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AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Editing, publishing, Reading, SNAFU, Writing

SNAFU: CONTAGION AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – AYSLINE MCGRATH

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Roll up, roll up!

Our third Author Spotlight for SNAFU: Contagion is here, and we’re trotting over to the other side of the globe to meet Aysline McGrath. I mean, I’ve met her (virtually, of course), and she was brilliant to work with. Now you get to meet her. Huzzah!

So, without further ado, give Aysline a big round of applause as she takes the stage…

Aysline McGrath is an author who calls a quiet Belgian town home, where she crafts stories that span from heart-warming romance to spine-chilling horror. Already established in the Dutch literary scene with a published thriller and feel-good novel, Aysline is expanding her reach with her highly-anticipated English debut.

Her new adult romance, released September 21st, marks an exciting milestone as she introduces her storytelling to English-speaking readers. But romance is just one facet of Aysline’s repertoire. Drawing from a lifelong fascination with action and horror that began in childhood, she seamlessly weaves between genres.  

October 2025 will see the release of Echo, her cosmic horror novel that promises to take readers into the darkest corners of the unknown. Whether she’s crafting tender romantic moments or heart-pounding scenes of terror, Aysline McGrath brings the same passion and dedication to every story she tells, proving that the best authors are those unafraid to explore the full spectrum of human emotion and experience.

For SNAFU: Contagion, Aysline very much pulled from horror fascination with her offering: ONE BULLET: An impossible choice – contain an ancient contagion or become the monsters you’re fighting to stop.

You can find Aysline on Instagram, Facebook, and her website.

Her cosmic horror novel Echo is due out at the end of October, and can be preordered here.

Go take a look, you know you want to!

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Cool stuff, publishing, Reading, SNAFU

SNAFU: CONTAGION AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – BENJAMIN SPADA

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Look who’s back in town!

Not only our next Author Spotlight, but the man behind it. Benjamin Spada is currently squatting in Australia. We’ve allowed it. He writes good stuff. Ben’s up north a-ways for a time. It’s hot and there are crocs (the reptilian kind, not the shoes), so we’ve given him temporary Aussie-status while he’s here. If he correctly applies the ‘yeah-nah’ and ‘nah-yeah’ patois, we’ll stamp him Aussie good and proper.

But I digress (I do that a lot).

Some readers might be familiar with Ben as he’s written a few stories for Cohesion Press’ flagship series SNAFU, and he upped the ante with his tale for SNAFU: Contagion (which you can pre-order here).

Right, so now my little introduction is done, we’ll let Ben introduce himself and all that he’s about.

Born and raised in California, Benjamin Spada had a lifelong passion for storytelling.

He is a dedicated taco aficionado, self-described ‘Professor of Batmanology’, proud Fil-Am and lumpia enthusiast, and has made a career as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. He has been a Martial Arts Instructor, been assigned as a Section Leader in the Wounded Warrior Battalion for our nation’s wounded, ill, and injured, and served overseas to train our foreign military allies in defense against chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. He has trained Marines, Sailors, Federal Agents, and other friendly forces in individual survival measures for everything from nuclear attacks to deadly nerve agents. 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 Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.

Benjamin lives with his wife and their four daughters in Oceanside, California.

Ben’s oblation for SNAFU: Contagion is: A CASE OF THE GIGGLES: They say laughter is the best medicine, but in this case, it’s fatally infectious.

You can find Ben on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (the now stupidly-named X), and his website.

Want to read more of Ben’s work? (You really should.) He has two books available in his Black Spear series: FNG and The Warmaker. His third entry in the series, Project Darkheart, is due for release this upcoming January.

Get it in your eyeballs!

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, Editing, publishing, Reading, SNAFU, Writing

SNAFU: CONTAGION AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – MARTIN LIVINGS!

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Hola!

The countdown for the release of SNAFU: Contagion has begun! And in the lead-up for the October 31 spawning, Cohesion Press is gonna fan-girl (yes, Geoff too) our way through the amazing authors who’ve made Contagion what it is – fucking awesome! (Yes, I do the swears. They’re verbs.)

