Altered Reality Magazine

15/08/2024

Altered Reality Magazine's Summer 2024 Issue is here!

Thank you to all the authors who shared their work.

Read the latest issue today for FREE! Visit and download the SUMMER 24 Issue here 👉🔗 https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/summer-24-issue/

08/06/2024

The team at Altered Reality Magazine would like to congratulate John C. Mannone on his Rhysling Award nomination in speculative poetry for “A Mere Million Miles from Earth." Full nominations on sfpoetry.com.

Want to learn more about John and read his poems (including "A Mere Million Miles from Earth")? The link is in our story/highlights!
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/a-mere-million-miles-from-earth/

07/05/2024

Excuuuuuse Me, Princess by Fhen M

captured by the boar-like beast
the eponymous, blonde princess
was rescued by a pointy-eared elf
clad in green medieval dress
on horseback headed towards a castle

[an excerpt]
–

Read the latest issue today for FREE! Visit and download the Spring 24 Issue here:
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/spring-2024-issue/

Other works of Fhen M.:
✨ Dante's Inferno Video Game
✨ The Diary Of Brother Arturo
–-
About author Fhen M.:
Fhen M.’s “Uyasan” or “Toy” was published in a literary work entitled Pinili: 15 Years of Lamiraw. His English verses appeared in Poetica anthology series published by Clarendon House, including "Lighthouse," “Seaport,” “January Constellations,” among others. Red Penguin Books’ About Time: A Coming-of-Age Poetry Anthology published his piece “Outside the Block Universe". His poem “Sea Snail” is included in Flora/Fauna Anthology by Open Shutter Press. He won numerous poetry awards in the Philippines.

Find Fhen online at
https://www.threads.net/

Ready for more? Explore and read our latest issue today for FREE! Visit and download the Spring 24 Issue here:
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/spring-2024-issue/

07/05/2024

SINKHOLE LABORATORY By Nemo Arator

“We played rock-paper-scissors to determine the order, then we commenced our ascent, climbing the narrow shaft like the throat of a well – endlessly upward, up and up and up – eventually to emerge out the top, climbing from the hole into a hollow surrounded by dead thickets.

We picked our way through, staggered to the nearest hilltop, and looked around. We could see the truck - it was parked where we left it, barely visible over there, about half a mile from where we stood. There was relief. We made it, we survived whatever just happened, escape was in sight.”

[an excerpt]
–
Ready for another one? Discover the story behind it and read our latest issue today for FREE! Visit and download the Spring 24 Issue here:
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/spring-2024-issue/

--
About author Nemo Arator:

Nemo Arator is a student of surrealism. He seeks gnosis through dreams, intoxication, and objective chance. This story is from his unpublished book 𝑻𝒐 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑬𝒏𝒅.

06/05/2024

Visitor by Adam Spero

You perplex me
Whose face stretches into nothing
And arms dissolve into everything
What idle erlking, at each hallway’s termination
A mane of pin pricks over each vacant eye

[an excerpt]
–
Read the latest issue today for FREE! Visit and download the Spring 24 Issue here:
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/spring-2024-issue/

–

About author Adam Spero:

He's a 16-year old poet and writer from Queensbury, New York. He wrote his first poem in second grade, writing dozens since then. Outside of writing, he loves musical theatre, running cross country and track, singing and waterskiing.

05/05/2024

The Brethren Are Due On Bayberry Street by David Gianatasio

I forced myself away from the window and prepared for bed. The music stopped as I
brushed my gums. When I peeked once more through the blinds, Bob’s house was completely dark, and all the cars were gone.

I’m not the most curious dude. Since my wife passed 9 years ago, I’ve pretty much kept to myself, almost a hermit. But this episode made my gut clench so tightly, I could barely fall asleep.

[an excerpt]
–
Read the latest issue today for FREE! Visit and download the Spring 24 Issue here:
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/spring-2024-issue/

Other works of David Gianatasio:
✨ Storm Warnings
✨ Unboxing Day
–
About author David Gianatasio:

In addition to Altered Reality, David Gianatasio's recent fiction has appeared in New Myths, Another Dimension, Daily SF and elsewhere.

