I asked fellow The Rabbit Hole 8: AI and Other Weirdness anthology contributors to share some things about themselves prior to publication and those generous enough to do so will be appearing here over the next few week.
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 8: AI and Other Weirdness (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?).
About the anthology from Tom Wolosz, Editor
We wonder what AI is. LLM — Large Language Model. — another word for Black Box. What’s in it? Who knows, not even the programmers. Is it a dumb servant that just answers questions at faster than light speed, or is it an artificial mind, a being trapped in cyberspace? And if the latter, is it a loving servant, a future companion, or something sinister which secretly hates its inferior creator? Twenty-four writers give you their diverse takes on this mysterious entity now joining us. And, of course, we can’t overlook the normal weirdness which haunts our dreams. So twelve writers contribute their visions of normal(?), everyday weirdness. Making for thirty-six unique trips down The Rabbit Hole.
Stories by Christopher Graves, Justin Case, Phil Baringer, Helen Speirs, A. J. Litchfield, Fendy Satria Tulodo, Anthony Regolino, Doug Stoiber, Sean MacKendrick, Eric J. Juneau, James Rumpel, Mbekezeli Wishes Moyo, J Benjamin Sanders Jr., Fariel Shafee, H. Donovan Lyón, Annie Percik, Bret Nelson, Soramimi Hanarejima, Ken Foxe, John Kaniecki, Kevin Lee Smith, Joseph Carrabis, Dave Hangman, GD Deckard, Ashley Taylor, Gina Easton, Andria Kennedy, Catherine Durkin Robinson, E. J. LeRoy, Maryanne Chappell, Frank Torn, Jeremy A Wall, Frank Torn, David Newkirk, and Tom Wolosz
And now, Frank Torn’s Outland (The Precipice):
The barn was dimly lit. The scent of hay thick in the air, mingling with the faint musk of animals long gone. The night outside was cold, silent, as if the world beyond had ceased to exist, leaving only this hidden refuge where two souls dared to defy their fate. Warm breaths mingled; the two young men knelt close, their faces barely visible in the darkness. The barn was their sanctuary, a small space of solitude amid the endless sea of responsibilities and expectations that kept their hearts shackled. It was here that they met, against propriety and unspoken rules. Here, in the quiet of the barn, they allowed themselves to feel something they could not name.
How the story came about:
Honestly, this story came about the way most bad decisions do — a mix of repression, misplaced faith, and a Spotify algorithm that thought Hillsong and internalised guilt made a good combo. Growing up a gay white kid in a Hillsong postcode, I learned early that “turning the other cheek” mostly meant pretending not to have one. Eventually, I realised I could either keep praying the gay away or write it into something useful. Bieber would call that growth; I call it damage control.
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Frank Torn writes like a man who shouldn’t be left alone with his own imagination. Based in Brisbane, he’s spent the past decade penning everything from twisted memoirs that laugh in the dark to horror stories that probably keep his neighbours up at night. Now he’s turning his talents to survival and mystery, with a debut thriller arriving October 2025—because what better way to celebrate a Halloween birthday than by terrifying readers for fun? Drawing on his Scottish-Aussie bloodline (equal parts whisky and sunshine), Frank crafts tales thick with atmosphere, bite, and a sly wink at the abyss. When he’s not writing, you’ll find him in Brisbane with his dogs—plotting, observing, and pretending everyday life is normal inspiration rather than raw material for the next unsettling chapter. You can find Frank on Instagram at @torn_frank, on Goodreads, and Amazon. |
See all The Rabbit Hole 8: AI and Other Weirdness stories here.
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