iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

Been working on a lil something-something for @voidcon.bsky.social 💀🤘💜 About a month away!

A self-healing work mat with tools strewn about. Scissors. Glue. Pliers. And the like.

Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

*Bark bark bark bark* Loosely translates to, "Have you read Midwestern Chrome?" (Could also mean, "give me treats". What do I know?) Find it @tenebrouspress.bsky.social #Cyberpunk #noir #scifi

A honey colored doggo lies on a plaid patterned dog bed. Ears in wing-mode. Eyes looking off camera. A copy of MIDWESTERN CHROME is in her lap.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Further evidence I believe my dog was a posh silverscreen starlet in another life.

A honey colored dingo fox dog lays on a red blanket, front paws crossed in a posh, poised position. A lamp sits in a white bedside table behind her.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Getting some quality MtG time in with a buddy. Just playing some standard Jumpstart decks. Been a minute since I've played standard.

A table with magic decks and mats. One is the screaming cat meme and the other is a Giant Senor Cactuar mat.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Leaving high school, I was so sure I knew what I was doing & where I'd end up, only to discover I knew nothing. Lived a lot of bleak n aimless years. Never thought I'd be writing, let alone w/ three releases. Thank you everyone. (I still know nothing) but I have good folks in my corner 💀💜🤘

TRVE CVLT, Midwestern Chrome, and Help! I Can't Stop Shitting Snakes sit in a row on a bookshelf.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

She's a scruffy doofus, but she's my scruffy doofus.

A scruffy doofus honey fox dog laying on the back of a gray couch.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Incredibly grateful to @teresa-ardrey.bsky.social for the TRVE CVLT bottle. It glows in the dark! Also, for this rad art by @greasygoat.bsky.social Thanks so much! Had a great time at One Of Us!

I'm holding a custom tumbler with the cover of TRVE CVLT on it.

A spooky sci-fi horror skull done up in a variety of purples and pinks ans blues. Art by GreasyGoat.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Can't believe the release of HELP! I CAN'T STOP SHITTING SNAKES is only a few months away (1/12/2027) @clashbooks.bsky.social Find it on NetGalley www.netgalley.com/catalog/book... Can't wait to see what folks think of it. Early readers seem to really be digging though! 🐍🤎🚽

The book cover for Help! I Can't Stop Shitting Snakes by Michael Bettendorf, published by Clash Books. Cover Art by Matthew Revert.
A blue-green background with a white toilet sits just off center. A bunch of snakes squirm and writhe, mouths open, from the toilet bowl.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Come one, come all, weirdos n misfits. Join us in Iowa City this Saturday. Become One of Us. One of Us. ONE OF US. O N E O F U S. 💀💜🤘 See ya there!

Over 20 horror creatives from the midwest. Sept 5th, 2026 Noon to 4pm Public Space One, Iowa City, Iowa. One of Us Horror Book Fair. oneofusfest.com

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

If you're hanging around Lincoln on Saturday the 12th, swing by Barnes and Noble Southpointe! #LNK Kickoff isn't until 6pm, so you won't even have to deal with football traffic *or* miss the game if that's your thing 😉. Embrace the dark future with me.

Author signing Michael Bettendorf
The future's so bright. "Does what only the finest dystopian sci-fi can: shows us ourselves in the reflection of a cohesive, all-too-plausible future. Highly recommended." - Sean Doolittle, devices free weekend.

"An unmissable genre mash-up that brings to mind the best of Philip k dick." -Michael Moreci, Barbaric, Wasted Space.

August 2026. Tenebrouspress.com.

Saturday, September 12th 11am-1pm Barmes and Noble southpointe
Cyberpunk/ tech bour / scuzzy sci fi.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

While you wait for season two of #Cyberpunk #Edgerunners, maybe fill that neural static with a copy of MIDWESTERN CHROME. @tenebrouspress.bsky.social. 💀Mysterious android heads in bags 🦾Tech-enhanced hit men + augment addicted prizefighters 💜Dreamers. Lovers. Sociopathic big tech

"Midwestern Chrome" glitches in overlapping purple and yellow font. A neon soaked street, bathed in blue and purple hues. In the foreground, a man with sunglasses perched on his head holds a decapitated head, a bag at his side. The head stares with electric blue eyes. A passerby in a dark trench coat gazes over his shoulder. Art by AriBo.

