Continuing our global wayfaring, we’re heading over to the UK to bust open Ryan Colley’s door (with a, ah, delicate hand, of course), and have some words… a chat, we’re gonna chat. Or, rather, encourage Ryan to Cohesion Press’ Author Spotlight stage and have him tell you a little sumpin’ sumpin’ about himself.
So, without further ado, take it away, Ryan!
<taps mic> … <ignores feedback> Off you go!
Ryan Colley always enjoyed reading fictional worlds, but creating his own is his passion. In school, a teacher told him to pursue writing after reading a short story he wrote for homework and, from that day, he never stopped. He doesn’t know where his love of zombies comes from, but it just happened, and it is his life. Things changed, and life moved on, but even while graduating from his Bachelor’s and Master’s in Psychology, he wrote stories every day. Writing is his passion, and everything else he does is to pursue that passion. Ryan loves hearing from his readers and encourages you to let him know what you think!
For SNAFU: Level Up, Randall patched together worlds and threw them at us with PATCH 1.1: Reality has been altered. Humanity has been nerfed. And the apocalypse arrived in a patch note … Good Luck!
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…
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!
Well, lookee here! It’s a two-for! That’s right, the next in Cohesion Press’ Author Spotlight is a double-whammy with Justin Coates and Patrick Freivald penning us a tale (I’m pretty sure they fought over the pen). Which means this Author Spotlight will be a little longer than all the previous. Still, we are continuing our tour of the States with these two.
So, first up, we’re barging into Justin’s house (he said I could), shoving a mic in his face, and ushering him on stage to do his thang. <flaps hands> Go, go!
The son of a bean farmer and a chupacabra, Justin Coates accidentally joined the U.S. Army in 2008 and spent two years stumbling around Afghanistan. During and since, he’s been writing wild tales of military misadventures in horror and sci-fi, including short stories that have been adapted by Netflix’s Love, Death and Robots and a mysterious Amazon streaming show the NDAs won’t allow him to mention by name (for now). A graduate of the University of Southern California, he works as a trauma therapist and suicide prevention specialist by day (you know what he does at night). He lives in Michigan with his smokeshow wife, two feral sons, and the dumbest orange cat this side of the Sulemain Mountains. He also has a kick ass found-footage horror screenplay, and wants to know whose #@!% he needs to !#%@ to get an agent.
While Justin sorts out his… let’s go with… sweetner? … (yeah, that works?), Patrick has now taken the stage with an entourage of bees…
Patrick Freivald is a four-time Bram Stoker Award® finalist, the author of ten novels and dozens of short stories for publications such as Weird Tales and Dark Discoveries, a high school teacher (physics, robotics, American Sign Language), and a beekeeper specializing in hot pepper infused honey. He lives in Western New York with his beautiful wife, parrots, dogs, cats, chickens, and several million stinging insects. A member of the Horror Writers Association and the International Thriller Writers, he has a soft spot for slavering monsters of all kinds.
For SNAFU: Level Up, Justin and Patrick dragged over to us the festering corpse of RESPAWN:As a team of misfits battles their way toward the grand prize of a virtual death match, there’s only one question on everyone’s mind: this game is fair, isn’t it?
Right, let’s get on to where you can find these fiends:
When it comes to upcoming works, Justin apparently doesn’t have shit coming out (his words, I swear, and yes, I laughed a little… okay, a lot), while Patrick has a spooky tale for tweens coming out real soon – Mitchcraft, Vacation Magic School. Check it out!
Seriously, these two are a menace – what’s not to love?
For today’s Author Spotlight from Cohesion Press, we’re stepping out of the great land Down Under, and heading over to the North America (it’s a bitch of a drive…) to knock on Craig DiLouie’s door and invite him to the stage (and by knock, I mean hammer on that door until he lets us in – I need coffee).
While I get my caffeine-fix, I’ll turn over the mic to Craig, and have him wax lyrical about all things him and writing and books and stuff and things. Shh, caffeine hasn’t kicked in yet.
Take it away, Craig! (The talking, not the coffee.)
Craig DiLouie is a USA Today bestselling American-Canadian horror, sci-fi, and military fiction. Notable works include The Summer Fun Massacre, Episode Thirteen, and The Children of Red Peak, all published by Hachette, and Suffer the Children, published by Simon & Schuster.
For SNAFU: Level Up, Craig penned us the high-octane, holy-shit tale THE GREAT INTERDIMENSIONAL KILL RACE:a man and his crazy brother-in-law join forces in a death race across four of the most dangerous dimensions in the multiverse, hoping to win the life-saving grand prize.