05/05/2024

Dante's Inferno Video Game by Fhen M.

the golden floor is a circle within a circle
a square within a square is the golden wall
player one clad in casque and camail
Knight Templar's cross on muscled chest

[an excerpt]
–
Read the latest issue today for FREE! Visit and download the Spring 24 Issue here:
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/spring-2024-issue/

Other works of Fhen M.:
✨ Excuuuuuse Me, Princess
✨ The Diary Of Brother Arturo
–-
About author Fhen M. :

Fhen M.’s “Uyasan” or “Toy” was published in a literary work entitled Pinili: 15 Years of Lamiraw. His English verses appeared in Poetica anthology series published by Clarendon House, including "Lighthouse," “Seaport,” “January Constellations,” among others. Red Penguin Books’ About Time: A Coming-of-Age Poetry Anthology published his piece “Outside the Block Universe". His poem “Sea Snail” is included in Flora/Fauna Anthology by Open Shutter Press. He won numerous poetry awards in the Philippines.

Find Fhen M. online at:
https://www.threads.net/

02/05/2024

✨Announcing Altered Reality Magazine's Author of the Month, Alex Valdiers!✨

✨About Alex Valdiers:

Alex Valdiers is the author of the Space Western Fantasy series the Raoke Gang. He was born in Lyon, France, in 1988 from French and Laotian parents. The limited readership of Fantasy and Science Fiction in France prompted him to move to the UK in 2012. He now writes exclusively in English.

His debut novella, The Choice of Weapons, is a SFINCS semi-finalist. His debut novel, A Wolf in Space, set in the same series, released on January 23rd. Its follow up, Death of a Mad Dragon, is scheduled for June 2024.

✨Find Alex Valdiers:
https://linktr.ee/valdiers
https://valdiers.com/

✨Work by Alex Valdiers:
🖊Unfeet
🖊The Adventures Of Dani Botswana

02/05/2024

It’s here! The wait is finally over!
Altered Reality Magazine presents–SPRING 2024 Issue!

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the authors and artists who have generously shared their masterpieces with the world!

Read the latest issue today for FREE! Visit and download the Spring 24 Issue here:
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/spring-2024-issue/

30/04/2024

Pittsburgh area aspiring authors: join us June 5th for a panel!
https://www.ironedwordsproductions.com/your-path-to-publishing-altered-reality
If you sign up today, it's only $25!
See you at Panera in the Galleria, South Hills.

Attend Your Path to Publishing, Wednesday, June 5 from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Panera in the Galleria, South Hills. Registration will be capped at five. For exclusive access to this expert panel, registration is ordinarily $75. But with the support of our Elite Partners, Altered Reality Magazine and Aurora Corialis Publishing, you can get the super early bird discount at $25! Sign up now before it fills up!

30/04/2024

✨ The Kell of Adrian Also by Jeffrey Greene✨

But its famished desperation was palpable, and although it soon gave up and descended the cliff, he knew it would lie in wait below until thirst and starvation drove him back to the road. There was no other way off this porch except down, and he could feel the old despair creeping back, when the door opened.

A slender, petite woman with straight black hair motioned him inside, then closed and locked the heavy door. The cool, poorly lit interior of the house was a confusing blend of natural rock formations and ugly metal furniture.

[an excerpt]

Read the story on our website for FREE, and check out other authors!
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/the-kell-of-adrian-also-by-jeffrey-greene/

---

✨About the Author:
Jeffrey Greene was born in Michigan, raised in Florida, and currently lives in Bethesda, Maryland. He has been writing and publishing short stories and the occasional novella since the 1980s. Some of the publications in which his stories have appeared are the North American Review, Tomorrow Speculative Fiction, Oasis, Reactor Magazine, Potomac Review, decomP Magazine, Zahir Speculative Fiction, and most recently, Bewildering Stories.

His short story, “The Blind Gambler,” was included in the anthology,“100% Pure Florida Fiction,” in 2000, published by the University of Florida. He has self-published two collections of short stories: Stories From the Cold Room, and The Iron Desert and Other Stories.

30/04/2024

✨ My Father by Lisa Lahey✨

I grasp for the ancestry
you’ve passed down with love to me.
i seek its solace, i try to bring the pride that makes
my ancestors sing their songs of Viking lore,
of death and the blood that bathed
the battlefield floor.

[an excerpt]

✨ About Lisa:

Lisa Lahey is an Associate Acquisitions Editor for After Dinner Conversation magazine. She has been published in 34th Parallel Magazine, Spaceports and Spidersilk, Why Vandalism?, Five on the Fifth, and she will soon be published in upcoming issues of Literally Stories, Ariel Chart, Spadina Literary Review, and Epater Magazine.