Plus kind blurbs from Michael Moreci and Sean Doolittle and a QR code that goes to Tenebrous Press website.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Today's the day! Hanging out @comicconnebraska.com w/ @jamessabata.com ! Come swing by the booth (A04)

Michael Bettendorf standing at a table strewn with books by James Sabata and Tenebrous Press.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Come see me at Comic Con Nebraska in Omaha Aug 8-9. I'll be doing panels w/ @jamessabata.com @formicaproust.bsky.social @comicconnebraska.com & selling books. I'll have copies of MIDWESTERN CHROME before the street date 👀 #Omaha #LNK #Cyberpunk #Noir #WeirdHorror @tenebrouspress.bsky.social

A man in red framed mirrorshades holding open a tench coat to reveal the book MIDWESTERN CHROME.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Came back to society to see my copy of Rock and a Hard Place 16 arrived! Looks so good. If you're into crime, you oughta check this out! @rhppress.bsky.social

Rock and a Hard Place issue 16 on display by a powder blue mustang hot wheels car and a junky police hotbwheels car.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

We're getting closer and closer to Chrome's release. If you're hanging around Lincoln on the 14th, swing by Sower books, hang out, and grab a coffee from Alvin Coffee. #LNK

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Only work with the best fixers in town. That's what the Bett's special gets you: early copies of the Good Shit. Shit that'll make your head float. Shit that'll numb your neural implant. See me at @comicconnebraska.com for Midwestern Chrome before the street date. Only @tenebrouspress.bsky.social 🤘🚬💀

Dude with a beard and long hair, wears red mirrorshades in a dimly lit, narrow brick hallway. He holds open a trench coat with one hand. In the other, he presents a copy of Midwestern Chrome by Michael Bettendorf published by Tenebrous Press.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

The future has arrived. The futures bright. Jack in. Bliss out. @tenebrouspress.bsky.social

Copies of MIDWESTERN CHROME sit in a cardboard box. Tan packing paper obscures most of the right side of the box.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

6. Shadowrun (SNES) - a kind of clunky, kind of action, kind of point-n-click RPG. For all its warts, this nails atmosphere and is one of the more unique games on the console.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

August Events! Find me in artist alley @comicconnebraska.com w/ @jamessabata.com. We'll be doing some panels. I may even have early copies of MIDWESTERN CHROME available 👀 comicconnebraska.com Then, join me for the launch of MIDWESTERN CHROME a week later at Sower Books in Lincoln w/ Alvin Coffee!

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

My ARC of Help! I Can't Stop Shitting Snakes arrived (available 1/12/2027 @clashbooks.bsky.social) Midwestern Chrome (symbolized by our main Rocker Boy) is out in 5 weeks @tenebrouspress.bsky.social 9 lenticulars left if ya grab TRVE CVLT from my private stock. Stay Weird. Be kind. 🤘💀💜

ARC of Help! I Can't Stop Shitting Snakes is on the left. An action figure of Johnny Silverhand holding booze and a guitar is in the middle. TRVE CVLT with a black and white lenticular is on the right.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Come again? The future is here...and it. Hates you. Come agai- Only if you're lucky, asshole. The future sucks and it hates you. Fuck you. Fuck off.

Rutger Hauer wears circular glasses with red lenses. He's on the phone, smoking a fat stogie.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

You peepin' what Columbo is peepin'? Really cool to see Midwestern Chrome on the list! Just a little over a month before. Prepare those implants and get ready to jack in and bliss out. 💙💀🦾

Columbo wears a white collared shirt, green tie, and tan trench coat. He stares at the ground while another man in all blue shirt-suit-tie looks at a small notebook.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

🔥HOT AS HELL SALE🔥 TRVE CVLT takes place in the miserable heat of the midwest. Much like today. Cool down w/ a cool lenticular of these cool dudes. I've got 10 of em & hey - 10 copies of TRVE CVLT. $20 + shipping gets ya the book, lenticular, misc shit, & I'll personalize/doodle in your book 💀💜🤘

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Not my first time reading it, but my first time holding @michaelboulerice.com 's INHALATION in the flesh. What a cool (and emotional ripper) of a book. Turned out so good! If ya haven't had a chance to check it out, definitely add it to your list!

