Your Logo Here
John Sunseri's Home Page
Bedtime Stories for Madmen
 

Home  

My Stories  

Contact Me  

Reviews  

Pictures  

 


My Stories

Here's a list of all my stories, published or not - and it'll be a lot easier to read the published ones than the ones I haven't found a home for yet, but I'm confident I'll get them all out there eventually...

 

As You Wish - My shortest story (618 words) was published in The Armchair Aesthete in the winter of 2003.  It's a riff on the genie-in-a-bottle tale, and it's got my normal nihilistic ending.

Biological Imperative - A science fiction dystopia dealing with first contact and final solutions.  Bill Schnarr (http://www.freewebs.com/jwschnarr/) says he hates the ending.  I kind of like it.  I'll let you all know which of us was right if I ever end up selling the thing.

Blink - A screwed-up take on Walter Mitty, just got sold to Mind Games, a Maniac Press (http://www.freewebs.com/maniacpress/bgp.htm) anthology coming out later in 2006.

A Business Proposal - Michael Crichton-ish horror, was printed in Black Petals #33 (http://www.blackpetals.net/index.html).  This is the cat orgasm story (as some of you know it).

The Call of the Shadow over Hag's Creek - Another in my Hag's Creek series, this one way too long (9500 words) to get accepted anywhere easily.  But I'm still looking for a place - you see, it's got Cthulhu rising out of Black Lake and attacking Hag's Creek like Godzilla, and there's a mad captain chasing him around the world, and there's a suitcase nuke and a grade-school class and a giant plastic beaver...all right, maybe it won't find a home.

Catch Me When You Can - Another homeless story.  I'm waiting for the right place (meaning, I'm waiting for an anthology of horror stories dealing with time travel.  It could happen...)

Community Outreach - My worst title, but one of my best stories.  It just got accepted by Blood, Guts, and Psychopaths, an anthology from Maniac Press (see Blink, above).

Dogsbody - A Mythos tale, kind of.  You know how, in Lovecraft, the monsters always have humans working for them?  I wondered how, exactly, they approached those humans... This story will appear in the next issue of Dreaming in R'lyeh (http://cthulhu.moonfruit.com/), and I'm very excited about it.

Down These Mean Streets a Fairy Must Go - I got invited to submit to an anthology called 'Bad-Ass Fairies', and I came up with this unholy melding of Raymond Chandler and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.  We'll see if the editor wants it...

Enter the Dragon - My third Hag's Creek tale, and it was printed in Black Petals #28 in July of '04 (see Biological Imperative, above).  A nice little twist on the virgin sacrifice theme, if I do say so.  And if you're a Poe fan, I've got some fun stuff for you in here.

Excerpts from 'Uncle Abdul's Country Cookbook' - will appear in a forthcoming issue of Dark Wisdom (http://www.darkwisdom.com/darkwisdom.htm), and no, I'm not going to tell you what it's about.  Well, maybe just a little - have you ever wondered how a shoggoth would taste?

Extra Credit - An entry in Dark Wisdom's fiction contest a while ago.  It lost.  But it's still a good story - funny, vicious, short.  When it finds a home, I'll let you all know.

First Day in the Fiery Pits - Another funny horror tale, this one set in Hell.  It appeared in The Nocturnal Lyric (http://www.angelfire.com/ca/nocturnallyric/) in December of '04 - my first appearance in a magazine in my home state of Oregon!

Fishbelly Voodoo - Appeared in Seasons in the Night #5 (http://www.angelfire.com/blues2/seasons/index.html), and might be my best title.  It's a good story, too.  And it's got the word 'borborygmic' in it, which is nice.

Fruit from the Tree - Originally titled 'When You Eat Fruit From the Tree, You Get Some Seeds', but the editor of Night Terrors (http://www.night-terrors-publications.com/page4.html) talked me out of it.  This one's bloody, folks - be warned.

The Ghostphone - One of my funny ghost stories.  No home for it yet, and it's been rejected about ten times.  But hope springs eternal...

Graduation Day - This one just got accepted by Ron Shiflet (http://www.freewebs.com/rshiflet/index.htm) for his 'Terror on the Rural Route' anthology, and I'm very glad of it - this is one of my earliest efforts, and I love the story.

