Steven Mace

My short story "The Prodigal" has been published in the dark fiction webzine Inner Sins. I had the original idea for this story many years ago. In fact, two things I have written sprang from this singular idea.  This idea concerned a boy who was running from something unknown, and who then met an older man who sought to help him. In the first case- a boy running through a remote alien forest, away from mysterious pursuers- this became the opening chapter of my Fantasy/SF novel Copper Moon Rising . In the second version of the idea, the boy who was pursued became somebody who was much darker, a little nastier. In this particular tale, the boy on the run was not a victim, or heroic in any way, like the banished orphaned prince in Copper Moon Rising . This boy was evil, he had done something very bad, and his pursuers were seeking vengeance. This boy had returned from the dead, although he was not a ghost- for his flesh and blood had been preserved for his torturous p...

The dark fiction webzine Inner Sins selected me as their featured writer in the Issue 18, Fall 2014 edition which went live on 1st October. They asked me to do an interview, which you can read here:  Steven Mace- Featured Writer- Inner Sins interview Inner Sins is an American webzine, and my answers were edited for their readers. Additionally, I thought I'd share the transcript of my original replies to their questions here on my blog: What prompted you to become a writer? Before wanting to become a writer myself, firstly I was an avid reader. Imagination comes in handy, and sometimes a fantasy world is more vivid and attractive than the mundane aspects of real life. I would like to think I still possess a child's sense of wonderment and pleasure in 'making stuff up' even though I am in my 30s now. I never idolised any particular writers, but in my teens I hit a moment of self-realisation that I wanted to create worlds of characters, conflicts and plot,...

My horror-fantasy short story "The Spy Glass" has been published in Sanitarium Magazine Issue #023: The central idea of this story is a device that allows the viewer to peer not only through distances but through time and space itself. There is the added implication that such a gift comes with a curse. What else would you expect of such an artefact, found " in the ruins of the ancient city they discovered in the hills south of here, way beyond the deepest jungles and the great river "? Check out this and more stories at Sanitarium Magazine's website, which can be found  here  and for news and more information go to their Facebook page, which can be found  here .

More publication news- my sinister supernatural short story "Moonlight Bay" has been published in Volume 3 of Hellfire Crossroads , edited by Trevor Denyer. A little bit of chronology: I first wrote an earlier version of this story in 2001/2002, and then I re-wrote it in 2008 (after a holiday in Cornwall, altering it to a Cornish setting). I still wasn't completely happy with the story, until I finally completed a definitive version in 2012. It is this version which now appears in Hellfire Crossroads , and will be appearing in my forthcoming new short story collection, Echoes and Exiles . It's about a small coastal town in Cornwall with a dark secret. It took those two rewrites to capture the mood and atmosphere that I intended to create- I wasn't interested in Godzilla-style monsters or creature-horror, or anything particularly gory with this tale. I wanted  to depict a dark sense of unease. Imagine a situation something akin to a holidaymaker bathin...

My Fantasy/SF short story "Unlimited Shelf Life" has been published in Aphelion Webzine . It's a humorous Speculative Fiction/Fantasy tale, with a theme of corporate satire, combined with superhero adventure. Think of this story as Mad Men Meets Marvel. You can read it  here.

My weird supernatural tale "The Foreshadowing" has been published in the latest weekly issue (159th) of Schlock Webzine. It's a story about a dimension parallel to our own, and the dangers of crossing the threshold: the threat of not only what you might encounter there, but what you might bring back with you... The full index to Schlock Webzine and all their creepy tales can be found here: http://www.schlock.co.uk/index.html and the direct link to the webzine containing my short story "The Foreshadowing" can be found here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schlock-Webzine-Issue-Stephen-Hernandez-ebook/dp/B00K3EQDSG

  My short SF/Horror/Fantasy story "Vortex" has been published in Diabolique Magazine's Exhumation Collection , alongside stories such as "The Wandering Train" by Stefan Grabinski; "The Lady of the House" by Matthew McLachlan; "Hisako San" by Ingrid Pitt and "The Drowning" by Catherine E. Kovach.   You can read more about Diabolique Magazine here: About Diabolique Magazine   Diabolique Magazine are on Facebook and you can find their Page here You can also find them on Twitter here My short story "Vortex" is about a series of supernatural events taking place in our world, which are linked to a universe where an organisation known as the Arcadian Vortex exists. It is controlled by a triad of female entities known as 'The Matriarchy'. In this story you will be introduced to Peregrine Lascombe and Victor Phalange, two extraordinary and talented individuals who are members of the Vortex; and Charlie Townse...

My short story "Veronica and the Men" has been published in the Winter issue of Roadside Fiction. Please see the link, and click on the story titles to read them. "Veronica and the Men" is a contemporary story set in London, not typical of my usual genres, and is an amusing satiric story about a young woman coping with the grind of her daily commute and her job: http://roadsidefiction.com/index.php/roadside-fiction-issue-six/ Roadside Fiction cover by Tom Darin Liskey You can follow Roadside Fiction on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/RoadsideFiction  or their Facebook page which is: https://www.facebook.com/roadside.fiction.5 This story was written in 2009 and also published in my 2010 "Beyond Twilight" short story collection. This collection is available at Amazon here:   http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Twilight-Fourteen-short-stories-ebook/dp/B0057FKS32 Or you can find it at Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/295025