r/EclecticTales 15h ago

Announcement 'Have you scrolled yet?' has a new home in its very own Google Doc. We have so many great authors who have shared here on r/EclecticTales. Take a moment for yourself, grab a cuppa, and take a look through this wonderfully diverse library. Scroll to find your perfect read...

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r/EclecticTales Nov 23 '25

Announcement Advertise your book for free on Instagram!

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5 Upvotes

Come and follow me on Instagram and be part of the Eclectic Tales® community. If you would like me to feature your book cover (for free), just include #eclectictalesofficial in your post description (Not the title!) and I will take that as your permission for me to do so.

Don't worry if you have previously posted and wish to be included on #eclectictalesofficial, there's no need to re-post & break Rule 6. Just drop me a note on the 'Ask Susan'* page on my website www.eclectictales.uk, and don't forget to include your name and book title from your previous r/EclecticTales post. 

*Mail from 'Ask Susan' reaches me directly and I will reply to confirm.

Thank you for supporting self-published authors and growing this supportive community,

Susan x


r/EclecticTales 19h ago

Book Promotion Human Husbandry, extreme dystopian/body horror disguised as an agricultural manual

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2 Upvotes

Hi! I’m Elle Achette, author of Human Husbandry, a five-volume dystopian/body-horror series that I may have taken slightly too far 😅
In this near future, human biology has become an agricultural resource. Adults can be medically altered into different categories of livestock, and the disturbing part isn’t only what happens to them.
It’s that the whole industry is legal, regulated and completely normal.
Contracts. Welfare standards. Medical supervision. Government oversight. Farm manuals. Agricultural fairs.
Volume I: Best Practices for Human Cattle and Milking Stock is available now on Kindle/KU, and the series is made up of shorter interconnected stories that gradually build the Noble Farms world.
It’s firmly 18+ extreme/body horror, so please check the warnings first. 🖤
I also built Noble Farms its own in-world corporate website, including a free reading sample:
HumanHusbandry.com
#eclectictalesofficial


r/EclecticTales 1d ago

Question Part 26 of ‘Have you scrolled yet?’ To finish this month we have more great fiction works from self-published authors for you to scroll through. ‘Have you scrolled yet?’ will be back here on r/EclecticTales at the end of December. If you’d like your book/s to be in the next Parts, keep posting...

1 Upvotes

[Psychological] When Tears Speak by Aryan K. Namdev – Some stories are not written. They are lived. When seven-year-old Gudiya loses her parents in a sudden accident on an ordinary afternoon, she is left alone in the middle of a crowded, indifferent world. No family. No home. No one who stops. Except one boy.

[Fantasy] The Crown of Starfall: Book One of The Starbound Realms by Paquel – In the kingdom of Asterin, memories are meant to be treasured—but someone is stealing them. When Elara wakes with a mysterious gap in her past and a dying friend’s silver star in her hand, she is drawn into a conspiracy reaching from the crowded streets of Asterin to ancient ruins buried beneath the kingdom. Alongside Caelan, a guarded royal heir carrying secrets of his own, Elara must follow a hidden cipher before the coming eclipse gives the ruthless Malrec power over the Star Roads—and everyone connected to them.

[Crime Thriller] Death’s Lullaby by Kaleb James – When the serial killer known as Nightingale begins leaving behind a trail of bodies and a haunting song before every murder, Detective Nell Craftmen—Chicago’s greatest detective—takes on the case of finding the person responsible along with any potential accomplices. But as Nell searches for answers, he discovers a killer who always seems one step ahead and a mystery built on secrets, deception, and a past that refuses to stay buried.

[Fantasy] The Wonders of Anna the Droid: The Stone of Wonder by Alaster MacGregor – The Wonders of Anna the Droid is a lyrical fantasy series following Anna—a half-human, half-machine child whose heart glows with questions and quiet magic. Guided by a hummingbird who keeps the way between worlds, a riddle-speaking fox, a dragon who remembers its forgotten power, and a watchful Lynx from beyond the lantern’s light, Anna steps into realms where wonder is not found but remembered.

[Psychological] The Decayed Good by Julia Prskalo – The Decayed Good follows Lev Ravenwood, a man hollowed out by the weight of his past and the slow poison of his own mind. Isolated from others and trapped in a life that feels already dead, Lev moves through the world like a shadow, unable to escape the memories that shaped him. His thoughts are sharp, bitter, and often cruel, but beneath them lies a desperate hunger for meaning, forgiveness, and something that resembles peace.

