Michael Picco

Tales of deadly machinery have long fascinated us, from Edgar Allan Poe's classic pendulum to the Terminator films. Murder and Machinery pays homage to this tradition, offering you gripping tales following this theme but set in different times and places, from colonial America and London during the First World War to dystopian futures on this planet and beyond. Never before has an anthology brought tales of science fiction and suspense together in such a terrifying way, showcasing the nightmarish imagination of authors who know how to play on the reader's fears and who share those fears of uncontrollable machines, or perhaps even more frightening, of fellow humans mastering technology for their own evil purposes. A word of advice before you start. By all means, settle down in your living room and let this anthology of technological terror and mechanical madness enthral you, but first, you might want to lock your doors and switch the power off at the mains. Best keep it low-tech tonight. Trust me. I hope you have candles? The Secret Zeppelin - Duncan Richardson#Selfie - Linda BrucesmithFargan's Termination - Paul WilliamsA Little Kindness Goes a Long Way - Chisto HealyThe Box - Sarah Jane JusticeThe Wheel - Michael PiccoThe Wedge - Kurt NewtonTenterhooks - Cameron TrostLeonora - Danielle BirchVanitas - James DorrDon - Steve DuboisFoul Beasts - Karen BaylyA Whole New World - KG McAbeeSuicide Blonde - Paulene TurnerDriverless - Robert BagnallThe Screen in the Sky - Kerilee S. Nickles"Anxiety about machines taking over our existence and eventually becoming the catalyst for our destruction as a species is not a new concept. However, it is one that seems to have been shoved to the back of the fear line in the last decade, the dark fiction genres instead overrun with zombies, serial killers, and spirit possessions. We've forgotten, it seems, that the scariest creatures are the ones we usher willingly into our own homes. Luckily, the authors of Murder and Machinery: Tales of Technological Terror and Mechanical Madness are here to remind us. In a potluck of dystopian, steampunk, and sci-fi-inspired horror, Murder and Machinery has something for every speculative fiction fan, especially those for whom creepiness is best served on cold metal." - Rebecca Rowland, posted on Ginger Nuts of Horror

When we were young, some of the most memorial tales were the ones that we heard over the sound of a crackling campfire. We heard stories that evoked a creeping sense of unease. We shared tales that caused our blood to run cold, skin to pour with sweat, and vision to turn shadows into ghosts. The stories in this collection are designed to do just that.

The human mind is an incredible organ. It shoots synapses through trillions of connections to the more than 100 billions nerves in our bodies. But what happens when one of those connections goes bad? What happens when there is a misfire? What happens when some minds break, and people stop functioning "correctly"? Join the writers featured in the fifth volume of Ink Stains anthology as they explore what happens when good people go bad or mad. When misfiring brains can no longer separate fact from fiction...or maybe it is all fact, and it is us, not they who are mad. Andrew Benn, Tiffany Michelle Brown, Don Cox, Elana Gomel, Leigh Harlen, Jason L. Kawa, Adrian Ludens, RJ Murray, Peter Emmett Naughton, Michael Picco, Paul Tanner, Timothy A. Wiseman explore these themes and other dark delights that may leave you questioning what is real. The human mind is an incredible organ. It shoots synapses through trillions of connections to the more than 100 billions nerves in our bodies. But what happens when one of those connections goes bad? What happens when there is a misfire? What happens when some minds break, and people stop functioning "correctly"? Join the writers featured in the fifth volume of Ink Stains anthology as they explore what happens when good people go bad or mad. When misfiring brains can no longer separate fact from fiction...or maybe it is all fact, and it is us, not they who are mad. In Ink Stains, Volume 5, Andrew Benn, Tiffany Michelle Brown, Don Cox, Elana Gomel, Leigh Harlen, Jason L. Kawa, Adrian Ludens, RJ Murray, Peter Emmett Naughton, Michael Picco, Paul Tanner, Timothy A. Wiseman explore these themes and other dark delights that may leave you questioning what is real.