Tag Archives: military monster fiction

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, SNAFU

SNAFU: LEVEL UP AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – MARK T BARNES

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For the last of Cohesion Press’ Author Spotlight, we’re staying in Oz and ambling over to Mark Barnes’ place for a wee chat. I know he already has the coffee and snacks ready, which totally wrecks my penchant for breaking into people’s houses and raiding their fridge. Seems I’ll have to look for something else to steal… 

So, if you kind people could keep Mark occupied while I scope out his place, that would be grand. I’ve shoved him on stage, shoved a mic into his hand, so welcome him to do the wordage thing!

Mark is a nerd, an author, a professional, an artist, and an athlete, not always in that order though proud of all of it. He’s travelled widely though still calls Australia home. At present, he runs a freelance organisational change and communications company, as well as being a professional author of off-centre fantasy with elements of grimdark, cosmic horror, and magepunk.

Born to modest, working-class beginnings, he is the eldest of five children. He developed an appetite for sports at a young age, and was a competition-level swimmer and waterpolo player until his late teens, as well as playing soccer and volleyball. Curious and creative by nature, he leaned into his studies, as well as the arts. He wrote his first short story at the age of seven, and was painting and drawing early, adding music to the mix when he went to high school, which was where he found his love for Table Top Roleplaying Games (TTORPGs) enduring to today.

He cut his teeth on Original Dungeons and Dragons (then it’s many iterations), Bushido, Traveller, The Fantasy Trip, Tunnels and Trolls, and Runequest. Each weekend saw him saddle up with his friends at gaming clubs and venies to roll the bones and create stories. Game mastering at local conventions and with friends was where his love of storytelling flourished. For decades, he focussed on creating stories in new worlds for his roleplaying campaigns before redirecting his efforts into writing short form and long form fiction.

On acceptance to Clarion South 2005, where he met some incredible writers and tutors who became new friends, he started taking writing seriously. He had short stories published in the same year as Clarion, and started work on a novel.

In 2010, he was fortunate to be signed up to the John Jarrold Literay Agency, earning a three-book deal with 47 North for The Echoes of Empire series. Echoes of Empire books were a ranked multiple times in the Amazon Top 10 Best Sellers in Fantasy, twice having all three books in the Top 10 at the same time. The Garden of Stones was nominated for the Gemmel Legend Award where it made the Top 20, and was a finalist in the final five for the Morningstar Award for Best Debut of the Year.

He continues his consulting work and is writing both fantasy and LitRPG novels and short stories.

For SNAFU: Level Up, Mark travelled deep into the ‘verse with SEED OF DESPAIR: When is a game not a game? When nobody can escape and nobody knows death is forever.

You can find Mark on Insta, as well as Facebook, and Bluesky, and Twitter/X.

Want to delve deeper into Mark’s work (doooo iiiitttt), book one of his LitRPG novel, The Mad Gods is out, as well as his fantasy-LitRPG The Cold Road. Get ‘em in your eyeballs!

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, SNAFU

SNAFU: LEVEL UP AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – LEE FRANKLIN

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After our last quick trip to the UK, we’re heading back home to Australia for Cohesion Press’ latest Author Spotlight, which is shining its light on Lee Franklin. Does she know we’re about to raid her house? Unlikely. Will that stop us? Hells no.

So, while we drag our baggage (and our sorry arses) to her place, we’ve shoved Lee up on stage to do her thang.

After a decade in the Australian Army and two deployments, Lee traded her uniform for the chaos of raising three boys. She and her Argentine husband eventually relocated to the Yorkshire moors, where she finally picked up a pen and began soaking pages in the blood of men and monsters. These days she’s back in her home town of Perth, Western Australia, surviving on coffee, running, and reading rampantly across all genres.

For SNAFU: Level Up, Lee hit all the Aussie roadkill with her tale MURRI BIODOME: Leveling Up Down Under – all for the sugar…

If you want to read more of Lee’s work, you might want to check out her military sci-fi set in the depths of the Vietnam War: Berserker – Green Hell.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, SNAFU

SNAFU: LEVEL UP AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – RANDALL MADDEN

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Aaaand we’re back in the US on our next leg of Cohesion Press’ Author Spotlight. This time, we’re catching up with Randall Madden. Does he know we’re coming? S’all good, we’re running a distraction and sneaking through the back – that tends to be where most kitchens are, and I need caffeine and snacks.

The Author Spotlight stage is now his – keep him distracted while I raid the fridge.

Randall Madden was born and raised in rural Tennessee. He lives there still with his wife, son, and three dogs. His work has been published in Crimson Quill Quarterly, Chill Mag, and nearly a dozen other publications. When he isn’t writing, he splits his time between his “real job” and amateur work as a part-time woodland wanderer. He received his MFA in Creative Writing at Southern New Hampshire University.

