Short Stories and Novellas Currently Available

Herewith an update on where you can read my currently available short stories and novellas. Most are online in Medium publications such as Fictions and Illumination.

Here are the stories currently available:

Novellas

Credit: Pixabay

Sweet Dreams (five parts)

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.

Bloodmire (seven parts)

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.

Infestation (six parts)

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

Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash

In-Between

Fantasy/Satire. A recently deceased man is harassed by ghostly political campaigners whilst attempting to haunt his family.

Vindicta (in three parts)

Horror. In the aftermath of World War II, a cargo ship carrying a murderous jewel thief is menaced by a supernatural force.

Once in a Lifetime

Horror. After inexplicably awakening inside another home with a different wife, a man experiences an existential crisis, as new memories replace old.

Photo by samer daboul from Pexels

Papercut

Romance/Fantasy. A lonely teenage boy living with his strict Jehovah’s Witness mother is visited in dreams by a mysterious paper girl.

Call the Number On Your Screen

Thriller/Satire. A corrupt televangelist takes ruthless steps to find his blackmailer.

Leave

Romance. Life takes an unexpected turn for a young wife desperately missing her royal marine husband during the Afghanistan War.

Photo by Loc Dang from Pexels

Trial Period

Drama. A former publisher and his subordinate form an unlikely friendship whilst working for a herbal remedy company.

Spinner (in four parts)

Horror. A woman trapped in an abusive relationship during lockdown investigates a malevolent supernatural force in her basement.

Regression (in four parts)

Psychological/Supernatural Thriller/Horror. An English teacher is haunted by a terrible secret from his past.

Photo by Joyful on Unsplash

The only short stories of mine currently available in paperback/e-book are those selected for Infestation: A Horror Anthology and Love and Other Punishments: A Dystopian Anthology.

The former 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 latter 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).

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. Papercut is also available to read in both short story and adapted screenplay form on this blog, here.

Thank you very much for all your ongoing support.

Short Stories and Novellas Currently Available

Herewith an update on where you can read my currently available short stories and novellas. Most are online in Medium publications such as Fictions and Illumination, but I am also gradually releasing many of my short stories on new fiction specialising platform Simily. Here’s a link to my profile on that site.

Here are the stories currently available:

Novellas

Photo by Henry Hustava on Unsplash

Bloodmire (seven parts)

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.

Infestation (six parts)

Science Fiction/Horror. 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.

Love and Other Punishments (four parts)

Dystopian Science Fiction/Romance. In a fascistic future London, a widowed salesman begins to suspect he has repressed memories when he encounters a mysterious woman.

Short Stories

Photo by Sergey “Merlin” Katyshkin from Pexels

Papercut

Romance/Fantasy. A lonely teenage boy living with his strict Jehovah’s Witness mother is visited in dreams by a mysterious paper girl.

Once in a Lifetime

Horror. After inexplicably awakening inside another home with a different wife, a man experiences an existential crisis, as new memories replace old.

Call the Number On Your Screen

Thriller/Satire. A corrupt televangelist takes ruthless steps to find his blackmailer.

Photo by Bubble Pop on Unsplash

Leave

Romance. Life takes an unexpected turn for a young wife desperately missing her royal marine husband during the Afghanistan War.

Trial Period

Drama. A former publisher and his subordinate form an unlikely friendship whilst working for a herbal remedy company.

Regression (in four parts)

Psychological/Supernatural Thriller/Horror. An English teacher is haunted by a terrible secret from his past.

Photo by Joyful on Unsplash

Spinner (in four parts)

Horror. A woman trapped in an abusive relationship during lockdown investigates a malevolent supernatural force in her basement.

Apocalypse 1983

Speculative fiction. In a parallel universe, A Soviet Air Force officer holds the fate of the world in his hands.

The Traffic Warden

A curious IT technician discovers the truth about traffic wardens in this surreal, sinister, rather silly conspiracy thriller.

The only short stories of mine currently available in paperback/e-book are those selected for Infestation: A Horror Anthology, which also features two short stories 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).

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. Papercut is also available to read in both short story and adapted screenplay form on this blog, here.

Medium allow three free reads per month for non-subscribers, so for unrestricted access to my work and the work of every other writer on that site (including the many other articles I write, in addition to my fiction pieces), I’d recommend becoming a Medium subscriber for $4.99 per month. This will also give you the ability to write and publish your own articles, and make money doing so, should you wish to go that route. I benefit financially if you use this link to become a Medium subscriber, so if you wish to support my work, subscribing that way is a huge help.

Thank you very much for all your ongoing support.