With SNAFU: Contagion being the biggest edition to date of our flagship series with over four hundred pages of kick-arse military horror and wickedly-cool monsters, there’s much for you to sink your teeth into (toothpicks not provided). And as per my previous post about this tome being nothing without its storytellers, the first of our Author Spotlights is here.  

(Just a quick note: the order of the Author Spotlight doesn’t reflect the Table of Contents order – this is more your author lucky dip… and I may just have to rethink that phrasing…)

Ahem.

So.

Making their way to the stage is the first of our Australian authors. So, please give a hearty welcome to MARTIN LIVINGS!!!

Perth writer Martin Livings has had over a hundred short stories in a variety of magazines and anthologies both locally and internationally. His first novel, Carnies, was initially published by Hachette Livre in 2006, and was nominated for both the Aurealis and Ditmar awards, and his short story – collection, Living With the Dead, was published in 2012. Both are now available from Amazon, along with the follow-up collection Light Falling From a Long Dead Star, novellas Rope and The Final Twist, along with his novels Skinsongs, Sleeper Awake, An Ill Wind, The Temp and The Obituary.

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Martin’s sacrificial offering to SNAFU: Contagion is MOLOTOV ANGELS: What malignancy burns deep in the cold heart of Afghanistan?

You can find Martin on Facebook and Instagram and over at his website.

Martin’s horror novel, The Obituary, was released (or escaped!) earlier this year, and is a steal at just 99c on Amazon.

Go read his stuff!

Editing, publishing, Ramblings, Reading, SNAFU

A LITTLE BIT OF SPRUCING AND A TOUCH OF CONTAGION

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<<clears out cobwebs; side-eyes spiders as they pack their bags in a huff (that squeal wasn’t me, I swear…)>>

<<dusts bookshelves, trying not to summon demons (it’s touch and go)>>

<<taps mic, winces at feedback, *sighs*, assesses life choices>>

<<TAKE TWO!! (Shh, that other post was a figment of your imagination…)>>

Well, it’s been a while, folks. Had a crazy-busy year with much happening on the home and work front. Also, how is it almost October already? Someone is most definitely stealing my days (months, they’re stealing my months.)

As someone who is particularly shite at social media, this was one of the easiest things to let slide this past year (gotta say, it did wonders for my stress levels, but that’s a post for another day). That being said, I’ve put on my big-girl pants because SNAFU: Contagion from Cohesion Press is coming out at the end of next month, and I’m immensely proud of the authors and the stories within… not that we’ve trapped the authors inside the pages – I’m pretty sure that’s illegal (and I don’t have the right alchemy).

It’s been quite the ride to get to this point, more so this time around as we had to factor in audio-processing time, and with a slush pile that was filled with plethora of incredible stories, it had the decision-making process one of the most difficult in the SNAFU series to date.

(Oooh, look! Shiny new cover! Like, the right one this time. Shh. It’s been a long day…)

This is reflected in the size of the tome. SNAFU: Contagion is packed with eighteen stories, coming out at over a whopping 400 pages. Yep, you read that right. Over. Four. Hundred. Pages. This baby packs a punch! (And much pew pew pew!)

This is the biggest SNAFU of Cohesion’s flagship series since inception, and we’re extremely chuffed to have a Joe Ledger Adventure Tale from the esteemed Jonathan Maberry, that features the one-and-only Mr Church, and the kick-arse Grace Courtland. Alongside this novella, are amazing stories from authors around the world: Australia, Germany, US, UK, Belgium, India… it truly is global.

In the lead-up to release, we’re going to Author Spotlight our amazing writers so you can get to know them a little better, see what they’re up to on the writerly-front, and have them give you a little somethin’ somethin’ about the SNAFU tale they penned for us. Without our authors, there is no book, and we can’t thank them enough for entrusting their stories to us, and allowing us to present them to you all.

So, starting in October, this blog will get quite the work-out as we introduce you to some new names while getting you reacquainted with a few of our stalwarts.

