Bryce Anderson

J.S. Morin

Karpov Kinrade

Becca Mills

Richard Levesque

Misha Burnett

Russ Linton

Van Allen Plexico

Jefferson Smith

Dave Higgins

Christopher Ruz

Brett Adams

Regina Richards

Graham Storrs

Belinda Mellor

The 2016 ImmerseOrDie Anthology. What do you get when you ask 34 of today's top indie authors to each submit a story and then ask a team of ruthless judges to scour that ore and pick out the gems? You get All These Shiny Worlds: A world of today, divided, black from white, good from evil, and held apart by the taste of a cookie. A world of griffons and glimmer bunnies, wise old mothers, sassy llamas, and the magic of beer. A world of contemplation and serenity, of service and devotion, ruled by a jewel and guarded by children. Plus 12 more, for a total of 15 worlds to explore. From the brutal curators at ImmerseOrDie.com comes this collection of indie short stories, each a distinct jewel forged in the fires of judgment, and all carrying one simple promise: Guaranteed not to suck.

The 2016 ImmerseOrDie Anthology

All These Shiny Worlds

Simon Cantan

Humanity’s best hope is a wicker spaceship. Josie Stein woke up a thousand years in the future and was immediately elected captain of the U.F.S. Greenstar, a recycled spaceship on a mission to stop the self-destructive aliens of the galaxy from wiping themselves out. Now the Kalmari, a homicidal race of aliens, have set their sights on Earth. How can the ramshackle Greenstar possibly stand in their way? A fun and fast-paced episodic season of stories that will have you laughing out loud. Find out just how weird the future can get.

The Space Opera

Greenstar Complete Season 1

Five short works of science-fiction: Shoulders of Giants: With a Comet Grijalva predicted to exterminate humanity, Commander Matej Tomasch and Flight Engineer Nathan Roberts decide to remain aboard the International Space Station to document the apocalypse. When the comet breaks up, filling their flight path with debris, how will they cope with being the only ones still at risk? (2,315 words) Pig Boy: Billy has spent his entire life being told he should be grateful Mr Samuels rescued him from the wastes. And for all his life, he has done the worst jobs without complaint. But how will he cope with the death of his only friend? (1,692 words) Crest of a Wave: Captain Isamir Yarkis, viewed by his peers as the last remnant of a more violent age, serves out his commission delivering supplies to obscure research colonies. Discovering his destination destroyed by seismic activity and a mysterious artefact drifting through the system, his gut tells him there is a connection. But, even if there is, was the artefact the cause or did it try to save the colonists? (5,476 words) Fair Shares: Scout Harrin Beckles recovers consciousness deep in enemy territory with a serious bullet wound and a patchy memory. Piecing together the past, he realises the enemy might not be the only people with reason to want him dead. With minimal supplies, he can either make for home or pursue vengeance, but who can he trust? (2,283 words) State: Ben Gately’s mother has refused all contact since Ben and his Dad fled the aftermath of a brutal coup in the United Kingdom for the USA. Two decades later, she summons him to her deathbed. With the USA regarding the Communal Polity of Britain as an enemy state, Ben is terrified the even considering her request will make him seem a political radical, but does he have the will to let her die alone? (12,868 words)

