I’m thrilled to share that my story “The Meat Sweats” is a finalist in Crystal Lake Publishing’s Shallow Waters Flash Fiction Contest this month! This round’s theme is Eco-Horror, and I’m incredibly honored to be featured alongside such an impressive lineup of authors.

Patreon members of Crystal Lake Publishing—now The House of Shadows & Ink—can read the story here and vote for their favorite story at the end of the month.

In “The Meat Sweats”, a new, highly efficient cattle feed called AlgeaForge, made from bio-engineered algae, promises to radically reduce the carbon footprint of red meat production. But as the inventor of AlgeaForge presents to a group of potential investors, she begins to feel unwell… and she’s not the only one.

I did a little bit of research for this story and I can confirm that microalgae (and especially seaweed) has received a lot of research attention in recent years for its potential to reduce methane emissions in cattle. If you are curious to learn more about that check out these videos and these articles.

I listened to Lorn, especially their song Weigh Me Down quite a lot while writing the story. The music video for Weigh Me Down is awesome: https://youtu.be/UEBIsUsvheA?si=BVfUME3A1Wz5z5Nc

UPDATE: You can nou find “The Meat Sweats” as a stand alone ebook on my website and selected online platforms.

Thank you for following my blog.

Cheers, MK!