You can pre-order SNAFU: Contagion here, and if you’re not familiar with the series and want to see what it’s all about, you can go to Cohesion Press’ website, and sign-up for the newsletter (we will not spam you, we understand how that can suck), and you’ll get a free copy of SNAFU: Comms, which is only available on sign-up. No pressure, of course. But… free book!

With that out of the way, all I can say is that with SNAFU: Contagion, you’re in for a hell of a ride. So, lace up your combat boots, prime your weapons, make sure your gas masks are secure and sealed…

…We’re about to breach…

Editing, publishing, Ramblings, SNAFU

SNAFU: PUNK’D AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: JAMES A MOORE

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And here we are! The last in our SNAFU: PUNK’D author spotlight. Tomorrow is THE. DAY. this edition goes live. We’ve cranked the juice, and will be electrifying this baby to life… not the author, the book. THE. BOOK. I swear.

So, settle in to learn you some stuff for the storyteller rounding out author spotlight for SNAFU: PUNK’D. The very kind sir that is JAMES A MOORE!

James A Moore is a best-selling fantasy and horror author. He has been nominated for the Bram Stoker award four times and won the Shirley Jackson Award with Christopher Golden, for editing The Twisted Book of Shadows anthology. He has written novels for the Aliens franchise, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and Predator, in addition to writing extensively for the award winning World of Darkness roleplaying games and for Marvel Comics. His original fiction includes the Blood Red series of vampire novels, the Serenity Falls Trilogy with his recurring anti-hero the immortal Jonathan Crowley, the critically acclaimed Seven Forges series of fantasy novels and the grimdark Tides of War trilogy and, with Charles Rutledge, the Griffin & Price series of crime-horror novels, along with multiple standalone novels, including the Lovecraftian Deeper, and weird western Boomtown. He is an active member of the Horror Writers Association, where he was both secretary and vice-president for multiple terms, the International Association of Media Tie- In Writers, the International Thriller Writers Association and Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. He is the author of over forty novel-length works in horror, fantasy, science fiction, crime and westerns. He writes for adults and young adults.

Jim’s authorly sacrifice for SNAFU: PUNK’D is INFERNAL ENGINES: Who hunts the Hunter?

You can find Jim on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/james.a.moore1/

Jim has just finished work on his latest novel. KORIGAN GRIMN: WARLORD, which is the first in a new series, THE FORGOTTEN. 

Editing, publishing, Ramblings, Reading, SNAFU

SNAFU: PUNK’D AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – DAMIEN MCKEATING

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SNAFU: PUNK’D is powering toward publication at the end of this month. Yay! Ahem. So, we at Cohesion Press have introductions to make, where we shove (not literally… well, not reeeaaally literally… maybe) into an author spotlight. Take a glimpse into their dark imaginings, pull up a chair for a tease of their tales, and follow the pointy-finger for a look at their other authorly pennings.

Now, before we move on, please sign the form that releases us from any responsibility for where you’re going next. Ta so much!

Right, let’s go!

With a gentle shove into the SNAFU: PUNK’D author spotlight, give a hearty welcome to DAMIEN MCKEATING!

Damien is a UK writer with a life-long love of fantasy and the supernatural. Childhood days were spent reading, writing, playing tabletop roleplaying games, engaging with the popular ball-related sports of the day, and trying to communicate with the dead. He would eventually set aside necromancy and sports, and go onto study film and writing at university. After a stint as a copywriter for radio, he moved into SEN teaching and realised how easy all of his previous employment had been. Over the years he has had short stories published across different magazines and anthologies, for adults and children. He has also written for comics and radio, and the peculiar folk-band Hornswaggle. He’s fond of corvids and is currently the oldest he’s ever been. Sometimes he remembers to blog about writing.  

For SNAFU: PUNK’D, Damien has lit the flares of solarpunk with his tale LIGHTBRINGERS: In a solarpunk apocalypse ravaged by demons, a squad of marines discover the true cost of war and survival.

