not some goth kid who just “happens” to look like Peter Davison and Beethoven. Are they blowing the series like John Nathan Turner did back in the 80’s with Colin Baker and Sylvestor McCoy, just blowing it right the hell off television for good? Did they just choose him because his hair was “cool”? Who knows. All I know is that I would have preferred a much older actor — not a “companion” as the Doctor; they might as well have gone with Radcliffe now — maybe a black actor. Colin Salmon, Paterson Joseph, or even Adrian Lester! As a science fiction writer myself, I would have even bargained for Morrissey, Nesbitt, or Sean Pertwee. But who is Matt Smith? Well, if you look at the picture below, that’s him.
He was just introduced the other day on Doctor Who Confidential, and it appears that this man is the Doctor my son will most likely grow up to. And while I am a fan of “young” doctors (Peter Davison is by far my all-time favorite), and while I have faith in Moffat’s writings, I just don’t particularly like the wild card choice he made with some no-name talent; Smith also has a few unmemorable shows behind him. Matter of fact, Moffat and Paul Cornell’s writing in particular are some of the BEST! But Matt Smith doesn’t remind me of a Time Lord. Sorry. OK, so maybe I am jumping the gun. I’ve been to Outpost Gallifrey, Den of Geek, and every other website and forum in-between hoping the news was really just a big old PR stunt — praying that Paterson Joseph walks through the TARDIS door and says in 2010… SURPRISE!!! But at the age of 40, Tom Baker was relatively a no-name actor with only a few creds to his name… look at what he accomplished. Peter Davison was, at one time, the youngest Doctor to take on the role. He was fantastic, too, but he had a hit series like All Creatures Great and Small behind him. Acting experience! Maybe the scripts will make the difference here, not so much the “hairstyle”. Because this, to me, seems like why they chose him. That and his odd finger mannerisms. I guess we have to watch and see, eh? I mean, David Tennant made the part all his own in one season. He grew on us. But how long will Matt Smith last as The Eleventh Doctor? Will he even be any good? What are some of your thoughts on Matt Smith (aka Doctor Number 11)?
Matt Smith promo shot
A while back I held a few Doctor Who fan polls, where you could vote for your favorite Time Lord and so on. This time I have TWO POLLS… Both dedicated to Matt Smith…
Come, take TWO different DOCTOR WHO polls with me…
Didn’t catch my Sci-Fi love story, A Virtual Affair, the first time around…? Well, you can always read it again before it goes into retirement. Below in the January 2009 issue of SURPRISING STORIES. Edited by John and Eric Thiel. This well-received story would be one of the final 30 hobbyist venues which will feature work of mine over the next twelve months.
Featuring Work by: Steve Sneyd, David Zeldis, Lawrence Dagstine, Jamie Meyers, Herbert Jerry Baker, Gerald F. Heyder, Rose Gordy, Bob Bolin, Joanne Tolson, Albert J. Manachino, Anne M. Valley, Paul Truttman, Gary Every, and John Thiel. Reviews by Elmwood Kraemer. Art by Ramos Fumes and Peter Zenger.
My New Years Resolution was to retire from many a small venue, with 350 publishing credits as rocket fuel, and see where I can take these crazy horror stories and science fiction-cluttered thoughts of mine. And while I will still be an integral part of the Small Press, I’ve decided to take a leave of absence from the hobby press to search for a little more. As I invest over four hours per day into a new novella with “true” emotion and real, identifiable characters, make up marketing materials and get ready for the premiere of my first short story collection, and outline fresh ideas for a hopefully pro-paying anthology, I really can’t wait to see what this year off from shorter work brings. In the meantime, please, enjoy what the publication above has to offer.
With Arkham Tales, Atomjack, and Necrography just around the corner, I would have to say that this will probably be my last story acceptance for the year 2008. I’ll have about 30 stories coming out over the next 12 months to some very fine and familiar publications. However, there’s a new magazine that will be available in print and PDF format come February. It’s a monthly. The pay isn’t big, but with subscriptions and good authors that could change. A very likable venue, too. Simple looking. It’s called M-BRANE SF. It looks very promising, and Christopher Fletcher is an extremely nice editor. He also does reviews and SF analysis, too.
