My drabble A Hallmark Ending has been accepted to the Love Me, Love Me Not anthology by Black Hare Press. It’s the perfect fairy tale: a city girl returns to her small home town to reunite with her hunky high school crush … whether he likes it or not.
My historical horror story Everything As It Was has been accepted by Illustrated Worlds Magazine for their second issue. Set in the dust-plagued landscape of 1930s Oklahoma, it’s a story about lost hope, lost faith, and lost children come home.
“I prayed that you’d come home, and the crops would come back, and everything would go back to how it used to be. And now, glory be, here you are.”
My humor piece Wine List for the Apocalypse, Courtesy of Your Olive Garden Sommelier has been selected by Weekly Humorist for their Best of 2022 list. Tonight, our sommelier, Giovanni, reviews the wine list against a backdrop of flickering firelight from our ruined, smoldering Earth.
Our Pinot Grigio? Unfortunately, we’re unable to properly chill it to our satisfaction, mostly due to the lack of refrigeration and basic human sanitation. Without electricity, the closest thing we have to refrigeration is the cold realization that all is lost.
My Christmas horror drabble Trapping Santa has been published by Hungry Shadow Press as part of their Deadly Drabble Tuesday series. If you ever set traps to catch Santa as a kid, then someday your skills may just come in handy…
“You sure this’ll work?” my brother asks.
Two of my horror drabbles—First Kiss and Holding Hands—have been accepted into the Love Me, Love Me Not anthology by Black Hare Press. Each examines a different phase of a couple’s relationship, from the twisted start to the heartbreaking end.
My short (non-horror) story Firefly has been accepted by Flora Fiction for publication in Spring 2023. It’s a simple story about a young girl who captures a firefly in the back yard to help cheer up her ailing sister.
Missy 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.
I know you’ve been asking yourself, “Warren, how can we nominate YOU for a Nebula award?” Well, friends, you’re in luck. Here’s a quick rundown (for SFWA members only—login required).
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My post-apocalyptic satire Wine List for the Apocalypse, Courtesy of Your Olive Garden Sommelier has been published by The Weekly Humorist. Listen in as tonight’s sommelier, Giovanni, reviews the wine list against a backdrop of flickering firelight from our ruined Earth.
Our Pinot Grigio? Unfortunately, we’re unable to properly chill it to our satisfaction, mostly due to the lack of refrigeration and basic human sanitation. Without electricity, the closest thing we have to refrigeration is the cold realization that all is lost.
My coming-of-age horror story Many Deaths Before Dying has been accepted by Underland Arcana. When a giant, silvery puddle appears in the field where they play, four boys encounter an inexplicable horror that will change them forever.
“We need to get help,” I said quietly. But I didn’t move. I felt rooted in place, as if my feet had bonded to the Earth’s crust. I was frozen solid, utterly paralyzed with fear. Shah hadn’t just fallen into the puddle. He had been pulled.
2022 was another very busy year for me. As of December 1st, I will have published almost 80 stories this year alone. Of those, 37 were originals (1 novella, 14 short stories, 7 flash, and 15 drabbles) and the other 41 were reprints (18 short stories, 1 flash, 11 podcasts, 12 drabbles).
If you’re nominating for any of the major horror, sci-fi, or other awards out there (Hugo, Nebula, Stoker, Astounding, etc.), I’d love your support. Continue reading for my Top Ten Stories of 2022.
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Warren Benedetto 