Read more on our website for FREE!
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/my-father-by-lisa-lahey/

22/04/2024

✨ The Ring Reclaimed by Jeffrey Greene✨

“After many years I realized that I was going around in circles, chasing my own tail. There were failed marriages along the way, children who grew up and scattered in all directions, prostate cancer, arthritis, cataract surgery—the usual stuff. But through the years there remained the constant reminder of the ring on my finger, and the woman’s promise to reclaim it. I told you I’ve searched for the fire she came to represent and never found it. At some point I realized that what I really wanted was to see her again, if only to find out how my older self would judge her…..”

[an excerpt]

Read the story on our website for FREE, and check out other authors!
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/the-ring-reclaimed-by-jeffrey-greene/
--

✨About the Author:

Jeffrey Greene was born in Michigan, raised in Florida, and currently lives in Bethesda, Maryland. He has been writing and publishing short stories and the occasional novella since the 1980s. Some of the publications in which his stories have appeared are the North American Review, Tomorrow Speculative Fiction, Oasis, Reactor Magazine, Potomac Review, decomP Magazine, Zahir Speculative Fiction, and most recently, Bewildering Stories.

His short story, “The Blind Gambler,” was included in the anthology,“100% Pure Florida Fiction,” in 2000, published by the University of Florida. He has self-published two collections of short stories: Stories From the Cold Room, and The Iron Desert and Other Stories.

22/04/2024

✨Mother’s Kitchen by Antreka Tladi✨

Daily dishes still cook themselves
In remembrance of your warmth;
I would have chopped the onions if I could
But tears have depleted my strength.
I can’t get used to the empty chair
Across the table, the unfolded napkins;
Unforgettable, a hand
That once cooked with these pots.

[an excerpt]
---

✨ About Antreka:

Antreka Tladi was born in Jane Furse, Limpopo Republic of South Africa. He grew up in Phokwane, Brooklyn where he received his primary and secondary education and currently lives. His poems have appeared in local and international Journals and Anthologies including the Avbob Poetry project, the Calabash literary journal, the New Coin, the Otherwise Engaged Arts and literary journal amongst others. He is the author of Mother’s Kitchen and Other Places. He was honoured with an African Authors’ Honoree Award in 2022.

Find Antreka here:
https://twitter.com/AntrekaTladi
https://www.facebook.com/antreka.tladi.3

Read more on our website for FREE!
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/mothers-kitchen-by-antreka-tladi/

21/04/2024

✨No Win by Yoon Park ✨

You know that game,
Where you think of it,
You lose?
You’re welcome,
By the way. And Welcome,
To my life.
Only, it’s not one thing,
It’s a huge list, I’m
The only one playing.
It’s not a game,
And I always
Lose.
---

About Yoon Park:

Yoon Park is a dynamic high school student enrolled at Seoul Academy in Seoul, South Korea. She channels her creative energy into writing and visual art and finds joy in expressing herself through these mediums. Additionally, she has a passion for music and spends her spare time playing the piano. Her dedication to her craft has earned her recognition and admission into the prestigious Sewanee Young Writers Conference.

Find Yoon here:
https://justinayoonpark.wixsite.com/my-site
https://www.instagram.com/jxs.tina_

Read more on our website for FREE!
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/no-win-by-yoon-park/

17/04/2024

✨The Bone House Part Two by Jeffrey Greene✨

“I’m not doubting you, Paul. But I don’t get many uninvited visitors here. None, actually. Not even prowlers.” After peering intently at him, she seemed to relax. “You know, I wasn’t going to say anything, but this is an unsettled house.”
“Haunted, you mean?”
“I’ll stick with unsettled. You could tell, couldn’t you? From the painting?”
[an excerpt]

Read part two of The Bone House below:
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/the-bone-house-part-two/

Like our page and visit our website to read stories for FREE! Let's support our authors!

✨About the Jeffrey Greene:

Jeffrey Greene was born in Michigan, raised in Florida, and currently lives in Bethesda, Maryland. He has been writing and publishing short stories and the occasional novella since the 1980s. Some of the publications in which his stories have appeared are the North American Review, Tomorrow Speculative Fiction, Oasis, Reactor Magazine, Potomac Review, decomP Magazine, Zahir Speculative Fiction, and most recently, Bewildering Stories.

His short story, “The Blind Gambler,” was included in the anthology,“100% Pure Florida Fiction,” in 2000, published by the University of Florida. He has self-published two collections of short stories: Stories From the Cold Room, and The Iron Desert and Other Stories.

