Here’s a directory of all my short stories and novellas that are currently available. The links go to the stories in their publications on Medium or Substack. Offline Dream and all short stories or novellas published after that time are exclusive to Substack as far as the online world is concerned. Substack is now the best place to read my shorter fiction online (click here to subscribe).
Novellas
Dystopian Sci-Fi/Thriller. A journalist investigates a tech company manufacturing nightmare suppressing nanotech for children. “Sweet Dreams” refers to the technology involved, which the journalist comes to believe may be linked to an increase in suicidal tendencies among young people. Her investigations uncover conspiracies, cover-ups, and eventually murder.
Fantasy. A Dark Ages knight undertaking a quest to rescue the young woman to whom he is betrothed. She has been captured by a mysterious Beast and taken into a mysterious and dangerous uncharted forest. On his quest, the knight encounters bandits, witches, and strange supernatural beings, journeying ever deeper into the forest, and ever deeper into himself. Also available on Substack.
Horror/Sci-Fi. The near future. No one knows where the giant spider nests came from, but nations are adjusting to the challenge of living alongside dangerous oversized arachnids. A mercenary desperate for money to purchase medical treatments that can save his wife is hired by an influential businessman. His objective: Infiltrate a spider nest on a mission of vengeance.
Short Stories
Fantasy/Satire. A recently deceased man is harassed by ghostly political campaigners whilst attempting to haunt his family. Also available on Substack.
Horror. In the aftermath of World War II, a cargo ship carrying a murderous jewel thief is menaced by a supernatural force. Also available on Substack.
Horror. After inexplicably awakening inside another home with a different wife, a man experiences an existential crisis, as new memories replace old. Also available on Substack.
Romance/Fantasy. A lonely teenage boy living with his strict Jehovah’s Witness mother is visited in dreams by a mysterious paper girl. Also available on Substack.
Call the Number On Your Screen
Thriller/Satire. A corrupt televangelist takes ruthless steps to find his blackmailer. Also available on Substack.
Romance. Life takes an unexpected turn for a young wife desperately missing her royal marine husband during the Afghanistan War. Also available on Substack.
Drama. A former publisher and his subordinate form an unlikely friendship whilst working for a herbal remedy company. Also available on Substack.
Horror. A woman trapped in an abusive relationship during lockdown investigates a malevolent supernatural force in her basement.
Psychological/Supernatural Thriller/Horror. An English teacher is haunted by a terrible secret from his past. Also available on Substack.
Drama. A young woman returns to her estranged mother after leaving a cult. Also available on Substack.
Drama. In a companion piece of sorts to Aftermath, a man grapples with repressed memories of abuse in a cult his parents were part of when he was a child. Also available on Substack.
Crockern’s Curse (in five parts)
Horror. A young couple investigating a childhood mystery on Dartmoor are menaced by supernatural forces linked to local folklore. Also available on Substack.
Window of the Soul (in eight parts)
Fantasy. An adolescent girl faces life and soul-threatening danger in a dark fairy tale. Also available on Substack.
Trigger Warning (in four parts)
Satire. An author whose novels offend some readers to death has a crisis of conscience. Also available on Substack.
35 Chestnut Terrace (in four parts)
Mystery thriller. A young woman tries to exonerate her fiancé of a horrific murder, but is he innocent? Also available on Substack.
Horror. At a private girls’ school, an English teacher fond of shoplifting and married men stages a cursed play linked to a centuries-old ghost story. Also available on Substack.
An In-Between Christmas (in six parts)
Fantasy. A young woman tries to contact her comatose father on a mysterious spiritual plane between life and death. Also available on Substack.
In a future where humans cannot dream without plugging their brains into the carefully controlled International Dream Network, a young man has a natural dream. Unfortunately, this makes him a target.
Certain novellas and short stories of mine are currently available in paperback/e-book, comprising those selected for Infestation: A Horror Anthology, Love and Other Punishments: A Dystopian Anthology and The Dark Forest Within: An Anthology of Fantasy Tales. The first also features two short stories, Influencer and White Horse, exclusive to that volume. Copies can be ordered here (in the UK) and here (in the US). Digital versions are also available from Smashwords here, as well as the various outlets to which they distribute (Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, and Kobo, for instance).
The second features exclusive stories The Thought Improvement Programme, Driverless, Bleed with Me, The Traffic Warden, Apocalypse 1983, and Love and Other Punishments (as well as Sweet Dreams, which can be read on Medium). Copies can be ordered here (in the UK) and here (in the US). Digital versions are also available from Smashwords here, as well as the various outlets to which they distribute (Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, and Kobo, for instance).
The third includes exclusive novella Wulfric’s Quest and exclusive short story Winged. The remaining stories in the collection can also be read on Medium or Substack. Digital versions or paperbacks can be ordered via Amazon here (in the UK) and here (in the US). For Draft2Digital and its various outlets, you can pick up copies in both formats here.
Papercut and Once in a Lifetime were originally traditionally published by Dragon Soul Press for their First Love and All Dark Places anthologies respectively. These collections are now out of print, though copies can be obtained via sellers.
Simon Dillon Books 