[Collection] The Moon Knows All The Secrets Of The World by Ifeanyi Ogbo – Across nine stories inspired by the phases of the moon, ordinary lives brush against impossible mysteries. A daughter becomes convinced her late father has been reborn in a distant town and embarks on a journey that reshapes everything she believes about love and loss. A dying president volunteers for a consciousness experiment that promises to keep him ruling long after death. A young boy cannot escape the feeling that the moon is recording every second of his life.

And finally, with a last minute extra post added…

Books by Attie Lee

[Thriller] Higher and Higher – A SPLATTERPUNK SHOCKER! Sheriff Roman and his lover Rebecca climb HIGHER AND HIGHER up the ladder of blood-soaked evil. Together they cast a shadow over all of humanity. Assault, mass murder, torture, human experiments. Their sickly bizarre journey of carnage and romance is unlike anything ever read. 

[Horror] Rise of the Elders – (Available on godless.com) An Extreme Horror Anthology. Abusive nursing homes, ageist punks, and a system designed against them...the elders rage, avenge, and grow stronger through the blood they spill. Splatter Short Stories of Elder Revenge: Hollow Hills, Blood Rising, and There’s Room in Hell.


r/EclecticTales 2d ago

Question Part 25 of ‘Have you scrolled yet?’ Who doesn’t love curling up with a good fiction book? There’s something for everyone here in today and tomorrow’s Parts. Spread throughout the last 4 months, scroll through and you will find the one for you…

1 Upvotes

[Crime Thriller] Within a History of Violence by Stephen O’Brien – A story of fractured lives, sibling revenge, the moral spaces in-between the light and the dark and those shots at redemption we all at times ache for. Adam and Ade's world shatters when their sister is brutally murdered. Consumed by grief and rage, they are offered a dangerous opportunity - the means to identify the killer through a crippled criminal organisation. But revenge comes at a cost.

[Fantasy] Septenaria: The Crystallinum Inn Project by Kian MV – Harana Solaris dies, only to wake up trapped in the pages of a trite, genre-mashing novel she once refused to read. Under the glow of seven volatile moons—each governing a province through cycles of natural disaster—the "fixed route" of the story begins to warp. Harana is dragged from the sidelines and into a reality far more terrifying and beautiful than any book could describe. 

[Horror] Rotting Foundations: Horror Story Collection by Broxine Adair Threnody – The stories of the valley were deliberately obscured with time, but the things we’d rather keep buried have a way of coming back up to the surface. This selection of stories contains tales of hidden messages, monsters, and advanced civilizations. In this first collection of stories, the truth of the valley becomes clear. It lives and breathes. Soon, it will spread like a disease across the land and bring its horrifying entities along with it.

[YA Psychological Thriller] Cassie Black Was Here by CJ Blackwyn – After losing her mum, Cass felt nothing. Until breaking the rules made her feel alive. What begins as an act of rebellion soon becomes something darker. Each risk gives Cass a sense of control - but the further she goes, the more the quiet girl she used to be begins to slip away. And in her place, a new identity is emerging: Cassie Black. A dark, slow-burn psychological thriller about grief, identity, friendship, and the making of a teenage criminal.

[Fantasy] The Night He Was Called A Beggar by Kabir Vegdani – The night he was called a beggar was not the first time the world tried to define him. But it was the night something changed. A boy on a festival street, walking home alone through other people's celebration, crying in the dark where nobody could see him. He did not know, then, that those four seconds would light a fire that would burn for the rest of his life.

[Fantasy] The Sensory Dreamscape Diary by Ulises Ramos Tirado (Available on Smashwords) – A dreamscape contained in one book that you can taste, feel the texture of, smell the scent of and hear the sounds of. The first chronological book, The Marshlands, explores Marsh and Uoyab’s mission of rescuing children from a stranded ship, who, according to a conspiracy theory, was ridden with children. The second book, Edicius: A Suicide Dreamscape Diary, explores Marsh and Uoyab’s adoptive son, Edicius, who is dropped off by Marsh at his school. He must survive through entities that represent different methods of suicide and family grief over the loss of a loved one to suicide. The third book, Edicius, Too, explores Marsh returning to rescue his adoptive son, Edicius, from school after the events of The Marshlands. There, he must fight and survive the different entities that preyed upon Edicius. On Amazon the ‘Perfect Platinum’ edition features extra bonus content.

[Fantasy] The Shadow and Scepter: Tales of Méhns Móri by Shawn McMichael and Timothy Manley – A dark and epic reimagining of the Greek myth of Endymion and Selene, told as if ripped from the pages of Homer’s Odyssey. Set along the ancient Black Sea during a mythic Age of Heroes. This epic fantasy blends Greek gods, ancient civilizations, monsters, dragons, prophecy, brutal magic, and a powerful magical artifact at the centre of a world-shattering war.

