I’m joined in my cocktail hour with a man of many talents, author Phil Lecomber. Among them is, apparently, cocktail mixing, as he has created a couple of lovely pousse-cafés for us to sip, as inspired by his interview. How thoughtful, right?
Our church worships at the altar of the Unholy Trinity. Its gospels are delivered as a trio of dark drabbles, linked so that Three become One. All hail the power of the Three.
A perfect morning for fishing. The cattails sway in the gentle breeze. I follow the well-worn path toward the water. But then, my lungs fill with sweetness, a perfume of roses and overly ripe fruit… Larry’s been missing since last week.
I pull the collar of my T-shirt over my nose and mouth and, heart pounding, emerge from the tall grass into swarming flies on the sandy bank. There, half-submerged, its fingers clawing at the shore, is a bloated rotting corpse.
Larry?
Prodding it with my fishing pole, its skin splits, and maggots spill into the river.
A trout jumps.
The medical examiner covers the corpse with a white sheet and glances at the chart.
“What’s strange,” she says, chewing the end of her pen, “is he died from decompression.”
“Decompression?” the detective asks, frowning.
“It happens when a diver surfaces too fast, and nitrogen bubbles form in their bloodstream.”
“That’s not possible. He was found in the river. The water’s not deep enough.”
“Look at this.” She lifts the sheet to reveal a jagged stump where the man’s leg should have been.
“What the hell?”
“It was torn off before they surfaced.”
The color drains from the detective’s face.
James’s pick-up truck bounces down the country road. He glances at Annie. Her hair is pulled up, and the strap of her tank-top hangs to the side, revealing a white line on her otherwise sunbaked red skin. A bead of sweat clings to her upper lip.
“Let’s go for a swim,” Annie says.
James can’t believe he didn’t think of it. Nothing sounds better than a plunge in the ice-cold river. He knows the perfect spot, so deep you can’t touch the bottom.
They pull over and, laughing, she tugs him toward the trail.
Cattails sway in the gentle breeze.
CJ Goldberg writes horror and weird fiction steeped in crime and the uncanny. Growing up in small-town Montana, he developed a love for isolated landscapes, dark forests, and the creeping dread they evoke. Now a stay-at-home father, he spends most days exhausted, searching in vain for more time to read and write scary stories. Discover more of his work at https://www.CJGoldberg.com.
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Title: Murder by Memory
Author: Olivia Waite
Genre: sci-fi mystery
Publisher: tordotcom
Publication date: 18th March, 2025
Synopsis: A mind is a terrible thing to erase…
Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty’s most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.
Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers—just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.
Dorothy suspects her misfortune is partly the fault of her feckless nephew Ruthie who, despite his brilliance as a programmer, leaves chaos in his cheerful wake. Or perhaps the sultry yarn store proprietor—and ex-girlfriend of the body Dorothy is currently inhabiting—knows more than she’s letting on. Whatever it is, Dorothy intends to solve this case. Because someone has done the impossible and found a way to make murder on the Fairweather a very permanent state indeed. A mastermind may be at work—and if so, they’ve had three hundred years to perfect their schemes…
Deadline: June 30th, 2025
Payment: $5
Theme: Extreme horror, brutal, splatterpunk, etc
We are looking for your most brutal, bloodied,horrific stories – no holds barred; we challenge you to disturb our most seasoned, desensitized curators with your tales of extreme horror and mind-bending terror…
Welcome to “Writing Prompt Wednesdays,” a haven where your imagination can roam free in the realms of speculative fiction. As we embark on this weekly journey, it’s thrilling to think about the untold stories waiting to be penned in the domains of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Whether you’re a seasoned author or a budding wordsmith, these prompts are your gateway to unexplored worlds and untapped potentials.
Every Wednesday, we’ll serve up a fresh, thought-provoking prompt designed to ignite your creative spark and challenge your storytelling prowess. Think of these prompts as a key, unlocking the doors to uncharted territories where your creativity is the only limit. From eerie, shadow-laden corridors of Gothic horror to the farthest reaches of interstellar space, and the mystical depths of high fantasy, our prompts are a kaleidoscope of possibilities.
Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to approach these prompts. They are mere stepping stones, guiding you towards the vast landscapes of your imagination. Use them to break free from writer’s block, to experiment with new ideas, or simply as a fun exercise to keep your writing skills sharp.
March 16th, 2025, marks a major milestone in genre publishing—the 20th anniversary of Apex Book Company! To honor two decades of groundbreaking science fiction, horror, and fantasy publishing, Apex is offering readers 20% off all available titles and issues (excluding subscriptions, merchandise, and pre-orders) from now until their anniversary date. The discount will be automatically applied to all qualifying purchases.
Founded in 2005 by Jason Sizemore, Apex Book Company emerged from Sizemore’s creative response to an early mid-life crisis and a monotonous city job in risk management software. Inspired by a local DIY fantasy zine, Sizemore initially launched Apex Science Fiction & Horror Digest, quickly gaining respect within the speculative fiction community. Over twelve issues, Apex Digest featured iconic authors such as Ben Bova, Lavie Tidhar, Eugie Foster, Cherie Priest, and Brian Keene, setting the stage for greater things to come.
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A new era of New Adult fiction is on the horizon with the launch of REQUITED, a dedicated imprint under Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (LBYR), a division of Hachette Book Group (HBG). Announced by LBYR President and Publisher Megan Tingley, REQUITED is set to publish its first titles in early 2026 with a boutique approach, releasing 10–20 books per year with a strong focus on author partnerships and cross-genre romantic storytelling.
Deadline: September 29th, 2025
Payment: 8 cents per word, 2 cents per word for reprints
Theme: Action/adventure, general, fiction/narrative nonfiction, humor/comedy/satire, speculate (fantasy, sci fi, horror, magic realism, cyberpunk), memoir, western, romance, alternate history, suspense/thriller, mystery/crime, literary, and any cross/hybrid genres.
Note: Reprints Welcome
Submissions to our magazine run annually from February 2nd through September 29th
Why submit to us?
– WE PAY WRITERS FAIRLY. It’s hard work writing good stories, and you deserve to get paid. Or maybe you don’t and you’re just duping us? Regardless, we pay 8 cents a word (with a $500 cap), and 2 cents a word for reprints.
– NO SUBMISSION FEES. Nobody’s getting rich off $3 per submission, but paying money just for the privilege of receiving a form letter rejection is the worst. (Costs of running an E-zine aside) We’re going to go ahead and coin a phrase right here and now – ‘Write privilege’, get it? Of course, you do.
– GET YOUR WORK IN FRONT OF A LARGE AND GROWING AUDIENCE. Our aim is fixed on telling good stories, period, and because of that we have built a massive readership from all over the globe. Want to get your stories out to more than just dear old nana? Then you’ve come to the right place.
– REASONABLE TURN-AROUND TIME. If you haven’t heard from us within 90 days, then your story was rejected. Rejections stink – we get it – but its better than forever waiting and wondering.
– WORKABILITY. Is that the right term? Well, we’re going with it. Unlike large publishers who view authors as just a number, we actually work with you to help present the story in its best possible light. We do, however, expect reciprocity; Story Unlikely is comprised of volunteers who are by nature team players. If you’re an inflexible my way or the highway type – or even worse, an unbearable ideologue – then consider this a premature breakup. No really, it’s us, not you.
– GET ILLUSTRATED. We illustrate ALL stories we publish, and we think we’re doing a pretty bang-up job with that. You can learn more about our artists at Design Unlikely.
– GET REVIEWED. Although we’re not genre specific, since we’re a professional paying magazine, Tangent Online reviews any SF&F (loosely defined) stories we publish. Your story might even make their Annual Recommended Reading List.
– Still NOT CONVINCED? Then listen to a word from our CFO – who The Office fans may recognize – to our editor-in-chief on every writer’s bane: rejection. Yes, that’s a watchable video below, and you’ll find more of them (with other cheeky celebrities) littered throughout our site.
I’d like to take this time to give special thanks to our Patreon Sponsors who are at the Level 3 reward level and above!
– Ryan Benson.
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– Celltrackingapps.