For SNAFU: Level Up, Randall dragged us into PURGATION: The currency of Potential runs the gritty afterlife of the Sprawl, and Headway’s team takes the grittiest of jobs to earn their way to the unknown next arena. The path leads them to a sinister bid for power, and stopping it will require more than the esoteric tech and underhanded cunning that the Sprawl normally demands of its unfortunate denizens…

You can find Randall on Insta.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, SNAFU

SNAFU: LEVEL UP AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – BENJAMIN SPADA

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Well, well, well, look who’s here! It’s our official-not-so-official honorary Aussie Benjamin Spada, striding to Cohesion Press’ Author Spotlight stage. Are we in the US? Are we in Australia? Are we losing our minds? (Definitely ‘nah, yeah’ on the last one.)

Ben has spent a great deal of time on our shores, so we kinda adopted him. Did he want said adoption? Ummm… Do we adopt as we see fit? Absolutely. Also, we may have stamped him with a weird logo while he was sleeping. Perhaps. Maybe.

But enough about our weird adoption processes, Ben has been tapping his foot upon the stage, so it’s over to him while we raid his duffel bag for snacks.

Born and raised in California, Benjamin Spada has had a lifelong passion for storytelling. His award-winning Black Spear series of military thrillers includes FNG, The Warmaker, and Project: Darkheart. His works have been previously published in SNAFU: Dead or Alive and SNAFU: Contagion. A dedicated taco aficionado and self-described “Professor of Batmanology,” he has made a career in the United States Marine Corps. He has been a martial arts instructor and a section leader in the Wounded Warrior Battalion for our nation’s wounded, ill, and injured. Also, he has served overseas to help train foreign military allies in defense against chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. Despite these grim assignments, he has carried on with equal amounts of sarcasm and stoicism.

When out of uniform, Benjamin is an avid sci-fi and horror movie fan, tattoo collector, comic enthusiast, and two-time holder of the platinum trophy in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Benjamin currently lives with his wife and their four daughters in Covington, Louisiana.

For SNAFU: Level Up, upon the sacrificial altar, Ben slapped the festeringly humorous corpse of RAGE QUIT: One man. One unbeatable final boss. A thousand ways to lose. It’s time to start cheating…

You can find Ben on Facebook and Twitter.

Want to read more of his work (get it in your eyeballs!)? The most recent Black Spear novel, Project Darkheart, is out now in print and ebook. Audiobook is being recorded and set to release early November!

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, SNAFU

SNAFU: LEVEL UP AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – EVAN DICKEN

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On our continuing tour of Cohesion Press’ Author Spotlight, we’re still in the US, and are road-tripping to crash at Evan Dicken’s place. Does he know we’re coming? Where’s the fun in that? Besides, it’s not like we’re going to eat all his food, drink all his alcohol, and set up blanket forts in his living room (we totally are).

While I go steal some pillows (what’s a blanket fort without pillows?), Evan has been kicked up onto the stage, microphone shoved into his hand, as the spotlight spotlights. Take it away, Evan!

By day, EVAN DICKEN studies old Japanese maps and crunches numbers for all manner of fascinating research at the Ohio State University. By night, he does neither of these things. His work has most recently appeared in Analog, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and Strange Horizons, and he has stories forthcoming from Black Library and Aconyte Press. 

For SNAFU: Level Up, Evan sharpened sword and challenged gods with 47th (LEVEL) RONIN: Outnumbered, outmatched, and out-leveled, a lone rōnin will stop at nothing to avenge the death of his lord. But to destroy those who betrayed them, he turns a more devilish patron…and finds the road to hell paved with bad intentions. 

You can find Evan at his website or on Bluesky.

If you want to read more of Evan’s work (and you really should), his Warhammer: Age of Sigmar novels Shade of Khaine and First Marshal were recently released by Black Library; and although there’s currently no set release date, his Warhammer: The Old World novel Blood of the Bastion should be out sometime this year.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, SNAFU

SNAFU: LEVEL UP AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT –  DANIEL SKILES

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Jetlag is well and truly kicking our arse as we fly back to the US on our whirlwind tour of Cohesion Press’s Author Spotlight, and have a natter with Daniel Skiles. We need alcohol. And sleep. And food. And definitely alcohol.

While we’re pouring ourselves generous (read: copious) amounts of firewater, we’ll hand the mic over to Daniel and let him talk the talk.

Daniel Skiles lives in the mountains of Pennsylvania. The next phase of his metamorphosis is nigh.

For SNAFU: Level Up, Daniel placed upon the sacrificial altar the short and hard-hitting tale THE WINDING PATH: Two men discover that winning isn’t everything.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, SNAFU

SNAFU: LEVEL UP AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT –  LJ VISSER

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Well, look at us heading back to the land of Oz again! Of course we are, it’s home base. This time for Cohesion Press’ Author Spotlight, we’re heading south to the hub of creatives, Melbourne, to chat (and by chat, I mean crash in on) with LJ Visser.

This isn’t the first time LJ has graced our pages, and we were chuffed with his offering this time around. While he takes centre stage, we’re off to raid the fridge. Take it away, LJ! (Ooh, rhyme, how ‘bout that?)

L J Visser is a Melbourne-based author of military science fiction, horror and psychological thrillers. His work blends brutal survival, corporate secrecy, psychological tension, and the darker edges of human behaviour.

