Michael Bettendorf

@beardedbetts

Writer. Eater of Books. Lover of Comics. Library Tech. Drummer. Burrito enthusiast. He/Him husband. Author of TRVE CVLT, Midwestern Chrome (2026), Help! I Can't Stop Shitting Snakes (2027). www.michaelbettendorfwrites.com.

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Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· 25d

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· 27d

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· 29d

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Jul 14

Had a visitor last night.

A garter snake chills on a patio. The lines make an inverted cross on the pavement.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Jul 9

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!

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Jul 7

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Jul 3

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Jul 1

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Jun 30

🔥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 💀💜🤘

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Jun 27

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Jun 13

"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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Jun 8

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Jun 5

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... 🐍 🤎 🚽

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· May 25

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· May 22

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· May 20

Deckard looking down. Neon lights shine in the windows behind him.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· May 11

This is how you do Sunday.

A honey colored dog with white markings sleeps on two blankets; one is black with multi colored paw prints, while the other is tan with bears, moose, and bear paw prints in varying shades of brown.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Apr 27

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Apr 26

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Apr 24

Just a dog and her octopus.

A honey colored dog with a white chest lays on a dark plaid patterned dog bed. A stuffed teal octopus toy rests next to her.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Apr 7

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! 💀💜🤘

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Mar 12

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

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Mar 11

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Mar 6

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

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Mar 4

💙🦾💀🚬 August 2026

Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty in Blade Runner looking down in the rain.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Mar 3

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Feb 19

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Feb 5

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Feb 3

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.

Michael Bettendorf@beardedbetts· Jan 29

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