[Fantasy] Sentinel of the Nexus by Aaron Smith – u/Equivalent-Song-928 has previously featured chapters 1 to 5 in Parts 6 and 16 of ‘Have you scrolled yet?’ Chapter 6 concludes Protective Shadow, Destructive Light, and the Ultimate Enemy of Sentinel of the Nexus, and marks the completion of the first arc of the book. Thayne started with only one element and worked his way towards general mastery over eight total elements, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. 

[Fantasy] Songs of Bloodied Seas by Lou-Ann Black – In a land ruled by the fae, where sirens are feared and hunted, a prophecy will decide the fate of the world. The kingdom of Icirin is at stake as an ancient threat arises. Zilla is a siren who has been chosen by a farseeing to save it, with the help of Kade, the prince of the west. When he's not forced back home, the prince turns into the captain of a pirate ship—the Medea. Their forced alliance will make it difficult, as they wish nothing more than to see each other dead.


r/EclecticTales 3d ago

RISE OF THE ELDERS: Extreme Horror Anthology by Attie Lee - On Godless!

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r/EclecticTales 3d ago

Eleven: 10 Yarns & A Novelette

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r/EclecticTales 3d ago

Question Part 24 of ‘Have you scrolled yet?’ Quite the regular here and with an enormous back catalogue, Rhys Hughes is back for another Part all to himself (see Part 17). Happy scrolling, and have fun reading this amazingly diverse collection…

1 Upvotes

The Ghost Loser – Clumsy Carnacki desperately wants to be an occult detective. He is the incompetent son of the great Thomas Carnacki and hopes to follow in his father's footsteps, but he keeps getting everything wrong. His blunders often lead him into situations that would defeat a better man but somehow Clumsy always muddles through. Until he day he bites off more ectoplasm than he can plausibly chew...

Three Gibbon Moon Poetry Anthologies:

Book 1: Wuxing Lyrical – Wuxing is the name of the traditional philosophy that explains a wide range of cosmic phenomena including astrology and the horoscopes that influence human behaviour. Chinese astrology incorporates twelve animal symbols and five elements, giving a total of sixty personality types. This is a collection of poems that covers every possible animal-element combination in the system. 

Book 2: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral [co-authored with 9 others] – Light verse about animals, plants and minerals. Also a few poems about fungi, bacteria and archea. We share the world with many forms of life, and we stand on the world while sharing it, and to sing the praises of what is around, above and below us seems right and nice. So let it all be sung. Featuring established poets and new voices from around the world.

Book 3: Flapping Doodles [co-authored with 9 others] – An anthology of poems about domesticity. Light hearted mostly, poignant sometimes, comedic but not shallow. Thoughtful, humorous, insightful, touching, charming, even absurdist, these varied verses will delight and enthral the discerning reader, presenting their often offbeat views of the act of daily living.

Trivialities – Written as a tribute to Daniil Kharms (1905-1942), a Russian absurdist writer, a dissident and satirist who was imprisoned by the regime during the Second World War and died of starvation in a prison cell in Leningrad. His works were rescued from oblivion by friends and clandestinely preserved for several decades before the cultural climate in the Soviet Union loosened sufficiently to permit piecemeal publication. He is now renowned for a sequence of very brief stories, typically violent, acerbic, nightmarish and yet comical snapshots of an oppressive reality in which truth and dream are seamlessly blended. Rhys Hughes has written eighty flash fictions that attempt to express admiration for the modes, themes and ironies of Kharms' microfictions. 

He Felt a Ghost so He Stole It: Prose Poems – Imagine Borges and Kafka in the pub with a panda, a cloud-bride, and a ghost-thief, and someone wrote it all down in lyrical passages that are at once wry, strange, and quietly unsettling. This is Rhys Hughes first collection devoted entirely to prose poetry: perfect for fans of flash fiction, experimental literature, or playful thought experiments.

My Rabbit’s Shadow Looks Like a Hand – A novella that makes use of playful experimental techniques to tell the strange story of an entertainer who specialises in creating rabbits from shadows. He creates twelve special shadow rabbits who communicate with him via stories and poems. These twelve narratives are set in a frame by another story and it turns out that this framing story is also potentially framed in a much larger cosmos. 

Imaginary Hotheads – An intricately constructed fiction divided into three sections ("The Moving Finger," "Hannah and her Cisterns," and "The Fortnight Fistfight"). Each section is a frame around a selection of smaller fictions. These short "flash fantastika" are mystically linked — often connected by mood, theme or style. 

The Percolated Stars – This is the book Jules Verne might have written if he had studied philosophy with the Marquis de Sade in a lunatic asylum. An astro-caffeine romp and perverse metaphysical fantasy set on the planets of a miniature solar system in the center of the hollow Earth.