You can find Damien on his socials below:  

Website: skeletonbutler.wordpress.com

Facebook: Damien Mckeating (Author)

Damien’s debut novel, Tallulah Belle, is a supernatural coming-of-age story set within the walls of a fantasy burlesque theatre, and is due for release in 2024.

Editing, publishing, Ramblings, Reading, SNAFU

SNAFU: PUNK’D AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: GREG CHAPMAN

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Ooh, the next edition of SNAFU: PUNK’D is so very close to ‘sploding into the world. So, we at Cohesion Press would like to lead you down the horror-filled paths of our storytellers’ dark imaginings with a tease of their tales, a glimpse into their abyssal corners of their grey-matter, and information on their other authorly shenanigans.

Please grab a torch from the table, ensure all your valuables are secured, and for the love of all things unholy, do not pet the authors…

Next up in SNAFU: PUNK’D author spotlight is GREG CHAPMAN!

Two-time international Bram Stoker Award-nominee®*, Greg Chapman is a horror author and artist based in Queensland, Australia.

Greg is the author of several novels, novellas and short stories, including his award-nominated debut novel, Hollow House and collections, Vaudeville and Other Nightmares, and Midnight Masquerade.

He is also a horror artist and his first graphic novel, Witch Hunts: A Graphic History of the Burning Times, (McFarland & Company) written by authors Rocky Wood and Lisa Morton, won the Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel category at the Bram Stoker Awards® in 2013.

He was also the President of the Australasian Horror Writers Association from 2017-2020.

* Superior Achievement in a First Novel for Hollow House (2016) and

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction, for “The Book of Last Words” (2019)

For SNAFU: PUNK’D, Greg has sprinkled his cyberpunk tale with some biopunk to give us A GLITCH IN THE SYSTEM: When a soldier’s soul is ripped from the Afghan desert into a nightmarish hellscape to entertain a conglomerate, she sets out to tear it all down

You can find Greg on his socials below:  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GregChapman.Author/

Bluesky: @gregchapman.bsky.social 

Instagram: @gregschapman76

Threads: @gregschapman76@threads.net

Greg’s new collection, Midnight Masquerade is out on October 31 – https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Masquerade-Greg-Chapman-ebook/dp/B0CDKXQFZ3

Editing, publishing, Ramblings, Reading, SNAFU

SNAFU: PUNK’D AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: PAMELA JEFFS

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Boom! The next edition of SNAFU: PUNK’D is very close to landing and we’re excited!. To that end, Cohesion Press is laying out the red carpet for our storytellers with an author spotlight where we lead you carefully… or carelessly (it’s a fine line) into their imaginariums (please ignore the creatures in the corners), a tease of their story, and info on their other authorly spawnings.

If you’ll come this way, we’d like to guide you into the lair of our next SNAFU: PUNK’D author: PAMELA JEFFS!

Pamela Jeffs (she/her) is an Australian speculative fiction author with a background in Interior Architecture and Design. She has published five short story collections and has 90+ short stories featured in various publications including Midnight Echo Magazine by the Australian Horror Writers Association and in two SNAFU series books by Cohesion Press. Pamela’s work has shortlisted for multiple awards including nine Aurealis Awards and three Ditmar Awards.

When it comes to SNAFU: PUNK’D, Pamela has stoked the hold with a lil steampunk tale, STOKEHOLD: A young stoker aboard a battleship tries to save his superior officer, but all is not as it seems…

You can find Pamela on her socials below:  

Facebook: @pamelajeffsauthor

Twitter: @Pamela_Jeffs

BlueSky: @pamelajeffs.bsky.social

Website: www.pamelajeffs.com

For more of Pamela’s amazing work, her new book, Precarious Waters and Other Dark Tales, a collection of dark fiction short stories, is due for release early November. (No pre-orders yet)

Editing, publishing, Ramblings, Reading, SNAFU

SNAFU: PUNK’D AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: RICHARD BEAUCHAMP

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The latest edition of SNAFU: PUNK’D is stepping proudly toward publication at the end of October (we’re excited!). As such, Cohesion Press is all about lauding our authors for the stories they’ve spawned. To that end, we’re shoving them into an author spotlight (no sticks were used in the shoving) to give you a glimpse into their imaginariums (you’ve been warned), a tease of their story, and info on their other authorly pennings.

