Category Archives: SNAFU

Editing, publishing, Ramblings, Reading, SNAFU, Writing

SNAFU: PUNK’D AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – RPL JOHNSON

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With the release of SNAFU: PUNK’D exploding into the world at the end of October, we at Cohesion Press will be getting the bullhorns out to shout the names of our authors and regale you with the tales they’ve spawned for this edition. So, it’s promotion time for all of our storytellers with an author spotlight that gives insight into their imaginariums (tread veeeery carefully), and a tease of their story.

Right then, mount up!

For our seventh instalment of the SNAFU author spotlight, please give a hearty-horror welcome to RPL JOHNSON!

Richard is an Australian science fiction writer and winner of the Gold Award at Writers of the Future and the Jim Baen Memorial Award. King Rat is his fifth appearance in the SNAFU series. He lives in Melbourne with his wife and two young sons and is currently working on a novel, Mappa Mundi, set in the King Rat universe.

As Richard just told you, for SNAFU: PUNK’D, he has melded bio and cyberpunk for his story KING RAT: A cybernetic mercenary with all the aspects of the Chinese zodiac discovers a link between his own past and his latest quarry – a shared history and the chance to right a decades-old wrong. But can he find something more than just revenge

You can find Richard on his socials below:

Website: http://www.rpljohnson.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064051633356

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RPLJohnson

To celebrate the release of SNAFU: Punk’d, Richard’s sci-fi novel The View from Infinity Beach will be on sale for just $2.99 starting on Halloween https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08W347VZD.

Or if you fancy more short stories, why not pick up my collection Skull Candy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B86SLPV8

Editing, publishing, Ramblings, Reading, SNAFU, Writing

SNAFU: PUNK’D AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – CJ GOLDBERG

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The release of SNAFU: PUNK’D is stalking with very little stealth toward the world, and we at Cohesion Press are getting the stage lights all set up for our authors and the tales they’ve forged for this edition. Which means it’s promotion time for all of our storytellers with an author spotlight that gives insight into their imaginariums (use the stealth when approaching, my friends), and a tease of their story. Buckle up!

For our sixth instalment of the SNAFU author spotlight, put your claws together for CJ GOLDBERG!

As a kid, C.J. spent his days exploring the Montana woods, reading horror, and watching scary movies. He soon discovered that storytelling was his passion.

After graduating from The University of Montana with a degree in Acting, C.J. worked as a professional poker dealer for 14 years in Montana bars. During that time, he never gave up on his dream of becoming a horror author. He studied writing craft extensively through books, courses, and workshops, and in 2017 he moved to Glasgow, Scotland while his wife attended graduate school. This allowed him to focus full-time on his writing career.

He now lives in Petaluma, California, with his wife and two kids where, when not changing diapers, he is writing his debut novel, a cosmic horror story set in a remote Montana town.

Cohesion Press is chuffed to bits that we will be presenting to the world CJ’s first published story.  For SNAFU: PUNK’D, CJ has dipped his hands into all that is bio-punk with FACTORY OF FEAR: A mercenary and her team search for her team search for her missing brother in a monster-infested bio-factory.

You can find CJ on Bluesky: CJWritesHorror.bsky.social

Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, Ramblings, Reading, SNAFU

SNAFU: PUNK’D AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – TORION OEY

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As we edge ever-closer to the release of SNAFU: PUNK’D (woot!), we at Cohesion Press are all about the shouting and the kudos of our authors and the tales they’ve spawned for this edition. Which mean we’ll be promoting the hell out of all our storytellers with an author spotlight that gives insight into their imaginariums (holy forking shirtballs), a tease of their story, and also promotes their other writerly mischiefs as well. Let’s do this!

Buckle up for our fifth instalment of the SNAFU author spotlight, and give a rowdy welcome to TORION OEY!

Torion holds a BA in psychology and creative writing and an MS in psychology. He has written every year for National Novel Writing Month since 2014 and self-published the mystery Loco Motive and high fantasy Not James on Amazon. He is an SFWA member and has had works featured in Galaxy’s Edge Magazine, Expanded Field Journal, and NonBinary Review.

For this edition of SNAFU, Torion has fanned the flames of firepunk with his tale, OUT OF THE FRYING PAN: A pyromaniac drags a city into a night of turmoil and domestic terrorism when he targets the heads of several big businesses.