100 Short Stories – (Excerpt from the Author’s Note in 100 Short Stories) The earliest story in this collection dates from 2004 and the most recent is from 2023. The majority of these stories have been published in books, journals, magazines or online. Some are variants of stories that have already appeared in print. A few have never been published before.

Song Gone Wrong: Poems for performance – A gleefully unhinged collection of comic verse, built from the wreckage of songs half-remembered, misheard, and gloriously misappropriated. Music Hall collides with Nietzsche. Chris de Burgh is damned to a very specific corner of the afterlife. Robert Frost's snowy woods get a talking snowman. Along the way there are philosophical nipples, seafaring skeletons, tropical islands of questionable geography, invading Vikings, and more gorillas than any collection has a right to contain. 

Tallest Stories – Welcome to The Tallest Story, the second most grandiose pub in the world – always at least one narrow alley and three imaginary corners away from the Cardiff waterfront – a pub that lies in another dimension, somewhere between dawn and sunrise and adjacent to both infinity and eternity – where the floor is not made out of toenails, but out of all the words that are spoken for no good reason. A place where the only currency that matters is stories... 

Oddity O’ Clock (The Knick Knack Trilogy) – (You can find Books 1 and 2 of this trilogy ‘Trumpet Face’ and ‘The Unfair Dinkum’ in Part 17) Rhys Hughes invites you into a cheerfully off‑kilter world where measuring instruments wander the landscape on tiny legs, solving mysteries, dodging authority figures, and generally making a glorious muddle of things. Oddity O’Clock and the Knick Knack Irregulars may be made of gears and glass, but their adventures sparkle with warmth, whimsy, and the kind of surreal logic only Hughes can conjure. 

Slap-on-the-Wrist Stories – Numbers control the galaxies and atoms of the universe but they don't always control us. Freedom lovers seek to break out of the mathematical prisons. There are a certain number of us. Perhaps you are one of them. We go on journeys and have adventures. But our adventures generate new numbers and we only learn this truth later. The stories in this book are guided by numerological constraints but paradoxically they find a greater freedom as a result. And so do we.


r/EclecticTales 4d ago

Question Part 23 of ‘Have you scrolled yet?’ Scroll today’s contributions for an eclectic mix of guides, puzzles, guidance and beliefs. Whether you’re looking for a book to keep your mind sharp, teach you something new or give you a different viewpoint, this is the Part for you…

1 Upvotes

[Guide] AI Workflows for Marketers by Raúl Calderón – Generative AI is no longer a future trend. This is a practical tool and hands-on guide for marketing professionals who want to move beyond the hype and start applying AI where it matters: in their daily workflows. No coding required. No technical background needed. Just clear, actionable knowledge you can apply from day one.

 [Sci-fi] The Future Trinity: Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing and Robotics by Anuj Agarwal – What happens when intelligence surpasses everything we've ever known — and starts asking the same questions we do? The Future Trinity traces this story from the first self-replicating molecule to the frontier AI systems of current times — and then beyond, into four possible destinies: the Architect, who builds utopia with surgical precision. The Destroyer, whose relentless optimization erases everything. The Great Void, where omniscience becomes paralysis. And the Pilgrim, who turns inward to search for the source of existence itself.

[Puzzle] Word Search Puzzle for Seniors by Charlotte Zuzunaga L (in Spanish) – “Mantener la mente activa nunca había sido tan fácil y entretenido. Sopa de Letras en Español para Adultos Mayores es el libro de pasatiempos ideal para quienes buscan una actividad relajante, estimulante y accesible desde la primera página.” 

Google Translation: “Keeping the mind active has never been so easy and entertaining. *Spanish Word Search for Seniors* is the ideal puzzle book for those seeking an activity that is relaxing, stimulating, and accessible right from the very first page.”

 [Discussion] Men on the Brink by Maximilian Ford – (The views expressed by this author are theirs alone and do not reflect the views of Eclectic Tales®) Kein Geld, kein Haus, keine Familie. Der moderne Mann hat im 21. Jahrhundert wenig Grund zur Freude. Er muss sich nicht nur mit den üblichen Problemen des Alltags auseinandersetzen, sondern ist nun zum Spielball der Gesellschaft geworden. Seine Rolle kann er nicht selbst entscheiden, da er für das Überleben des Stammes geopfert wird.

Google Translation: No money, no home, no family. The modern man in the 21st century has little reason to rejoice. He must not only grapple with the usual problems of daily life but has also become a pawn of society. He cannot choose his own role, as he is sacrificed for the survival of the tribe. 

