Category Archives: Fantastic Fiction

Dark Horses: The Magazine of Weird Fiction, September 2024 No. #32 – Hobb’s End Press

This is basically a repeat of my last magazine plug, but only uploaded within a few days of each other. Basically, I am appearing with two different stories at the same time in two different Hobb’s End Press publications. Last time it was Black Sheep Magazine. Today, if you look at the cover and links below, is Dark Horses: The Magazine of Weird Fiction – September 2024 Edition. Issue #32. Hobb’s End has a few of these pulpy looking “anthology-magazines” available on Amazon, in both Kindle and print formats. The magazines feature a very diverse smorgasbord of science fiction, fantasy, horror, action-adventure, and weird tales. My story for Dark Horses is a 20-year old story. An obscure repro of biblical proportion. Noah from Mars. The story is a retelling of the famous flood, but only on the Red Planet. What if Noah and his family left Mars to come to Earth? What if he brought two of each animal from Mars to our planet? What if the Ark was a massive spaceship rather than a sea barge? It’s a retold fairy tale (depending on what your faith is). If you are new to my fiction, if you weren’t alive twenty years ago, check it out. This’ll probably be the last time I submit it (will retire it). Pictures and links below, or off to the side column.

Dark Horses: The Magazine of Weird Fiction

Published by Hobb’s End Press – featuring Lawrence Dagstine

September 2024 Edition/Issue – No. 32 of 32 Anthology-Magazine

Author Lineup

TAP TAP TAP
Elsa Loftis

ALL THE SINGULARITY GIRLS
Glenn Dungan

THE BATTLE FOR ASHGROVE ROAD
Hugh A.D. Spencer

DESPERATE TO REVIVE
Mark J. Schultis

X-RAY RIDER (PART TWO)
Wayne Kyle Spitzer

DR. SORBY’S AMAZING AQUATIC MENAGERIE
Olivier Faivre

FORTY MILES OF BAD ROAD
Rick M. Clausen

JUNE BUG SEASON
Sarah Wilson Gregory

NOAH FROM MARS
Lawrence Dagstine

THE WILD HUNT
David Newkirk

Check out ALL Hobb’s End Press genre magazines HERE (click link):

https://darkhorsesmagazine.mystrikingly.com/

That Black Sheep Magazine info/post I mentioned is HERE (click link):

Black Sheep Magazine, September 2024 No. #15 – Hobb’s End Press

Edited to Add:

Pleased to add that after I was done playing a video game over the Labor Day Weekend, I checked up on Dark Horses Magazine (the print edition, in particular). It reached Number One in New Releases. In the “Science Ficiton & Fantasy” categories. This would be the second time in 2024 I was part of an anthology-magazine that reached Number One on Amazon (the first being Alien Dimensions No. #26).

Other New Entries: “Magazines” and “Digital Credits”

Black Sheep Magazine, September 2024 No. #15 – Hobb’s End Press

Pleased to announce I have a story about a little boy and the devil himself (think William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist), in the latest issue of a very interesting and pulpish looking “anthology-magazine.” It’s got that 1970s nerd vibe to it, when kids used to ride their bikes to the comic shop to pick up their weekly scifi rags. Also getting hints of Tales of the Talisman here. How many of you remember Hadrosaur Tales way back in the 2000s? The name of the publication is Black Sheep. They have beautiful covers, and they are published as a numbered anthology series by the fine folks at Hobb’s End Press. They have a couple of these magazine series up for sale, 181 pages in length, from Dark Horses to Mobius Blvd to what-have-you, and feature roughly ten to twelve authors per edition. Their focus is primarily science fiction, fantasy, horror, and your good old-fashioned weird tale. I’m in Issue No. 15, September 2024. It is exclusive to Amazon on Kindle for $3.99, or as a collectible paperback for a mere $8.99. Pick up your copy today. Clickable links and pics below.

