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
So today is here. Today is the day of my third official story collection: THE NIGHTMARE CYCLE, from Dark Owl Publishing. It is available in print and digital formats (Paperback and on Amazon Kindle). And as the year goes on, straight thru 2024, will be available at book fairs, from various literary vendors, horror and comic-themed conventions, the odd novelty or specialty store, or wherever other fine horror books or goods are sold. I will keep you updated on this website. The spooky fun starts in Arizona first and New York second.
A short story collection is a book of tales by one single author, where an anthology is a book of stories usually centered around a theme from not one but many authors, from many different states or countries or diverse backgrounds. The Nightmare Cycle was an idea for a book that came to me one day in a dream (go figure), but is not about being in a dream. It gets its title from every single story being “A Nightmarish Scenario,” one warped tale leading into the next (the theme of cycling and unending), and then the one thereafter. There is no finality. Just horrific circumstance after circumstance. Undulated terror. Beginning, middle, end. Think Rod Serling’s The Night Gallery, but modern day, my take.
THE NIGHTMARE CYCLE by Lawrence Dagstine
From Dark Owl Publishing – NOW AVAILABLE worldwide
You have mostly new stories between the pages, but you have some obscure offerings as well. Tales from my humble beginnings as a horror author. The 2000s era. There are stories like Thursday’s Children. Imagine pitting zombie youth against each other the same way people hold backroom cockfights for money. The Adopted, where werewolf adoption in Southeast Asia is more complex than you think. Human Transfer, a very dark and dystopic tale of population control, and betrayal by the people you thought you knew and trusted most.
There are Dark Owl exclusives, tales which are theirs and theirs only, such as The Thing about Eden. Imagine Mars in the future where life under one dark leadership only becomes concerning, overbearing, and darker with the next. The Acrylic Man, about a painter of spectral portraits who captures his love interests with not just grace but permanence. The Show Must Go On, a story about a sharpshooting djinn and her western travels, but also her wretched past.
You have new offerings such as Princely Homecoming, a unique take on Snow White, who longs for her long dead prince. There is Pet, a tale set during the backdrop of the Nixon era, which puts a twist on just “who” or “what” constitutes man’s best friend. Genetically speaking, of course. There is Our Family Awaits, a witch’s tale unlike any other, about foster care and deep dark secrets. This is one which will have you clutching the blankets. And there is so much more; there’s even a novelette within The Nightmare Cycle’s pages.
AMAZON KINDLE “EBOOK” VERSION:
(Sample a few pages below, or shoot for the paperback version)
Here’s the horror convention calendar for Dark Owl Publishing and The Nightmare Cycle. This calendar will obviously grow. I will be away in July (after the 4th), but I will have my netbook with me, keep in touch via social media. Dark Owl will also have some of their horror wares and anthologies available from a talented stable of other authors as well, so be sure to keep tuning in to this link below:
Oh, by the way, the fabulous cover art was done by Fernando JFL (Giotefeli), who is a professional horror illustrator and death metal artist from South America. He takes a rather retro, vintage approach to his work. If you are looking for an artist, might I recommend him: https://www.instagram.com/giotefeli, and https://giotefeli.tumblr.com/
The book is available first on Amazon, then Terror Trader second (Arizona’s Number One Horror Marketplace). Then it will go to the usual vendors and themed cons, and through the usual distribution channels/networks.
For my twentieth year involved in short stories, I’d like to announce a 2016 release, a literary horror anthology that recently hit various conventions and online bookshops like Amazon and B&N. The fine folks at Nosetouch Press produced this immaculate 400+ page monster, brimming with spark, intelligence, imagination and much speculation, that doesn’t just focus on Broomsticks and Cauldrons. It is available in hardcover, paperback, and ALL eBook/Android/Mobile formats (for those on the go). Personally, I’d go with the hardcover or paperback myself. Introducing, WAX & WANE: An Anthology of Witch Stories. Thirty stories by thirty fantastic authors, some up-and-coming. Big book, kind of weighty, if I do say so myself. Links, pictures, adverts, and author list below. Cheers.
Been a long while since I’ve been on here. Actually, been on hiatus for about a year-and-a-half. In that time I’ve handled some financial burdens and health matters, been to Family Court yet again (hey, what else is new), been in talks with a wonderful agent, became a freelance writer and video game reviewer, started working with a comic book artist, attended an editing workshop, and, at the moment, currently writing new fictional material in my spare time — what I call “digital exclusives” — for 2013. Exclusives that will be available for such devices as the Kindle, B&N Nook, Sony, Kobo, Stanza, Apple iPhone, and through outlets like Smashwords. Check back every so often under: “eBooks & Kindle.”
Today, however, I present two “brand new” short stories to David Lee Summers’ Tales of the Talisman. My record 5th and 6th Acceptances, one steampunk tale and one fantasy tale, due out in spring 2013 and summer 2013. Something I’m not used to, since I’ve been writing mostly long form — novelettes, novellas, and novels. But you won’t want to miss these two stories when they DO arrive. In other good news, I might be getting married! Ahh, wedding bells. But in the meantime, be sure to follow my story progress via this homepage, Twitter, or Facebook. Social media, since, with writing and marketing, I rarely have the time to do the blogging thing.
PREVIOUS ISSUES FEATURING MY STORIES:
(The first four ‘Tales of the Talisman’ acceptances)
And two more brand new pieces coming to Spring & Summer 2013.
Other New Entries: “Magazines” & “eBooks & Kindle”
Lawrence Dagstine: Author 
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