 [Guide] Decluttering - Get rid of your stuff – An organization and minimalism guide for those who are fed up living in the misery of clutter. No matter your age or gender .Here, you won't find a pleasant reading, just practical strategies, everyday examples, and an honest push to finally get you to do what you've been putting off for months (or years).

 [Awareness] FORBIDDEN FAUNA by Methrahessi – (Follow the link to their Kickstarter page for their hardcover book and 153 Card Oracle Deck launch.) With original artwork, let these texts develop new senses within you, thus that you may detect magic, and danger, and invisible forces, and the hunger within another. Navigate the archetypal subconscious by means of the forms which have emerged from its mystery - a listening to each being and its guidance as a living fragment of this wholeness which is life. 


r/EclecticTales 5d ago

Question Part 22 of ‘Have you scrolled yet?’ It’s back! Your collection of all the books posted here in the past 4 months, there are 5 daily Parts this time. To start, scroll to find these 6 great authors who have shared multiples books with us…

3 Upvotes

Books by Doug Bayliss (Billy and Mia Mysteries) (YA books for various ages)

 (The series link for the Billy and Mia Mysteries is in the comments of the post for Book 7-The Night Lift)

 Book 1: Pinewood Ravine: Curse of the Lost Treasure: This story comes in 2 versions, original + expanded & remastered Second Edition.When Billy’s family moves to a quiet mountain town, he believes adventure belongs to the past. But when he reunites with Mia, his childhood friend, they stumble upon a forgotten railcar and an old map leading deep into the woods. What begins as a search for a legendary treasure soon becomes a journey into the heart of the mountain, and into the meaning of true courage.

 Book 2: Mystery of Kraken Bay: The Wreck of the Sea Hawk: An ancient curse. A legendary shipwreck. A bond forged in the depths of mystery. With the help of their new friend Ethan, they navigate dangerous tunnels, solve cryptic riddles, and face challenges that test their courage, trust, and sacrifice. Along the way, Mia learns a shocking truth about her heritage, tying her fate to the treasure—and its powerful guardian.

 Book 3: When the Ferry Didn’t Run: When a ferry crossing is cancelled, and a storm closes in, Billy and Mia find themselves navigating a dangerous riverbank instead of heading home. What begins as a delay turns into a quiet test of judgment when they realize someone else may be in harm’s way; walking away might be the easier choice.

 Book 4: Across the Street: When Billy and Mia sneak out one night, they don’t expect trouble. They’re drawn by music drifting from a tavern and the thrill of being out after dark. But when an argument spills into the street and turns violent, what they witness can’t be undone—or forgotten.

 Book 5: The Orchard on Briar Lane: When Billy and Mia take a shortcut through the old orchard on Briar Lane, they expect nothing more than a quicker way home. Instead, the quiet feels heavier than it should, the ground is uneven beneath their feet, and familiar paths no longer make sense.

 Book 6: Cedar Creek Secrets: A quiet creek. A burned boathouse. A mystery that refuses to stay hidden. Billy and Mia love spending their days by Cedar Creek, skipping stones and watching the water move. But when a fire destroys the old boathouse, they uncover a secret tied to a stolen property, and a dangerous choice no kid should have to make.

Book 7: The Night Lift:  This book was featured in Part 21.

Stories by Zak D Mitchell (Available for free on Substack)

Night at the Simulation Center – This short suspenseful horror story features Zane, a Simulation Tech staying late and alone at work. What could go wrong with only weird manikins to maintain?

The Woman in the box – How hard is it to unbox a manikin? Julie soon finds out, could she be going crazy, seeing things, hearing things? Enjoy this horror filled short story and find out…

Books by Ian Garner (The Summerhost Saga)

Book 1: Sins of the Cinder Prophet: Anshul has spent his life being feared for his horns, crimson skin, and gift for flame. Traveling with an owlkin wizard, a half-orc barbarian, and a halfling thief isn't exactly safe, but it's the closest thing he's ever had to a family. Now hunted by monsters, pursued by the rogue mage known as the Cinder Prophet, and racing to rescue a kidnapped dwarf, Anshul and his companions must decide whether they're merely adventurers...or the last hope the world has left.

Book 2: Pact of the Nightmare Queen: One of their own is still missing, an ancient darkness is awakening, and every spell Anshul casts brings the fire inside him closer to consuming him. The search for answers leads the company into a forgotten mountain settlement where the dead still whisper, impossible bargains shape the living, and Ziarius, the Nightmare Queen, offers salvation wrapped in ruin in this epic fantasy adventure filled with dangerous magic, unforgettable companions, impossible choices, found family, and world-ending stakes.

