The Stories So Far…

Like most writers, I assume, my journey to publication has been long, fraught, and filled with ups, downs, side-to-sides, and more blood, sweat and tears than could fill a very large bucket of…well, blood, sweat and tears. Indeed, I had written two full-length novels before I had ever even published my first piece of prose. Whilst those novels are currently still drawer-dwelling like some kind of eternal particle board-fragranced albatross, I have had the pleasure of publishing an armful of short stories over the last few years.

It is here, then, that I wish to make a record of these stories for ease of access, and let’s be honest, ease of my own memory banks. A neat little list of accomplishments, then, for means of both archival and portfolio. I shall list the stories of mine currently out there in the ether, where to find them, and write a few words on what they mean to me. So please, pull up your preferred method of relaxation, beverage-and/or snack and check ‘em out!

Man/Maid - Black Sheep: Unique Tales of Terror and Wonder No. 3

Man/Maid was my first published piece of prose fiction and is still one of my favourite stories to this day. Not only did it open doors to me that, until that point, had felt fully locked and sealed, but it also spurred me on to keep going, encouraging me that yes, I can write, and people out there might actually like what I have to say. Ah, the wonders that your first professional acknowledgement can bring!

The story of a socially-inept man who hires a topless maid to clean his house but finds himself too shy and awkward to interact with her once she arrives – we, the reader, are transported into his fevered mind as he begins to descend into frustrated madness.

A fun, wild trip behind the eyes of a statue-collecting, anime-obsessed shut-in, Man/Maid proved to me that it was possible to be published. It helped me to find my voice, and most of all, it gave me that all-important first credit, which has opened up every publishing door I have entered since.

Find it either physically or online at:

Amazon (UK) - https://tinyurl.com/35yn6xza

Amazon (US) - https://tinyurl.com/bder9smn

Website: https://darkhorsesmagazine.mystrikingly.com

From the Hollows – Event (Mays Publishing)/PULP Magazine #5

From the Hollows is a Raygun Gothic love letter to sexy sci-fi – think Barbarella, Star Trek: TOS, Starcrash, Battle Beyond the Stars, Galaxina, Planet of the Vampires, Moon Zero Two, UFO, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century et al. Basically, campy miniskirt, pantyhose and thigh-high boot-wearing space-faring shenanigans. the kind we used to make.

The story follows Captain Alzhahn and his crew of deep-cover special forces agents, sent to investigate the radio silence of a far-off mining colony. What follows is an action-packed romp through a terrifying alien world, complete with high-speed train rides, shoot-outs, and a sinister, nymphomaniac AI.

Published by both Mays Publishing and PULP magazine, this story is the first in what I hope to be many more adventures of Alzhahn and the Frumentarii. Raygun Gothic is a passion of mine, and an aesthetic I will continue to play with for many more years to come, be it within prose, screenplays, comic books, or, most certainly, within future editorials and articles here on the site.

A video of me reading an excerpt can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74p1w7m1nZs&t=1s

Find it either physically or online at:

Amazon (UK) - https://tinyurl.com/4umhwzez (Event)

Amazon (US) - https://tinyurl.com/5y45uzxz (Event)

Website (Event) - https://www.mayspublishing.com/writers-r

Website (PULP) - https://pulplitmag.com/

The Forty Winks of the Narcoleper – Winter Splinter (Mays Publishing)

This was the first short story that I wrote as an adult, and boy, did it sit in the aforementioned drawer for a long, long time. This story is a testament, to me at least, that hard work and determination can, eventually, pay off. A story that I had all but given up on until the right opportunity came along, but am I happy that it did, or what.

The story of an astral projecting, galaxy-traversing artist, The Forty Winks of the Narcoleper tells the tale of what happens when what dwells within your mind finds a way to break free. A weird, Lovecraftian jaunt that blends dreams and astral projection with insomniatic malaise and ice-cold terror – I was so happy when the good people at Mays asked me to fix this one up for publication. Another story that I intend to follow up on sometime in the future. Keep your eyes peeled here for the further misadventures of Lisa and the Narcoleper - you haven’t heard the last of them yet!

Find it either physically or online at:

Amazon (UK) - https://tinyurl.com/35p8ywvj

Amazon (US) - https://tinyurl.com/s5ct9kw8

Website - https://www.mayspublishing.com/writers-r

Dovecote - Dug Up Magazine, Volume 2

Dovecote is a crazy one, and one that I was all too surprised to find a home for. It might be the strangest thing I have written yet.

The tale focuses on the history of Francis, an upper-middle-class bully obsessed with torturing his underprivileged, bird-feeding old neighbour. Told through a non-linear narrative, the tale shows Francis becoming more consumed with the man and his eccentricities as his life progresses from student to adult, until finally reaching its climax when he decides to end the old man’s life.Finding a sinister and profound excitement in messing with the old man, Francis expands his methods as the years go by. From simple jeering and petty vandalism to more extreme actions such as violence and the murder of the old man’s avian friends, Francis and his wife take great pleasure in making his life a little worse every day, even as they both begin to lose their humanity. However, what the old man represents may prove more important than Francis knows, and the secrets behind his true identity more disastrous than he could ever imagine.

A horrifying delve into sadistic horror and Egyptian mythology, Dovecote is one wild ride, for sure. I wanted to mix Clive Barker with Hammer, and I think may have churned out something uniquely bizarre and original by doing so. One of the stories that I am most proud of so far, that’s for certain! Big thanks to Tony Del Degan for taking a chance on it, and me, by putting it out.

Find it online at:

Website - https://tinyurl.com/36jzb3v8

That about covers the prose side, for now. I hope you enjoy what you read, and let me know what you think – good or bad! I will be making a post soon with some of my film projects, so be sure to keep ‘em peeled for that, too. Also, with more stories currently awaiting publication, I shall be updating the site with more tales of terror sooner than later.

But in the meantime, here’s to horror!

-       R.A. Daunton