David W. Amendola
The Orion Incident
The Orion was one of the most powerful attack spacecraft in the Space Defense Force, but supposedly fell into the sun after sustaining critical damage from a meteroid strike. Ten years later, Orion reappears - and she's headed towards Earth. Attempts at radio contact have gone unanswered. A task force is dispatched to intercept and board her. Accompanying them is Andrea Ustinov, a surly, insubordinate former grenadier serving time in prison. She was the only member of Orion's crew to escape when the vessel was critically damaged. What will they find aboard the derelict spacecraft? Did the rest of the crew somehow survive? If not, what happened to them? This was my sixth published story, appearing in the very first issue of Red Sun magazine.
Red Sun
Volume 1, Issue 1, July-November 2016
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Debut issue of this magazine devoted to fantasy, science-fiction, and horror. Artwork by Jaos Miller, edited by Ben Richards and Angela Perry.
Black Poppy
A university professor interested in the occult obtains a strange drug from a dealer specializing in oddities from around the world. The drug - black poppy - was supposedly used in horrific rituals performed by a degenerate cult thousands of years ago in ancient Mesopotamia. What monstrous secrets will the professor unlock if he dares try it himself? This is a horror yarn in the tradition of H.P. Lovecraft that I wrote for my own amusement over two decades ago. It's the first piece of fiction I published, appearing in the summer 2013 edition of Weird Tales magazine.
Weird Tales
Volume 67, No. 1, Issue 361, Summer 2013 Fairy Tales Issue
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Founded in 1923, Weird Tales is one of the oldest magazines devoted to tales of the fantastic. Literary legends such as H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Ray Bradbury all published stories in it so it was a real thrill for my first story to appear here.
Bucking the Tiger
Samuel Booth is a professional gambler, and a damn good one. He dresses in tailored suits and custom leather boots, a diamond stick pin holds his blue silk cravat in place, and a sapphire ring sparkles on his little finger. When in the big Eastern cities he dines on oysters and champagne, lives in luxury hotels, and enjoys the intimacy of beautiful courtesans. A disabled Civil War veteran, he figures he's owed the good life after enduring the hell of the battlefield. The raw Kansas boomtown of Locoweed is one of his regular haunts. But when his girlfriend gets murdered he confronts local authorities who don't seem too interested in solving the crime. This was my seventh published story, appearing in the anthology Best of the West.
Best of the West
Published by Sundown Press, October 2017
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This anthology features eleven stories of the Old West by various authors including myself. Cover art by Livia Reasoner, edited by Cheryl Pierson.
The Beast of Dead Mule Gulch
Terror stalks the Nevada mining camps of Dead Mule Gulch. Silver prospectors are dying - horribly mauled by a mysterious predator that attacks after sunset. Superstitious fears abound as to what the creature is. An Irish frontiersman, Cormac Donovan, has little sympathy for the miners exploiting land stolen from the Indians and reluctantly agrees to hunt down what the newspapers are calling the Beast of Dead Mule Gulch. This is my eighth published story, appearing in the anthology Tales of the Old West.
Tales of the Old West
Published by Sundown Press, December 2018
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This anthology features seven stories of the Old West by various authors including myself. Cover art by Livia Reasoner, edited by Cheryl Pierson.
The Devil's Angels
Texas, circa 1870's. Cattle and people have been dying in bizarre, unexplained ways. The prime suspects are a trio of mysterious men who once worked as "range protectors" for a local rancher and then turned outlaw. Nobody knows who they are or where they came from, but sinister rumors suggest they possess sorcerous powers, and the gang has been dubbed the Devil's Angels. Sheriff Jack Brady is determined to track them down and he's requested help from the Texas Rangers. This is my tenth published story - originally written when I was a teenager - appearing in the anthology Reach For the Sky.
Reach For the Sky
Published by Rogue Blades Entertainment, November 2020
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This anthology features thirteen stories of the weird West by various authors including myself. Cover art by Logan Whitney, edited by Jason M. Waltz.
The Jefferson County Incident
It's 1947 and a special team of American soldiers parachute into the backwoods of the Midwest to investigate a mysterious air crash. Their classified mission: secure the site, recover any debris, sanitize the area - and terminate any survivors. This was my ninth published story, appearing in the fifth issue of Red Sun magazine.
Red Sun
Issue 5, May 2019
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​New online version of this magazine devoted to science-fiction, fantasy, and horror. Editor-in-Chief Ben Richards, artwork by David Demaret.