Tag Archives: horror short stories

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, Reading, SNAFU

SNAFU: CONTAGION AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – JOSH REYNOLDS

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It’s SNAFU: Contagion Author Spotlight again, and this time we’re bringing you a name you probably recognise (we’re actually bringing the whole person, not just the name… I mean, it’s not like we’ve shackled Josh or anything… <side eye>… Promise.).

Yep, I’m talking about Josh Reynolds, who has penned many a story for Cohesion Press’ SNAFU series. He’s just that good. Look, I swear we haven’t shackled him in a haunted asylum to make him write for us, don’t believe the rumours.

Now, before I make a complete idiot of myself (shh), I’ll let Josh to the introducing of Josh – he’ll do a far better job of it than me…

A professional author since 2007, Josh has over thirty novels to his name, as well as numerous short stories, novellas, and audio scripts. Born and raised in South Carolina, he now resides in Sheffield with his wife and daughter, as well as a highly excitable dog and something he hopes is a cat.

Now, I can’t say for sure that the ‘something’ Josh hopes is a cat didn’t have anything to do with the tale he penned for SNAFU: Contagion, but… THE SILENT SPAN: A soldier sent into the trenches to discover why his comrades have fallen silent, discovers something far more deadly. 

You can find Josh on Bluesky and Instagram.

Prodigious writer that he is, Josh has Return of the Monster Men ready for preorder, and Tales of Pannithor: Stand at Callenspire ready to read now.

You can also find a complete collection of his works on his website.

Seriously, check out his work!

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, Reading, Reviews, SNAFU

SNAFU: CONTAGION AUTHOR BIO – MICHAEL WEGENER

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Taking another step over the halfway mark for Cohesion Press’ Author Spotlight for SNAFU: Contagion, we’re dragging Michael Wegener with us! Michael isn’t an Aussie per se, but we’d most happily welcome him for his dark mind, dark humour, and even darker story.

With just eleven days to go until the print release of SNAFU: Contagion (Audible and ebook are already available), we’re really counting down the days and the authors we’d like you to get to know.

So, without further ado…. MICHAEL WEGENER!

Michael is a former chemist (if there is such a thing) and senior medical writer in the area of health technology assessment (because bills and stuff). Considering himself first and foremost a writer of crime/noir fiction, making his fiction debut with a short story in Mickey Finn Vol. 3: 21st Century Noir (edited by Michael Bracken) in 2022, he’s also been dabbling in horror fiction, with crime/horror hybrid stories recently published in Unnerving Magazine and the Starlite Pulp Review. He considers the all-out horror and action of his story in SNAFU: Contagion somewhat of a culmination of those recent efforts, and writing it had been such a blast, it certainly won’t be his last foray into horror. He lives in Brunswick, Germany.

I can absolutely concur that Michael is correct about the all-out horror for his SNAFU: Contagion story – BLACK HELL RISING: Two AWOL Marines discover that the hell of war is a cozy evening by the fire compared to the hell awaiting them in the desert.

You can find Michael on Instagram and Bluesky.

Michael’s upcoming publications include both crime and horror stories in Mickey Finn Vol. 6 and Schlock! Webzine.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, Reading, SNAFU

SNAFU: CONTAGION AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – AARON BEARDSELL

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Well, lookee here! Another Aussie kicking back on Cohesion Press’ Author Spotlight stage for SNAFU: Contagion! Maybe we’re the contagion… it’s been said. Yeah-nah, we’re too laid back for all that nonsense. Seems too much like hard work. No? Just me?

Aaanyway, moving on.

TEN! That’s where we’re at with the Author Spotlights, so let’s have Aaron tell you more about himself, it’ll likely make much more sense than my intro!

Aaron Beardsell fell in love with writing at a young age, starting out with a totally-not haunted typewriter obtained from a church yard sale. Since then, Aaron’s stories have been published in a wide variety of anthologies.

For SNAFU: Contagion, there’s a high probability that Aaron used his totally-not haunted typewriter for FUNGICIDE – Special delivery: tactical nuke.

You can find Aaron on Instagram.

Additionally, Aaron’s debut novel, Dead Station, is available now. Full of sci-fi horror, you won’t be able to put it down. And if you enjoyed Fungicide, keep your eyes peeled for the first ever novel set in the same universe! Discover how the War began…

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, Reading, Reviews, SNAFU

SNAFU: CONTAGION AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – MARK OXBROW

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HALFWAY!

That’s right, we’re halfway through Cohesion Press’ Author Spotlight series for SNAFU: Contagion, and today we are ushering another Aussie onto the stage – Mark Oxbrow! (Okay, technically a Scot, but he lives here now, so he’s ours.)

With all that being said, I’ll hand the mic over to Mark to let him introduce himself fat better than I can.

