Category Archives: Fantasy Stories

Eldritch Cat Press: “Cemetery Songs Vol. 1” – NEW PRESSES, NEW ANTHOLOGIES!

Busy season for horror and dark fantasy. Pooped. Back again with yet another anthology appearance. This time for a new genre publisher, called: Eldritch Cat Press. The editor there is the talented Alanna Robertson-Webb. And for this press’s debut anthology they decided to go with something themed. Stories centered around three things: cemeteries, songs, and cats. The anthology includes all those things. That’s the recipe here. It got such an amazing turnout, it spawned TWO volumes. I was one of the lucky authors to make it into the first volume. Volume one. My story takes place in ancient times, Greater Assyria. It’s called: “Songs for the Unburied.” I’ll leave pictures and essential info below. Check it out on Amazon, in print or ebook formats.

Cemetery Songs Anthology – Volume #1

Published by Eldritch Cat Press – Edited by Alanna Robertson-Webb

Featuring Dagstine story: “Songs for the Unburied”

***Available on Amazon Kindle or in print paperback formats***

Company Logo Copyright Alanna Robertson-Webb, Eldritch Cat Press

DESCRIPTION FROM AMAZON: ‘Cemetery Songs Volume 1 is the first of two books featuring 20 fictional, short horror stories from a unique blend of authors. While each story is vastly different in tone, style and content they all have three elements in common: a cat, a song and a cemetery. Some stories will send chills down your spine, others will leave you with a quiet, unsettled feeling in the pit of your stomach and a few may even bring a tear to your eye. Come, pull up a seat with us as we dive into this incredible blend of entertaining tales fit for the living…and the dead.‘

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

The Orange & Bee | Substack Publication – Professional Venue for Magical Stories and Fairy Tales…

I have a professional credit (8 to 10 cents per word) in the Substack publication, The Orange & Bee. It’s a flash fiction piece, and this would be my third pro credit the past three years. The Orange & Bee is a venue with thousands of subscribers. They seem to update their newsletter-like publication on a weekly basis, and their mission is to publish stories aimed at enchanting readers. They offer critiquing services, and have something called writing and reading “roundtables.” They also seek contemporary short stories inspired by a long tradition of fairy tales. But they celebrate all styles and genres, as they aim to explore, expand on, and subvert the rich traditions of international folklore. They publish poetry and non-fiction, too. According to them, they look at stories that stretch between the shadows. Which is good, because my story this time around falls into this category (along with the theme of loss and grief). Read my flash fiction story, “Shadow Play.” In the Oct. 24th 2025 edition of The Orange & Bee…

The Orange & Bee – Professional Substack Publication

Featuring Dagstine flash fiction piece: “Shadow Play”

The Orange & Bee MAIN PAGE – (click link, be redirected):

https://theorangebee.substack.com/

Lawrence Dagstine piece, Shadow Play – (click link, be redirected):

https://theorangebee.substack.com/p/shadow-play

And be sure to subscribe to them for weekly content! As in upgraded subscription!

I’ll put the banner above in magazines, since that’s where I put webzine-related stuff for close to twenty years.

Other New Entries: “Magazines”

The Triumvirate: A Journal of Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror Vol. 6…

Pleased to announce I have a brand new speculative fiction story about afterlife science and “where do we go from here” when, as senior citizens, our time is up. And you can find this exclusive tale in David Oliver Kling’s The Triumvirate Volume #6. This would be my third outing with Mr. Kling’s fiction digest, which he started in the name of fandom as a teenager back in the 1980s. I’m also appearing beside Joshua Vise, who I’ve shared a handful of TOCs with these past two years. It’s available in a paperback format, just like the pulp journals of yesteryear. Or for convenience, you can get it on Kindle for the low price of $2.99. The name of my story is: “Where All Souls Eventually Go.”

The Triumvirate: A Journal of Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror Vol. 6

Edited and compiled by David Oliver Kling

Featuring Dagstine story: “Where All Souls Eventually Go”

Sample or buy on Amazon below (Kindle or print):

Details about The Triumvirate:

Four stories. Three genres. One unforgettable journey into the strange, the haunted, and the transcendent.
In this sixth volume of The Triumvirate, the boundaries of imagination stretch and shatter. Step into a near-future where souls are collected like family heirlooms. Descend into a haunted mansion that opens its doors straight into Hell. Witness the slow unraveling of civilization through the eyes of a historian in a broken world. And follow a grieving girl’s perilous quest to a cursed temple where legends are born and blood remembers.

