Tag Archives: Must Read Books

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”

Books about Genocide: “Genocidal” – An Anthology, by Culture Cult Press

For my next speculative piece it’s another new one, and we’re going into an anthology themed around a very controversial subject. And that’s genocide and The Holocaust. I was inspired to write this story after reading Elie Wiesel’s epic biography, Night. My story is dark science fiction meets horror meets alternate history. It features Adolf Hitler. And robots. These robots are known as The War Machines. Hitler and the robots are main characters in this dramatic tale. Because of the subject matter, a lot of editors didn’t want to read or take a chance on this piece (probably one of my most powerful in a long time; I have another powerful story written in the second person slated for later this year). The name of my story is: “Christmas along the Danube.” It is indeed a holiday story, it is a trigger warning story, there is death, and you can find it right now in the Culture Cult Press anthology, Genocidal. Every piece in Genocidal features some form of subject matter on genocide or the Holocaust. It might be poems, it might be essays or non-fiction, firsthand accounts, or in my case, dark science fiction. Though I suspect any firsthand stuff would have been passed down through the ages. Still, go check out my story, along with the other authors’ contributions. Ordering links will be further down below.

#GENOCIDAL – Published by Culture Cult Press

Featuring Dagstine story: “Christmas along the Danube”

Where to order your copy (click links, be redirected):

Paperback: https://www.lulu.com/shop/j-chakravarti/genocidal/paperback/product-7k6dy4j.html

ePub: https://www.lulu.com/shop/j-chakravarti/genocidal/ebook/product-jewmeq7.html

According to publisher info received, the April 2025 discount code BCORPBOOKS15 may be used for a 15% discount on Lulu on all purchases. 

Culture Cult Press Socials:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CultureCultPress

Instagram: https://instagram.com/culturecultpress

Visit at: https://CultureCult.co.in

Also check out my latest chapbook from Farthest Star Publishing,

SMALL FAVORS by Lawrence Dagstine

I would say if you want to get introduced to my more extreme forms of horror writing in 2025, and you’ve never read a Lawrence Dagstine piece before, then you want to start here: Small Favors, then follow up with Christmas along the Danube in Genocidal, and later this year (say, October) Inherited in the book, No Exit. Those three pieces. Trigger warning for each one.

Other New Entries: “Books & Anthos”

Petting Boo! Zoological Anthology of Horror – Wicked Shadow Press

Pleased to announce I have a story in the latest horror-themed offering from the fine folks at Wicked Shadow Press. This one is an “animal” and “pet”-themed anthology of thrills and chills. Think rabid werewolves, dogs, cats, lions, tigers and bears (oh my!). Or even paranormal pets such as ghosts, poltergeists, and imps. Anything goes so long as it fits somewhere into the theme. Hence the very clever title, PETTING BOO! Zoological Anthology of Horror. I’m sharing a TOC with some talented names again too such as Don Money, Joshua Vise, J. Rocky Colavito, Chad Anctil, and Lavern Spencer McCarthy. Edited by Parth Sarathi Chakraborty, available in India and the United States. I’ll put all pictures and links in their usual places. It’s a beauty of a cover. And I’ll be seeing you on the next one.

PETTING BOO! An Anthology of Zoological Horror

Published by Wicked Shadow Press – Edited by Parth Sarathi Chakraborty

Where to order in the United States or India (click links below):

In “Petting Boo!”, thirty-six stories prowl the razor’s edge between wildlife and the wyrd. This isn’t your standard ghost story collection—it’s a zoological nightmare where every growl might be a spectral warning and every wicked shadow could conceal something that was never truly alive.

Buy American Paperback: https://www.lulu.com/…/paperback/product-e75g9qz.html

Buy American ePub: https://www.lulu.com/…/petti…/ebook/product-dyz2v2g.html

The tales featured in this anthology, from a troupe of worldwide authors consisting of both emerging and seasoned storytellers, reimagine supernatural horror through claws, fangs, and fur. Edited by Parth Sarathi Chakraborty and published by Wicked Shadow Press, “Petting Boo!” transforms the animal kingdom into a twilight realm where the living and dead play a terrifying game of predator and prey.

Not for the faint of heart—or weak of paw.

INDIA ONLY Purchase Links:

Paperback: https://store.pothi.com/…/edited-parth-sarathi…/

eBook: https://store.pothi.com/…/ebook-edited-parth-sarathi…/

ALL INDIA FREE DELIVERY. Whatsapp 9830652666 to order!

Just click social media links below to be redirected.

Wicked Shadow on Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/wickedshadowpress

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

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

Other New Entries: “Books & Anthos”

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: â€śThe 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”

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”

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”

HALLOWEEN BOOKS: “Halloweenthology Jack O’ Lantern” – Wicked Shadow Press

Happy Halloween 2023! Chills and thrills, and ghosts and goblins to all horror readers out there. This next anthology from Wicked Shadow Press is holiday-themed, and the very lengthy story I have within its 240+ pages is BRAND NEW. Never to be reprinted in print. There are familiar story writers such as Don Money, Brian Smith, not just myself. There’s even a new young girl making her horror writing debut, which I think is fabulous. HALLOWEENTHOLOGY: Jack O’ Lantern is available for Amazon Kindle or in glossy, beautiful looking paperback. And on Kindle retails at only $3.99, the price of a Starbucks coffee. While most stories might harbor around All Hallow’s Eve, my tale is a devastating one of loss. My story is about Cupid and Love. Unrequited love. A love that you really can’t dismiss. I’ve never written about Cupid before. I will be closing the book out with a story close-to-novelette length. Read, “The Barn Cupid” in Wicked Shadow Press’s new holiday reading extravaganza, HALLOWEENTHOLOGY: Jack O’ Lantern! Links and pics below!