Please form a disorderly line… and please do not feed the authors after midnight…

We’ve hit double-figures with the tenth author in the SNAFU: PUNK’D spotlight: RICHARD BEAUCHAMP!

Hailing from the lush, verdant foothills of the Missouri Ozarks, Richard Beauchamp is an author of horror and dark speculative fiction. Often casting his stories in the wild settings of his own backyard, Richard’s fiction has been published in such esteemed publications as Dark Peninsula Press’s Negative Space Survival horror anthologies, Timber Ghost Press’s Along Harrowed Trails anthology, and The Other Stories podcast series from Hawk and Cleaver Audio. His debut short fiction collection Black Tongue & Other Anomalies was a nominee for the 2022 Splatterpunk Awards, and his short story, The Sons Of Luna, was a 2018 Pushcart Prize nominee. 

When he isn’t tucked away in his office pecking away at his keyboard, you can find him traversing the Ozark Mountains, hiking, camping, and fishing every chance he gets. He lives with his fiance, their dog, and way too many cats. 

For SNAFU: PUNK’D, Richard has bent time and space to fire-up the steampunk with his alternate-history telling of A RIVER RUNNER’S TALE: In post-civil war America, a riverboat captain and his daughter are sent to investigate the illegal manufacturing of the energy source known as “ephemera”. Navigating the hostile waterways of a mutated Mississippi river, they discover this lucrative industry has an insidious source. 

You can find Richard on his socials below:  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RichardBeauchampOfficial 

Instagram: r_b_author

Website: richardbeauchampauthor.com

Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Richard-Beauchamp/author/B0B2Z645C1?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Editing, publishing, Ramblings, Reading, SNAFU

SNAFU: PUNK’D AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: AMANDA BRIDGEMAN

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SNAFU: PUNK’D is powering toward publication at the end of October, so we at Cohesion Press are launching our authors into the sphere (not literally, that’s surely illegal) via an author spotlight that takes you on a trip (ne’er truer words spoken…) into their imaginariums (please mind the step), a tease of their story, and their other authorly shenanigans.

If you’ll come this way…

On your left, behind the plexiglass, you’ll find the ninth author in this SNAFU: PUNK’D spotlight: AMANDA BRIDGEMAN!

Amanda is a two-time Scribe Award winner, a two-time Tin Duck Award winner, an Aurealis and Ditmar Awards finalist, and author of several novels and short stories. She is also a screenwriter. Her original fiction includes the sci-fi crime thriller The Subjugate, which is being developed for TV by Anonymous Content and Aquarius Films, and is being studied at two German Universities (Düsseldorf and Cologne) as part of a program on Australian speculative fiction, in conjunction with the Centre for Australian Studies. Amanda’s media tie-in fiction includes that written for Marvel (X-Men), Black Library (Warhammer 40k), and Z-Man Games (Pandemic).

For this edition of SNAFU, Amanda has taken us on a hell of a cyberpunk ride with her tale ROGUE T.R.A.I.N: A specialist military unit must stop a deadly AI-controlled runaway train before it hits the city, but they aren’t the only ones on board… 

You can find Amanda on her socials below:  

Twitter: @Bridgeman_Books / Twitter

Instagram: @bridgeman_books • Instagram

Facebook: Amanda Bridgeman | Facebook

Threads: @Bridgeman_Books

Blue Sky Social: @amandabridgeman.bsky.social

If you’re wanting to read more of Amanda’s work (and you should!), check this out:

The Spud Compton novella trilogy (The Darkest Cargo, The Deepest Jungle, The Deftest Deceit) is out now. Best described as Firefly meets Alien with a touch of Predator, these are short, fun, action-packed reads.

Spud Compton #1 – The Darkest Cargo – Amanda Bridgeman