My cyberpunk story A Free Man has been published in The Mods anthology by Shacklebound Books. 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.
My sci-fi horror story One Last Step has been published in the Summer 2022 issue of The Sirens Call. You’ll find it on page 226 of the downloadable PDF.
It’s a story about a little girl stalked by an unseen shadow-thing across a post-apocalyptic landscape. The key to her survival? Following the instructions her dead father tattooed on her arm.
My techno-horror story Blame is now available to read for free on The Dread Machine.
It’s a “found footage” story consisting of emails, Slack conversations, Reddit threads, phone transcripts, and more unusual artifacts like git commits, JIRA tickets, door entry logs … even a Walmart receipt.
Also, like many found footage tales, the story is ultimately pieced together based on incomplete information. Multiple reads of the story should reveal new hidden details that change the your interpretation of the ending.
My sci-fi horror story The Door Is Open leads off the Another Dimension anthology from Smoking Pen Press. It’s hard to describe the story without spoiling it, so let’s just say: never open a door that can’t be closed. You never know what may slip through.
Three of my horror drabbles have been published in the Drabbledark II anthology by Shacklebound Books.
My techno-horror story Blame has been published by The Dread Machine. It’s a “found footage” story consisting of emails, Slack conversations, Reddit threads, phone transcripts, and more unusual artifacts like git commits, JIRA tickets, door entry logs … even a Walmart receipt.
Also, like many found footage tales, the story is ultimately pieced together based on incomplete information. Multiple reads of the story should reveal new hidden details that change the your interpretation of the ending.
The third and final installment of my cyberpunk thriller Override has been published in Dark Matter Magazine Issue 009. Override is a three-part serial novella that started in Issue 007 and continued in Issue 008.
In Part One, Delek Foster volunteers himself to Syntech be converted into an AI-driven automaton in exchange for Syntech taking care of his wife (Neera) and his sickly son (Sev) for the rest of their lives. But something goes wrong, and the deal falls through. Delek is taken away by Syntech, leaving Neera and Sev with nothing. Part One ends with Neera setting out on a mission to free Delek from Syntech.
In Part Two, Neera finds a shady underworld boss who has an interrupter technology he claims can override Syntech’s AI. She cons him into giving her an interrupter in exchange for a useless bank auth key that he thinks he can use to undermine his criminal rivals. After hijacking a Syntech van, Neera is able to track Delek to the location where he is stationed. She attempts to use the interrupter to free Delek, but things don’t go as planned. Neera is captured by Delek himself, who seems to have no memory of his wife. To make matters worse, Delek is working for the very underworld boss that Neera just conned. And he is not happy.
What happens next? You’ll need to read Part Three to find out.
The second installment of my cyberpunk thriller Override has been published in Dark Matter Magazine Issue 008. Override is a three-part serial novella that started in Issue 007 and will be concluded in Issue 009 in May 2022.
In Part One, Delek Foster volunteered himself to Syntech be converted into an AI-driven automaton in exchange for Syntech taking care of his wife (Neera) and his sickly son (Sev) for the rest of their lives. But something went wrong, and the deal fell through. Delek was taken away by Syntech, leaving Neera and Sev with nothing. Part One ends with Neera setting out on a mission to free Delek from Syntech.
You can read a free sample of Part Two here (scroll down).
My post-apocalyptic sci-fi/horror story Close Your Eyes has been published in MYTHIC #18, available today in print or ebook format from your favorite bookseller. Grab your copy here!
Also, if you haven’t had a chance to listen to the audiobook version of Close Your Eyes narrated by Chris Herron at Tall Tale TV, I highly recommend it.
My sci-fi circus drabble Showtime has been published in Dark Moments by Black Hare Press.
Warren Benedetto 