The First Thirteen

Here they are!!


"Herbert" by Dean Cochrane (art by Aidan Leckie-Harre)
"R.D.J." by Sherry Decker (art by Sherry Decker)
"Ten" by K. Eason (art by M.K. Hobson)
"The Cabinet of Dr. Calamari" by Andrew Ferguson (art by Morag Edward)
"Wilted Lily" by Henry Gee (art by Tina Connolly)
"Footprints" by Ann Leckie (art by RJ Sevin)
"One Thumb Up" by Nick Mamatas (art by Mary Madewell)
"One Step at a Time" by Billy O'Callaghan (art by RJ Sevin)
"Satan's Typist" by Hannu Rajaniemi (art by Morag Edward)
"Fitness is Its Own Reward" by John Platt (art by Julia Sevin)
"Dyscrasia" by Gord Sellar (art by Tina Connolly)
"Dickey Size It" by RJ Sevin (art by RJ Sevin)
"Zombies Versus Dinosaurs" by David Snyder

plus a special collector's edition double postcard for "Dark Wine" by Paul Lewthwaite (art by Morag Edward).

These 13 14 stories present a wide range of horror, from the truly horrible to the downright silly and everything in between. There's killers and monsters, angels and devils, zombies and dinosaurs, all manner of weirdness and even a few rather scary children.

A big welcome to the eternal flames to our final*** two authors:

Dean Cochrane lives with the love of his life within shouting distance (if you have a loud voice) of Vancouver, BC, where they read, write, work day jobs, and care for a disorganized tumble of children and pets, all with mixed success. Cochrane maintains that he is not a horror writer (it's too late now - ed). He once sold a story to Subterranean Magazine, which has only encouraged him.

Billy O'Callaghan considers himself damaged Irish goods and likes to wrestle with demons. He also loves to tell lies. Products of his uncertain mind have made their way in the world, or are about to, by way of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Bellevue Literary Review, Great Mystery & Suspense, Lunch Hour Stories, Southword, Versal, and others. Stories like "One Step At A Time" hopefully only hint at the dangers to come.

Thanks to all our authors, and to everyone who sent stories to the Lake of Fire. The quality of your submissions exceeded my expectations and I had to turn down a lot of perfectly evil stories.

Please see the Art Order for our current needs.



* My mailbox is empty. If you sent me a story and I never responded, I either never received it or you never received my response.

La Sequía

"La Sequía"

by Tristan S. Davenport

Contrary to promises made in church, death does not give her the use of her legs back. What it gives her is a keening thirst deeper than anything she felt while living, deeper even than what she felt while dying: sprawled next to her wheelchair, croaking her breath out in a prayer for water. This is what death gives her -- a thirst so great it overcomes for the first time the shame of her infirmity. She picks herself up, crawls arm over elbow into the desert.

Read the Rest Here

Art Submissions

These are postcards, but because we're trying to publish fiction here, there isn't much room for art.

Still, we could use some art. What we're mainly interested in are hellish doodles of line art. By doodles, we mean something you scratch on the back of a napkin while knocking back a row of martinis at Kelsey's. Simple, weird, nightmarish, grotesque - these are our tastes.

Or if you prefer, photographs are good as long as they're weird, nightmarish, grotesque and postcard-y. Like this:

We need thirteen pieces for Postcards from Hell: The First Thirteen. Send no more than 3 pieces, in jpg format only, 72 dpi. Keep in mind that like all good Zoroastrians, we only publish in black and white, so if your work depends on color for its impact, it's not likely to be accepted.

Ok, so you're all like, yeah dude, but what do you really want? The answer is, we'll tell you when we know. And we'll know as story slots are filled. Whenever you see an announcement of a story being accepted, check it out because it will also include an art order. So if we announce we've accepted Damon Pumpkinhead's story "Night Slithers" and we could use a doodle of a snake hanging out of a tailpipe, and you send us a doodle of a snake hanging out of a tailpipe, then wa-hay! we just might pay you for it.

Send your doodles and photos to editor[dot]fromhell[at]gmail[dot]com. Subject Line - "Art Submission."

If your piece is accepted, you will be paid $5. That's all the money we could shake out of the Old Man. He's hated artists ever since Michelangelo made such a mess of the Sistine Chapel.

I am Minion. I have spoken.

Reader Question Answered

Dear Minion,

Why does it cost more for a subscription outside the US?

Timmy in Ontario

Dear Timmy,

Isn't it obvious?

The United States of America is geographically closer to Hell, so the postage costs are lower. Getting a postcard out of hell and all the way to Ontario costs a bit more. If you live in New Zealand, most of your subscription price is going to pay the good old US Postal Service - a division of Limbo.

Which still exists, by the way, no matter what the Holy Father says. He's had it in for Limbo for years.

Your Friend in Torment,

Minion

Up the Chimney

"Up the Chimney"
by Cat Rambo

I should have known better. There we were dozing by the fireside, old Tom and me, and there's a stranger telling some story of funerals and cats. Old Tom, he leaps up, whiskers abristle. Shouting "Then I'm the King of Cats" and disappearing up the chimney!

Read the rest here.

Postcards From... Vol. 1

Postcards from Hell

• La Sequía by Tristan S. Davenport
• All One Wants for Christmas by James S. Dorr
• Old Emmett's Grave by Scott Virtes

Postcards from Uranus

• The Birthday Archipelago by Alasdair Stuart
• Little Marvin's Private Dancer by Simon Cooper
• Lugosi Rock by Scott Virtes
• Our World by Adam Colston
• Nine Minus One by Bruce Golden

Postcards from the Woody End

• Up the Chimney by Cat Rambo

Alpha Mike Foxtrot

The story archives have been deleted. This site will remain active until March 1, 2009.