Want to read more of his work (you really should)? In November 2026, The Yule Day Slaughter—the sequel to The Summer Fun Massacre that concludes the duology—releases from Run For It, Hachette’s horror imprint. In June 2027, People with Taste, described as The Bear with cannibalism, also releases from Hachette.
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.
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.
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.)
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: Contagionis 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—
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.
Mount-up, my friends, Cohesion Press‘ submission period for the next in the SNAFU series is upon us! SNAFU: Dead or Alive is open for subs, and we want your best weird western, action, horror stories.
As the editor-in-chief for Cohesion, and as is my wont, I always supplement the guidelines with my thoughts on the process and detail what we’re looking for and what we most definitely do not want to see in the slush pile. As is also my wont, this post will be filled with gifs to visually enhance this post because snark via gifs is such fun!
Right, don your riding boots and ten-gallon hat, let’s get this rodeo started!
If you’ve read this far, I’m also hoping you’ve read the guidelines (super important), and understand that we want ACTION and MONSTERS within the theme of weird westerns. Both of those points are vitally important. No action? No sale. No monsters? No sale. If you don’t hit theme? You guessed it: no sale.
All the SNAFU series are action-based, military horror anthologies, and I cannot stress enough how that action has to be there if not from the get-go, then pretty soon after. We get a lot of submissions, and you need to grab my attention pretty damn quickly, make me want to read on. Make it impossible for me to not read on. Do that with action or with monsters or with a character(s) I’m invested in… or a combination of all. Give me the heroes and the villains, the hero-villains, monsters that roar and those that slither through shadows. Ignite your imagination of the nightmare kind and put that pen to paper.
There are three phases to the submission period. The first is slush, where I read all the stories and your tale is either rejected or moved to a longlist (note: no feedback on slush rejections, please don’t ask). From the longlist, all stories will be read again and either rejected or moved to the shortlist (note: no feedback on longlist rejections). From the shortlist, the ToC will be selected. Feedback will be given on shortlisted rejections. No acceptances will be given until the submission window is closed, and while we move to make this as quick a process as possible, we are diligent in our decisions, which means don’t expect an acceptance letter the day after the sub window closes.
Right, so now we get to the DO NOT WANT part of this blog post, and while these are mentioned in the guidelines, they always need to be amplified because there are those who either fail the comprehension part of this, or just choose to ignore it. Do not be that person.
The fact that I have to write a post for every sub window about the DO NOT WANT goes to show that this is an issue we continue to have. I like my eyes, do not subject them to the following:
Rape as a plot device/backstory
White saviour stories
Racism, bigotry, misogyny of any kind in the narrative voice
Child abuse/paedophilia (can’t believe we have to say this, but we do)
Rape as a plot device/backstory (yes, we have to say this twice)
Fanfiction or derivatives
The moment I come across any of that shite in a story, it’s an automatic rejection. No correspondence will be entered into. There is no justification you can try to make that will have me listen. Guidelines are there for a reason, and the DO NOT WANT is a big damn part of that. If you have any of the above in a story you’re thinking of sending us, rewrite or send it elsewhere – we don’t want it. I cannot make that clear enough.
One of the other things I’d like to address is that this theme might have us see a propensity for white saviour stories. Don’t do that. Don’t write that, and if you think you should, then we don’t want to see it. You may think this theme is ripe for sending us that kind of shitfuckery, but you’d be so very wrong. We ain’t buying.
So many rules! (Guidelines, actually.) But they’re there for a reason, and if you can’t adhere to them, that tells me you’re likely not someone I want to work with through the editing stage.
Ah, the editing stage. Yes. Your work will be edited. It could be a light edit, it could be a heavy edit — this is dependent upon each story. I am of the mindset that the author-editor relationship is one of mutual respect, and I’m happy to have discourse however, we at Cohesion edit for a reason and we will reject a story (even at ToC stage) for any of the following:
rude and/or derogatory comments
failure to implement edits and/or rewrites in a timely manner (we work to deadlines)
requesting a male editor (true, and shitty story)
attempting to slyly add words/phrases to your story that hit the DO NOT WANT marks listed earlier in this post (also a true and shitty story)
Right, that seems to be it from me for now. (Finally, I hear you say, and fair call, compadres.) But I will add that if you’re unaware, the SNAFU series is read by Tim Miller (Blur Studios), and some of the stories published in our editions have appeared in his animated series Love, Death & Robots. So send us your absolute best work. Unleash your monsters, and give us action that has our pulse quicken and our mouths run dry.
And one final note:
We actively encourage submissions from all cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, and identities. Storytelling is for everyone, and we are richer for it when all voices are heard.
