horror anthology | Author, editor, caffeine-addict, wannabe ninja

FOUR!

That’s the Author Spotlight number we’re up to for Cohesion Press‘ SNAFU: Contagion, and we’re kicking this Spotlight off with our second Aussie in the series, he of the very cool name: Loki (L.J.) Visser!

Now, before we go any further, there’s been a bit of an update on the publishing side for this edition, with Audible currently available for listeners, the ebook being released tomorrow (October 8), and print on Halloween. This means we can now reveal that Loki’s tale is our opening story for SNAFU: Contagion.

All that being said, I’ll now pass the microphone over to LJ so he can tell you a little somethin’ somethin’ about himself.

L. J. Visser is a Melbourne-based author who writes at the edge of psychological suspense, dystopian noir, and science fiction horror. His stories unravel in the shadows where control, obsession, and survival collide – whether through the eyes of haunted paramedics, grieving fathers chasing conspiracies, or soldiers battling horrors in corporate research facilities. A lifelong Dean Koontz devotee and collector of vintage sci-fi paperbacks, he lives with his partner, two daughters, and the family ragdoll, Dixie. When he’s not writing, he dives into open-world RPGs, supports local charities through Freemasonry, and advocates for child protection and mental health. His work draws equally from a fascination with the strange and the scars of his own past, offering readers dark, immersive worlds where nothing is ever as it seems.

For SNAFU: Contagion, LJ Visser sliced and diced for us: IRON ROT: When an ice-world research outpost goes dark, a catastrophic containment breach changes the game.

You can find LJ on Facebook, and via is Amazon page.

He also has a science fiction thriller short-story, Future Shadows, where a grieving father, obsessed with uncovering the truth behind his daughter’s death while infiltrating a powerful corporation, is pulled into a conspiracy that blurs the line between memory, identity, and the machinery of control. Which is out-now on Kindle.

Whispers of a paramedic thriller have also been drifting our way, so keep an eye out (or both eyes – you do you!) for LJ Visser’s imaginings!

Writers will tell you nothing much beats publication – be it a short, novella or novel. Signing that contract, getting paid (yes, you should be paid for your work), and having your story out in the world is like crack.

But what happens to those babies once they’ve flown the nest and found new homes? After a given time, well those babies come back. Most will stay filed away, but never underestimate their chance to fly off again and find new homes, new readers.

Reprint markets. Oh, they are wonderful things. One of my babies has found a new home with Digital Fiction Publishing League. Unlike children (real, human-like ones) there are a few stories of mine that are favourites, and The Whims of my Enemy is one of them. It’s a brutal story, unforgiving to all the characters within, but more so with the main protagonist. Hers is a torturous ride, filled with violence and weighed against the desperate need to survive, and what that survival may cost.

Killing it Softly 2

It seemed a good fit for Killing It Softly 2: a fiction anthology of short stories (the best of women in horror). It’s quite the title, and the editors at DFPL were not only kind enough to accept ‘Whims’ but made it the lead story in the antho, which I was extremely chuffed with. There are some fantastic authors I’m sharing the pages with, and it’s one hell of a tome. Thirty-eight stories that run the gamut of all things horror.

Here’s the blurb:

The first ‘Killing It Softly’ was just the tip of the iceberg…

Beneath the icy depths of this next installment, you’ll be plunged into a world where 38 female horror writers give you a glimpse of their inner-demons, unleashing the hell-fire they suppress in the ‘real’ world. It will disturb you to discover what really lurks inside their minds, because many of these stories delve into pain that can only be experienced by women—leaving you unhinged as you curl up with them during their darkest hour.

Post-partum depression, hording, anorexia, and mental health will be brought to light when viewed through the shadowy perspective of cognitive deception.

Sci-fi, romance, steam-punk, and fantasy intertwine with horror to deliver unsettling, chilling stories; traditional tales of witches, zombies, werewolves, and vampires will be told in twisted new ways that will shock, unnerve, and even repulse you…and within these pages, sometimes new monsters will arise from the ashes.

You may even discover that women can not only write good horror…but in some cases, can do it better.
So if you’re of a mind, and looking for some killer short stories to while away the hours, then check out Killing It Softly 2 ‒ there’s a little horror out there for everyone.

And for you writers out there, remember there is more than one life to the stories you’ve sent out into the world. Let those babies fly again!