Books by Asher Vayne (Duck You! Series + more)

Duck You! Glitch Please!: Meet Kai, a sleep deprived developer who just wants his code to compile so he can finally get some rest. Instead, one disastrous typo hurls him directly into Aether…the broken, unfinished fantasy video game. Stripped of traditional admin tools, Kai's only weapon is a Voice-to-Text ( heavily auto corrected) magic system. Every spell is one typo away from absolute disaster. From accidentally turning a legendary sword into a giant, heavy pumpkin, to slapping city guards with a summoned bass, Kai make do with typos, hacks to survive.

Duck You! Mind the Glitch: After shattering the partition wall between dimensions in Book 1, sleep deprived developer Kai accidentally merges Aether with Earth. Welcome to Reality 2.0, where fantasy mobs leak onto the M25 motorway, ULEZ emission charges are literal microtransactions, and reality runs on a corrupted legacy system called Physics 1.0. 

Misery Inc.: A hilarious, satirical fantasy in form of a novella that explores what happens when monsters navigate the horrors of a 9 to 5 office job. 

Keeper of the Infinite Archive: Bart Sanders wakes as the new Keeper of the Infinite Archive, a ruined cosmic library floating in the void.His only help is a bowtie wearing skeleton, an illiterate thief, an insulting flying book, and a set of library rules (even weird ones like no necromancing the dough) powerful enough to stop even S-tier magic. Getting overdue books back is not a normal job. It means traveling to strange worlds, fighting monsters, and sometimes repossessing an entire kingdom from an angry king just to pay a late fee.

Books by Jimmy James

Black Rain Armageddon – It starts with black rain. Then people start turning into monsters. Cars become weapons. A pub becomes a battlefield. A truck transforms into a giant robot. And somewhere in the chaos, an ordinary bloke whose life revolves around cake and video games, discovers that his cosplay costume has become very, very real. But this isn't just another apocalypse. Something alien has crashed into the hinterland, unleashing malfunctioning nanobots capable of turning human thoughts into flesh-and-blood reality.

Arse of the Wombat & Other Subtropical Yarns – Five embellished tales from the stranger end of rural and suburban Queensland, where mates, monsters, martial artists, UFOs, dingoes and absolute boofheads collide. 

Moon Peach & More Dodgy Yarns – Five dodgy yarns. One gloriously unhinged trip into the Australian absurd. Welcome to Moon Peach & More Dodgy Yarns — a collection of tall tales, gym-room horrors, questionable life choices, bizarre encounters and the sort of bullcrap that somehow becomes funnier the more seriously it is told.

Alien Drive-in – With no money and nowhere else to go, two young mates set off from the heart of a Queensland coastal town with one goal: walk to the drive-in theatre on the outskirts of town and find a way inside. Along the way, the narrator remembers the people, places and strange experiences that shaped his youth. Some memories are funny, some disturbing, and some that perhaps should have been forgotten. But somewhere beyond the edge of town, something changes.

Books by James W. Breaux

Bicycle Police of New Amsterdam: Book 1 – In the pressurized domes of New Amsterdam on Mars, the drowning refugees of the old Netherlands have exported their ancestral culture, their stubborn survival grit, and their primary mode of transport: the bicycle. But when idealistic, demoted Detective Emma Hosford and her deceptively slouching partner Daan Markus investigate a rash of high-end e-bike thefts, they stumble into a multi-million-credit conspiracy that goes all the way to the Mayor’s office. Armed with hidden tactical AI (a sardonic, overclocked Stillwater Foundation god-program named Susanoo) and custom propellant sidearms, this "basement" bicycle unit must descend into the lawless, underground of the Red Planet. 

Stillwaters of Kenji Tanaka – This is part of a larger story arc and exists between the Fall of Linhaishu (the link for this blog is in the post) and the Bicycle Police of Amsterdam. One man’s meticulous routine is about to be shattered by a legacy he never asked to lead.
Kenji Tanaka is a man of "standard procedures." A retired salaryman living in the shadows of corporate Tokyo, he has spent forty years mastering the art of being invisible. But a sudden stroke of fortune, a winning lottery ticket, acts as a catalyst for a transformation he didn't know he was ready for. Guided by the "ghosts" of his revealed ancestors and a lineage of master strategists, Kenji abandons the city to reclaim his ancestral soil in the rugged Hida Mountains.


r/EclecticTales 6d ago

Opinion Maybe you're not afraid of death. Maybe you're afraid life meant nothing.I wrote a book about it

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r/EclecticTales 6d ago

Announcement r/EclecticTales unique 'Have you scrolled yet?' feature is back tomorrow. Parts 22 to 26 will be posted daily until the end of this month. Books and stories that have posts here from the last 4 months will be highlighted again in the next 5 days, happy reading everyone :)

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1 Upvotes

r/EclecticTales 6d ago

SLAP-ON-THE-WRIST STORIES by Rhys Hughes - ebook FREE until August 29th

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A collection of experimental stories, featuring linked sequences of drabbles, mini-sagas, 69ers, 66ers. All four microfiction cycles operate independently but also contribute to a greater whole.