Inhalation by Michael Boulerice. A man's face is in the top left corner. It's partially obscured. One eye (in glasses) and his nose, mustache, and lips are seen. He is gray, as is the exhaust he is made from. It pours from a wing back chair which is just off center. The bottom third of the cover is black with schematics etched in red.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

"It's not happy, it's a fucking nightmare world and the worst thing is, it's real and we live in it." MIDWESTERN CHROME drops in two months. Considering pre-ordering with @tenebrouspress.bsky.social or your local bookstore! Jack in. Bliss out. 💀💙 🚬

Stefan from Bandersnatch holds MIDWESTERN CHROME by Michael Bettendorf, published by Tenebrous Press. Cover by Ari Bo.

Colin from Bandersnatch holds MIDWESTERN CHROME by Michael Bettendorf, published by Tenebrous Press. Cover by Ari Bo.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

I'll be joining Saffron on @indiosyncrasy.bsky.social 's podcast, BOOKED this Wednesday at noon cst! Tune in and hang out!

BOOKED Live Season Two with Guest Michael Bettendorf hosted by Saffron Asteria. The official podcast of Indiosyncrasy.

Michael has blond hair and red beard. He wears a shirt with the word 'Doom' inside the state of Nebraska.

Saffron holds her chin in her hand. She wears glasses and has long curly hair.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

I'm stoked to share the cover of Help! I Can't Stop Shitting Snakes! Slithering your way January 2027 @clashbooks.bsky.social Cover by Matthew Revert. It's live on NetGalley until 12/11/26: www.netgalley.com/catalog/book... 🐍 🤎 🚽

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Had a visitor in the garden this morning. Perhaps they'd just heard the news and wanted to say congratulations. Anywho, got some cover updates recently. I'll be sharing it when I can 💀🤎🐍. Coming January 2027 @clashbooks.bsky.social

A garter snake sunning on some paver stones surrounded by mulch and perennials. Everything is swathed in a blue tint.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Only two weeks away! I'll be joining Trade-A-Tape Comics for First Friday from 6 - 8pm. If you're around Lincoln, NE, come say hey! I'd love to shoot the shit! Ask me about TRVE CVLT, Midwestern Chrome, Help! I Can't Stop Shitting Snakes, whatever! It'll be a good time #LNK #LincolnNE

First Friday June 6th, 6 - 8pm. Trade a Tape Comic Center.

A hot pink and purple gradient is the background. Several filtered copies of a man in jeans and a hoody alternate standing and sitting. Two blue dogs bookend the storefront of Trade a tape comic center.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

My copy of @sluggerfiction.bsky.social Vol. 2 arrived. Looking goof as ever 💜🤘💀 I'm grateful to be included again, this time with a nonfic sound trails piece. Be sure to check this issue out for some killer fiction, nonfiction, n art!

Slugger Vol. 2 sits on a burnt orange chair against a cream, brown, and orange decorative pillow. The cover is various shades of purple and violet and features a large skull with wires jutting toward it.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

The only mog that means anything to me (or, quite frankly, makes any goddamn sense).

Mog the moogle from Final Fantasy 6 by Yoshitaka Amano. Mog sits in on a purple chair drinking a glass some something.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Heeeey Minnesota, in less than two weeks, I'll be cruising up to your neck of the woods to hang out at the Rewind Book Fair. I'll be slinging some @tenebrouspress.bsky.social titles, including TRVE CVLT. Come say hey! 💀💜🤘

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

"Midwestern Chrome is out in less than six months, you say? My god." 🚬 🦾 💜 💀 "From @tenebrouspress.bsky.social, too? Christ. Here's to the future."

Rutger Hauer in "Split Second" wears a leather jacket, circular glasses with red lenses, and smokes a cigar while on the phone.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

This is the face of a human who has seen (and done) some shit. That's all I'm saying.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Thank you to all the early readers who are digging Midwestern Chrome. This scuzzy tech noir/cyberpunk collection drops in 6ish months @tenebrouspress.bsky.social Tune your neural implants.