A Guy Walks into a Bar... - My first professional sale (well, not my first - my first was Rag Doll.  But I got this check before that one, so it counts first) at Hardboiled, a magazine that's printed Andrew Vachss and Joe R. Lansdale.  Not that I'm comparing myself to those hardboiled gods or anything...

The Hades Project - My first anthological sale, in Horrors Beyond (http://horrorsbeyond.com/) from Elder Signs Press.  I'm still getting royalties ( four, six, nine bucks every few months) and it's a terrific collection.  Take a look, will you?

Household Gods - One of my favorite stories, it appeared in one of my favorite magazines, Bare Bone, in May of '05.  Hunt it down on Amazon if you're interested (for some reason, Kevin Donihe doesn't have a website for his stunningly good publication).

Incident in Oregon, 1872... - A Poe pastiche with some sex and violence thrown in.  It's going to appear in Dark Wisdom sometime next year (see Excerpts... above)

The Innsmouth Affair - Third in my series of Trent stories; Milton Trent is a jewel thief who keeps getting caught up in Lovecraftian horror, along with his string of fellow criminals.  This one finds Willem thrown into jail in Innsmouth on trumped-up charges, and ends with Dagon making a triumphal entry off the coast of Massachusetts...fistfights, chases, battles, a whole lot of fun.

It's in the Genes - Printed on Byzarium (http://www.byzarium.com/default.asp) in May of 2005, this is the second story I ever finished for submission.  It took a bit longer to get published than I thought it would, but Byzarium (bless their hearts!) finally presented it to the world.

I Won't Tell - Published in Seasons in the Night #4 (see Fishbelly Voodoo, above), and, yeah, it's a vampire story.  Whaddya want?  I'm a horror writer!

Junior - Currently at Cthulhu Sex, (http://www.cthulhusex.com/default.asp) waiting for Michael Amorel's decision.  Keep your fingers crossed.

A Killer's Confession - Another vampire tale, but this one went to a vampire magazine (Night to Dawn #8)(http://www.bloodredshadows.com/night2dawn.html), so THAT'S all right.

Leaving the Nest - Currently in queue at Dark Wisdom.  I'll let you know.

A Little Job in Arkham - The first Trent story, in which he and his team get blackmailed into stealing the Necronomicon from Miskatonic U.  Fun stuff, and it'll appear in the Hardboiled Cthulhu anthology (see The Hades Project, above, and look around the Elder Signs Press board.  You can order it at http://www.eldersignspress.com/shop/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=hardboiled+cthulhu).

Mass Murder - Will appear in the next issue of Outer Darkness (another one without a website.  If you're dying to find them, go to http://www.ralan.com and look around.  It's worth the effort - it's a fine magazine with some great artists).

Mean Streets - Takes place in the same world as It's in the Genes.  But it's 25 thousand words long.  You're never going to see this puppy, folks, unless I get a collection someday...

The Moon Over Gypsy's Gulch - Is slated to appear in another of Ron Shiflet's anthologies, a Western-themed horror collection (see Graduation Day, above), but there are a few copyright issues I have to research first.  I'll keep you updated.

Naming Day - Will appear in Kevin L. Donihe's The Walri Project.  Someday.

A Night at Cloot's - My first serious story.  It's been rejected a dozen times.  What is WRONG with these editors?

Persephone 6 - More horror/science fiction fun in Black Petals (see A Business Proposal, above) - this time in January of '06.

The Person in Question - One of my stronger stories, and one of the few metafiction pieces I've ever done.  It's been rejected at Surreal, but I'll find someplace for it.

Picture Perfect - One of the two stories I had in Night Terrors #13 in May of '04 (http://www.night-terrors-publications.com/page4.html).  Classic horror in the EC Comics tradition - and old Cloot makes an appearance.

Play Date - Just came out in Fictitious Force #2 (http://www.fictitiousforce.com) - a nasty little tale about a demon and a little boy.  Hurts me to think about it.

A Prayer for the Silent - Perhaps my best story (according to those who should know), it appeared in Bare Bone #8 in January of '06.

Proposals - Another one in the It's in the Genes universe - and eleven thousand words long.  You guessed it - I can't find a home for it.

Pulling Orders - Is going to be in Mythos Collector (http://darktreepress.50megs.com/index.html) sometime this year.

