A Brief Introduction.

Thanks so much for stopping by, I really appreciate it!

I’m Darren Kasenkow, an Australian author whose work dances across the boundaries of literary fiction to bring together thematic elements ranging from dystopian horror and science fiction to existential action and suspense. My writing career began with a collection of my short stories being published in the national anthology “PAROXYSM” (Paroxysm Press, 1996), with many of my short stories also having appeared in a number of street press publications and magazines.

My debut novel “THE APOCALYPSE SHOW” was released digitally back in 2012, a horror extravaganza centred around a mysterious golden medallion with the power to bend reality in truly hellish ways told through six interlocking tales. I was a different writer back then – footloose, no real fixed address and full of fire, so if an ambitious anthology of surrealism and terror warms your heart I think you’ll be right at home diving into the pages. (The fire inside’s even stronger today, but now I’ve learned not to burn my fingers so much…)

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This was followed by a gritty, road trip nightmare release “DUST AND DEVILS”, a cross country journey that leads straight to a blood soaked nest of serial killers. The story was actually inspired by a house on wheels adventure I took along the East Coast of Australia that eventually landed me in an isolated opal mining town in the middle of outback nowhere. The irony is that today I’m slowly building a writer’s retreat out on a remote property, and when I’m there all alone my own story comes back to haunt me... If you don’t mind embarking on a road trip filled with some twists and turns, vicious crime and even a little romance, then definitely grab a copy because I think you’ll enjoy it.

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My next full feature release was “SEE THE CITY RED”. For this I shifted gears to create a dark, foreboding future where the pain of vengeance taints a world about to fall under the spell of the Antichrist. The book was written after a heartbreaking roller coaster ride through tragedy and devastating loss, and it definitely represents a turning point regarding existentialism and her soft whispers in my writing. Does a heart pulsing dystopian, supernatural horror revenge tale sound a little like your heaven? Then I’m sure See The City Red will have you smiling in the dark…

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In 2019 I was proud to release “THE HALLUCIGENIA PROJECT”. Book one in a new, epic dystopian series, The Hallucigenia Project is a mind bendingly dark, sci-fi action thriller that takes the reader on a soul searching journey of discovery through dangerous city streets, a mysterious cult, relentless government agencies and a race to touch the stars as the world begins to crumble. It is a dangerous, heart pounding ride that absorbed my every waking second for close to three years, and every letter of every word is a celebration of the one thing I always wanted to do with my life.

Write.

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Now here we are, you and I, sharing a brief moment in a magical, dream like digital realm. The world is just as crazy as ever. Logic is a distant, distorted memory and our secret mistress Dystopia is spreading her wings beneath the light of a blood stained moon right outside our windows. The line between human and artificial is slowly being shattered. A new, digital form of life is slowly emerging. But this much I can tell you – for the moment I am still one hundred percent human, my cat Bobbie is not yet a robot and the word mountain that is “GODLESS” is almost complete. After all, not matter how much life sends me spiralling down unexpected galactic dirt roads or distorts time with strange, existential moments of reality that might be a day or might be a year, there is one thing I am determined to keep doing.

Write.