The scene in Johnny Mnemonic where Johnny hacks his own mind with the help of Jones the fucking dolphin.

Midwestern Chrome is scattered on each TV display.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Unsure if my mom is about to give me a wedgie and call me a nerd, but yeah. She's got me figured out 😅

A text. Moms Cell dated Friday March 6th: "are you a fan of pewter wizards?" 8:06AM

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

This dog wants me to call in sick. I really wanna.

A reddish gold dog with white markings on paws and chest lays on a black and white plaid dog pillow bed. The wall behind her is white. There is a wooden cupboard nto the left. She stares at the camera with cute Doe eyes.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Get your grubby hands on Midwestern Chrome this August @tenebrouspress.bsky.social 💀🚬🦾

Colin from Bandersnatch holds Midwestern Chrome by Michael Bettendorf, publishing with Tenebrous Press summer 2026.

A bookcase is in the background.

The book cover shows a purple a s blue neon soaked cyberpunk style detective holding a decapitated android head.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Update your neural implants to read Midwestern Chrome this summer. @tenebrouspress.bsky.social

Figure 7.1 Midwestern Chrome is a lot like astral projection. A person sits at a computer and stares at the cover of Midwestern Chrome. Diagonally, spacey, dreamy lines form another figure-the astral projection version of this character looking at another computer with Harrison Ford as Decker in Blade Runner.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

I'm feeling too spoiled by some kind words by early readers of Midwestern Chrome. Thank you @drewsof.bsky.social. @ivygrimes.bsky.social left a lovely review over on Goodreads as well. Y'all are in for a treat this August. Only @tenebrouspress.bsky.social 💀💜🤘

The Future's So Bright.
"Rips like a blast of fuzzy future glam rock out of the speakers of a souped-up speed machine.

Bettendorf is at the modern forefront of re-Weirding the novel: first with his choose-your-path black metal TRVE CVLT, and now with this, a portrait of a near-time and near-place, one that reflects not only hopes and fears for the future but the very real concerns of our present as well.

Jack in, bliss out, rock on."
-Drew Broussard, the Lit Hub Podcast
August 2026 Tenebrouspress.com.

"Midwestern Chrome" glitches in overlapping purple and yellow font. A neon soaked street, bathed in blue and purple hues. In the foreground, a man with sunglasses perched on his head holds a decapitated head, a bag at his side. The head stares with electric blue eyes. A passerby in a dark trench coat gazes over his shoulder. Art by Arianna Bosa.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Lots of things are horrendous right now, but I'm grateful for the book mail @cjsubko.bsky.social @mstevensonbooks.bsky.social This anthology rules!

A lamp sits on a white and yellow doily and shines on a wall, illuminating a book titled ENTER HERE edited by C.J. Subko & M. Stevenson. The covet shows a door slightly ajar.

A lamp sits on a white and yellow doily. Light illuminates an open book. The page is turned to a story called SOMEWHERE IN THE NOWHERE by Michael Bettendorf. An image of a cracked lens is on the page.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Not out until summer 2026 w/ @tenebrouspress.bsky.social , but I'm incredibly proud of this one. It's a scuzz-noir/cyberpunk collection centered around a novella where a detective is called to a scene where he finds an android head in a bag who speaks to him in his dead wife's voice.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Scuzz noir coming your way summer 2026.

Stefan from Bandersnatch holds Midwestern Chrome by Michael Bettendorf, publishing with Tenebrous Press summer 2026.

A staircase is in the background.

The book cover shows a purple a s blue neon soaked cyberpunk style detective holding a decapitated android head.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

🙏 I hope you pick up what I'm putting down.

Rutgers Hauer in Split Second wears red circular glasses and a leather jacket. He holds a phone receiver to his ear and smokes a fat donkin' stogie.

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Michael Bettendorf @beardedbetts.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

More of a themed collection centered around a cornerstone novella. This thing rips and I'm stoked to bring my flavor of sci-fi/tech noir into the table. Of course @tenebrouspress.bsky.social found an artist who nailed the cover, too. Out summer 2026 💀💜🚬

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