Projects Speculative Fiction + Poetry

Not everyone lands their dream job.

Take Abe: He's bottomed out as an Imaginary Friend and has to find a new job before his bosses assign him a truly crappy one. Just as he's about to resign himself to a life of making toys in a workshop, he's given a reprieve--of sorts. Now he has the opportunity to be the first policeman on the Hill and solve an impossible murder.

For assistance he ropes in his career counselor, a Bigfoot, and his best friend, a Boogeyman. The job requires him to talk to Tooth Fairies, Leprechauns, Yetis and everything else humanity has dreamt up over the years. None of them offer any clues, but since Abe's supervisors are Mother Nature, Father Time and Death, he can't just give up and walk away.

Dream job? Dream on.

Where to Buy

A group of treasure-hunters hits the high seas chasing a tip from a mysterious source. If it’s true, it could be their biggest score yet-literally-a massive robot the size of a skyscraper lost since the last war, worth a sizable reward, and bragging rights. But in trying to the raise the Cudgel, the crew of the Adamant accidentally unleashes a beast trapped by the battle machine years ago. The giant monster awakens to complete its war-time mission to destroy the Pacific Northwest. Using their wits, their experience and a few contacts in the government, the crew sets out to fix their mistake and stop the menace. Can a handful of eccentric sailors resurrect the gigantic robot in time to stop the vicious creature’s assault?

Underwater Fistfight is Matt's collection of poetry inspired by old monster movies, comic books, pulp science fiction and pirates.

Because Matt Betts is a pirate-poet who takes science fiction and throws it in the brig with horror while he sits outside the cell, laughing as they duke it out. He’s a regular Davy Jones, a sailor’s devil, claiming the lives of these poems and dragging them down to the locker to dissect, inspect, and sift through their stories and characters like plunder.

Where to Buy

Something lurks inside Deena Riordan. She never once questioned her life in the criminal underworld as the star of Mr. Marsh's illegal empire and his youngest assassin. Her ruthless demeanor and dark magical powers have kept her at the top of the heap for years. But one day she pushes the sorcery too far and something snaps. Only then does Deena realize she's always been a puppet of that dark power with no true will of her own.

Now, in order to get out of the crime business for good, she needs to save her sister from Marsh's angry clutches. It won't be easy. She'll have to make her way through friends turned foes, dodge determined federal agents, and stay out of a particularly stubborn fellow hitman's sights. Worst of all, Deena will have to wrestle with the darkness inside to keep it from swallowing her up again.

Where to buy

The Civil War has ended but not because the South surrendered, instead it's on hold while both sides face a new enemy - the chewers, dead men who've come back to life. Cyrus Joseph Spencer didn't fight in the war and couldn't care less about the United Nations of America that resulted from it. His main concern is making money and protecting his crew from all manner of danger. But when tragedy strikes, he's forced to take shelter onboard a dirigible piloted by the U.N.'s peace-keeping force. It's soon apparent that many more dangers are lurking and Cyrus must decide whether to throw in with strangers in a desperate bid to protect the country or cast off on his own.

My steampunk / alternate history novel came out in the summer of 2013 from Dog Star Books.

Where to buy

Sidekicks: We know them, and we ignore them. They sit courtside, they wait in the shadows, they ride on the coattails. They have nothing to offer.
Or do they?
Heroes and heroines perform world shaking deeds, but sidekicks? Sidekicks are the unseen glue holding those powerhouses together. They are the backbones. They are the voices of reason.
It's long past time for them to shine.
Here, the fangirls, the trusted associates, the loyal assistants, and the imperiled wards have their moment in the spotlight. Join them as they shake up the world in unexpected and understated ways.
Let the heroes sit this one out. Celebrate the Sidekick!

My short story, the Old West, appears in this terrific anthology of stories featuring... yep, sidekicks!

Where to buy

Killer Shark? Check.
Godzilla? Check.
Robots? Check.
Bigfoot? Check.
Elvis? Check.

What more could you want in your poetry? Rhymes?

Speculative Poetry from Matt Betts

Where to buy