Category Archives: Short Stories worth Reading

To The Dogs: 31 Very Short Stories About Man’s Best Friend – Altitude Press

Are you a keeper of canines? Are you a poodle person or pitbull enthusiast? Do you carry your pooch around with you everywhere you go? Are you a dog lover at heart? Then you’re definitely going to want to check out the latest fiction anthology from Altitude Press, and Editor Nicole McInnes, entitled, To The Dogs: 31 Very Short Stories About Man’s Best Friend. Featuring thirty-one authors of flash fiction (and slightly longer) about canines. Most of the stories in this book fall in the 1000 to 2000-word range, and they are entirely devoted to everybody’s favorite pet. There’s fantasy, popular, literary, and a brand new scifi story by yours truly about dogs of the future and space travel (and one pesky cat!). Read my story set aboard a spaceship, “Every Cosmos Has A Ruling Class.” Links and details below.

TO THE DOGS: 31 VERY SHORT STORIES ABOUT MAN’S BEST FRIEND

Edited and Compiled by Nicole McInnes – Published by Altitude Press

Featuring Dagstine story: “Every Cosmos has a Ruling Class”

Author Lineup and Details (copy-pasted from Amazon)

Celebrate humanity’s canine companions with To the Dogs, a collection of 31 dog-themed stories written by authors from all over the world. Whether it’s literary fiction, speculative fiction, science fiction, mystery/suspense, spooky/paranormal, or myth/folklore/allegory you love most, you’re sure to find plenty of short tales (tails?) within this anthology to enjoy and share. Woof!


Stories by: Hidayat Adams, Chad Anctil, Marie Anderson, Dominic Andres, Diana Ashman, Phil Barnard, Juliette Beauchamp, Anthony Boulanger, R.C. Capasso, Gemma Church, Michael A. Clark, Lawrence Dagstine, Wendy Eiben, Zary Fekete, E. Florian Gludovacz, Jenna Hanan Moore, Laurie Herlich, Robert D. Hill, Valerie Hunter, Fiona M. Jones, Shashi Kadapa, Richard Lau, Angela M McCann, Harding McFadden, Bob Smith, Victor Sootho, Mariah Southworth, Jake Stein, Lisa Timpf, Sue Walsh, and John Weagly

AVAILABLE ON KINDLE OR PAPERBACK FORMAT

ALTITUDE PRESS SOCIALS/WEBSITE (for further info):

Our Projects

Altitude Press X/Twitter: https://x.com/AltitudePress

Altitude Press Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/altitudepressbooks/

Altitude Press Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AltitudePress/

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

SCIENCE FICTION ANTHOLOGIES: “Far Futures, Book Three…” – Edited by Robert Mendenhall

Pleased to announce I have a brand new science fiction short story in the latest anthology in the Far Futures Book Series from Blue Planet Press. Edited and compiled by Robert Mendenhall, Far Futures is an on-going series of “space stories” or “interplanetary tales” set on far off worlds, or in faraway universes. The kind of stuff that made science fiction great back in the 1960s and 70s. Only for a modern audience. I highly recommend this book, a lot of thought was put into my tale. It’s one of FOUR new tales within the science fiction genre I have coming out between Fall/Winter 2024-2025. As of October 8th it’ll be available in paperback and ebook formats on places such as Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, even Apple. I’ll put all links, pictures, details below (and off to the right-hand side). And check out my story, “Round Trip.”

FAR FUTURES BOOK THREE – Science Fiction Anthologies

Published by Blue Planet Press – Edited by Robert J. Mendenhall

Featuring brand new Dagstine story: “Round Trip”

Author Line-Up and Details (copy-pasted):

Tales of broken generation ships and malfunctioning holograms. AI enhanced humans fleeing the solar system. Alien abductees taken light-years away. A NASA spacecraft highjacked in a perilous first contact scenario. Pirates and scavengers and more. These stories are all different, yet all answer the same fundamental question “What… or who is out there?”