Rag Doll - My first appearance in Bare Bone - and then The Dream People (http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/thedreampeople/oct04/ragdoll.html) contacted me about appearing on their website - and now all of you can read one of the three stories I have online! (the other two are It's in the Genes, above, and The Sound Snakes Make, below)

Rage - Another one of my fourteen-thousand word monsters that will never sell until I get famous.  But this one's badass - it's got giant cockroaches and voodoo, bloodshed and murder...sigh.  Someday.

Ralph - One of the two stories in Night Terrors #13 (see Picture Perfect, above) - and it's about my cat.  Which is sad and cute at the same time.

Resurgence - A story in the the collection David Conyers (http://www.freewebs.com/david_conyers/index.htm) and I are putting together about military men versus the Mythos - his Major Harrison Peel and my Jack Dixon of the NSA (not to mention the enigmatic Figgs of MI6) go up against the Mi-Go, Cthugha, the Old Ones, shoggoths - and wait until you read the last story! (which we're writing now).  Updates to follow when we get a publisher.

Road Trip - To appear in the Hard Times at the Harvest Moon collection by Spyre Press early in 2007 - my first editorial credit, and a hell of a collection.  I'll put together a page for it soon - with artwork by Steve Gilberts and all sorts of other goodies...keep checking back!

The Sea, the Teeth - Is in Horror Carousel #4 (http://www.horrorcarousel.com), and is the closest to a true story I've ever written - a friend of mine has a friend whose grandfather served on a minesweeper in WWII.  The sharks happened - the zombies didn't.

Shopping Trip - Another surreal tale, this one very short.  I'm bound to find a home for it soon - it's very good.  Keep checking back.

Something in the Water - One of my earliest tales, this one about a selkie.  And some very bad mojo.  No home yet.

The Sound Snakes Make - Available online at the Circle (dead magazine)(but the website's still there)(http://circlemagazine.com/issuetwentyseven/thesound.html).  Not one of my best efforts, but the idea's cool and the execution satisfactory.

Spirits of Earth and Sky - Published in Cthulhu Sex #22 in October of 2005 (http://cthulhusex.com/default.asp), one of my favorite magazines and well worth a look.  This one's got a sex scene in it - though it doesn't turn out well for my heroine...

Student Bodies - One of the Hag's Creek stories.  No home yet.

Summit - One of the minotaur world stories.  No home yet.

Sunlight and Shadows - Co-written with Bill Schnarr (http://www.freewebs.com/jwschnarr/), this is slated for publication in Hear Them Roar II, coming next year.

A Sweetheart Deal - My other collaboration with Bill Schnarr, this appeared in Dark Animus #8 (http://www.darkanimus.com/home.html) in September '05 - my first non-American publication.

Take What You Want, Says God - Appeared in Hear Them Roar from Spyre Press in March '06.  Nice little revenge tale, with some gypsy magic thrown in.  Look for it on Amazon.

Tenth Coming - Will appear in Dark Legacy soon.

To Catch a Ghost - My first appearance in Black Petals (see A Business Proposal, above), my first Hag's Creek story, and it will be in Hear Them Roar II next year.

To What Green Altar - I like Keats, too - and this is another in the project with David Conyers (see Resurgence, above).

Toys - A nice, literary story with no horror whatsoever.  It's well-written and pleasant in a Reader's Digest kind of way.  I have no idea what to do with it.

The Trapezohedron Caper - The second of the Trent series (see The Innsmouth Affair, above), and homeless thus far - but I'm looking...

The Trouble With Demons - The second of my Hag's Creek tales.  Just got rejected at Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, so now I've gotta find another place that'll take a funny demon story...

Vampire Wind - Under consideration for The Walri Project.

A Voice Was Heard in Ramah - I don't just steal from Shakespeare and Keats - the Bible's fair game as well.  Appeared in Black Petals #32 (see A Business Proposal, above) in September of last year.

The Way We Were - A cute little Hag's Creek werewolf story.  No home yet.

When the Ship Came - My latest acceptance!  Just got taken by William Jones at Elder Signs Press for Horrors Beyond II (http://www.eldersignspress.com/hb2.htm), so you know it'll be a good-looking professional book!  Very excited!

Where the Bee Sucks, There Suck I - Appeared in The Armchair Aesthete in summer of '03 and The Nocturnal Lyric in November of '05.

You're on the Air - Will appear in an upcoming issue of Hardboiled.



© 2006 All Rights Reserved.


Create a free website at Webs.com