S.G. Browne

This is the second in a series of Fun Facts about Lost Creatures, my new collection of short stories, On Sale Now.

Below are two more Fun Facts about two of the short stories in the collection, “All of the Lost Creatures Are Found” and “Riding the Softland Express.”

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LOST CREATURES Fun Fact #3

The title for Lost Creatures comes from the penultimate story in the collection “All of the Lost Creatures Are Found.” That story was inspired by all of the lost pet fliers I see posted around San Francisco and how I wish they could all be found.

The story was also inspired by the idea of childhood dreams combined with job titles I’ve come across on LinkedIn and how no child ever dreams of growing up to be a procurement analyst, a human resources generalist, or a senior account executive.

LOST CREATURES Fun Fact #4

The second story in Lost Creatures, “Riding the Softland Express,” originally appeared as “Softland” in my collection Shooting Monkeys in a Barrel. That short story was the inspiration for my third novel Lucky Bastard.

This is the first in a series of Fun Facts about Lost Creatures, my new collection of short stories, on sale now. I’ll be sharing these over the next couple of weeks, so I hope you enjoy them.

First up are a couple of Fun Facts about my short story “Remedial English for Reanimated Corpses,” which takes place at Bela Lugosi University, where the werewolves and vampires rule and the zombies most definitely drool.

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LOST CREATURES Fun Fact #1

Professor Warner, who teaches the titular class in “Remedial English for Reanimated Corpses,” is named after Andy Warner, the protagonist and hero of Breathers.

Oh, and “Remedial English for Reanimated Corpses” is available as a Kindle single for the low, low price of FREE until May 22.

LOST CREATURES Fun Fact #2

The idea for “Remedial English for Reanimated Corpses” originated when I was interviewed for the zombie documentary DOC OF THE DEAD and explained my theory that zombies are the nerds of the monster world, while werewolves are the jocks and vampires are the frat boys.

If you click on the DOC OF THE DEAD link, you can watch my explanation, complete with the cartoon graphics below, at the 45:52 mark of the documentary. (I also have contributions at the 20:13, 38:47, and 1:16:02 marks.) If you’ve never seen the documentary and are a zombie and/or pop culture fan, it’s definitely worth the time.

My new book is here! My new book is here!

Lost Creatures, my new collection of short stories, officially releases today! Woo hoo!

It’s available in ebook on Kindle, Nook, Apple Books, and Kobo, and in paperback on Amazon. (It will also be available for pre-order in paperback on B&N but at the moment B&N is experiencing technical difficulties.)

You can read all about Lost Creatures and find order links to all of the vendors on my website: Order Lost Creatures Here. Or you can click on the individual vendor links below:

Order in Paperback on Amazon
Order on Kindle
Order on Nook
Order on Apple Books
Order on Kobo

I’m excited to share this collection of stories with you and hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

We’re just two days out from the official release of Lost Creatures, my new collection of fourteen short stories, and I’m excited to share them with you!

While the paperback version won’t officially be available until May 17, the eBook version is available for pre-order on several platforms, depending on your eBook vendor preference. In addition to Kindle, Lost Creatures is available on Nook, Apple Books, and Kobo. I’ve included the links below if you’d like to check them out:

Order on Kindle
Order on Nook
Order on Apple Books
Order on Kobo

Oh, and if you haven’t entered the Goodreads Giveaway for a signed paperback copy of Lost Creatures, the giveaway ends on May 16, so there’s still time.

Also, if you’d like a sneak peak at the collection, my short story “Scattered Showers with a Chance of Daikaiju,” the first story in Lost Creatures, is currently FREE on Amazon through May 16 if you’d like to check it out. Or give it as a gift to a friend. The more, the merrier.

Finally, as this is a self-published endeavor, it doesn’t have the marketing or promotional weight of a publishing house behind it like my other published books. So if you feel compelled to share with friends and family, or anyone who you think might enjoy my collection of stories, any signal boost is appreciated.

As always, thanks for reading!

With the release of Lost Creatures, my new short story collection, just 4 weeks away, I wanted to share the table of contents with you, since the book is not available right now for pre-order.

I think of story collections (and anthologies) as literary playlists and the writer (or editor) as the DJ, spinning tales to help create a rhythm and flow to keep the reader engaged. I can’t speak for other writers or editors, but I put the stories in a specific order, with the idea that reading the collection from start to finish gives the reader an experience they wouldn’t get by jumping from one story to another.

For me, short story collections are akin to concept albums. Even though they’re made up of individual tales, all of the stories together take the reader on a unique journey.

Below is the Table of Contents for Lost Creatures, in the order the stories appear:

“Scattered Showers with a Chance of Daikaiju”
“Riding the Softland Express”
“Periodic Table of the Elements Weekly Singles Mixer”
“Letters to Santa (from the Arctic Academy for Gifted Creatures)”
“Reminiscences of My Childhood Centaurs”
“Dr. Sinister’s Home for Retired Villains”
“When the Giant Koi Returned to San Francisco”
“Intro to Trademark Infringement at Dunkin’ Donuts High”
“Inside the Monsters Studio”
“Remedial English for Reanimated Corpses”
“The Time Traveler’s Guide to Insomnia”
“The Curse of the Amazing Colossal Thing from Outer Space”
“All of the Lost Creatures are Found”
“Intervention for a Lycanthrope”

Seven of the stories in the collection have been published previously. Three of the stories (Scattered Showers, Dr. Sinister’s, and Remedial English) were self-published as Kindle singles in 2016 (although they are now also up on Barnes & Noble). One of the stories (Riding the Softland Express) appeared in my first collection Shooting Monkeys in a Barrel. Three other stories (Letters to Santa, Inside the Monsters Studio, and The Curse of the Amazing etc) all appeared previously in anthologies. If you click on the names of the stories in the Table of Contents above, you’ll be directed to the anthologies in question.

The other seven stories in Lost Creatures are all brand spanking new, never before published tales, about lovelorn chemical elements, domesticated centaurs, giant koi, trademarked teenagers, time-traveling alcoholics, disillusioned children, and intervention advice for the werewolf in your life. And I can’t wait to share them with you.