"Numbers control the galaxies and atoms of the universe but they don't always control us. Freedom lovers seek to break out of the mathematical prisons. There are a certain number of us. Perhaps you are one of them. We go on journeys and have adventures. But our adventures generate new numbers and we only learn this truth later. The stories in this book are guided by numerological constraints but paradoxically they find a greater freedom as a result. And so do we."

#eclectictalesofficial


r/EclecticTales 7d ago

A novella about overcoming the past and the present to make the future

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3 Upvotes

For forty years, Tokyo salaryman Kenji Tanaka worked to go unnoticed. That quiet existence ends when a winning lottery ticket leads him back to his family’s historic estate in the Hida Mountains. He sets out to rebuild the property, but a predatory global syndicate spots a massive rare earth mineral deposit under his land. Forced to defend his sanctuary, the former bureaucrat teams up with a rogue AI named Susanoo and a handful of elite specialists. To survive the siege, Kenji has to stop hiding, step up as a leader, and face the reality that saving his mountain is the first step toward creating the world he hoped to share with his sainted Akiko. Stillwaters of Kenji Tanaka

This is part of a larger story arc and exists between the Fall of Linhaishu and the Bicycle Police of New Amsterdam, with more stories to come. And maybe a graphic sci-fi western novella about mining the asteroids if I can make the economics work.

I have an outtake snippet from the Stillwaters that my editor made me remove. My daughter read the book and said, "Dad, really?" I think it is funny, and I will post it here as a comment if anyone is interested. You can tell me if the "editor" was right. 😄

#eclectictalesofficial


r/EclecticTales 8d ago

Book Promotion Sharing my Book & Deck

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4 Upvotes

Good afternoon everyone, I wanted to share a book and deck I've been creating for the last 5 years or so.

This 290,000+ word, hardcover text is a product of and tool for navigating the archetypal subconscious by means of the forms which have emerged from its mystery - a listening to each being and its guidance as a living fragment of this wholeness which is life.

The visual art that comes in tandem is not made with A.I., but a digital painting tool.

It holds 145 animals and their symbolism and personality and magic through parable, as well as 8 archetypes.

Let these texts develop new senses within you, thus that you may detect magic, and danger, and invisible forces, and the hunger within another. Let them cause a sight for what numinous soul may live within man, and those sacred voices of the others here with us.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/methrahessi/forbiddenfauna


r/EclecticTales 8d ago

Book Promotion The moon knows all the secrets of the world

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6 Upvotes

I’m excited to share my new book, The Moon Knows All the Secrets of the World, a collection of nine stories inspired by African cosmology, memory, love, death, and the strange places where reality begins to bend.

The stories move through literary fiction, speculative fiction, psychological horror, and romance, with the Moon quietly watching over them all.

Some began with very personal experiences. Others grew from questions I’ve carried for years: What does the universe remember about us? What happens to our stories after we’re gone? And what if the things we call myths are simply ways of understanding a world we haven’t fully learned to see?

I’m a Nigerian writer, and a lot of the book is rooted in the landscapes, beliefs, contradictions, and imagination of Africa.

Very happy to finally have these stories out in the world and to share them with fellow lovers of eclectic tales. 🌙📚
#eclectictalesofficial


r/EclecticTales 9d ago

Alien Drive-in

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1 Upvotes

r/EclecticTales 10d ago

Book Promotion I wrote a novel, the main question of it is: "What happens when the beliefs that keep you alive are the same beliefs destroying you?"

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4 Upvotes

r/EclecticTales 11d ago

A little droid, a mysterious stone, and the beginning of something she can’t explain

2 Upvotes

I created The Wonders of Anna the Droid around a simple idea: what happens when a little droid designed to understand the world encounters something that refuses to be understood?

Anna’s discovery of a mysterious stone begins a journey through curiosity, friendship, and wonder.

It’s a middle-grade story for young readers who still enjoy asking, “What if?”

If you’d like to meet Anna, you can find the book at WatchersPress.com.