You can find Torion online in the links below:

Facebook: Torion Oey https://www.facebook.com/torion.oey/

Instagram: @torionloco https://www.instagram.com/torionloco/?hl=en

Twitter: @torion_oey https://twitter.com/torion_oey?lang=en

Torion has two novels available on Amazon: the first, Loco Motive, is a historical mystery and was self-published in 2019; and the second, Not James, is a high fantasy and was self-published in 2022. The latter book received a positive Kirkus Review which you can read here: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/torion-oey/not-james/

Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, Ramblings, Reading, SNAFU

SNAFU: PUNK’D AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – ZACHARY O’SHEA

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The release of SNAFU: PUNK’D is just weeks away (I’m excited!), and we at Cohesion Press are wanting to celebrate the authors and the tales they’ve created for this edition. So, we’ll be promoting all of our storytellers with an author spotlight that gives insight into their imaginariums (take a flashlight, it’s dark in there), a tease of their story, and also promotes their other writerly works as well. Let’s go!

Huge shout-out to the fourth author in this promotional party… ZACHARY O’SHEA!

Zachary O’Shea lives sometimes in the Land of Neon Sunrises and other times in the Great White North. There’s something about the stark differences between the American Southwest and Northern Ontario that he can’t resist. Spoiler; it’s his wife. He has spent his life telling stories from absurd coloring book creations as a child to a lifelong passion for game-mastering role-playing games, and occasionally dipping a toe into short horror fiction. When he’s not writing, which is honestly rare, Zachary is spending time with his family, running a role-playing game session, or blowing off some steam in an MMO. Though, he’s usually writing something in stolen moments even in between all of this. 

For this hell of a SNAFU tome, Zac has brought to life (from much death) a clockwork tale with a monster from the depths of time.

THE REFORGED MAN: Brought low by dishonor, reforged with spite and steel, Goro fights the corrupt system that ripped everything away from him. The vengeful ronin has stumbled upon the shogun’s vile plot to unleash a kaiju against his rivals, a plan already in motion. Goro, along with old allies, must stop this strange beast or die trying.

You can find Zac online in the links below:

Personal Website: https://www.zacharyoshea.com

Instgram: https://www.instagram.com/boxofteethrpg/
Mastadon: https://dice.camp/@Boxofteeth
Tiktok: boxofteethrpg
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/boxofteethrpg-blog
Twitter: @boxofteeth

And should you want more of Zac’s work, check this out:

Grease Paint: Crimson Threads #1 is out now.  Grease Paint is a modern take on the classic slasher story set in a horror, urban fantasy setting. Psychopomps: Crimson Threads 2 is coming soon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQH4JJVY

Editing, publishing, Ramblings, SNAFU, Writing

SNAFU: PUNK’D AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – MYNA CHANG

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With SNAFU: PUNK’D just weeks away from publication, we at Cohesion Press want to rave about our authors and the tales they’ve penned.  We’ll be promoting all of our storytellers with an author spotlight that gives insight into their imaginariums (be afraid), a tease of their story, and promotes their other writerly works as well.

So, without further ado, let’s roll out the red carpet for our third author in this promotional party… MYNA CHANG!

Myna Chang (she/her) is the host of Electric Sheep SF. Her work has been selected for Flash Fiction America (W.W. Norton), Best Small Fictions, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Small Wonders, Daily Science Fiction, and MicroPodcast’s special science fiction edition. Her micro collection, The Potential of Radio and Rain (CutBank Books) was published in 2023. She has won the Lascaux Prize in Creative Nonfiction and the New Millennium Writings Award in Flash Fiction.

For this editon of SNAFU, Myna has delved into the dark arts of biopunk (yay! Ahem, as you were…), with her story, SITUATION NORMAL: Neuro-linked retrieval specialist Jenna Jones and her canine partner are assigned to rescue a scientist from a secret research facility. Turns out he’s stupid and the building is covered in alien snot, so, you know, another ordinary day.

You can find Myna online in the links below:

Website: https://mynachang.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MynaChang

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mynachang.bsky.social

And here’s a little sumpin’-sumpin’ about Myna’s micro collection that you should definitely check out:

The Potential of Radio and Rain is an award-winning collection of micro fiction by American author Myna Chang. Set in the unforgiving landscape of the shortgrass prairie, these stories explore youth and mortality, love and yearning, through characters who are stubborn and quirky – and ultimately, filled with hope. Released in February 2023, the collection is now in its second printing. Available from CutBank Books.

publishing, Ramblings, SNAFU, Writing

SNAFU: PUNK’D AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, MARK RENSHAW

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SNAFU: PUNK’D is just weeks away from publication, and we at Cohesion Press want to heap praise upon our authors and shout their names into the sphere. So… we’re gonna! We’ll be promoting all of our storytellers with an author spotlight that gives insight into their imaginariums (you will never be the same…), a tease of their story, and promotes their other writerly shenanigans as well.

