I’m back in the popular selling Flash of the Dead series from Wicked Shadow Press. This time in a themed anthology of horror and dark science fiction set in outer space. Pieces less than 2000 words in length. And this time with a reprint from a few years back. While my story is set in a low gravity atmosphere, I would call this next one “humorous space horror.” Ask yourself this question. What if after mankind died out, extinct, dogs were the next in line to rule the cosmos. And what if one dog’s biggest threat…biggest horror…was a smart-alecky cat? Read my tale in FLASH OF THE DEAD – SPACE:“Every Cosmos has a Ruling Class.” All links and pictures will be below, so just scroll down. It’s 280+ pages. I believe my story is the final one. I end the book in epic fashion.
Wicked Shadow Press presents…
Flash of the Dead: Space! – Anthology of Flash Horrors set in Space.
Edited by Parth Sarathi Chakraborty & Rasiika Sen
Featuring Dagstine reprint:“Every Cosmos has a Ruling Class.”
I’m pleased to announce I have a short story of generational horror (along with parenting gone mad!), in the latest anthology from Farthest Star Publishing. This would be my third time published by Farthest Star (they’re the publisher of my novella, The Paraplegic). The name of the book is Acid and Ultra Violence. Fourteen authors are featured. The theme of the book is “violent objects” and “violent people” in science fiction and horror. Those two genres. Hence the title, Ultra Violence. It is edited by D. A. D’Amico. And it is available in paperback and Amazon Kindle formats. I’ll copy and paste all the usual pictures and links down below, any necessary details. The name of my story is, “The One to Keep.” And it’s a new tale.
Acid and Ultra Violence Anthology – Edited by D. A. D’Amico
Published by Farthest Star Publishing
Featuring Dagstine story:“The One to Keep”
***Sample it out now on Amazon Kindle***
DESCRIPTION FROM AMAZON:Welcome to fourteen stories where nothing is what it seems, and every answer unlocks darker questions. Step through shattered futures, cursed realms, and surreal battlegrounds crafted by both seasoned and emerging writers. These tales don’t just shock—they invite you to cry, scream, and bleed with the characters. And to enjoy a good helping of… Acid and Ultra Violence.
These stories don’t comfort. They hurl you into worlds where rage sparks revolutions, grief becomes a weapon, and nothing—whether futuristic, arcane, or infernal—survives untouched. Heroes are forged from trauma, villains born from love, and survival demands a brutal price. Every tale hits hard, burns deep, and leaves its mark—and nothing returns unchanged.
Some highlights…
In a brutal future where body parts are currency, arrogance and desperation clash in a high stakes game of chance. Tech-enhanced Polimi triumphs over the desperate Carmuia, winning a horrific payment of flesh. But Polimi’s victory is cut short… leaving her with only the cruel, ironic sting of absolute loss.
In a world ruled by monsters, a desperate hunter carries a horrific secret bargain. Driven by this desperate promise, she is compelled to lure others into an alien trap. But when her own family becomes part of the creatures’ cruel game, Jill must make an agonizing final choice that will determine the fate of them all.
In a kingdom of chains, a captive witch is forced on a quest for the mythical Pin of Light. Surrounded by deceit and ancient wards, Ja’ala must navigate a spoiled Prince’s arrogance, unforgiving terrain, and dark, evil magic as she prepares to pay the ultimate price of the artifact—a price that may be higher than she could ever imagine.
A scavenging crew risks everything to breach a colossal, ancient starship trapped near a black hole. But the ancient vessel’s opulent halls quickly become a prison of cold terror. Isolated and surrounded by betrayal, the crew begins to turn on itself, unaware of the ship’s deepest secret—a terrifying reality that warps the very nature of time.
