I have a brand new horror and dark romance story (usually referred to as ‘Horror-Mance’ these days) in the Fall 2026 issue of the semi-professional speculative fiction magazine, Tales from the Crosstimbers. Edited by Max Griffin on a quarterly basis, it is available online in print and ebook formats. You can get it on Amazon Kindle. Every issue features ten authors. Just like in my last website entry (Frost Zone Stories, Book #4), we’re visiting NYC again for horror depicted in the 1970s. A little bit of the historical, a little bit of the weird, and a whole lot of the nostalgic. What happens when a middle-aged man meets a woman with a mysterious past in a renowned bookstore? What happens when they begin to date seriously, engage in a love affair where immortality is offered openhandedly? Will this man accept her gift? Or will he turn it down at a cost without realizing it? Find out in my story: “The Woman Who Offered Immortality.” As always, any pictures and links we’ll be below. In the coming year you will see a lot more ‘Horror-Mance’ coming from me, as dark romance (or other romantasy) seem to be selling quite well these days in the world of literature.
Tales from the Crosstimbers – Fall 2026 Issue
Featuring new Dagstine story:“The Woman Who Offered Immortality”
Other New Entries:“Magazines” and “Digital Credits”
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Some of you might remember a couple of months back I had a time-traveling western tale featured in a genre publication on Amazon. That magazine made it to the number one spot overnight (Mobius Blvd). Well, my story The Missouri Man is back! It’s been reprinted in the current issue of Dark Horses Magazine. From Hobb’s End Press. It is edited and compiled by Wayne Kyle Spitzer. The tale is about a lawyer who one day finds a hole in back of his refrigerator. And that hole is a time tunnel, leading back to a frontier era in which he must become an unlikely hero. I’ll leave the usual pics and links below. Check it out in case you missed it the first time around. The June issue is a whopping 352 pages! It is available in print and Kindle formats.
Hobb’s End Press presents…
Dark Horses: The Magazine of Weird Fiction – June 2026 Issue
Featuring Dagstine reprint:“The Missouri Man”
AUTHOR LINE-UP:
Join us for a monthly tour of writers who give as good as they get. From hard science-fiction to stark, melancholic apocalypses; from Lovecraftian horror to zombies and horror comedy; from whimsical interludes to tales of unlikely compassion–whatever it is, if it’s weird, it’s here. So grab a seat before the starting gun fires, pour yourself a glass of strange wine, and get ready for the running of the dark horses!
In this issue:
BEYOND THE BEATEN PATH Jenny Morelli
BEYOND THE BREAKERS Chris McGinley
GORE Andrew Albritton
THUNDER ROAD Wayne Kyle Spitzer
HOW NAVIGATION WORKS Griffith Pound
THAT TIME WAS THE PLACE WHERE I EXIST Robert Pettus
THE GATHERING OF THE DRAGONS Matias Travieso-Diaz
THE SILVER FRONT George P. Cross
THE WORLD BEYOND THE WATER Daniel Burnbridge
GHOST INQUISITOR Bill Walthall
CHILD OF CENTAURUS R.A. Daunton
DRAINS David Castlewitz
FIVE SOFT FINGERS Sophia Krich-Brinton
LISL Lisa Marie Miller
NEURAL CRUCIBLE Ernesto Sanchez
THE GROMSKIN Mark Nuzzi
THE MISSOURI MAN Lawrence Dagstine
A TASTE OF TRUTH Bill Diamond
PLUNGE Anuel Rodriguez
Buy or SAMPLE the publication on Amazon now!
DARK HORSES MAGAZINE/HOBB’S END PRESS MAIN WEBSITE:
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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”
I’m pleased to announce I have a 2000-word piece set during the time of the original Star Wars trilogy in the latest release from Altitude Press: “Whatever – A Generation X Flash Anthology” Most of the stories in the book run the gamut of 1000 to 1500 words in length, with mine probably being the longest of them all. Edited by Nicole McInnes, this would be my second time published by Altitude Press (I was in a themed anthology of theirs a year ago, centered around dogs). There are 22 authors in all, many nationalities, from all over the world. And each of them have experienced Gen-X in some way that is nostalgic (those, at least, born between 1965 to 1980). Whether it’s staying out all night till the break of dawn. Maybe watching MTV. Being alive when Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan were president. Or realizing the very real threat of a Third World War. For me, it was going to the cinema at a young age and watching Luke Skywalker fight Darth Vader. Check out my story, “Movie Night.”