Drumroll, please…

Mark Oxbrow is a storyteller, author, and ghostwriter. Legendary horror editor Ellen Datlow has twice recommended short stories by Mark—Frightful Things and No Doves Come from Raven’s Eggs—as among the best horror of the year. Mark’s books feature witch goddesses, poison gardens, folk horror, ghost stories, medieval monsters and secret treasures. Mark was born and raised in Edinburgh, the world’s most haunted city. Over twenty-five years ago, he founded Scotland’s largest Halloween festival.

In keeping with all thing creepy af, for SNAFU: Contagion, Mark made good on horror background with NECROTIZING: On far-flung exoplanet, combat surgeon Nita Torres and Sergeant Aoki Ito face-down a grotesque mutation. 

You can find Mark on Instagram.

We have also heard whispers from dark corners that Mark is currently working on a currently untitled horror novel. Keep your eyes peeled!

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, SNAFU, Writing

SNAFU: CONTAGION AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – MARCUS FIELD

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Roll up! Roll up!

Cohesion Press’ next Author Spotlight is here in the form of Marcus Field! It’s an interesting form, filled with much horror, a touch of terror, and a sprinkling of malevolence. There could be tentacles. Where unsure of his original form at this stage…

Still, he’s completely lovely and most excellent to work with. Just don’t stick your fingers in the cage. You’ve been warned.

Now that I have likely embarrassed us both, I’ll let Marcus tell you a little somethin’ somethin’ about himself.

Marcus Field lives with his partner, son, and dog in Sacramento, California, where he spends too much time doing math and not enough time writing.

For SNAFU: Contagion, Marcus put the math aside (yay!), and penned THE ZOO: Desperate and on the run in this new apocalypse, can sanctuary be found in the zoo?

Once you read this tale, I’m sure you’ll agree that Marcus should give a touch more weight to wordsmithing than mathsmithing (wow, that sounded better in my head)…  

PEN ALL THE WORDS! (yeah, that sounded better in my head too. I’ll just go.)

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, Ramblings, SNAFU, Writing

SNAFU: CONTAGION AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – RPL JOHNSON

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We’re edging close to halfway with our Author Spotlights, with me wanting to spotlight every two days before print publication (ebook and Audible are already available)… which means I’m gonna have to ramp up the blog frequency – the math just ain’t mathing (if you know me, that will come as no surprise).

So, moving on from my clear lack of numeric aptitude…  We’ve another Aussie stepping onto Cohesion Press’ stage for Author Spotlight #7, and he’s someone you’ve likely read before. Richard has been in a number of SNAFU editions – the man knows how to freak us the fuck out, and his tale for SNAFU: Contagion is no different.

But let him tell you a little about himself while I skulk off and cry into my calculator…

Richard Johnson is an award-winning short story writer and independent novelist. He won the Gold Award at Writers of the Future in 2011 and the Jim Baen Memorial Award in 2012 and has been a finalist in the Aurealis  Awards with one of his many stories for the SNAFU series of military horror anthologies from Cohesion Press.

In addition to his novels and short stories, Richard has also worked closely with Blur Studios in the USA on the Amazon Prime TV show Secret Level, the video game Exodus, and an as yet undisclosed feature for Warner Bros.

He lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two sons.

For SNAFU: Contagion, Richard showed us the fragility of reality with: CONSENSUS BREAK: The hospital wasn’t an asylum, it was a prison for those who—

(See what I did there? 😏)

You can find Richard on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.  

If you want to read more of Richard’s work (you really should!) he has a YA sci-fi novel The View from Infinity Beach (I’ve read it, it’s excellent!), and a short story collection, Skull Candy.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, publishing, Reading, SNAFU

SNAFU: CONTAGION AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – DAVID MCLACHLAN

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NUMBER SIX!

Let’s Sesame Street our way out of that intro and into the next in Cohesion Press’ Author Spotlight for SNAFU: Contagion with David McLachlan stepping onto the stage. It’s a vast stage, filled with much horror and macabre – some viscera here, a scatter of bones there, a sprinkling of fingernails just so… and maybe some fairy lights (who doesn’t love fairy lights!).

Right, so that’s enough from me (as you’ll likely all agree), So, I’ll hand you all over to David for a far more lucid introduction. Hit those lights!

David McLachlan is a disabled veteran author who lives and works in Northern California, a place that inspires much of his fiction. Ever since he was a child he has had a voracious love for Horror and Weird literature. In 2023, he received his MFA in Fiction at Warren Wilson College. Since then, his stories and poems have been published (or are forthcoming) in various magazines. He is an active member of the Horror Writers Association.

For SNAFU: Contagion, David penned us a hella read: VAST PURE SPACES: Basic survival or supreme sacrifice? These are the choices we make in the vast dark.

You can find David on his website, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky.

David is currently hard at work on a Small Town Horror novel taking place in a small Northern California town. So, keep an eye out for what I know will be a creepy AF tale.