Black Sheep: Unique Tales of Terror and Wonder

Published by Hobb’s End Press – featuring Lawrence Dagstine

September 2024 Edition/Issue – No. 15 of 15 Anthology-Magazine

AUTHOR LINEUP:

Kelly Hossaini, Elizabeth Rosen, Spencer Sekulin, NP Cunniffe, Wayne Kyle Spitzer, C. Dan Castro, Ethan Cordeta, Lawrence Dagstine, Mikel J. Wisler, George Hagler.

https://darkhorsesmagazine.mystrikingly.com/

Other New Entries: “Magazines” and “Digital Credits”

TIME TRAVEL BOOKS: “A Stitch in Space Time: Time Travel Stories” – Culture Cult Press

The next book I’m in, and I believe this is my 6th anthology acceptance of 2024, is time travel themed. I have a lot of stuff floating out at time travel markets at the moment. It seems like every few years the subject of time, the mechanics and physics surrounding it, being able to travel backwards and forwards to a specific era and meet somebody historically important, becomes popular again. However, for Culture Cult Press’s latest book, A Stitch in Space Time, I decided to submit a fairy tale-style “mashup,” where Lewis Carroll (aka Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), uses H.G. Wells time machine and tech to travel through a surreal but alternative version of Wonderland. And from a scientific point of view, it involves the Queen of Hearts. What I like most about Culture Cult Press — besides their stellar covers, immaculate interior design, and major distribution throughout India — is that a portion of the proceeds goes to help street animals without owners in Kolkata. Be sure to check out my time travel-themed story in A Stitch in Space Time Anthology, entitled: “Lewis Carroll and the Time Machine.” Links and pics below, and in the side column just to the right.

A STITCH IN SPACE TIME Anthology – published by Culture Cult Press

Edited by Jay Chakravarti – 22 Stories revolving around time travel

Featuring Dagstine Story: “Lewis Carroll and the Time Machine”

AVAILABLE IN PRINT PAPERBACK or as a DIGITAL EPUB (direct links):

Order the Paperback Book from Lulu: https://www.lulu.com/shop/jay-chakravarti/a-stitch-in-spacetime/paperback/product-e786k52.html

Order the Digital Version from Lulu: https://www.lulu.com/shop/jay-chakravarti/a-stitch-in-spacetime/ebook/product-2m5898q.html

Culture Cult Press Socials:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CultureCultPress
Instagram: https://instagram.com/CultureCultpress
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/CultureCultPub

Homepage: https://CultureCult.co.in

Other New Entries: “Books & Anthos”

SCIENCE FICTION DIGESTS: “The Triumvirate, Vol. #5” – Journal of Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror

Fellow genre readers. I have a brand new story of despair and hardship set after the troubling events of the War in Iraq in the latest, book-sized edition of David Oliver Kling’s speculative fiction journal, The Triumvirate. Volume Five. The Triumvirate features tales of science fiction, fantasy, horror, even the occasional essay. It is available for your Amazon Kindle (digitally), or as a paperback in the $10.00 range. It is one part anthology-magazine, one part journal (but I consider it more a beefy digest). This is Mr. Kling’s labor of love, which I highly recommend if you are enthusiastic about old school genre. Kling started the magazine back in 1985 at the tender age of fifteen. Links and cover picture below (and in side column). This is my second appearance with The Triumvirate, and the name of my story this time around is: “After the Soldiers go Home.”

THE TRIUMVIRATE Volume #5 – Journal of Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror

Edited and compiled by David Oliver Kling

Featuring Lawrence Dagstine story: “After the Soldiers go Home”

TABLE OF CONTENTS/STORIES & AUTHORS FEATURED:


In “Earth-697,” Mark Mackey introduces us once again to Ambrosial Decarva, the dragon slayer of Dystonia.

Lawrence Dagstine’s “After the Soldiers go Home” takes us to a post-war Iraq plagued by both disease and despair.

Nicholas Hurst’s “You Can Almost See The Shininess” provides a lighter, yet equally enticing, exploration of military life.