Stories:
“Gray Rock Method” by Lauren C. Teffeau “Crossing the Line” by Andrew Akers “Mr. Mongo’s Fanciful Elixir” by Glenn Dungan “The Curator” by Elese Mathis “The Widow and the Rain” by Paul Martz “Just 35 Percent” by Adam Stone “The Pin of Light” by Dean N. D’Amico “Skin in the Game” by C. J. Erick “The One to Keep” by Lawrence Dagstine “Obliterating The Olive” by Shane Porteous “When the Music Stops” by C.J. Taylor “Black Segments” by John Leahy “The Fold” by Jeremy Zentner “Vector Victoria” by D. A. D’Amico
Edited by: D. A. D’Amico
Other New Entries:“Books & Anthos” and “Digital Credits”
Pleased to announce I have a scifi tale in the current issue of Hobb’s End Press’s genre magazine, MobiusBlvd. They put out a couple of these science fiction, fantasy, horror publications. Other magazines include Black Sheep and Dark Horses, and it’s edited by Wayne Kyle Spitzer, who I also believe is an artist. I can be found in the May 2025 edition. Mobius Blvd #No. 19. I’ll copy-paste all info from Amazon, put it down below. Such as cover pics, ordering links, stuff like that. And author lineup. If you like off-world tales about dinosaurs, be sure to check out my story: “Dinotopia.” There is a Kindle version and print version.
Mobius Blvd, May 2025 Issue – Hobb’s End Press
Edited and published by Dark Horses and Wayne Kyle Spitzer
Featuring Dagstine scifi tale:“Dinotopia”
MOBIUS BLVD MAY 2025 AUTHOR LINE-UP (in order):
QUINTESSENTIAL GRANDMA Olaf Baumann
MANDIBLE MUSICKE Ryan Lee
WE TEND THE STAIN J. Boyett
DINOTOPIA Lawrence Dagstine
CRASH DIVE Wayne Kyle Spitzer
POLAROID Anthony Ferguson
TENTACLE PENS Robert Pettus
THE BLACK ZIGGURAT Damir Salkovic
VANITY Marvin Reif
RULES MUST BE OBEYED Mary Jo Rabe
SAMPLE ON AMAZON (click below):
About Mobius Blvd:
There is a byway between reality and dream. A transit we call Möbius Blvd …
Inspired by the enigmatic Möbius strip, a mathematical construct that defies conventional notions of linearity and infinity, Möbius Blvd has no beginning or end but exists in a place where reality and dream have fused … coalesced … merged. With each turn of the page, you’ll encounter a unique blend of horror, fantasy, and science-fiction—fiction that will challenge your perceptions and leave you in awe of the infinite possibilities that exist within the written word.
Indeed, Möbius Blvd is far more than a magazine; it’s an experience. It’s an exploration of the infinite, a passage through dimensions where the only constant is storytelling at its most daring, a kaleidoscope of wonder and terror. Join us on this winding, never-ending journey of speculative fiction that will keep you entranced from the first twist to the last loop. Open your mind to the limitless worlds of Möbius Blvd … and discover that the boundary between fiction and reality is as thin as a strip of paper with a twist.
My next story is yet another new one, and this time to a themed Wicked Shadow Press anthology again. The name of the anthology, part of a two-book series, is “Who Let the Gods Out?!” – Divine Wrath. I’m in Divine Wrath (that volume), keep that in mind. I’m sure there was no pun intended when naming these (**wink wink**), and while the books are primarily horror-focused, my story falls more under the umbrella of dark science fiction. The main protagonist is a Russian fisherman who has always had his eyes set on the stars, as far back as the fall of the Soviet Union and KGB. He’s in search of an alien probe with godly technology inside of it, but so is a very rich entrepreneur. This tycoon wants the quantum computing tech the aliens are traveling with, but at what price? What will he become once he gets his hands on it? Find out in: “Transcendence.”
WHO LET THE GODS OUT?! Anthology – Divine Wrath
Published by Wicked Shadow Press/Edited by Parth Sarathi Chakraborty
Lawrence Dagstine: Author 
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