Duncan Shepard’s “Landscaper!” in The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here

I asked fellow The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here anthology contributors to share some things about themselves prior to publication and those generous enough to do so will be appearing here for the next week or so.

Each entry gives a taste of their contribution, a little about them, how to contact them, how their story came about, and definitely a link to The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here (which you should purchase because it would make each and every one of us happy.
you do want to make us happy, don’t you?
i mean, considering what we wrote, you want us to know you’re a good person, right?).

And now, Duncan Shepard’s Landscaper!:

When I awoke, I was met by the three-headed doctor who took me to a room where the discarded limbs of previous travelers lay scattered on the floor. I’d been given safe passage for some reason, although he focused on my face as if trying to read something miniscule through a magnifying glass. The rush from the push the transportation technician gave me before hypersleep had been more intense than I could’ve imagined, and my head throbbed. As I sipped the sweet nectar -like concoction the doctor gave to me to calm my nerves, I couldn’t help but notice the skulls of monkeys affixed to the wall like trophies of ungodly experiments.


How the story came about:
During several hazy summers in college, I had a job as a landscaper. I imagined being an interplanetary traveler and dealing with otherworldly species of plants.

About Duncan Shepard:
Duncan Shepard is a writer and musician living in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. He began writing short stories in 2022 as a way to connect with his late father, George V. Shepard. When not writing, Duncan is creating music with his wife, Chantelle, in their psychedelic rock group The Striped Bananas.

See all The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here stories here.

The Rabbit Hole VII: Not From Here is available on