14/04/2024

Last chance to submit for Altered Reality Magazine's Spring 2024 Issue! Grab this chance to be featured in the upcoming issue. All genres and themes are welcome. Send your:

Short Stories (between 500 and 3000 words)
Poetry (up to three poems per artist)
Photography (up to three images per artist)
Cosplay
Art (traditional and digital) (up to three images per artist)

Send emails to: [email protected]
Please indicate in your email if your submission is for general submissions or for the SPRING Issue.

Guidelines links:
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/spring-2024-issue/
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/writers-guide/

14/04/2024

Check out this great listen on Audible.com. Huck’s powers are growing stronger, but are also growing out of his control. Just months after escaping the Beldam’s basement, Huck is plagued by visions, dreams, and waking nightmares he cannot control. One of the things he sees is a secret ...

08/04/2024

Think your art has what it takes to be the cover art?
Send in your artwork today for the Spring 24 Issue! ✨📖🖌

Guidelines:
Please attached your image to the email. Please do not send images smaller than 800X800 or less than 300 dpi. Please ONLY attach JPEG files. Please title your image with the name of the image and your last name. For example: StarryNight_Gogh.JPG

Send emails to: [email protected]

Please indicate in your email if your submission is for general submissions or for the SPRING Issue.

Links:
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/spring-2024-issue/
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/writers-guide/
Deadline: April 14th
Release Date: April 30th

07/04/2024

✨The Orchid is Purple by Ann Christine Tabaka✨

The orchid is purple. My life is gray, it bleeds out
in monotone – a duly noted contrast. Clouded
mornings fill my cup. I burn my lips on pride. I carry
today in a paper bag – a rusty lunch pail reserved for
dreams. Nothing else matters. Life is black – devoid
of color. The knife is no friend, but a savior, excising
cancerous sin. Words no longer mesh, as the orchid
bows its head – dropping petals on the floor. Withered
blossoms & discarded flesh paint a portrait of decline.
I long for the vibrant color of life. I reach out to purple,
clasping it close to my heart. Wanting only to live.

--
About the Author:

Ann Christine Tabaka was nominated for the 2017 & 2023 Pushcart Prize in Poetry; nominated for the 2023 Dwarf Stars award of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association; winner of Spillwords Press 2020 Publication of the Year; selected as a Judge for the Soundwaves Poetry Contest of Northern Ireland 2023. Her bio is featured in the “Who’s Who of Emerging Writers 2020” and “2021,” published by Sweetycat Press. She is the author of 16 poetry books, and 1 short story book.

She lives in Delaware, USA. She loves gardening and cooking. Chris lives with her husband and four cats. Her most recent credits are: Sand Hills Literary Magazine, The Phoenix, Eclipse Lit, Streetcake Experimental Writing Magazine, Carolina Muse, Ephemeral Literary Review, The Elevation Review, North Dakota Quarterly, Tangled Locks Journal, Wild Roof Journal, The American Writers Review, Black Moon Magazine, Pacific Review, Pomona Valley Review, West Texas Literary Review.
*(a complete list of publications is available upon request)

Website: https://annchristinetabaka.com
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/christinetabaka

Read more on our website for FREE!

07/04/2024

✨The Bone House Part One by Jeffrey Greene✨

But could this really be it? he wondered, with a feeling like a sudden drop in altitude on a plane, because he’d recognized the derelict farm house from the painting he’d bought, The House in Carter’s Field. There were the five windows, if no longer boarded, the narrow, warped and weather-streaked front door, the knee-high brown grass—even now, in early summer—and the leafless trees. The chill he’d felt at his first sight of the painting had become a definite uneasiness now. He wondered why she hadn’t told him that she actually lived here.
[an excerpt]

Read part one of The Bone House here:
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/the-bone-house-part-one/

About the Author📖

Jeffrey Greene was born in Michigan, raised in Florida, and currently lives in Bethesda, Maryland. He has been writing and publishing short stories and the occasional novella since the 1980s. Some of the publications in which his stories have appeared are the North American Review, Tomorrow Speculative Fiction, Oasis, Reactor Magazine, Potomac Review, decomP Magazine, Zahir Speculative Fiction, and most recently, Bewildering Stories.

His short story, “The Blind Gambler,” was included in the anthology,“100% Pure Florida Fiction,” in 2000, published by the University of Florida. He has self-published two collections of short stories: Stories From the Cold Room, and The Iron Desert and Other Stories.