Infestation Unpacked: Regression

My recently released book Infestation: A Horror Anthology features my Infestation novella – a six-chapter sci-fi horror tale – along with five other short stories. Continuing this series examining each story in the collection, today’s tale under the microscope is Regression.

Jack Walker is a divorced English teacher haunted by a terrible secret in his past. When new neighbours move in next door to Jack, their young daughter reminds him of his secret, bringing up long-buried feelings of guilt. Even more unsettlingly, the girl seems to know things about his past, which ought to be impossible as she didn’t exist when the events took place.

A creepy, psychological, supernaturally tinged tale previously published on Medium, Regression deals in themes of guilt, conscience, and punishment. How much the girl really knows, and how much is a projection of Jack’s paranoia is left teasingly ambiguous throughout, inviting the reader to bring their own interpretation of events as lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur.

Photo by Joyful on Unsplash

The story for Regression originated from my youngest son, who came up with the bare-bones idea a couple of years ago, with a slightly different central mystery. I then did the hard work of fleshing out the details and making narrative tweaks. Regression also shares DNA with some of Daphne Du Maurier’s short creepy gothic mysteries, as well as elements of MR James and Susan Hill. Ambiguous ideas about reincarnation and ghosts derive inspiration from Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. There’s a little bit of Arthur Conan Doyle in there too.

Infestation: A Horror Anthology is available on Kindle and paperback from Amazon here (in the UK) and here (in the US). It can also be ordered via Smashwords here.

New Release – Infestation: A Horror Anthology

A new anthology containing some of my horror short stories has just been released.

Infestation: A Horror Anthology primarily contains my science fiction horror novella Infestation; recently serialised in the Fictions publication on Medium. The collection also includes two entirely new short stories exclusive to this volume, as well as other previously published tales.

Infestation is set in 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.

Alongside the Infestation novella, this volume also features the following short stories.

White Horse – Raven, a supporting character from my gothic mystery novel The Irresistible Summons, gets her own spinoff here, in a new, previously unpublished story. This is a standalone spooky mystery, with no prior knowledge of the novel required.

Influencer – Another new, previously unpublished tale. This one has a slightly satirical edge, and concerns a social media influencer who takes bending the truth a little too far.

Regression An English teacher is haunted by a terrible secret from his past. Previously published on Medium.

Spinner A graphic designer in an abusive relationship investigates a malevolent supernatural force in her basement. Previously published on Medium.

Once in a Lifetime – After inexplicably awakening inside a different home with a different wife, a man experiences an existential crisis, as new memories replace old. Previously published by Dragon Soul Press, as part of their All Dark Places horror anthology.

For those of you that don’t have a Medium subscription, this is an ideal opportunity for you to see some of my horror stories that have been published on that site. I’ve also released this partly in response to those who wanted to get my work as an ebook or in print. The anthology clocks in at around 77,000 words, so is good value.

I’ve selected the stories around the theme of guilt, and will discuss that a little further, as well as provide more information on each story, in upcoming articles. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this collection.

Infestation: A Horror Anthology is available on Kindle and paperback from Amazon here (in the UK) and here (in the US). It can also be ordered via Smashwords here.

Short Stories Index

Here’s a list of all my short stories currently published, along with a brief description for each, and a link to where they can be read (titles lead to Medium, but Papercut is also available on this blog).

Papercut

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 to download on this blog here.

Once in a Lifetime

Horror. After inexplicably awakening inside another home with a different wife, a man experiences an existential crisis, as new memories replace old.

Call the Number On Your Screen

Thriller/Satire. A corrupt televangelist takes ruthless steps to find his blackmailer.

Trial Period

Drama. A former publisher and his subordinate form an unlikely friendship whilst working for a herbal remedy company.

Regression

Psychological/Supernatural Thriller/Horror. An English teacher is haunted by a terrible secret from his past.

NOTE: The above links to part one of four. Links to subsequent instalments appear at the end of each part.

Love and Other Punishments

Dystopian Science Fiction/Romance. In a fascistic future London, a widower begins to suspect he has repressed memories when he encounters a mysterious woman.

NOTE: The above links to part one of four. Links to subsequent instalments appear at the end of each part.

Spinner

Horror. A woman trapped in an abusive relationship during lockdown investigates a malevolent supernatural force in her basement.

NOTE: The above links to part one of four. Links to subsequent instalments appear at the end of each part.

New Short Story: Regression

I’ve had a short story published on Medium in the Illumination publication. Regression, a psychological, supernaturally tinged tale about an English teacher haunted by a terrible past secret, is available in four parts for your reading pleasure.

Part One here.

Part Two here.

Part Three here.

Part Four here.

I hope you enjoy it.