Founding Authors – The Stories That Launched Havok’s Rebirth

We meant to share this in January, but the month flew by like a hurtling green comet. Did you see the comet, by the way? Ahem, SQUIRREL! It’s all Havok, all year long over here! Today we’re taking you BACK IN TIME.

When Havok was reborn, we needed stories to launch with. In late 2018, we announced our re-launch of “Havok Magazine” as a multi-genre daily ezine and anthology contest. Some fabulous authors jumped on board right away and helped us get things off on the right foot. Today we honor the stories that populated our first month of existence in January 2019. We hope you’ll enjoy reading through them, especially if you’ve joined Havok more recently and never browsed this far back in the archives.

P.S. These stories are part of our private collection. For just $4.99/year you can gain access to ALL the 1000+ stories in our archives and not only that, as a paying member you will qualify for reader prizes and have voting rights in our selection of the Readers’ Choice winner each season.

If an author’s name is hyperlinked, it means they have more than one story in our archives and you can use the link to read all of them.

Mystery Monday

• The Feathered Corpse by Bill Bibo Jr.
• Morelli Family Secrets by Stephanie Scissom
• The Chameleon by Rachel Ann Michael Harris
• Arresting Behavior by Mark Joseph Kevlock

Nostalgic Notes:

• Rachel Ann Michael Harris, affectionately known as Rae around the virtual office, has since joined Havok’s staff. She spent two seasons as a Techno Tuesday editor and stuck around to share a multitude of creative skills. She’s a fount of creative story prompts and heads up our launch parties.
• And Bill Bibo Jr.’s Mythical Crime Investigations stories are a hoot (that is to say, they’d feel just at home on Wacky Wednesday as Mystery Monday)!

Techno Tuesday

• A Symphony of Words by Kerry Nietz
• Déjà Vu by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt
• The Barnstormer by Dave D’Alessio
• Life Cycle 63 by Just B. Jordan
• Only Human by Erik Johnson

Nostalgic Notes:

• Award-winning science fiction author Kerry Nietz wrote our very first story, and it’s both classic scifi and pure poetry. Kerry is best known for his Amish Vampires in Space books, which even garnered the attention of Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show.
• While our marketing kraken Teddi Deppner has always been a huge fan of Life Cycle 63, there’s some recent exciting news that you might not have heard: it’s being made into an indie film! You can see the progress of that project by following Just B. Jordan (link to her website, where she links all her socials).

Wacky Wednesday

• When Magic Died by Michael Dolan
• Something New by Randall Allen Dunn
• Phenomenal Phoenixes by Kaitlyn Carter Brown
• Of Life and Breakfast by A. R. Hildebrand
• NewU Life Agency by Brett McNew

Nostalgic Notes:

• Michael Dolan joined the Havok editorial staff soon after our launch and led the fearless Thriller Thursday team all the way until this past December. Our Thriller editors deal with the grittiest, most grotesque stories that authors throw our way, and thankfully save our readers from having to experience the worst of them. Ha! We like a good thrill, but sometimes the submissions are beyond our PG-13 ratings. Michael has our gratitude for his contributions not only in editing but in the abundance of good humor his stories bring to our collection and our anthologies! He and his wife Brita are big believers in our authors and our mission, and also support us on Patreon!
• Kaitlyn Carter Brown has been with us from the start and is still writing wonderful stories. Her latest, The Flying Dutchman, just came out in January! Thanks for sticking around for the fun, Kaitlyn. We love having you as part of our author community!

Thriller Thursday

• Stage of War by K. A. Cummins
• Bitten by Jessi L. Roberts
• Dead Magic by Tracey Dyck
• Beautiful Corpse by Laura L. Zimmerman
• Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Moya Tobey

Nostalgic Notes: A few months after our launch, Tracey Dyck came aboard as a Thriller Thursday editor for Havok and served with us for about a year. She will always be considered a part of the family–and she must feel the same because she shared her family with us! Her brother Josiah Dyck later became a Havok author, too!

Fantasy Friday

• The Cleaner by R. C. Capasso
• The Elusive Serpent by Katrina Michelle
• Theosis by Jessica Snell
• Second Honeymoon by Clarissa Ruth

Notes: Clarissa Ruth seems like a writer with a plan. She managed to get stories published in 4 out of 6 months of the Rebirth season!

Thanks for dropping by!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this blast from the past. Many such trips are possible. And of course, our weekdays always have a free story up, so come again soon!