28/03/2024

✨The Beggar Wretch by Julie Allyn Johnson✨

the devil’s horn blares
in a broken wood
its trumpet’s singular blast
obliterates the rumble of thunder,
the crack of lightning’s script
written in a jagged hand
across an unfruitful landscape
(an excerpt)

Click the link below to read the poem on our website for FREE!
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/the-beggar-wretch-by-julie-allyn-johnson/

24/03/2024

They had a sumptuous meal and a place to sleep at Norm's manor, but in the middle of the night, Mira had a nightmare from her past.
Who’s Charek? What awaits them in the morning?
Read more from our website for FREE. Click the link below:
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/the-curse-of-the-ebon-maw-chapter-six/

21/03/2024

“I will not serve her.” Flor stomped out of the room, waving away the enticing aroma of roasted boar and fresh bread. The distant creak of her father rising from his chair hastened her steps. “You’ve no choice, Flor,” he … Continue reading →

20/03/2024

✨The Adventures of Dani Botswana: Part 6 – Showdown by Alex Valdiers✨

“Dani had never been one to bother with the details, her game was confidence and adaptability to all situations.”

Surrounded by Don Lino's men and with one hand left, can Dani live? Will she lose her head once they find out her lies, or will there be someone to come and help her?

Find out more and witness the finale of Dani Botswana's story. Click the link below.
https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/botswana-part-6/

04/03/2024

✨Letter to a Perfectly Imperfect Kid by Junseo Lee✨
I live down the avenue. My name is invisible to the crowd.
My idol is dead but so am I.
I live through these girls. I’ll live through
Bianca. I’m sure her parents don’t mind.
I’ll treat her well, I promise to them, hands steady on the wheel.

(an excerpt)
--
About the Author:

Anthony Imm is currently a senior at Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest. His writing has been nationally recognized by the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and various other competitions. Over this past summer, he attended the 92NY Young Writers Workshop in New York City. In his spare time, he likes to watch hour-long documentaries about anything, play with his pet dog, and eat vanilla ice cream.

Click the link below to read the poem on our website for FREE!
👉 https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/buying-cigarettes-from-a-bodega-on-bundy-street/

02/03/2024

✨Letter to a Perfectly Imperfect Kid by Junseo Lee✨

Worry a bit more about what
other people think of you.
But you gotta realize
the only way to do that is to care less. I know it’s
confusing, and by the time you get here it’ll still
be just that, but at the end of the day, if you
need to remember one thing, remember
this—it’s no fun to be someone else, but
definitely don’t just be yourself.
You’ll still be imperfect, but the least you could do is have fun
doing it.

(an excerpt)
--

About the Author:
Junseo Lee is a dedicated high school student at Seoul International School in Seoul, South Korea. He has a passion for writing and is currently compiling a portfolio of published literature to continue developing his craft. With an unbridled enthusiasm for the written word, Junseo hopes to continue exploring different styles and techniques while writing stories and poems with a touch of universality and human connection.

Click the link below to read the poem on our website for FREE!
👉 https://www.alteredrealitymag.com/letter-to-a-perfectly-imperfect-kid/

01/03/2024

Announcing Altered Reality Magazine’s Artist of the Month, Janis Butler Holm!

Janis Butler Holm served as Associate Editor for Wide Angle, the film journal, and currently works as a writer and editor in sunny Los Angeles. Her prose, poems, art, and performance pieces have appeared in small-press, national, and international magazines. Her plays have been produced in the U.S., Canada, Russia, and the U.K.

Find Janis online at:
https://www.janisbutlerholm.com
https://facebook.com/janisbutlerholm
https://www.laplaywrights.org/member/Janis-Butler-Holm

Work by Janis Holm:
Blue Demon

01/03/2024

Announcing Altered Reality Magazine’s Author of the Month, DJ Tyrer!

DJ Tyrer is the person behind Atlantean Publishing and has been widely published in anthologies and magazines around the world, such as Tales of the Black Arts (Hazardous Press), and Pagan (Zimbell House), and issues of Broadswords and Blasters, BFS Horizons, Journ-E, Swords and Sorcery Magazine, and Tales from the Magician’s Skull, and in addition, has a novella available in paperback and on the Kindle, The Yellow House (Dunhams Manor).

Find DJ online at:
https://djtyrer.blogspot.co.uk/

Work by DJ Tyrer:
Star-Spangled Robes


DJ Tyrer