I don’t know who the first two issues consist of yet, but since I could not find a banner, I thought this public domain pic of a space shuttle entering the atmosphere would be cool. In other news…
FRESH BLOOD, my collection from Sam’s Dot Publishing, has currently surpassed the 60,000+ word mark (making it novel-length). Also, writers have been emailing me in regards to my hiatus rumors. Other than Sam’s Dot… YES, where smaller genre publications are concerned, 350 publishing credits will mark a form of retirement for me, and 2009 will not only be a year off… but a year of book promotions, outlining projects, direction, new ideas, and most important, change…
There are some good science fiction webzines out there. Then there are some fine ones. ATOMJACK is by far one of the better ones, and it’s proven rightly so with their material and lineups over the past four years. This would be my 3rd acceptance with them. Published by Susurrus Press, Atomjack is edited by Adicus Ray Garton.
Previous authors have included Bruce Boston, Carmelo Rafala, Kristine Ong Muslim, Rick Novy, Lou Antonelli, Gary Cuba, Cory Doctorow, James Maddox, and more.
I’ll have a zombie story coming to the April 2009 edition of NECROTIC TISSUE. They’re a free PDF download and a fairly new webzine with a liking for horror stories which explore the human condition, the Golden Age yarn, or Tales from the Crypt meets the classic morality play. They also give free T-shirts with each acceptance. How cool is that? Link below.
First, I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I also hope you braved the Black Friday crowds better than I did. Next, I’ll have a BRAND NEW story coming to the September 2009 issue — I know, a good ways off — of Aoife’s Kiss (Sam’s Dot Publishing). This would be my 10th print acceptance to their magazines; I’ve probably published in the area of thirty with them over the years if you include online. Actually, I’ll have a new story for you in almost every quarterly issue of Aoife’s for some time to come. Including, to my knowledge, the “special” winter issue.
You can view previous issues of Sam’s Dot magazines by clicking below:
Next, Tiptree-nominated writer-editor Tyree Campbell and Sam’s Dot will ALSO be releasing my debut collection, which has a couple of blurbs at the moment, and is going by the title FRESH BLOOD. This will be a collection of stories new and old (a lot of new) in the genres of horror and science fiction. This book has taken over a year of edits, building momentum, and to just carefully compile. At the moment, I’m clueless as to how many stories will appear in it – it should be around a minimum of 50,000+ words. But you’ll get a lot of nice variety here, including the kitchen sink.
I’ll have a story appearing soon in a new and interesting ezine called THE RANDOM EYE. Published Annually, they seem to accept work which is dark and speculative, but borders on the alternative, parallel (like universes), and the overall bizarre. More than just “weird fiction”. Be sure to check them out.
From their homepage:The Random Eye is a yearly anthology of horror and speculative fiction that focuses on the possibilities of parallel universes. Have you ever wondered what would happen if Rob Zombie became president, or if the Titanic was used for space travel, or if television was invented for communicating with the dead rather than entertainment? The Random Eye takes a simple theme for each anthology and encourages authors to imagine an existence far removed from our own, where a myriad alternate universes reside and where these strange possibilities exist.
…Well, not quite yet. But the fans are really going at it (and so are the Internet forums) over WHO will be the eleventh actor — or actress — to play the role of scifi’s beloved time traveler. Stephen Moffat takes over the show come 2010 for Series Five. But the question still remains: who can fill Tennant’s shoes and do one up? Who can be a better Doctor now, since the show was revived in 2005, and keep the series going as strong and dynamic as ever before?
Two weeks ago I received word that Tennant was going to retire from the show. His final stories would lead up to Christmas 2009’s special, The Next Doctor.And boy, will there be a regeneration. But Daniel Radcliffe, Russell Tovay, Paterson Joseph, and many other very young names are among the possible contenders to succeed him! You know, I like my Doctors a bit older than my companions. Stephen Moffat has worked alongside fine actors such as James Nesbitt (but he denies any rumors of the part). I first blogged about it here (I also ran a favorite Doctor poll):
So who do you think should be the next Doctor? Better yet, who deserves to be the next Doctor Who? I’ve composed a new poll of 11 names. Eleven names for eleven possible, and rumored, Doctors. Also, I’ve added two additional choices: “None of the Above” and “Cast an Unknown”, to even things out a bit, because I realize that being a Doctor calls for a pretty big list. Please vote below!