A Collection of Short Stories

State

Jimmy Jones

Jon Mollison

Donnie Swafford

Felicia Huffman

Duncan Kingsley

Charlie Boyles

Mark Gunk

Short story anthology focusing on crime, mystery, and espionage.The second installment of "Millhaven Tales". This anthology features nine stories of mystery, crime, and espionage. A gang of young thugs get more than they asked for when interrupted by "Old School".When a friend is charged with murder, can a cupcake baker in sleepy Nantucket discover the identity of the real murderer?An ambitious District Attorny bites off more than he can chew when he takes on a multi-generational crime family.A body discovered at the city zoo leads two detectives to discover there is more going on in their city than either could have imagined (a stand-alone story from the "Books of the Broken" series).A vigilante gets tough with a criminal underworld using a pizza place as a front for their dirty work.Jealousy, revenge, and cheating spouses take center stage in a "Hitchcockian" tale of suspense.A small unit of specialized soldiers save the world in this "alternate reality WWII" story.A story of underworld poker shows you just can't trust anyone in Millhaven's first tale from the U.K.The final story, inspired by the cover (or vice versa) is a fitting tribute to the cases of Phillip Marlowe or the Continental Op.Welcome to the world of Millhaven, a sometimes terrifying, somtimes comical place... Stories by: Donnie SwaffordFelicia HuffmanJimmy JonesJeffrey L. BleharJon MollisonDuncan KingsleyCharlie BoylesDave HigginsMark Gunk Cover by Mark Gunk

Millhaven's Tales of Suspense

Josie Stein saved humanity and they hate her for it. Josie foiled a scheming, homicidal AI. She saved the Earth from the Kalmari. But nothing is good enough for Burger Supreme: they think a ray forcing everyone to have a conscience is a bad thing. Dispatching Vesta Hartman, a captain with two itchy trigger fingers and everything to prove, Burger Supreme want the Greenstar brought to justice at any cost. Even if it means turning it to powder first. Pursued relentlessly, Josie is faced with impossible choices: run and spend an eternity with Pol, or try to redeem the Greenstar before Vesta catches them.

Greenstar Season 2

A collection of short works, containing two new and three republished stories: Thieves in the Night: With Comet Grijalva predicted to wipe out life on Earth, Jason Pendrick fled to his uncle-in-law's farm. When the apocalypse doesn't happen, he has an opportunity to help rebuild society, but will the past drag him down? (6,444 words) Washed Clean: Seimunda lives in a hovel, eking out a living bartering herbal remedies to villagers. But an accusation of witchcraft threatens to rob her of even that. (1,326 words) Some Secrets: Always appearing when least expected, a mysterious man orders whichever sandwich Jo has been eyeing up. Do they just have similar tastes or is it something more inexplicable? Either way, there is definitely a connection. (2,572 words) Blossom: When Mari Austan's husband, Jerek, joins the army she is left to run their drought-stricken farm alone. As both her crop dies and the letters home falter, she relies on cold fury to get through the days. But will she break before the weather does? (1,003 words) An Unquiet Calm: When Frances Withrick is found holding the revolver that killed her husband, Inspector Stevens expects an all too human case of anger and regret. But a second killing and evidence the revolver was loaded with very unusual cartridge, force Stevens to consider a different theory: that the whispers of an inhuman force in the hills are true. (4,913 words) "An Unquiet Calm is a dark collection of short stories that will have you checking over your shoulder as you read. Filled with worlds you'd never want to live in, Dave Higgins weaves a cocoon of dread around you and won't let you out." - Simon Cantan, author of the Bytarend series. "There's a running theme of the otherworldly, ranging from the very grounded and possibly-coincidental in 'Some Secrets' to the dangerously potent in 'An Unquiet Calm' itself." - Neil Murton, author of Magpie Tales.

An Unquiet Calm

Noah Lemelson

Samantha Bryant

Glenn A. Bruce

Joel Donato Jacob

dave ring

Willow Croft

Ryan Priest

Lillian Csernica

Christopher Maleney

M.R. Blackmoor

Jonathan Titchenal

We fear discovery when we should fear what there is to discover. Lovecraft and his successors show a world where human civilisation is only a thin veneer over black seas of ignorance. A world where men exalted for their reason uncover logic-defying truths. A world where the marginalised discover uncaring horror on the fringes of a society that rejects them. A world where the bonds between us unravel. But what of those who wear their own averageness like a veneer? Neither drawn toward the horror by academic curiosity nor driven their by society, but unmoored by a mundane secret. A Spanish priest struggling with base desires plots to save a native child from brutal sacrifice. A veteran hiding the extent of his mental wounds discovers the true war on terror is very different. A delinquent’s secret passion for stamp collecting draws him into a dark bargain. And nine more tales of overtly normal people coming adrift in an incomprehensible universe.

Outsiders Within

Dave Higgins

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