For our second author in this promotional party… MARK RENSHAW, come on down!

Mark is a self-taught writer from a working-class background based in the north-west of the United Kingdom. By day he works in business software development; on weekends, he is a writer of prose, screenplays and produces the occasional short film. 

He has had two short stories, Fear and No Title published in An Eclectic Mix Vol 7, alongside several international competition winners. His sci-fi short story Automatic Drive was published in The Singularity50 anthology, while his short story Ragnarok was included in SNAFU: Resurrection published by Cohesion Press. He is currently working on his debut novel series, a sci-fi comedy trilogy called Cyborn. 

With his screenplay hat on, Mark won Best Short Screenplay at the 2022 Austin Film Festival. He’s also won Euroscript’s Screen Story competition, Shriekfest, and the Inroads Screenwriting Fellowship.  

Mark has written and produced several short films, including The Dollmaker, which has over 24 million views on YouTube, and a mini-series called So Dark. 

For SNAFU: Punk’d, Mark has stitched from both cyberpunk and mythos with his story, BATTLEBORG: A military cyborg who is the last line of resistance makes a final stand against mythical creatures that have enslaved Earth.

You can find Mark online in the links below:

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B0753H1VPV 

Website: www.mark-renshaw.com 

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0719825/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/markyrenshaw 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-renshaw-559b8a21b/ 

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mark-renshaw.bsky.social 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m_w_renshaw/ 

publishing, Ramblings, SNAFU, Writing

SNAFU: PUNK’D, AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

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With the launch of SNAFU: PUNK’D just weeks away, Cohesion Press would like to take this opportunity to not just thank our authors but to shout their names from the rooftops. As such, in the lead up to publication, we’ll be promoting our storytellers with an author spotlight that not only gives you insight into their imaginariums (brace, brace, brace!) and a tease of their story but promotes their other writerly exploits as well.


So to kick-off this promotional party… <raises bullhorn>… please welcome ALAN BAXTER to the stage!


Alan Baxter is a multi-award-winning author who This Is Horror podcast called “Australia’s master of literary darkness” and the Talking Scared podcast dubbed “The Lord of Weird Australia.” He’s also a martial artist, a whisky-soaked swear monkey, and dog lover.


He has penned many a SNAFU tale, and one of those—In Vaulted Halls Entombed—appeared in season 3 of Tim Miller’s Emmy-winning animated series Love Death + Robots. Think monsters, elder gods, and much weaponry… and horror. There is much horror.


For SNAFU: Punk’d, Alan has breached the cyberpunk network with his gritty tale, CLEAN-UP CREW: Someone’s gotta do the dirty work…


You can find Alan online at: www.alanbaxter.com.au, and his socials here: https://linktr.ee/alanbaxter

Keep an eye out for our next author spotlight. Coming soon to a theatre near you…

Editing, publishing, SNAFU

Update, SNAFU: Dead or Alive

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First, I want to give a shout-out to all the authors who subbed to SNAFU: Dead or Alive. *SHOUT-OUT TO ALL THE AUTHORS!*

Penning a story is an accomplishment in and of itself, and something for which you should be immensely proud. Sending said story out in the world can sometimes be a terrifying thing, but send it out you did and I am truly thankful for having read some great stories. But as is the way with slush, cuts need to be made. The first round of rejections have started going out, and if you’re on the receiving end of one of those, know that I read your story in full and appreciated the effort and time that went into sending us your work. Thank you. Thank you for showcasing the talents of the authors in this writing community. Keep up the amazing work!

Which brings me to the next round of the slush process: longlist.

Over the next week or so, all stories that have made it through to the longlist will be read again, and from this a shortlist will be made. While this may seem like a tedious process, it’s the process that works for me. It’s a lot of reading, it’s a lot of note-taking, it’s a lot of angst. Stories don’t just have to grab me by my ear and drag me in but curating an anthology requires stories to work together to make a kick-arse whole, and I don’t take this responsibility lightly.

As I move through the longlist-to-shortlist, the process does become quicker as the stories cement in my mind and the ToC starts to take shape.

Part of this process does mean that I’ll have to reject excellent stories, and that’s always a difficult and painful part of curating anthologies. It really is the shittest of shittest parts of the process—every editor will tell you the same.

So if you find yourself on the receiving end of a rejection, please know you wrote a great story, and keep on putting pen to paper… or fingers to keyboard. You are the reason publications can keep putting out anthologies.

For those of you who have moved through to the longlist, bear with me as I work through—you haven’t made this easy!

Thanks again to all the authors who subbed to Cohesion Press. You rock!