Buy for Kindle. Buy for iOS. Buy at Smashwords. Friends, professors, and family have told me for years that I should just take the plunge and self-publish some of my fiction. I resisted for a number of reasons. The organizations I dreamed of joining as a child--like the SFWA and HWA--did not count self-published work toward membership requirements. Any research I did into self-publishing 10 years ago when the suggestions first started said it wasn't as reputable and there was no market for it. I was terrified of putting my work out there unfiltered without the approval of a big pro-rate magazine or publisher.

I've watched as the market for horror, dark fantasy, and bizarre sci-fi short stories has contracted steadily over the past decade. Every time I went to submit a new story through the usual suspects, there were fewer publications showing up for the line-up. New magazines would pop up, accept my work, then fold after their first issue (when I was slated for the second or third). Digital only publications, as a rule, believe that just being kind enough to publish your short story on their Wordpress site is payment enough; it's really not.

I can't live being afraid of showing off my work anymore. The immense popularity of Kindle, Nook, and eBook apps means that stigma over self-publication is gradually fading away. Even the Horror Writers Association is allowing self-published works to be considered for their annual Bram Stoker Awards now. That is when I knew I needed to finally put my work out there on my own.

Take Out & Other Stories: A Collection of Weird Fiction is my first ever short story capsule collection. It features five original stories, never before published in these versions, exploring what happens when seemingly rational people are confronted with things that can't just be explained away. From a young horror obsessive discovering a new book to an unwilling cook discovering his kitchen has come to life, Take Out & Other Stories twists some aspect of everyday life into a living nightmare.

Take Out & Other Stories is currently available through Smashwords in epub, mobi, and pdf forms for $2.99. You can use the discount code KX65Z through 1 January 2014 for 10% off the purchase.

Update: You can buy it directly from Amazon for Kindle now.

Smashwords is currently sending the collection out to Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, Apple, Kobo, Diesel, Page Foundry, Baker & Taylor Blio, Library Direct, Baker & Taylor Axis360, Flipkart, and Oyster. An audio book version featuring original scoring and sound effects will be coming out in January.

I'm excited and scared at the same time. This is a huge step for me and one I did not take lightly. I want to put out more small themed collections like this while I work on a larger collection or work of fiction/non-fiction. If you choose to purchase the book, please find the time to review it wherever you purchased it. Similarly, if you run a website or publication and would like to review the collection, please contact me so we can discuss review copies. I don't bite.