In “Back From the War: A 1920’s Vampire Tale,” Mark Mackey transports us to a post-Great War America where Bram Collinwood faces supernatural horrors upon returning home.

Paul O’Neill’s “Mister Sleep” brings terror to the quiet town of Balekerin, where a sleepover turns into a nightmare.

Robert Henry’s “Fall into the Sky” takes us on a mythic journey with Ragnar, a father desperate to save his son.

Larry Johnson’s “The Under People” follows Lew Brown’s unsettling encounters with mysterious workers.

In “Amen” by Ed Perratore, high school senior Walter’s Halloween prank leads to a grim fate.

Finally, in David Oliver Kling’s essay, “What Dreams May Come: A Pastoral Care Perspective,” he provides a thoughtful analysis of the 1998 film “What Dreams May Come.”

Amazon Purchase Link (or sample below):


Also be sure to check out Volume #4. I’m in that edition too!

Other New Entries: “Magazines”

Moonday Mag: Untouchable – Spring 2024, Issue No. #02

I have a short story appearing in the fairly new magazine, Moonday Mag. I’m in Issue No. #2, Spring 2024. It is available on Magcloud as a beautifully put together print format or read it free digitally. Edited by Caridad Cole, Moonday Mag could best be described as a magazine of experimental fiction: experimental forms and prose, speculative fiction, some magic realism and literary too. There’s gorgeous artwork and poetry within its pages, and creative nonfiction to boot. The best way to describe this very colorful 64-page production is ecclectic. I’ll leave links below and file this under magazines. And I’ll be seeing you on the next one.

Moonday Mag: Untouchable – Spring 2024

BUY THE PRINT OR READ THE DIGITAL FREE (on MagCloud):

https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/2799525

New Entries: “Magazines”

POST APOCALYPTIC BOOKS: “Apocalyptales, Judgment Day!” – Wicked Shadow Press

NOTE: This anthology was late to press because of the holidays. The book will most likely have debuted January 2024. Hence the tardiness of this website post plugging it.

It’s most likely safe to say this is my last story appearance of 2023. And what a year it has been. A small press book deal, two professional-identifying markets, and a TON of print and ebook anthologies. 2023 marked my return to science fiction, fantasy, and horror. It was also the year I wrote the most fiction in a very long time. What better way, I say, than to end the year with a disaster of epic proportions. I’m talking stories of doomsday, the near future, and what fictitious calamaties just might await us. I have a story in the latest illustrated anthology from Wicked Shadow Press, called: “Apocalyptales – Judgment Day!”

Apocalyptales is a book of stories featuring nothing but post-apocalyptic fiction, and my story is about a peculiar weather phenomenon that threatens to bury all of mankind. I originally wrote The Big Dirt Nap (the name of my tale contained within) in early 2010. It took me almost fourteen years to find a home for it. Here we are, late 2023, and it finally has a home. I like to call tales like The Big Dirt Nap “Attic Stories.” Attic stories are hard to place, you sit on them for more than a decade, dust it off when the correct themed market comes along, send it on in. Any way, Happy New Year.

APOCALYPTALES – JUDGMENT DAY Anthology

In Epub or Illustrated Paperback – published by Wicked Shadow Press

Featuring post-apocalyptic Dagstine tale: “The Big Dirt Nap.”

ORDERING INFO/LINKS TO BUY:

Order the illustrated paperback: https://www.lulu.com/shop/parth-sarathi-chakraborty/apocalyptales-judgment-day/paperback/product-v8829zp.html

Order the epub: https://www.lulu.com/shop/parth-sarathi-chakraborty/apocalyptales-judgment-day/ebook/product-rmmk8g6.html?page=1&pageSize=4

FOLLOW WICKED SHADOW PRESS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Follow Wicked Shadow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wickedshadowpress

Follow Wicked Shadow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/wickedshadowpress

Follow Wicked Shadow on X: https://twitter.com/wickedshadowpub

Other New Entries: “Books & Anthos”

SCIENCE FICTION BOOKS: “Invasion The Dark Side of Technology Vol. 2” – Wicked Shadow Press.