HALLOWEENTHOLOGY JACK O’LANTERN – HALLOWEEN 2023 ANTHOLOGY

from Wicked Shadow Press – Edited by Parth Sarathi Chakraborty

Featuring exclusive Lawrence Dagstine horror story, “The Barn Cupid.”

ALL Links where to purchase in paperback or digital (Amazon box is above):

Buy HALLOWEENTHOLOGY: JACK-O’-LANTERN (the paperback) from Lulu:

https://www.lulu.com/shop/parth-sarathi-chakraborty/halloweenthology-jack-o-lantern/paperback/product-w45we2q.html

Buy epub version of HALLOWEENTHOLOGY: JACK-O’-LANTERN from Lulu: https://www.lulu.com/shop/parth-sarathi-chakraborty/halloweenthology-jack-o-lantern/ebook/product-yv7kjeg.html

Halloweenthology: Jack-o’-Lantern is coming soon to Pothi TOO (India only)!

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 this Facebook group to get regular author-related info and submission calls from Wicked Shadow Press and other publishers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/7867933553277077

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

Wicked Shadow Press: “Flashes of Nightmare” – Flash Fiction Anthology

It’s the year of the nightmare. First, my story collection from Dark Owl, The Nightmare Cycle. Now, from Wicked Shadow Press, Flashes of Nightmare. And boy do I love the wraparound cover art for this one. Kind of has a Fatal Frame aesthetic to it (if you are familiar with that horror game franchise). I will put ordering links for print and digital versions at the very bottom of this blog post. This isn’t the first time I’ve appeared in Wicked Shadow Press anthologies. They really go all out on their interior layout. I was in their zombie flash anthology, Flash of the Dead and the bestselling crime ebook earlier this year, Murder on her Mind.

I have a brand new micro tale this time around. Micro fiction is what flash fiction is. Stories that are 1,000 to 1,500 words in length. They are compact, quick to read, easy to mentally digest when you are outdoors or chilling in the park or in bed, say on public transportation commuting back and forth. And my story is just that: a tale which falls around 1500 words in length, is politically incorrect in some respects, but is an absolute nightmare that just happens to take place on public transportation. Read my latest offering, “The Bus Ride” in Flashes of Nightmare. A horror book involving bad dreams and circumstances.

WICKED SHADOW PRESS presents…

“FLASHES OF NIGHTMARE”

An Anthology of Stories regarding Bad Dreams/Nightmarish Circumstances

Kindle edition purchase link (Amazon Ebook, worldwide): https://www.amazonPaperback 0CC9XL1J4


Standard edition Paperback purchase link (LULU, available worldwide): https://www.lulu.com/shop/parth-sarathi-chakraborty/flashes-of-nightmare/paperback/product-gr5nwk.html

Special edition – FULL COLOR Paperback purchase link (LULU, available worldwide): https://www.lulu.com/shop/parth-sarathi-chakraborty/flashes-of-nightmare/paperback/product-rn2mew.html

Ebook purchase link (LULU, available worldwide): https://www.lulu.com/shop/parth-sarathi-chakraborty/flashes-of-nightmare/ebook/product-5rn4r8.html

Kindle edition purchase link (Amazon Ebook, worldwide): https://www.amazonPaperback 0CC9XL1J4

Wicked Shadow Press on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wickedshadowpress
Wicked Shadow Press on Instagram: https://instagram.com/wickedshadowpress
Wicked Shadow Press on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wickedshadowpub

Edited to Add: The full-color edition is like a graphic novel with surreal art. A sight for sore eyes!

Other New Entries: “Books & Anthos”

NEW HORROR ANTHOLOGIES: “Quarantine” – Red Polka Books

It is with great pleasure to announce that I’ve nabbed my fifth “Zombie-themed fiction” acceptance in the last year, and it goes to the new publishing outfit Red Polka Books. The name of the anthology this time is called QUARANTINE, and it is a book of short stories featuring many different authors from many diverse backgrounds. I am headlining the book (I’m actually the first short story as soon as you open it up). And it is a book centered around deadly viruses, pathogens, and pandemics. Even worse than Covid-19. It will be available in the States on platforms such as Lulu (Amazon later), should you want a print or digital copy for your daily commute to work, and will eventually creep its way into other countries such as the UK and India. My story is based off a deadly pathogen, and military scientists have to actually shut down a school with kids inside. Undead children who have become victim to HOS (a hostile pathogen with a science behind it, and yeah, some goofiness as well). Read my short story in Quarantine today, entitled, “Classroom of the Dead.”

QUARANTINE – Anthology of Modern Pandemic/Horror Tales

Featuring Lawrence Dagstine’s: “Classroom of the Dead”

QUARANTINE – DARK LOCKDOWN TALES for the 21st Century

Edited by Simon Dubois & Rasiika Sen – for RED POLKA BOOKS

COMING TO AMAZON WORLDWIDE VERY SOON!

DIGITAL VERSION: https://www.lulu.com/shop/rasiika-sen-and-simone-dubois/quarantine/ebook/product-ywjjkm.html

PRINT VERSION: https://www.lulu.com/shop/rasiika-sen-and-simone-dubois/quarantine/paperback/product-pryy5y.html

Red Polka Books on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Redpolkabooks

Red Polka Books on Instagram: https://instagram.com/redpolkabooks

Red Polka Book on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RedPolkaBooks

In the event you want to try Amazon down the road, here is my Amazon Author Page with all Bestselling Anthologies (those still in print as of 2023). This page will only grow bigger: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Lawrence-Dagstine/author/B001K8UG5K

Other New Entries: “Books & Anthos”