Tag Archives: SNAFU series

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

SNAFU: CONTAGION AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – SUBHAM RAI

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And this is the last of Cohesion Press’ Author Spotlights with Subham Rai!  And yes, you’re right, the math doesn’t quite math. This is Author Spotlight #14, and we have eighteen authors in SNAFU: Contagion – you just need to roll with it. Please and thank you! 😊

Subham absolutely killed with his tale. Not literally. That’s illegal despite alibis. I’m pretty sure. I mean, there are dead people in his story. But you expect that. This is SNAFU. And Subham ran with that, guns blazing.

So, I’ll now hand you over to him to give a far more coherent introduction than I’ve done…

Subham Rai is an emerging writer based in Kolkata, India. His short stories have been published in notable outlets, including Strange Horizons, Macrame Literary Journal, Cohesion Press’s SNAFU: Contagion, and Zoetic Press’s Mosscap’s Ledger, with additional works featured in Graveside Press’s Kosmos Obscura. Forthcoming publications include ‘Bread Over the Line’ in Consequence Forum, ‘The Salem Shadow’ in Graveside Press’s Witchcraft Anthology, ‘The Holly Locket Curse’ in Bindweed Magazine, and ‘Margaret Hollow’ in Vellum Mortis.

As you can guess, we got quite the gruesome tale from Subham for SNAFU: Contagion – OUTPOST ZERO: In a remote Arctic outpost, a nightmare outbreak threatens the mainland.

You can find Subham on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and Facebook2 (I added the ‘2’, again, roll with it!).

Subham is absolutely a writer to watch.   

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.  

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

SNAFU: CONTAGION AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – DYLAN DEMASI

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Brrring! Brrring!

Brrring! Brrring!

This is Cohesion Press calling for the next in our SNAFU: Contagion Author Spotlight!

(Stop rolling your eyes. As much as I love onomatopoeia, sometimes it reads ridiculously, but let me have this! There’s method to my madness! I swear.)

Moving on…

Today, we’re up to Author Spotlight #5, and dialling it in with Dylan Demasi! So, rather than me trying to pun my way through the rest of his intro, I’ll hand you over to the man himself…

Dylan Demasi is a US writer and digital marketer based in Los Angeles. A lifelong storyteller, he began his writing career in comics, first as a proofreader, then as a ghostwriter, and eventually as a credited author for Kickstart Entertainment/Kickstart Comics. His professional work includes leading digital marketing campaigns in the entertainment industry for brands such as Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, HBO, and America’s Funniest Home Videos.

Outside of writing, Dylan is a lifelong horror fan, a frequent visitor and supporter of big cat sanctuaries, and a brief, accidental voice actor in late-night cult favorites like Sharknado 2.

He is currently at work on his debut novel.

Dylan’s most excellent sacrificial offering for SNAFU: Contagion is: THE RED PHONE: The outbreak was a nightmare. The military response was worse.

(The beginning of this post makes sense now, yeah? Doesn’t make it good, just has it make sense… right? Right?)

 You can find Dylan on Facebook and Instagram.

As you noticed at the end of Dylan’s intro, he’s working on his debut novel, and if The Red Phone is anything to go by, then watch that space!

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!

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, SNAFU

SNAFU: PUNK’D AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – KIRSTEN CROSS

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Not long now! That’s right, SNAFU: PUNK’D is just days away from publication, which means we’re closing in on the last of author spotlights. We at Cohesion Press have snagged many a great author here for this edition, and we wanted to give you a gander at abyssal imaginings of our storytellers, a pimp of their tales, and to shoo you over to their other authorly shenanigans.

If you’d just follow us down to the dungeon… er, I mean, the green room… you can find our next author for SNAFU: PUNK’D: KIRSTEN CROSS!

Kirsten (Kes) Cross has reached her fifth decade and hasn’t quite worked out how the hell that even happened yet. She spends her days in a little cottage on Exmoor in Devon with roses around the door (no, really) writing web content to pay the bills while she builds up a bespoke jewellery business.

In between, she writes the occasional scary-as-all-heck stuff and has been a regular contributor to SNAFU from the very first outing. Her story, Sucker of Souls was included in the Emmy award-winning Love, Death & Robots. Again, seriously, no idea how that happened. It was fun being sprinkled by a bit of Hollywood magic for a while, though.

When not writing or making shiny things, she spends the rest of her time travelling around the country on her beloved British Army Armstrong motorcycle, occasionally stopping and pointing at the scenery for no apparent reason.

Kes’ latest offering in SNAFU: PUNK’D is BROKEN SOULS OF THE EMPTY SPACE:  a steampunk extravaganza complete with dirigibles (briefly, they don’t half go bang easily…), cigar-smoking centaurs, and Stonehenge. Sometimes, it’s hard to know who the real monsters are…

You can find Kes on Facebook, over at Instagram if you like shiny things, and on Amazon if you like wordy things.

Keep an eye out for Trading Bullets With The Devil, her first novella created in cahoots with the insanely talented Mark Steensland, coming soon from Cemetery Dance.

Editing, publishing, Reading, SNAFU

SNAFU: PUNK’D AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – JUSTIN COATES

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Hoo boy! SNAFU: PUNK’D is getting ever closer to publication at the end of October! Which means we’re author-spotlighting our… umm… authors (hence spotlighting and authors). So, if you’ll mosey on over to take a wee peek into the dark imaginings of storytellers, a little tease of their tales, and then follow the arrows toward their other authorly spawnings, that would be swell!

Buckle-up for the next in our SNAFU: PUNK’D author spotlight: JUSTIN COATES!

Justin Coates is a colony of half-sentient spiders in a man suit. His military sci-fi and horror stories have been featured in multiple anthologies and a previous SNAFU story, Kill Team Kill, was adapted by the hit, Emmy-winning Netflix animation series Love, Death and Robots. When he’s not powerlifting, he’s spending time with his ridiculously hot wife and two demonspawn sons.

For SNAFU: PUNK’D, Justin has Frankenstein’d together some Babylonpunk with his tale THE REAPER OF HOUSE SHADAREK: imagine a world with modern comforts powered by the myths and magic of ancient Babylon and Sumeria, where blood is currency, and the guy selling fried food at the corner shares his body with a shedim

You can find Justin on his socials below:  

Facebook:  facebook.com/justinacoates

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JustinCoates 

All of Justin’s stories are part of the Pharos Saga, a slowly-expanding universe of interconnected media. Check out the latest entries over on his Patreon.

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: 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)