Wicked Shadow Press really outdid themselves this time in a two volume series of science fiction and miscellaneous speculative tales surrounding dark technology, deadly machines, artificial intelligence, and science that can enslave us or kill us. Easily one of my ten favorite anthology covers of all time. Both books in the series are edited by Parth Sarathi Chakraborty, and some of the proceeds from the sales of these books goes to help animals in Kolkata, India, where it is already getting a warm reception. My story is not about AI (which has been a heated and dystopic subject of late), but more or less a science fantasy which involves the dark tech surrounding “buildings” and “skyscrapers.” This is a tale about architecture of the future, of other worlds, buildings that graze the clouds, and the “dark architects” who control utopias and dystopias behind the scenes. Not everything is always rosy and picturesque, even in large metropolises filled with tall buildings. Read my tale, “Architects of Change” in Volume Two of Invasion. I’m in Volume Two, so don’t forget that; but I recommend both. It’s available on Amazon Kindle for only $2.99, or as a paperback on places like Lulu. All links will be below the cover pics, as usual. Cheers.

INVASION Volume 2 – THE DARK SIDE OF TECHNOLOGY

From Wicked Shadow Press

Now Available on Amazon Kindle for only $2.99

Also available in STUNNING Amazon paperback (for the shelf collector)

Featuring Dagstine story: “Architects of Change”

ALSO AVAILABLE ON LULU (and as a print paperback there as well):

Buy a Paperback copy of INVASION Vol. 01 from Lulu.com: 

https://www.lulu.com/shop/parth-sarathi-chakraborty/invasion-vol-01/paperback/product-wjjpnk.html

Buy a Paperback copy of INVASION Vol. 02 from Lulu.com: 

https://www.lulu.com/shop/parth-sarathi-chakraborty/invasion-vol-02/paperback/product-qrrp9p.html

Buy the ebook of INVASION Vol. 01 from Lulu.com: https://www.lulu.com/shop/parth-sarathi-chakraborty/invasion-vol-01/ebook/product-v66p65.html

Buy the ebook of INVASION Vol. 02 from Lulu.com: https://www.lulu.com/shop/parth-sarathi-chakraborty/invasion-vol-02/ebook/product-dkk9r9.html

WICKED SHADOW PRESS SOCIALS:

Like WSP us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wickedshadowpress

Follow WSP on Instagram: https://instagram.com/wickedshadowpress

Follow WSP on X: https://twitter.com/wickedshadowpub

Other New Entries: “Books & Anthos, Digital Credits”

FANTASY BOOKS: “Witch Wizard Warlock” – Three Cousins Publishing

It is with great pleasure to announce I have a themed story in the fantasy anthology, Witch Wizard Warlock. This one is put out by Robert Lupton and the gang at Three Cousins Publishing (I believe in conjunction with West Mesa Press, but don’t quote me on that last part). Links and cover pics will be down below as usual, or off to the side (just scroll down to “Purchase Now” to be redirected to anything of mine still in print). My tale is on witches and wizardry. So you could say I have that ground covered. It is a tale of family bonding, being taught magic, growing up around relatives who are gifted in the arcane arts, and just have a little something to share with someone younger than themselves, but told from the perspective of a child. Read my short story, “Family Ties.” In Witch Wizard Warlock. Page-wise it comes in at around 530 pages and is available in Kindle format, paperback, and a gorgeous hardcover for the shelf collector. I would easily say the word count is in the 160K range.

WITCH WIZARD WARLOCK

A Fantastical Anthology about the three classes above.

Available on Amazon from Three Cousins Publishing/Robert Lupton

ORDER ON AMAZON TODAY:

LINK: https://www.amazon.com/WITCH-WIZARD-WARLOCK-Robert-Lupton-ebook/dp/B0CG9YHLN3

Available on Kindle, in paperback, or gigantic hardcover…

Other New Entries: “Books & Anthos”