Speaking of said offering for SNAFU: Level Up, LJ placed upon the altar BLACKBOX PROTOCOL: Trapped inside a corporate black site, a soldier must survive its horrors while discovering that the most dangerous thing buried there may be inside her own mind.

You can find LJ on Facebook.

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

SNAFU: LEVEL UP AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT –  ZACHARY O’SHEA

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Continuing to stay on Earth (for now), we’re packing our luggage and heading back to the States (jet lag is a bitch) to meet up with Zack O’Shea for Cohesion Press’ Author Spotlight. Zack’s name might be familiar with some of you, what with him having appeared in SNAFU previously. Still, he has words and language and things to say.

So, while we’re raiding his fridge and making ourselves completely at home in his abode, Zack will take the mic and do the wordage thing.

Zack O’Shea has spent most of his life telling stories in one form or another. They’re always horror. The subgenres he dabbles in span a pretty wide range, including dark fantasy, folk horror, cosmic horror, creature features, weird westerns, and whatever unpleasant thing happens when a few of those get mixed. He’s especially interested in the heroes caught in these twisted tales. He focuses on flawed characters making the best decisions they can under pressure while trying to hold onto faith, love, dignity, or sometimes just their limbs.

You can find Zack on Bluesky, Insta, and Twitter.

And Zack did not at all hold back for SNAFU: Level Up with his nightmare tale POTTER’S FIELD: Gravedigger Lavinia Potter battles horrors bred by forgotten grief with spade, lantern, and salt, until a discovery off the quest path threatens to alter her fate forever.

Want to read more of Zack’s work? (You should.) His primary focus is the horror series Crimson Threads with three books available now and a fourth on its way. They can be found on Amazon. Next up for Zack is a Ream serial full of swashbuckling cosmic horror, Loathsome Grace, launching this October. Keep an eye out!

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, Editing, publishing, SNAFU

SNAFU: LEVEL UP AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT –  JG GRIMMER

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Now that we’re back on Earth (gravity be weird), we’re heading into the next of Cohesion Press’ Author Spotlights with JG Grimmer. Now, there’s much secret squirrel business here, and one thing I am very good with is secrets… for no other reason than my memory is shite. JG might have had something to do with that, but he swears otherwise…

While I’ve been chatting away, JG has already sidled onto the stage is giving epic side-eye, so I’ll scamper back to my little den of darkness, and let the man himself bring you all up to speed. Take it away, JG!

JG’s imagined things long before putting pen to paper, now there’s no stopping him! Born and raised somewhere on Earth—though there’s some dispute about that—JG knew he wanted to be a writer from an early age, and began pursuing that dream in what they used to call junior high school. What with Life and other things getting in the way, JG began to see success; modest at first, but eventually leading to bigger and better things, especially his first story, Beast Trap, being accepted and published in SNAFU: Last Stand! Followed by contributions to SNAFU: Holy War, and SNAFU: AI Insurrection.

In 2025, JG published his first novella, In the Shadow of the Swastika: A Sherlock Holmes Noir, with MX Publishing in London, and on October 9th of this year, his second book, Bare Knuckle Empire: A Sherlock Holmes Noir, was released.  

For SNAFU: Level Up, JG figured why not go swimming? And penned his tale LEVIATHAN’S HOARD: catastrophic glacial collapse, a drowned world and monstrous, mythical creatures of the Deep. Oh, and Bait, the poor schmuck who must play the game.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, publishing, SNAFU

SNAFU: LEVEL UP AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT –  SEAN OSWALD

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Well, well, well… for today’s Author Spotlight from Cohesion Press, we’re going interstellar. No, no, it’s true. Trust me. I am the keeper of truths that could possibly be untruths and mayhap lies with perhaps a sprinkling of falsity. But… trust me? Yeah. We good.

Right, now that I have you locked down in confusion, Imma step aside and let Sean Oswald work his magic on the stage. Just remember not to peek behind the curtain…

Sean was born on Krypton, Zenn-La, or Planet Vegeta, depending on which one of his kids is asking and what mood he is in. He served in the USMC straight out of high school before going on to obtain a highly useful degree in ancient languages.

Then, onto the mission field to work at an orphanage in India with his wife and 2.5 kids before returning to the US and surrendering to the dark side. Some say Sith, but his business card reads attorney or at least it did till he gave it up to make up stories.

Now he lives with his wife and nine (yes, 9) children in central Illinois. Although to be fair, some of the kids are moved out and now he has version 2.0 called grandkids – which are even more fun, despite still having an 8 year old of his own.

When he isn’t moving furniture for his wife or playing with his kids, he is busy trying to force all the stories in his head onto a piece of paper.

For SNAFU: Level Up, Sean wielded magic of the arcane type with BY THE LETTER: When being the hero means becoming the monster… (or something like that. I’m awful at writing blurbs)

You can find Sean at his socials (interstellar travel is a bitch): Amazon, Patreon, Facebook, and Discord.

The story Sean wrote for SNAFU: Level Up ties into his Welcome to the Multiverse series, and is a seed for a new series that will come out set in that same multiverse with the same main character. (Probably not till 2028)