Featuring:

  • Where All Souls Eventually Go by Lawrence Dagstine. A daughter keeps vigil in a hospice that preserves the essence of the dying, contemplating what we carry beyond the veil.
  • House Sitting in the Satan House by Mark Mackey. When two sisters take a last-minute job in the wrong house, a night of glamor turns into a descent through damnation.
  • The End of a Lineage by Joshua Vise. A chilling chronicle of humanity’s fall, told from the ruins of reason, where an everyday miracle becomes the seed of apocalypse.
  • The Dagger and The Wish by David Oliver Kling. A sorrowful girl. A sacred blade. A temple steeped in ancient power. Witness the origin of the legendary warrior known only as the Blue Devil.

The Triumvirate: Volume 6 is your portal to the darkly beautiful, the eerily prophetic, and the mythically charged. Open its pages, if you dare.

Other New Entries: “Magazines”

FLASH FICTION ANTHOLOGIES: “Blink of an Eye” – Culture Cult Press

For my next piece, I have a brand new speculative tale in a flash fiction anthology. Flash fiction is a kind of story you can read quickly before bed, maybe if you’re on the subway on your way to work, or just waiting in a doctor’s office. They’re not time-consuming, you could say, due to their length. I am featured alongside seventy-four—yes, that’s right, a whopping 74—authors of quick stories falling between 500 and 1500 words in length. My tale is about a woman trapped inside a mysterious marble covered in dark matter. And there’s no way out, or is there? Blink of an Eye Dark Flash Fictions Anthology is the latest release from Culture Cult/Pulp Cult Press, edited by Parth Sarathi Chakraborty, and sold in the US via Lulu, and also in India. Enjoy my flash piece: “The Girl in the Malignant Marble.”

Blink of an Eye Flash Fiction Anthology – from Culture Cult Press

Featuring Dagstine story: “The Girl in the Malignant Marble”

FULL ORDERING DETAILS (click links, be redirected):

Paperback Version (order here): https://www.lulu.com/shop/parth-sarathi-chakraborty/blink-of-an-eye/paperback/product-gjq2ky5.html

ePub Version (order here): https://www.lulu.com/shop/parth-sarathi-chakraborty/blink-of-an-eye/ebook/product-rmzvq4j.html

According to publisher info received, the March 2025 discount code BOOKSELLER10 may be used for a 10% discount on Lulu on all purchases. 

Culture Cult Press on Social Media:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CultureCultPress

Instagram: https://instagram.com/culturecultpress

Visit them at: https://CultureCult.co.in

Other New Entries: “Books & Anthos”

SCIENCE FICTION BOOKS: “Quaternary Realms, Short Stories of SF & Fantasy Vol. 2” – Edited by C.M. Bratton

I’m pleased to announce that I’m back in one of the San Antonio SF & Fantasy Authors’ association’s print anthologies. Last time it was a book on science fiction and fantasy poetry. This time, it’s an anthology of brand new and exclusive short stories, and edited by C.M. Bratton again. The name of the book (now up on Amazon, and I will provide links and a TOC below): Quaternary Realms Volume #2. My piece could best be described as a tale of somewhat forbidden dinosaur science on a distant Jurassic world. It delves into the realm of “Cretaceous-style hunting and cloning” for sport, and the responsibilities of a veterinarian who has to coexist with giant reptiles. Read my new science fiction tale now: “Dinotopia.”

QUATERNARY REALMS ANTHOLOGY: Volume 2 – Edited by C.M. Bratton

Published/put out by The San Antonio SF & Fantasy Author’s Association

Featuring Lawrence Dagstine story: “Dinotopia”

Available on Amazon in paperback. Also available on the convention circuit.

Click and sample below:

AUTHOR LINE-UP:

Science Fiction & Fantasy story titles:

Other New Entries: “Books & Anthos”

Other New Stuff in Addition: “Lawrence Dagstine Newsletter”

https://lawrencedagstinewrites.substack.com/

ORION’S BEAU, FALL 2024: “How To Embrace Your Inner Weirdo” – by Lawrence Dagstine

Pleased to announce I have a brand new LGBTQIA+ humor story, with science fiction and drag queen elements to it, in the Fall 2024 edition of Orion’s Beau. Orion’s Beau is an online Web Journal dedicated to speculative fiction and fantastical pieces set in and around LGBTQIA+ culture and themes, and by authors who identify as members of the community themselves. From time to time, I do write satirical or slice of life vignettes involving gay protagonists (and antagonists). Other authors this edition include: M. Lopes da Silva, Emmie Christie, Jennifer Lee Rossman, Angela Acosta, Rachel Unger, and Reggie Kwok.

