My psychological horror story Influenced has been published in the inaugural issue of The Stygian Lepus, a new publication by Black Hare Press. It’s a story about blurring the lines between reality and fantasy, and what happens when your dreams finally come true.
The stranger passes his purchases over the Home Depot self-checkout scanner. Sweat glistens on his round face.
Trash bags. Duct tape. Hammer. Bleach. Scrub brush. Hacksaw. Plastic tarp.
He pays with cash.
My short horror story Things Are Looking Up has been accepted by Chilling Tales For Dark Nights. After a man and his wife are in a fatal car accident, the man decides he will do anything to see his wife one more time. Even if he has to dig.
She’s so close, I can practically touch her. The only thing between us is a few feet of freshly-turned earth.
All I have to do is dig.
My cyberpunk story A Free Man has been published by Teleport Magazine. In a world where you can purchase a synthetic replica of a person from a vending machine, the best person to frame for a crime you committed may be yourself.
You can also listen to the audio production of A Free Man on the Simultaneous Times podcast.
Two more of my short stories have been accepted by Chilling Tales For Dark Nights.
Horror Hill did an incredible job with their production of Make It a Double, so I can’t wait to hear what they do with these two stories as well.
My psychological horror story Uncle Pumpkin’s Tongue has been accepted into Book 17 of The Ghastling. It’s the story of a Halloween carnival ride with a sinister secret.
It wasn’t the slide itself that scared me—it was the character of Uncle Pumpkin that I found most terrifying. He was supposed to be a silly, clown-like figure that brought joy to children around Halloween, but the only thing he brought to me was a sense of profound unease, a lingering dread that left me feeling like I had a sandbag in my stomach.
Three of my sci-fi horror drabbles have been published in the Dark Stars anthology from Shacklebound Books.
The audio production of my psychological horror novelette Make It a Double is now available on the Horror Hill podcast. It’s about a consolatory toast that turns into a blessing … and then a curse. “May whatever luck comes to him, come to you, times two.” The story starts at around the 5:00 mark.
Content warning: misogyny
My urban fantasy story Interminable has been accepted by The Stray Branch Literary Journal. Originally published by Dark Recesses Press, Interminable is the story of a man with an incurable condition and an inescapable fate.
Content warning (spoiler): suicidal ideation“I’m sorry,” the doctor said. He closed the folder containing my test results. “There’s nothing we can do.”
My voice shook as I spoke. “You’re sure?” I scanned the doctor’s office as if searching for some undiscovered cure for my affliction. “Can’t you give me something? A shot? Some pills? Anything?”
“I’m afraid not.”
The audio production of my cyberpunk story A Free Man is now available on the Simultaneous Times podcast by Space Cowboy Books. This episode was done in collaboration with Shacklebound Books, which published A Free Man in their anthology, The Mods: Cyberpunk Stories. The story starts around the 8:00 mark.
My short non-horror story Firefly has been published in the March 2023 issue of Fresh Words: An International Literary Magazine. You can read it online for free or purchase a print copy.
Firefly is a simple story about a young girl who captures a firefly in the back yard to help cheer up her ailing sister.
Content warning: terminal illness of a childMissy caught the firefly in mid-air, cupping her hands around it to form a tiny, dark cave. She could feel the insect’s delicate footsteps tickling her skin as it wandered across her palm, searching for a way out.
“Got you!” she whispered, victorious.
Warren Benedetto 