Let’s talk about you and me… Okay, okay, so my flashback to the ’90s is a little sad but kinda on point for this blog post. As one of the editors for the SNAFU anthologies, and with an upcoming submission window opening, Matthew Summers and I would like to talk about stories, slush, and selections.
Disclaimer time. The information provided here does not guarantee Matt and I will select your story for publication – plot, character, and voice will. But don’t send us a romance tale when it’s military monster horror we’re after. We will cut you.
Right then. Let’s kick this baby off with the guidelines for the open sub window for SNAFU: Last Stand (just click that link). While stories subbed to Cohesion Press have specific marks that need to be hit, one thing EVERYONE needs to understand when subbing a tale to ANY market is to not only READ the guidelines but ADHERE to them (the adhering is the most important part). Know your market.
Slush, we’ve all been there. Jostling for position, stuck in the hell that is the slush pile, shouting ‘look at me’ as you push toward the roped-off area that is the shortlist. So how do you get past the cordon? Look, reading is subjective – what I like someone else may not (they’re wrong), but if the past couple of SNAFUs have taught me anything, it’s that Matt and I are pretty much on the same page when it comes to story selection. Not once have we had to fight it out (I’d win because I fight dirty, just sayin’). But your opening line, your opening paragraph, has to hook us and the following paragraphs need to reel us in. Your start needs to be strong, and it needs to build from there.
Stuck in Hell by 13UG-13th
Your aim, at this point, is to get onto that shortlist, and a killer opening scene is just the way to do it. Does that mean exploding out of the gate all guns blazing? Perhaps. We love high-action tales, and that’s bound to grab our attention. But it can also be that one line that sets the tone for what’s to come. One of my favourite opening lines from a story in SNAFU: Resurrection is from Conviction by NX Sharps – ‘On the 152nd day of our posting at Fort Conviction, Private Olyver Bagwell shit himself to death.’ That certainly had us take notice.
But the follow-up has to hold water. If your story doesn’t
make good on its opening promise, then you could be in some trouble. Think about the story you’re wanting to
tell, of the character(s) leading us through. A tale well written isn’t going
to resonate as much as one that has me and Matt fate-invested.
That being said, well-written is definitely going to get you a look-in. We want narrative that moves a story forward, we want wordsmiths who know how to give us those evocative visuals that bring the horror, the fear, the dread. Active voice is your friend here. Spelling and grammar? We got that, but too many errors and we’re pulled from the story – it’s the same for all those babies sitting in slush piles.
With the theme of Last
Stand, characters will need to make their mark here. Interpret Last Stand as you will, there are an
infinite number of ways to incorporate that into your story, but make that tale
linger, make us think about it long after we’ve finished reading. And give us
action. Make our hearts beat furiously, give us those ‘oh shit’ moments, and
make your monsters fucking terrifying. Remember, this is horror, monster
horror… with guns and shit.
One of the best and hardest part of this process is the final selection from the shortlist. Matt and I have passed on some truly great stories, which is always a difficult thing to do. And we don’t take these decisions lightly – a lot of time goes into decision-making, a lot of discussion and back and forths until we have the mixture just right. We don’t make acceptances as we go; something we love early on may not make the cut because a later story in a similar vein resonates more. Our aim here is to provide our readers with a variety of kick-arse tales, where you don’t know what’s coming but you’re hanging for it just the same. The overriding theme that ties them together, obviously, is ‘last stand’. Make it count.
So while I hope this helps you to understand our process, I also hope it helps you to understand the process for any slush pile you find yourself in. Writing truly is the best gig in the world, and rejections are a part of that. We know. Matt and I both sit the other side of the table, we’ve had stories accepted and we’ve faced that sting of rejection. We understand the work, the effort, the time and the angst that goes into getting those words onto the page, of wrangling your imagination into narrative. We salute every one of you.
And for those of you who make it to that final ToC, just a note here to let you know the work has only just begun. There will be edits. We may ask for tweaks, we may ask for rewrites, we may cut a little, we may cut a lot. Thing is, we’ve been doing this a long time, we know our audience and we know what they like. Be professional, not precious. Co-operation is key here. That’s a two-way street, and we have cut stories because of bad author behaviour. Don’t be that person. Keep communication lines open and listen to us as we’ll listen to you. Our aim here is to get the most out of your story, and we will work hard to make it so.
But just before I go, as you may have seen, the introduction
for SNAFU: Last Stand will be written by Tim Miller (yes, of Deadpool and the new Terminator fame). As such, we understand
the slush pile may well be large – Tim will be reading the final tales. And if
that isn’t a reason to send us your very best, I don’t know what is.
Submission window for SNAFU: Last Stand opens April 1st,
2019. (No, that’s not a joke. Yes, we are laughing.)