Read “How To Embrace Your Inner Weirdo: A Drag Queen’s Guide to Universal Eccentricity” by Lawrence Dagstine, in the Fall 2024 issue of Orion’s Beau. I’ll put all links below.

Orion’s Beau – Fall 2024

ORION’S BEAU – MAIN WEBSITE:

https://www.orionsbeau.com/

Fall 2024 Lineup (direct link):

https://www.orionsbeau.com/fantasy-quarterly/fall-2024

Read How to Embrace Your Inner Weirdo (direct link):

https://www.orionsbeau.com/fantasy-quarterly/fall-2024/how-to-embrace-your-inner-weirdo%3A-a-drag-queen’s-guide-to-universal-eccentricity

I’ll file this under Magazines.

Other New Entries: “Magazines/Webzines”

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”

PIRATE BOOKS: “The Black Beacon Book of Pirates” – Pirate & Horror-Themed Anthology

It’s with great pleasure to announce that I am headlining a very major pirate and horror-themed anthology with a brand new tale which borders on novelette length, and has just the right touch of the Golden Age of Piracy to it (from a historical point of view), and just the right Lovecraftian feel to it (where Cosmic Horror is concerned). But it’s not all about tentacles and eerie and ominous abberations from the deepest corners of the Seven Seas or Hades itself. Presenting, “The Black Beacon Book of Pirates.” Edited by Cameron Trost. Available in the USA, UK, Australia, Amazon, or obtain it from Black Beacon themselves. They have a website, and I will put links, pictures, the table of contents, and any miscellaneous information down below or to the side column. My story, which I first started working on in 2022 and didn’t finish till 2023, is called, “The Mutineer.”

Without giving too much of the story away, The Mutineer is an unsettling tale full of despair, the story of an imprisoned buccanner named Frederick March, who is in service to an evil monarchy and their power-hungry armada. March, who is the Mutineer and witness to everything on this scary voyage, tells his tale of oceanic, cosmic mayhem of how he is sent to the Caribbean to hunt down a Cthulhu-like apparition with great power. This manifestation of ill-omen is known only as The Boatswain. But March soon finds out the merry band of pirates he leads gets a little bit more than they bargained for when they invade the Boatswain’s island habitat and learn he comes from a race of beings and worshippers just like himself. Who will survive? Because you only get one chance. Only one! With the Boatswain… in The Mutineer!

THE BLACK BEACON BOOK OF PIRATES – Edited by Cameron Trost

Published by Black Beacon Books

Featuring BRAND NEW Dagstine story: “The Mutineer”

BLACK BEACON BOOKS WEBSITE (click link):

https://blackbeaconbooks.blogspot.com/

ORDER ON AMAZON (sample below):

Table of Contents:

Personally, I would even go as far as to say The Mutineer is one of my three best horror stories of my life. It’s definitely up there with the likes of Thursday’s Children (which can be found in The Nightmare Cycle), and my tale of vampires and one man’s paralysis, The Paraplegic.

Time will tell.

Oh, the cover art is by the legendary Daniele Serra.

Edited to Add: The Black Beacon Book of Pirates is now available at Books-A-Million.

LINK: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Black-Beacon-Book-Pirates/Lawrence-Dagstine/9780645247183?id=9202635427834

New Entries: “Books & Anthos” and “Digital Credits”

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”

SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINES: “The Triumvirate, Vol. #4” – Journal of Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror

I have an obscure science fiction story (entitled, My Own Private Earth) in the latest edition of David Oliver Kling’s speculative fiction journal, The Triumvirate. Volume Four. The Triumvirate features tales of science ficiton, fantasy, horror, even a little bit of poetry. It is available for your Amazon Kindle (digitally), or as a very affordable paperback in the $7.00 range. It is one part anthology-magazine, one part journal. 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, a teenage lover of spec-fic like myself, and he has revived it in the 21st century. Links and cover pic below (and off to the side). We seriously need more journals like this!

THE TRIUMVIRATE Volume #4 – Journal of Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror

Edited and compiled by David Oliver Kling

AUTHOR LINE-UP for VOLUME #4: David O’Mahony, Lawrence Dagstine, Nicholas Hurst, Mark Mackey, Robert Henry, Ann Ross, David Oliver Kling. Poetry by Joy Yin. 127 pages.

New Entries: “Magazines”

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”