Here is a list of my publications to date. This list is not in order of the publication date, nor in alphabetical order, but in order of my preference. My favorite description of my writing is from the Fleas on the Dog editor Joey Cruze who said, “Bentley’s writing is like a hug from Frankenstein’s monster that you didn’t know you needed.”
Robots, Please (Published February ’25) Robots, Please is a collection of short stories that explores absurdity. Each story pokes fun at its world and examines a familiar societal flaw. The collection mulls over other themes like art, addiction, foolishness, friendship, parenthood, paranoia, and the duality of life and death.
Robots, Please also features robots. Through their inner circuitry, we may better understand what it means to be human. Or not. I guess we’ll see. You may gasp. You may cry. You will most certainly laugh. If not, you should have your behavioral system recalibrated.
The Last Queensland (Published December ’23): Originally inspired by Isaac Asimov’s “The Last Question,” this story follows two scientists who aren’t arguing about the idea of forever, like the characters do throughout time in Asimov’s story. Instead, they argue about whether or not their dog they keep cloning (who keeps increasing in lifespan and intelligence) is the same dog. This story is about love, loss, and identity. Unfortunately, the online literary journal is no longer in service, so I don’t have the copy that was originally published online, so I have shared a google doc.
You Mustn’t Disquiet the Fauna (Published January ’24): This story is one of my darker stories. I originally wrote this for a prompt for a literary journal that then cancelled their call for submissions. The prompt was, and I’m paraphrasing here, “Write a myth involving a shapeshifter.” I wrote this modern biblical tale about Adam and Eve as children, and it’s one of the darkest stories I’ve written. This one is only in print, and you must buy the Issue 46 of Mythic Circle, but here is a link where you can read it on Google docs.
Nothing Left to Give (Published April ’24): This short piece (50 words) was one of the first ideas I had about robots, and was the basis for two longer pieces that appear in Robots, Please.
Heir (Published December ’23): This short piece (50 words) is the precursor to a significantly longer piece that I have yet to write. I am proud of the world I was able to convey in only fifty words.
Looking Back: Curious Observations on the Lives of Waterbears (Published July ’24): This piece is just weird.