Something has been awakened high in lunar orbit. It doesn’t sleep or rest and won’t stop until it has total control. When the power fails on the Okami-13 asteroid mining vessel, it will be up to Dr. Ira Onyx and her team to figure out how to get home safely before it takes over. Run, hide, evade; it is inescapable; it has chosen you; fear is your only hope to survive, becoming its prey. Check out this story and more here: https://www.colintbates.com/books-1 Thanks for listening! I hope you enjoyed these little teasers for the audio version of Prey On coming out later this week.

What is the true nature of causality? Do we have free will? Can we ever truly outrun our past? For the Master of Arms of the Bellona, Cassian Fabius, the past has become a dead and rotting albatross around his neck. Yet, on this voyage across the Mediterranean Sea, he and his companions may face something more horrifying than his past. Set in 75BCE, Mortifer takes readers into the past, just before the fall of the Roman republic for a high seas horror adventure! I was inspired by a real archeological discovery of a sunken Roman merchant vessel after reading a bizarre scientific paper linking ancient Roman lead to the search for Neutrinos particles. I also wanted to tell a story that felt like an ancient Roman myth rediscovered. Let me know if I achieved my aims. I hope you enjoy it and keep filling your hearts with unimaginable horrors! Because true dread, is limitless and intoxicating. Check the story out here:https://www.amazon.com/Mortifer-Colin-Bates-ebook/dp/B0F95QX535?ref_=ast_author_dp_aw&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.17gKjS1_dh4_byJd4sTNGwwXAORSIvGIZVLICgoespxGj-BeGz9QSH9LJ0YgW_MX.sUuoEm3NMRc6ZeDaNG0HnOuUg3ZMqiRp-n-rL7Xl8nw&dib_tag=AUTHOR Or here: https://www.colintbates.com/books-1 Available in Paperback, Audio, and Kindle versions. Cover art by me, third image concept art by artist Anna Hyrshchenko.

He is from the time before. When language and reason were but whispers in the wind, he was the one true lord of blood and violence. He still is. Bow before the Conquering of the Sun, the primeval God of Anger and War.” As October approaches, it’s never too early to start enjoying some spooky horror short stories! Check out The Trophy at https://www.colintbates.com/books-1 Or https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2JLVCKB/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3K41J7K9VKH4U&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9-e3DA-YlHyW2nfiIC6wgg.BQxlILSntxplxNcN-CE4dHRbDYddqckvK82Z8t6w4uM&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+trophy+colin+t+bates&qid=1743026640&sprefix=the+trophy+colin+t+bates%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-1 Available in Paperback, Audio, and Kindle versions. Help support art and written works created by humans and not large language models or ai generated content. Your support means the world to me and allows me to keep creating content. Madison Niederhauser captures an unforgettable performance in the Audio version. I’ll be giving away some codes for the audio version of the story so comment or message to get yours before they are gone! Huge shout out to Phitoe Art on Fiverr for creating this amazing concept art from the short story (first image). Go check out more of their incredible works! Last images an art project bringing Urochok and his wicked teocalli to life with a model. Thanks for reading! I hope the existential dread hits just right! Sincerely, -CB

October is rapidly approaching…if you are looking for scares of the cosmic horror variety that come in easily digestible bite sized packages sure to induce those hits of existential dread you crave, then look no further. I’ve got 4 such stories out with more on the way. Check them out here: https://www.colintbates.com/books-1 Huge shout out to the amazing Steph Grossman for her wonderful edits and Michael Thompson Brown for his stellar audio performance which is coming very soon. I’ve attached a little taste to this post EXCLUSIVELY for this group and nowhere else. Have a great weekend, and never stop traversing the limits of reality and braving the unknown-able horrors that lurk beyond the veil. -CTB PS: giving away some Audio codes for my other stories to sweeten the pot. Message if you are ready to experience the madness for yourself.

Long ago, in the unfathomable benthic abyss of the early ocean floor, a fissure erupted forth that would change everything. Hot chemicals mixed with the cold seawater, forming black smokers —chimneys that spewed iron sulfide-rich concoctions continuously under extreme pressure. This near-limitless supply of chemical energy, upwelling from the fiery rage contained beneath Earth's crust, combined with various naturally produced mineral catalysts, mixed with the dichotomy of the cold marine environment. Thus was this caldron left to its own devices, allowed to bubble and mix for millions of years. At first, there was no goal, no reason, only a swirling of heat and compounds in a saline solution. Yet, from this geological anomaly came the most miraculous thing. At some point, chemistry began to extend and change. Bit by bit, piece by piece, chemical bonds chained more and more molecules together in increasingly elaborate ways. Then, it happened. Without warning, the first molecule arrived that could do what none could achieve before. It could catalyze its own formation, and thus the RNA world was born. These molecules would then begin to fold and store the information needed to change themselves; a helix of unparalleled complexity. Proto life continued to progress. Eventually, phospholipids enclosed these strange self-replicating micro machines and stabilized the environment in which they found themselves. A chemical shell had developed, one that provided enhanced protection against the elements. Thus, deep under the crashing primordial sea, the first cell came into being. Life was born, which would change the future forever. Yet a question remained. What was the goal of this so-called life? That would come later. When the spiral achieved its perfect form. An unstoppable pattern that would crawl and skitter in the darkest depths. One molded under pressure and brine; again and again, as if its wickedness was inevitable and inescapable. A haze of murk was settling on the horizon. A storm was brewing. Douglas pulled the lever on the wench, and the line whirred as it coiled tightly. He unhooked the bright orange buoy, then looked down and waited patiently for the yellow cage to emerge as it was being dredged up from below the dark waves. Noah leaned over next to the old fisherman, ready to help bring the fresh crab pot onboard.