military | Author, editor, caffeine-addict, wannabe ninja

I have many hats, both real and virtual, and today I’m wearing a pretty swish fedora with sparklers for added flair, and for very good reason. *dons promotion hat*

SNAFU: Survival of the Fittest (the fourth in the series), hit the shelves the other day and it’s going great guns, as well it should. Sure, as one of the editors of this awesome tome, I’m biased but I’ve every right to be – *points to promotion hat* – the hat says I can.

As of this afternoon, the anthology sits at #3 on Amazon’s horror short stories, behind two of Stephen King’s books. NUMBER THREE! *does snoopy dance* (which looks spectacular with the sparkler-laden promotion hat, I gotta say.)

The title of this anthology says it all – this is military horror at its most primal. Live or die. We’re not talking that peaceful slip into the abyss but, you know, flayed of flesh annihilation. We’ve got some of the best writers in the genre penning their soldiers and breathing life into their monsters. And oh what monsters they have for you! Think re-animation, demon and devilry, alien and elder creatures, mythos, and those birthed from nightmare’s bowels. What stands between you and these horrors are elite forces, para-military, mercenaries, and the (not-so) ordinary grunt from battles both modern and historical.

And lets not forget the art. The amazing cover is the creation of the ultra-talented Dean Samed, and each story has internal art by the genius that is Monty Borror.

As co-editor of this kick-arse anthology with the equally kick-arse, Geoff Brown of Cohesion Press, I’m immensely honoured and privileged to work with authors of this calibre – without them, SNAFU: Survival of the Fittest, wouldn’t be the book that it is.

To say I’m proud of this band of SNAFU authors is an understatement. So do yourself a favour, and check out these amazing authors and the monsters they’ve unleashed upon the world.

Table of Contents:

Badlands – S.D. Perry

Of Storms and Flame – Tim Marquitz & J.M. Martin

In Vaulted Halls Entombed – Alan Baxter

They Own the Night – B. Michael Radburn

Fallen Lion – Jack Hanson

Sucker of Souls – Kirsten Cross

Cold War Gothic II: The Bohemian Grove – Weston Ochse

After the Red Rain Fell – Matt Hilton

The Slog – Neal F. Litherland

Show of Force – Jeremy Robinson & Kane Gilmour

(Available in ebook, paperback and limited-edition hardcover with signature pages.)

Now I’m off to put out the sparklers before I set myself on fire…

SNAFU: An anthology of Military Horror is out in the world! This massive tome, put out by independent Australian publisher, Cohesion Press, is the first in an annual military-themed antho. When owner and editor in chief, Geoff Brown, got in touch and asked if I’d like to be involved, I responded with a hearty HELL YES.

It’s been a good couple of years since I’d worked on an anthology (the last being Midnight Echo Issue 8) and I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed working with a slew of authors to weave a theme through their stories. And what a kick-arse bunch of stories they are. While I was only involved on the editing side of SNAFU, with over a thousand submissions, Geoff Brown has done a remarkable job in his choices for the anthology, and the stories within are a testament to the writers themselves. There are some cracker tales in this book, covering all manner of conflicts, time periods, and monsters. Ooh, we can’t forget the monsters! There’s a plethora of ghosties and ghoulies, born right out of your nightmares.

With a veritable who’s who of the genre, there are stories from best-selling authors Greig Beck and Wes Ochse, plus a gritty Joe Ledger story from the master Jonathan Mayberry, and if you’re a fan of James A Moore (that’d be me), there’s a new Jonathan Crowley novella inside. But it’s not just about the big names, the stories from all the authors in this anthology are fantastic and I had a great time working with them and their tales – it was real pleasure, and if this is the mark of authors moving through the ranks, then the publishing and reading worlds are the real winners here.

The ToC is below, and if you’re looking for a great read, you really can’t go past SNAFU:

Blackwater – Neal F Litherland
Little Johnny Jump-Up – Christine Morgan
Covert Genesis – Brian W Taylor
Bug Hunt – Jonathan Maberry
Special Operations Interview PTO‑14 – Wayland Smith
Cold War Gothic – Weston Ochse
Making Waves – Curtis C Chen
The Fossil – Greig Beck
A Tide of Flesh – Jeff Hewitt
Death at 900 Meters – Tyson Mauermann
Holding the Line – Eric S Brown
Thela Hun Gingeet – WD Gagliani and David Benton
The Shrine – David Amendola
Ptearing All Before Us – Steve Ruthenbeck
A Time of Blood – Kirsten Cross
Blank White Page – James A Moore

And for those of you wanting to write some military-based horror? Keep your eyes on Cohesion Press for the next call for submissions.