The latest edition in the Far Futures anthology series is now available for order. Far Futures Book Three is scheduled for an Oct. 8, 2024 release in both eBook and paperback at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, and more.

With stories from talented and rising authors in science fiction representing the US, Canada, UK, and Australia, including: Glynn Owen Barrass, Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, Lawrence Dagstine, Caroline Misner, Charles Nadolski, Barend Nieuwstraten III, Robin Pond, and James Pyles.

BLUE PLANET PRESS WEBSITE (click link):

https://blueplanetpress.net/

BARNES & NOBLES/NOOK VERSION (click link):

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/far-futures-book-three-robert-j-mendenhall/1146336393

AMAZON PURCHASE (click below for Kindle):

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

MODERN FICTION: “Mono No Aware” – Anthology on the Fleeting Nature of Beauty

Pleased to announce I have a fiction piece in the modern fiction anthology from Culture Cult, Mono No Aware. This is not a genre piece. While I’m mostly known for scifi and horror and a small touch of humor, I don’t always write to the beat of a specific drum or “formulaic forms” in fiction (per se). While Mono No Aware is chock full of fantastic fiction, it is a book of forty-five stories by forty-five very talented authors on the subject of nature and beauty, as depicted from a particular saying in Japanese. The fiction in this book is literary and modern. My story just happens to take place in Japan, where a young boy relocates with his mother. The child suffers from a terrible stutter (a speech impediment), and he’s able to conquer this disability by befriending the seals of the region. Check out Mono No Aware, An Anthology of Fleeting Nature and Beauty. Be sure to read my tale, “The Seal Whisperer.”

Mono No Aware – Anthology of Modern Fiction

Stories on the Fleeting Nature of Beauty

Featuring Dagstine Story: “The Seal Whisperer”

Published by Culture Cult Press of India: http://www.culturecult.co.in

Edited by Dibyasree Nandy

ORDERING LINKS AND CULTURE CULT SOCIALS (click below):

Order the paperback version: https://www.lulu.com/shop/dibyasree-nandy/mono-no-aware/paperback/product-gj8djzr.html

Order the digital version: https://www.lulu.com/shop/dibyasree-nandy/mono-no-aware/ebook/product-95k8549.html

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CultureCultPress

Instagram: https://instagram.com/culturecultpress

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/CultureCultPub

Visit Culture Cult at: https://CultureCult.co.in

Other New Entries: “Books & Anthos”

TIME TRAVEL ANTHOLOGIES: “The Trouble with Time” – Three Cousins Publishing

It is with pleasure to announce that here starts a busy couple of weeks, as I have a lot of new material coming out in the “speculative fiction” genre. Books and anthologies in hardcover, paperback, and either Epub or Kindle formats. In the case of the book below, an upcoming audiobook. All these short stories are brand new, never published. From West Mesa Press, via Three Cousins Publishing, comes an anthology on time travel and the troubles or dilemmas that go with it. The Trouble with Time. Edited by Robert Allen Lupton, and it lands at a whopping 316 pages. The cover art is by Mark McConnell. For this book, think of stories related to The Butterfly Effect or Looper. That theme. And read my new story, “Past and Present Company Excepted!”

The Trouble with Time Anthology – Edited by Robert Lupton

Featuring Dagstine Story: “Past and Present Company Excepted”

Details from Amazon (copy-pasted):

Everyone at one time or another has wished that they could go back in time and change something. Perhaps to prevent a world tragedy, kill a despot, or tell an ancestor not to drive to town on a certain day. Perhaps the journey backward would be to obtain foreknowledge about the lottery, the presidential election, the stock market, or even the World Series. The reasons to wish for time travel are legion, but if the truth be told, if we could go back in time, the first thing most of us would do would be to punch our younger selves square in the face.

Changing time can have unexpected and dire results. Think “The Butterfly Effect,” or “A Sound of Thunder.” The scales have to balance. Good intentions often have unintended consequences and even the most benign attempts to intervene are likely to make things worse, far worse.