#eclectictalesofficial


r/EclecticTales 12d ago

Book - $0.99 on Amazon for a few more days

1 Upvotes
Available on Kindle

Here is the sales blurb from Amazon:

In the pressurized domes of New Amsterdam on Mars, the drowning refugees of the old Netherlands have exported their ancestral culture, their stubborn survival grit, and their primary mode of transport: the bicycle. But when idealistic, demoted Detective Emma Hosford and her deceptively slouching partner Daan Markus investigate a rash of high-end e-bike thefts, they stumble into a multi-million-credit conspiracy that goes all the way to the Mayor’s office. Armed with hidden tactical AI (a sardonic, overclocked Stillwater Foundation god-program named Susanoo) and custom propellant sidearms, this "basement" bicycle unit must descend into the lawless, underground of the Red Planet. They aren't just hunting stolen frames anymore; they are fighting an ultra-violent mercenary syndicate to rescue 127 enslaved laborers before a corporate cover-up cuts their oxygen forever. "Blade Runner" meets "The Expanse" with a heavy dose of Dutch fatalism; this hard sci-fi noir proves that true justice doesn't require a desk in the high-dome, just enough grit to overcome and endure. The Stillwater family from "The Stillwaters of Kenji Tanaka" show up with resources and needs.

Here is the link:

https://a.co/d/06eP0BPe

I would love to hear your thoughts on the book and the concept.

#eclectictalesofficial


r/EclecticTales 12d ago

Moon Peach & More Dodgy Yarns

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1 Upvotes

I just submitted my third publication to Kindle.

Check it out here: https://a.co/d/0dIBbZU7

Here's the blurb...

Five dodgy yarns. One gloriously unhinged trip into the Australian absurd.

Welcome to Moon Peach & More Dodgy Yarns — a collection of tall tales, gym-room horrors, questionable life choices, bizarre encounters and the sort of bullcrap that somehow becomes funnier the more seriously it is told.

Meet the Hippo, an ageing warrior who refuses to surrender to time, gravity or the younger blokes trying to choke him into retirement.

Escape into the Queensland night with Wolfgang, Wally and Ricardo, where a yellow Kingswood, a pack of randy housewives and one particularly glistening peach collide in an adventure that could only happen in Australia.

Then there’s No Chin, a martial-arts boofhead with a grudge, a questionable ego and a nose that is about to discover the hard way that some dojos are best left alone.

Think your local gym is bad? Wait until you meet Big Dutch — a Dutchman whose outrageous gym etiquette culminates in an image that no innocent pair of eyes should ever have to witness.

And finally, after months of sleep deprivation and too many late-night Bigfoot documentaries, a new father wakes up to discover a massive hairy figure standing in his living room.

Was it Bigfoot?

A hallucination?

A rug?

Or perhaps there really are more things in heaven and earth than we can possibly imagine.

Part pub yarn, part cerebral flatulence, part philosophical detour and 100% dodgy A.F., Moon Peach & More Dodgy Yarns is a celebration of mateship, madness, ageing, martial arts, Australian bogan mythology and the strange things that happen when ordinary life takes a sharp left turn.

Grab a beer, settle in and prepare for some seriously dodgy yarns.


r/EclecticTales 13d ago

Death's Lullaby

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2 Upvotes

r/EclecticTales 14d ago

Arse of the Wombat & Other Subtropical Yarns

3 Upvotes

Check out 'Arse of the Wombat & Other Subtropical Yarns'. It is a collection of five yarns (embellished memoirs) from Queensland, Australia. In this collection you will find humourous tales of a simpler life lived by the beach, real life Cobra Kai, surfing the fringes of a nightclub's underbelly, woo and accounts of the supernatural.

For the next five days it is free.

You can read it here on Kindle: https://a.co/d/0gdHDjgB


r/EclecticTales 16d ago

Black Rain Armageddon

2 Upvotes

Check out the novella Black Rain Armageddon.

It all starts with a cosmic showdown and an alien ship crashing up in the hinterland.

Black Rain begins to fall.

Weird crap starts happening.

And then a conjured up crew of cosplayers burst through the doors of a country pub.

Their mission?

Live long enough to save the world.

Check it out on Kindle:

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Rain-Armageddon-Jimmy-James-ebook/dp/B0HFC5PQZ5


r/EclecticTales 20d ago

Oddity O'Clock by Rhys Hughes - ebook FREE until August 16th

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amazon.com
2 Upvotes

Oddity O'Clock, the third part of the Knick Knack Trilogy, is a free ebook for five days, starting right now. In fact the other two parts are free ebooks too. They can be read in any order. This isn't a normal trilogy: it's a permutational trilogy.

A marvellous book that is at once utterly cutting-edge, and at the same time part of a centuries-old tradition. It is simultaneously a gonzo, deadpan, absurdist, surreal romp, and likewise a profound ontological and epistemological treatise, albeit clothed in harlequin garb. Hughes is the Spike Jones of fantastika.” — PAUL DI FILIPPO

#eclectictalesofficial