FANTASY BOOKS: “Fantastic Schools Vol. 13” – New Anthologies, New Dagstine Story! Harry Potter-Style!

For my next story we have a lengthy fantasy piece about a blind witch to a Harry Potter-inspired anthology, edited and put out by Christopher G. Nuttall. This series has been around for a number of years, and it’s a pretty thick book. I’ll leave all available links and pictures down below, like I usually do the past 20+ years. Fantastic Schools is a series about magic users in or around learning environments. Fantasy that falls under the Harry Potter-style umbrella, mystical universities of wizardry, or video games like Fire Emblem Three Houses. Best way to describe it. If you’re a fan of J.K. Rowling, this will definitely be up your alley. Or maybe, just maybe, as a suitable replacement. The witch in my tale goes to a school for swordsmanship and magic, a curse was bestowed on her family, leaving pretty much everybody half-blind. And with the help of an animal companion, we see my protagonist overcome adversity, prejudice, and disability in the most amazing fashion. I really do recommend this book. It’s got a stellar lineup. Read my new fantasy piece in Fantastic Schools Volume #13: “The Myopic Witch and her Avian Attendant.”

FANTASTIC SCHOOLS VOLUME 13

Edited and published by Christopher G. Nuttall & L. Jagi Lamplighter

Fiction about Magic Learning Environments & Harry Potter-style characters

Featuring New Dagstine story: “The Myopic Witch and her Avian Attendant”

Available on Pubshare FIRST (click link, be redirected):

https://pubshare.com/books/fantastic-schools-volume-13

TABLE OF CONTENTS (in order):

The Battle of New Stains Castle by James Pyles

The Myopic Witch and her Avian Attendant by Lawrence Dagstine

The Sorceress’s Son by Peter Rhodan

The Mage and the Fox by Jasmine Lawrence

A Freshman’s First Quest by Steve Choquette

Robyn’s Story by William Lehman

The Staff Fighter by J.W. Logan

Green Flash Molten by Rhys Hughes

Forged By Starlight by Frank Luke

The Magics of Fae by J.L. Stevenson

The Chaperone’s Tale by Christopher G. Nuttall

As for Amazon, Volume 13 will EVENTUALLY find its way here:

(the whole book series – click and be redirected)

Or if you own a Kindle and just want a ONE-OFF, then go here:

ABOUT THE BOOK/SERIES: ‘Have you ever wanted to go to magic school? To cast spells and brew potions and fly on broomsticks and – perhaps – battle threats both common and supernatural? Come with us into worlds of magic, where students become magicians and teachers do everything in their power to ensure the kids survive long enough to graduate. Welcome to … Fantastic Schools.

Once again, students enter their schools of sorcery – sometimes willingly, sometimes not – and come face to face with the power, and the price, of magic. Come meet the son of a powerful and famous sorceress, trying to make his way out from under his mother’s shadow; come meet a blind witch making her way through a magical world, with the aid of her strange and powerful familiar. Or thrill to stories of student wizards fighting duels, some very real, and a lost girl who finds herself yanked into a world of magic. Or a young commoner who has to chaperone an aristocrat as the price of her schooling, a price she may not be willing to pay…

All this, and more, in the latest volume of Fantastic Schools.’

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

Edited to Add: Pleased to wake up and find that Fantastic Schools Vol. #13 is in the TOP 200 on Amazon Kindle.

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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 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”

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/

NEW YEARS ANTHOLOGIES: “The Alien Buddha’s Chaos Countdowns” – Alien Buddha Press

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):

Other New Entries: “Books & Anthos”

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”