Due to popular demand (ha) I’m re-releasing an updated version of my feminist horror short story, HANDGINA, at Godless Horrors on Jan 29 for only 50 cents!
HANDGINA Re-Release Exclusively at Godless!
short story
Handgina for Only 99 Cents!
My latest short story, “Handgina,” is now available on the evil Amazon for a mere 99 cents (cover art by the RïpRöck)!
Handgina
A bitter man reeling from a breakup is convinced women have it easy compared to men. When a part of the female anatomy starts growing out of the palm of his hand, he faces a series of ordeals that help him see things from a new perspective.
My Latest Short Story is Out!
Read the story for $4 in issue #5 of The Rock N’ Roll Horror Zine!
Long Strange R.I.P. in the Rock N’ Roll Horror Zine
Read my flash fiction story, “Long Strange R.I.P.” in issue #5 of the Rock N’ Roll Horror Zine along with several other gnarly horror writers for a mere $4!
Here’s a teaser:
“Long time no see, Mr. Garcia.” Satan slouched on his throne of charred ribcages and femurs at the center of a vast dim obsidian hall. “Whatever can I do for you?”
The heavy-set, white-haired and bearded man—basically Santa Claus in glasses and a black T-shirt—stood with his feet planted wide on the ashy stone, sulfurous gases twining around his legs like friendly cats. “You know damn well why I’m here,” Jerry said.
“Written any new jingles?” Satan’s black lidless eyes oozed like tar as he scratched the mushroom head of the ghoul squatting to his side. “I still get a kick out of that one song. How does it go? ‘Set out running but I take my time, a friend of the devil is a friend of mine.’”
“It’s gotta stop.”
“Is my singing that bad?” Satan flashed hundreds of tiny, immaculate teeth and the thing beside him tittered. “I forgot to congratulate you on the Hall of Fame induction. Quite the honor.”
“Leave Vince alone.” Jerry stuck out a trembling pointer finger, the finger beside it absent.
“Ah, yes, how is Mr. Welnick? Still tickling the ivories to your satisfaction?”
Jerry shook his head, spraying droplets of sweat that evaporated in mid-air. “You can’t keep killing them.”
“The Cat’s Meow” Published in Disturbed Digest
I’m purring with excitement to announce that my short story, “The Cat’s Meow,” is featured in the June 2018 issue of Disturbed Digest by Alban Lake Publishing.
You can purchase the print edition for $10 and the e-book for $3.99 at the Infinite Realms Bookstore.
I love both cats and dogs, but you’ve got to admit there’s something sinister about cats, what with their piercing eyes, clutching claws, and barely-contained wildness. My mingled respect and suspicion of cats inspired this story–I promise no felines were harmed in the writing of it.
Here’s a short excerpt:
Felicia headed straight to Candice, while Bobbie scooped up one of the kittens, and Geoffroy the other.
In an act of diplomacy, Candice patted Felicia on her fuzzy head, V-shaped like a pit viper, but pushed her away when she tried to crawl on her lap.
“You know why she bugs you all the time?” Margo asked, trying to perch the kitten on her shoulder, which kept slipping.
Because she’s taunting me, Candice almost said, but shrugged instead.
“It’s that angry face you make every time she comes into the room,” said Margo.
Everyone laughed, including Lenny, who wouldn’t meet her eyes.
Margo set the kitten down on her lap and picked up Felicia, holding the fatso under her armpits.
“Watch this.” Margo narrowed her eyes and wrinkled her nose at Felicia. After a few seconds, the cat squinted back. “That’s a smile in cat language. When you scrunch up your face like that, she thinks you like her.” Margo plopped Felicia back on the floor.
“I don’t have a problem with Felicia,” said Candice, her face hot, knowing how much everyone else adored the creature. “But five cats is too many.”
EVIL PODCAST Narrates My Story “There Shall Be No Night”
The December installment of Evil Podcast, produced and narrated by Dennis Serra, includes a reading of my Stygian short story, “There Shall Be No Night,” originally published in Demons, Devils, and Denizens of Hell 2 by Hellbound Books.
The podcast also includes “The Room of the Mad Nun” by David Turton.
Listen here.
You can purchase the print or e-book version of “There Shall Be No Night” in Demons, Devils, and Denizens of Hell 2 at Hellbound Books.
It’s Like Water
Cody Higgins submitted this intriguing and hallucinatory story to Josh’s Worst Nightmare and we’re including it in its entirety. You can check out more of his writing at Zen Mob Publishing.
It’s Like Water
by Cody Higgins
Graphic: Cyprus-1
The forest floor felt like home beneath my steps. Seemed I was most hesitant, of all things, about taking this walk in my bare feet. Of all things.
Was an odd space to consider, given everything that led up to this point. Given everything it was supposed to mean. That felt odd, too. Feeling like it was supposed to mean anything at all. That was kind of the point, for it to stop meaning. Stop meaning anything at all. But to do it in my bare feet seemed appropriate. The forest floor felt like home beneath my steps. Seemed I was most hesitant, of all things, about taking this walk in my bare feet. Of all things. Was an odd space to consider, given everything that led up to this point. Given everything it was supposed to mean. That felt odd, too. Feeling like it was supposed to mean anything at all. That was kind of the point, for it to stop meaning. Stop meaning anything at all. But to do it in my bare feet seemed appropriate.
Touching the soil with each step that took me closer. Not being in others’ feet. Some feet churned out from massive lines of workers who wore yet others’ feet. But, it was scary too. We become so distanced from our earth. So afraid to touch, to not be protected from it. Can be hard going back. Felt, familiar though… to go back.
My Story Won An Award…Sort Of
My short story, “The Cat’s Meow,” received a Silver Honorable Mention from the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest!
What does this mean? Not much, really—simply that my story beat out a few thousand other entries to be selected for a category slightly above the ordinary, non-metallic Honorable Mentions, but far, far below the actual winners, finalists, and semi-finalists.
(What’s more important is that “The Cat’s Meow” will be published in Disturbed Digest by Alban Lake Publishing in June 2018.)
One thing that’s been keeping me up at night: If I’m a writer of the future, does that mean I’m not a writer of the present?
Demons, Devils & Denizens of Hell: Vol 2 Available Now!
Read my borderline-blasphemous short story “There Shall Be No Night” in Demons, Devils & Denizens of Hell: Vol 2!
The publisher, Hellbound Books, describes this 602-page behemoth as an “anthology of otherworldy delights, tales of horror, dread and hellish inhabitants.”
Support independent horror fiction (and yours darkly, Josh Schlossberg) by purchasing Demons, Devils & Denizens of Hell: Vol 2 in print for $17.99 and e-book for $4.99 today.
Will You Vote For Me in the Bards and Sages Reader’s Choice Awards?
Please consider voting for me, Josh Schlossberg, in the Bards and Sages Quarterly Reader’s Choice Awards!
Just CLICK HERE, scroll down to the July 2017 issue, and click on my name!
The author with the most votes per issue will have his or her short story reprinted in a “Best Of” compilation.
If you’re feeling really generous, scroll down to the bottom of the page and vote for me as the Bards and Sages Quarterly author of the year. Thanks!
Josh's Worst Nightmare 