Whatever: A Generation X Flash Fiction Anthology
Published by Altitude Press – Edited by Nicole McInnes
Featuring Dagstine story:“Movie Night”
***Available on Amazon Kindle and SOON in print paperback format***
I’m also pleased to announce that, as of the writing of this post, WHATEVER! has broken the TOP 100 for fiction anthologies on Amazon Kindle…
Other New Entries:“Books & Anthos” and “Digital Credits”
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Happy September to you all. Autumn is just around the corner, and this is where I start getting a lot of short fiction acceptances and stuff published. Always September through December. And for this website post, I am currently appearing with a reprint in the Substack publication: “Androids and Dragons: A Journal of and about Speculative Fiction.” It has hundreds of followers, hundred of readers. It’s a token-paying market. There’s a lot of these Substack newsletter publications (in the form of modern webzines), popping up these days. In the old days, when I first started getting published, a lot of webzines were hosted by Lycos or Geocities. Or they depended on programs like Dreamweaver and Flash, to look stylish for the time period. It seems Substack is becoming a major platform to build your fiction-reading audience. Stories can be emailed to subscribers, direct to their inbox. You can read a short story anywhere, not just home computer but on your phone on the go. And it pops up really quick on search engines, because the one thing Substack has going for it is many a search engine algorithm. The editor is Jenna Hanan Moore. I’ll leave any links down below, direct or otherwise. And the name of my reprint is: “Past and Present Company Excepted.”
Androids and Dragons: A Journal of and about Speculative Fiction
Substack Publication – Edited by Jenna Hanan Moore
Featuring Dagstine reprint: “Past and Present Company Excepted.”
Photo credit: Caras Jr. on Unsplash, 2025.
The September Edition Opening Page – (click link, be redirected):
And speaking of Substack publications or newsletters, I’ve updated my own personal one recently. But only with a quickie. You can find a link to that right below…
I have a new World War 2 story in the latest Wicked Shadow Press anthology, called: DeadMan’s Land – Shell Shock! There are actually two books in this series. One is called Trench Rot, and I’m in Shell Shock. So remember that, Shell Shock (cover below). And while each of the stories in this book focus on military horror, my tale could best be described as “speculative.” The name of my story is The Day of the Dragon. It’s about a unique soldier who finds himself in a fictitious village in Southern Italy. Why are the Nazis after this soldier? Are the rumors true? Is he really unnatural, like a dragon? Well, there’s a whole Panzer division on its way to take him out along with members of La Resistenza (the Italian Resistance/Italian Underground). How will this battle pan out? Find out in The Day of the Dragon.
Dead Man’s Land: Shell Shock – Military/War Anthology
Published by Wicked Shadow Press – Edited by Parth Sarathi Chakraborty
Featuring Dagstine story: “The Day of the Dragon”
Available in India and the United States
Where to purchase the print or ebook versions (click links, be redirected):
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I have a reprint (appeared in DASH Literary Journal about two years ago), that matches the theme of the following anthology. Chaotic or haphazard stories about New Years, and similar celebratory fiction fare to go along with the once-a-year holiday. And what better way to ring in 2025 than with Alien Buddha Press (the publisher), and sharing a table of contents with the likes of NJ Gallegos, Dawn DeBraal, April Ridge, and Bram Stoker-nominee James Dorr. My New Years-themed story has elements of speculative fiction, steampunk, and magic realism in it. Oh, and angel doctors! It’s called Before Measured Time. It takes place right before midnight on December 31st 1899, and the 20th century and universe is at stake! Check out Alien Buddha’s Chaos Countdowns Anthology now on Amazon. Pictures and info down below. Most of all, Happy New Years!
Alien Buddha’s New Years Chaos Countdowns Anthology
Published by Alien Buddha Press
Featuring Lawrence Dagstine reprint:“Before Measured Time”
Available in paperback on Amazon (click preview box below):
I have a 4,000-word historical story of psychological horror and romance (emphasis on the psychological, and this one is set against the backdrop of the Second World War, called: “Competing for Roses.” And you can read that story in the latest issue of a fairly new online magazine called Stygian Lepus. Fall 2023, Edition No. #6. The author line-up is on the webzine cover below. So those are who I share the Table of Contents with. If you enjoy online reading, why not give it a go. I’ll post this one in Magazines. I’ll also provide a link to the webzine’s site just below the cover. And I’ll be seeing you on the next one. Cheers.
Stygian Lepus – Edition No. #6
Online Magazine/Webzine of Dark Speculative Fiction and Horror
Edited to Add (2024): Stygian Lepus #6, featuring my story Competing for Roses is now available as a very pretty illustrated magazine exclusive to Kindle and Amazon print format. Get it below.
Lawrence Dagstine: Author 
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