Dark Shorts
On this page you’ll find a selection of short fiction that I’ve written over the years that has been published in various places. Once the rights revert to me after publication, as is usually the case, I’ll post the story here or at least a link to it.
I have many stories that haven’t been published, but regular rejection slips are an everyday part of a writer’s life. Those stories are still doing the rounds, being repeatedly reworked and polished, waiting for an editor somewhere to see their worth and publish them. Check back now and then as I’ll add new stories whenever possible – keep an eye on the blog for updates.
Also, check out the Serial Fiction page, where you can read my serialised novella (or download it as a free ebook), and check the Friday Flash category in the blog for a bunch of flash fiction pieces I’ve written over the years.
Enjoy!
(Please note, as with all content on this site, all these items are (c) Copyright Alan Baxter. No reproduction is allowed without written permission from the author.)
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JEFF NEWMAN’S HEADACHES – NEW! Added 23/8/10
This is a flash fiction piece published at 52 Stitches. The link above is a direct link to the story on the 52 Stitches site.
This story was originally written with a five day deadline and the prompt: “Something written on a tombstone”. It was for a Horror Writers Duel over at the House Of Horror website. The limit was 1,500 words. I’m pleased to say that this story won the duel. Have at ye!
This is a reprint of one of my Friday Flash stories that was published over at Flashes In The Dark. The link is a direct link to the story on their site.
This is a modern sea monster yarn, with a bit of a nod to H P Lovecraft. It’s published by Seizure. The link above is to the online story or you can buy the hard copy edition featuring my story here.
Another flash fiction piece, this one a little horror yarn about the way a couple cares for each other. This was first published in House Of Horror issue # 7, December 2009. This is a direct link to the House Of Horror ezine page featuring Trapped.
A whimsical little flash piece about the dangers of grimoires, first published in Antipodean SF in October 2009.
A young man’s curiosity leads him down a frightening path. This short story was published by Horror Bound Magazine in its Issue #7, in August 2009. This is an online magazine and the link is a direct link to the story on the Horror Bound website. For a nice clean black text on white background version, click the little printer icon at the bottom of the story.
A man takes a risk to help a young girl that is being attacked, but nothing is as it seems. This is a story that was selected for the Editor Unleashed/Smashwords Flash Fiction 40 Anthology. This title link above is a direct link to the anthology, which is a free ebook on Smashwords.
A short story published in Volume 1, Issue 4 of The Oddville Press that the editor called “an existential delight”. A bit more light hearted than my usual fare.
NB – The above link is a direct link to the PDF file of the issue of The Oddville Press featuring my story – it’s a free publication. If you want the magazine to keep, do a Right Click and Save As to download the PDF file to your computer. My yarn starts on page 74.
I was also invited to read this story for the Outlandish Voices podcast. If you’d rather hear me read it to you than read it yourself you can find the podcast here.
A short dark future tale, originally published in the March 2009 edition of Antipodean SF.
Written for Op-Ed Magazine, world writings based on a word. Published March 2008 – Op-Ed Magazine
Each month, contributing writers to Op-Ed Magazine are given a word and they write something based on that word, be it essay, fiction, poetry or anything else. This particular piece is the only fiction piece I’ve written for Op-Ed thus far. Other articles I’ve written for them can be easily found on the site. This piece was based on the word dally.
A young boy, tired of the abuse from his father since his mother left the home, contemplates running away with his best friend.
This piece is a deliberate departure for me. Just for the hell of it I decided to write a completely non-genre story, which is something I hardly ever do. It actually turned out to be a pretty good story and, with a little bit of tweaking, was accepted for publication in Issue 3 of the Harbinger Journal. (Originally published in Harbinger Journal Issue 3.)
A young man is haunted by guilt over the suicide of a strange boy that he used to bully. Then he gets on the last bus home… (Originally published by The Harrow: Original Works of Fantasy and Horror – www.theharrow.com Vol. 10, No. 12).
A short story featuring Isiah, the powerful immortal protagonist in my novels RealmShift and MageSign, doing the dirty work of the Balance once again. An abridged version of this story was published in the Infinitas newsletter many moons ago. The full version was then published and podcast by Wily Writers. Follow the link above to read either the text version or have someone read it to you as a podcast (it’s 24 minutes long).
A flash fiction entry that won joint second place in the Scribe’s Writing Desk Flash Fiction Competition, June 2007. The given theme was ‘The Garden Gnome’ and the the word count was 200 words max.
A flash fiction entry that won 1st place in the Scribe’s Writing Desk Flash Fiction Competition, July 2007. The first sentence was supplied and the the word count was 300 words max.
In a frightening future a young man prepares for what will be, quite literally, the fight of his life. (Originally published by cyberkwoon.com in their martial arts related short fiction section.)
A strange meeting between two very powerful people hints at their dark and twisted history. (Originally published by martialartsplanet.com in their martial arts related short fiction section.)
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