Wow, I am DEEPLY saddened. Today I heard the news that David Tennant, the actor who plays the role of science fiction’s beloved time traveler, The Doctor, is leaving the series at the end of 2009. You know, with Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner exiting, I wasn’t at all surprised. Four years is a fantastic run in my opinion. There were some great episodes. David Tennant easily became one of my three favorite doctors since I first started watching in the early 80’s: The Tom Baker-Peter Davison era.
Like classic scifi authors, NES video games, toys, and comic books, Doctor Who was just one of those childhood things which inspired me to write science fiction. I even tried my hand at a Who novel back in the 90’s around the time the license for Virgin Books expired. BAFTA and HUGO Award-winning writer, Stephen Moffat, will take over in 2010. With Moffat at the helm, I think the series will be in good hands. Darker, knowing Moffat’s work. Wait until Tennant regenerates into the 11th Doctor… Hey, don’t get me wrong, I love Harry Potter, but I hope Daniel Radcliffe hasn’t been tipped off; the boy’s only 20. He’d be too young a Time Lord.
Right now a 2008 Christmas special and I believe four more specials throughout all of next year are planned.
I’ll have a brand new tale coming your way in a year from now. I know, I know. A long way off. David Lee Summers will publish me for a third time in the September 2009 issue of TALES OF THE TALISMAN (formerly Hadrosaur Tales, for you old-schoolers). You won’t want to miss it. Even though it’s a good ways off, I can’t recommend this magazine enough.
If you’ve been with me thus far, then don’t go anywhere. There is a lot in the pipeline between now and New Year’s Day. Regardless of economic collapses or doomsday scenarios, there will be scifi magazines and horror publications galore. And speaking of science fiction, I have an Interview over at former Gamepro freelancer, Johnny Guerrero’s new review spot. Read it here:
I’m sometimes amazed at myself, but I don’t know if I really should be. I mean, for a part-timer, I’ve accomplished something most small press authors only dream about, and in a very short space of time. I’ve made lots of friends and contacts these past few years, and introduced them to other friends and contacts. I’ve helped newer authors get published in print and paying markets. I’ve shared worthwhile publishing experiences and learned lots of beneficial marketing techniques. And if it wasn’t for genre, I doubt I’d be where I’m at today. Proofreading and freelancing! At the same time, I’ve learned stuff about various industries and writing circles, held up a middle finger, and made a handful of enemies. But I’m still here. I keep on trucking. After 340 Publishing Credits I’ve proven to myself that I can work the trenches, and I do it with integrity. When I go to sleep at night my accomplishments seem rather small in comparison to most everybody else, but at least I can stare at myself in the mirror and not look away. I’ve built up a persona and a small fan base — and I have nothing but love and respect for that fan base. I’ve shown many that the Dagstine Recipe not only works, but hey, I sell certain products and entertain the average reader, too.
Some writers herald me as this hero, others a danger to some kind of ridiculous inner sanctum. But when a new writer sends me an email, saying, “Lawrence, thank you so much for suggesting that market. They accepted my story, and I got paid for it!” Then I know I did my job for the day. Matter of fact, I get more enjoyment out of that than my own writing. Seeing other, deserving writers happy.
Between now and next spring you’ll see new anthologies, new webzines, and a ton of magazines featuring yours truly! There’s two collections in the horizon, too. You might see me at a few local signings and events, a few library readings, so stop in to say hi. As I surpass 25,000 blog hits, and 340 magazine and webzine credits, I’d love for you to be here Halloween…and for the next six months to follow…
The milestone celebration begins October 2008, and it lasts for 40 blog entries~ BE HERE!
I’ll have a brand new story coming to the June 2009 Issue/Edition of AOIFE’S KISS. Published quarterly by Sam’s Dot Publishing. This would be my 9th print acceptance with Sam’s Dot (Aoife’s Kiss, Sounds of the Night, and Beyond Centauri). On top of that, this will also be their 8th Anniversary Issue – though a long way off, it’ll be a biggie, and you’ll want to pick it up. I may also appear in the online version, come anniversary time. Still, expect me in a couple of issues well before that.
You can also view previous issues of Sam’s Dot magazines by going here:
Withersin Magazine picked up a piece of mine for 2009/2010. Published thrice per year by Editor Misty L. Gersley, it’s just one of those professional horror journals that are well-put together and you can’t get enough of. Each issue is 6×9, 100 perfect-bound pages, and only $20.00 per year for a subscription. Fiction, non-fiction, art and MORE! Info to be released as I get it…
Lawrence Dagstine: Author 
You must be logged in to post a comment.