Brand new dystopian slipstream: my short story The Last Playlist, just published by the lovely editors at Creation Magazine. The Last Playlist tells the tale of a father and son trapped in a lonely cabin at the fiery end of days, and the soundtrack they create for the end of everything.
Read the Story Now!
Creation Magazine is a cool (and FREE!) online read. Show your love by giving this fine ‘Zine a visit. Bonus! Creation is presented in an online flip-book style, complete with turning pages. Cool! Read my story The Last Playlist, but check out the rest of the great stories and poems on offer at Creation Magazine. Just mash the big button or click the link below.
I know, I get it, some of you are button-adverse. Listen, this ain’t Galaxy Quest. You probably won’t start the self-destruct cycle. And hey, dystopian fiction… relax, the self-destruct sequence started quite some time ago. Okay, here’s a plain old link, just for you:
As an aside, there really IS a Last Playlist, compiled for this story. Regardless of whether the world ends in fire or ice, the playlist is worth a listen:
Hotch Potch is a great ‘Zine created by a collaboration of writers and visual artists. And yes, full disclosure, I am one of the founding editors. Hotch Potch Volume Two Issue One is available as a FREE PDF download or a FREE online read. BookFunnel ensures safe downloads and easy online reading. Just click the links below.
It dipped, it wavered, but here in the wilds of Northern Yurp, summer is back. Sunshine and thirty Grad next week. That’s eighty-six f. for you folks on the other side of the pond. But September means the editors are crawling back from their summer bacchanalia, staring at their desks with bleary eyes and empty souls. So many stories in the slush pile, some of them mine. Will those plucky stories be accepted? Rejected? Tune into the MEF blog for all the latest:
Since summer is hanging around, that means summer reading is still a thing. Need a book for the beach, the patio, the fire pit? Look no further, My Bodacious Readers! How about a great international thriller? Breaking the Bundles awaits you:
Breaking the Bundles
The Past Can Kill.
Vienna, Austria, a city of palaces, music, and cafés. But behind the cold, grey stone lies a dark secret. Against this backdrop of culture and shadows, the fates of three unforgettable people will be drawn into a common peril. As the lives of the characters cross, revenge shifts to passion, betrayal becomes an act of honor, and the past exacts a heavy toll from the present. The secrets of the past threaten the lives of those that hold them; the same secrets threaten the men who work in the shadows. The weight of the past will pursue Perry and Zita across two continents, threatening their love and their lives. The chase becomes a conflict of revenge and desire, of shadow and light, of love and the struggle to survive.
Vienna, Austria, a city of palaces, music, and cafés. But behind the cold, grey stone lies a dark secret. Against this backdrop of culture and shadows, the fates of three unforgettable people will be drawn into a common peril. Perry Farmon is an American photographer on sabbatical in Vienna, searching for his lost creative spark. A strange friendship and a mysterious love alter Perry’s quiet world, drawing him into a shared secret. The powers threatened by that secret force Perry into a deadly flight from danger. He must learn trickery and cunning to survive. His life and love hang in the balance. Zita de Luca is a woman marked by a wine-colored stain on her temple, the shame of her family, and anger. An opportunity for revenge is complicated by an unexpected passion for an American professor. She must choose between the two. Käru “Charlie” Villiger is a habitué of cafés, either an outrageous liar or a dangerous man. He holds the key to the past, but time is running out. Charlie must pass on what he holds before he is silenced by those he has betrayed. He must choose someone else to carry the burden. As the lives of the characters cross, revenge shifts to passion, betrayal becomes an act of honor, and the past exacts a heavy toll from the present. The secrets of the past threaten the lives of those that hold them; the same secrets threaten the men who work in the shadows. The weight of the past will pursue Perry and Zita across two continents, threatening their love and their lives. The chase becomes a conflict of revenge and desire, of shadow and light, of love and the struggle to survive.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the page above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
Marco Etheridge
Marco Etheridge is a writer of prose, an occasional playwright, and a part-time poet. He lives and writes in Vienna, Austria. His work has been featured in over one hundred reviews and journals across Canada, Australia, the UK, and the USA. His story “Power Tools” has been nominated for Best of the Web for 2023. “Power Tools” is Marco’s latest collection of short fiction. When he isn’t crafting stories, Marco is a contributing editor for a new ‘Zine called Hotch Potch. In his other life, Marco travels the world with his lovely wife Sabine. Website: https://www.marcoetheridgefiction.com/