Twenty-two stories about time travel by talented writers from around the world, each of whom fearlessly explores the dangers and joys of time travel uniquely. Come along for the ride. There’s plenty of time – or is there?

West Mesa Press Official Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/p/West-Mesa-Press-100054216802897/

I’ll file this under Books and Anthologies.

Other New Entries: “Books & Anthos”

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”

Children’s Horror: “Children of the Dead” – Wicked Shadow Press

Pleased to announce I have a horror story about zombie children (a theme I’m known for writing since 2005) in the latest Wicked Shadow Press anthology for adult and young adult alike. Well, maybe teenager and up. It’s part of a two-book title series, and I’m in the first volume: ‘Children of the Dead – Lost Lullabies.’ What a beautiful cover spread. Wicked Shadow Press books are available through Lulu here in the US, but they are available all over India. There are some familiar short fiction names if you look at the back cover. It even has a tale by Tom Moran! If you’re from the 2000s like me, you’ll remember Tom Moran from Black Ink Horror. Generally speaking, fans of Stephen King’s Pet Semetary will feel right at home with this thick book. It’s got everything youthful and scary but the kitchen sink. I’ll post all pictures and links to ordering pages, with relevant social media info down below. And also in the Books & Anthos section of this website.

Oh, and it’s illustrated throughout. Like a scary children’s book. Beautiful art too.

Children of the Dead – The Lost Lullabies

Edited by Parth Sarathi Chakraborty & Rasiika Sen of Wicked Shadow Press

Featuring Lawrence Dagstine and many other talented names

Ordering Info and Wicked Shadow Press Socials HERE (click links below):

Buy the Paperback: https://www.lulu.com/shop/rasiika-sen-and-parth-sarathi-chakraborty/children-of-the-dead-lost-lullabies/paperback/product-2mj5m6z.html

Buy the Digital: https://www.lulu.com/shop/rasiika-sen-and-parth-sarathi-chakraborty/children-of-the-dead-lost-lullabies/ebook/product-nvgwvkq.html

ALL INDIA FREE DELIVERY. Whatsapp 9830652666 to order!

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”

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”

GHOST STORIES: “Dead Girls Walking” – GREEN Volume… Wicked Shadow Press

I am pleased to announce yet another spooky anthology offering, this time a paranormal tale to the latest Wicked Shadow Press series of anthologies (part of a three volume set), called: Dead Girls Walking. My story is in the second book, the GREEN volume! There is also a purple volume and a red volume in the series, which collects about 100 authors in all. This is a series of paranormal books where the central characters, whether ghost or zombie or vampire or whatever, are women. You really will want to collect them all. My ghost story is one part mystery. If you’re into Amelia Earhart, you might be into this yarn of mine. It’s about a 747 pilot who always sees the spirit of a 1920s classic aviator pilot. But she’s always following his jumbo jet. She’s always staring inside his 747 window. What is she trying to tell him? How far will the 747 pilot go to learn the mystery behind her aviation past? Find out in my story, “GHOST PILOT” …In Dead Girls Walking (the Green Volume).

DEAD GIRLS WALKING – THE GREEN VOLUME

From Wicked Shadow Press – Edited by Parth Sarathi Chakraborty

Featuring Lawrence Dagstine story: “Ghost Pilot”

Purchase Links (Worldwide):

Paperback: https://www.lulu.com/shop/rasiika-sen-and-parth-sarathi-chakraborty/dead-girls-walking-the-green-volume/paperback/product-45mgzkm.html

Epub (digital): https://www.lulu.com/shop/rasiika-sen-and-parth-sarathi-chakraborty/dead-girls-walking-the-green-volume/ebook/product-45mgwjj.html

All India Free Delivery! Whatsapp 9830652666 to order your copies now!

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

Be a part of the Facebook group to get author-related info from Wicked Shadow and other publishers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/7867933553277077/

Other New Entries: “Books & Anthos”

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”

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”