Searching for Halloween Short Stories? Check out "Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories" and "Shadows After Midnight"

As the temperature drops and the leaves change from green to gold, red, yellow, or orange, my thoughts turn to Halloween -- and tales of ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night.

To help keep my hands off the Halloween candy, I pick up a pen and write -- or grab a book and read.

If you're looking for some scary short stories to read by the fire on a chilly October night, here are two collections to check out.

Shameless plug: Did I mention I have stories in each of these collections?

Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories has recently been released by Rocking Horse Publishing.

My story about the haunted Bissell Mansion in North St. Louis "Ghost in Celestial Blue" is included in the collection, along with tales from blogger buddies, Missouri author Val the Victorian from Unbagging the Cats and Canadian author and travel writer Sean McLachlan of Civil War Horror.

I haven't received my contributor copies yet, so I haven't read all the stories, but I know what great writers Val and Sean are because I am a frequent follower of their blogs.

If you're curious about who else is in the anthology and want to purchase a copy, visit the RHP website.

If you're a frequent visitor to my blog, you might remember the title of the book Shadows After Midnight.

The e-book was published late last year by Welkin Press, but editor Patricia B. Smith has redesigned the cover and reduced the price, just in time for Halloween.

The Shadows After Midnight e-book is now available for a limited time on Amazon.com for less than a dollar. The collection of "12 Spooky Tales for Halloween" includes my short story "Stairway to Heaven."

How about you?  Do you have any scary books to recommend reading on chilly fall evenings--that is, when the Cardinals aren't playing in the World Series?

Whee, It's Free: Fifty Shades of Santa Kindle E-Book is Free Until March 5

Why wait until Christmas? 

 

From now until March 5, you can download for free Fifty Shades of Santa, a collection of "nice not naughty" humorous romantic stories from twelve award-winning writers. 

 

The collection includes my short story, "Time To Get Your Jingle On."

 

Pat Smith, publisher of Welkin Press, describes the anthology as "romance for the rest of us--the rest of us being readers whose idea of love doesn't include implements of pain.The stories range from laugh-out-loud-funny to warmly humorous to poignant, but all will leave you feeling uplifted."

I don't have a Kindle, but I was able to download the book on my iPhone, using a free Kindle app.

 

There's that word free again.

 

PLEASE NOTE: This book is NOT explicit.

 

And did I mention, it's free --until March 5.

 

Happy reading!

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Anthology News from Welkin Press: Shadows After Midnight and Cupid's Quiver

 If you like to read scary stories on long winter nights, check out the Shadows After Midnight Anthology, which has recently been released by Welkin Press and is available on Amazon as a Kindle e-book.

The anthology of "12 spooky tales of terror by 12 award-winning authors will raise the hair on the back of your neck and make you want to check under the bed and sleep with the light on."

Edited by award-winning journalist Patricia B. Smith, the collection pays "homage to a variety of ghosts and nightmarish creatures." I'm please to announce that my short story "Stairway to Heaven" is among the stories in the collection.

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If you have a flair for writing romance, here's a call for submissions. Be sure to note the short deadline. 

Welkin Press has also announced a call out for Valentine's Day short stories for Cupid's Quiver, a romance anthology.

Word count range is 2500-7000.  Payment is $10, plus royalties. Submit short stories to pbsmith@WelkinPress.com by January 15. Click on the cupid photo for more details.

Time to Get Your Jingle On - Call for Submissions: Fifty Shades of Santa

Time to get your jingle on!

A couple weeks ago Pat Smith, editor of Welkin Press and one of my writing buddies, called to invite me to submit a story to a new anthology. The excitement in her voice flowed through the phone lines. Pat is putting together humorous holiday stories for a romance anthology titled "Fifty Shades of Santa." 

The anthology will be published in October (yes, you read it right) by Welkin Press.

 

Pat writes that "the title is already attracting media attention."

She is looking for your best writing, featuring unusual situations, interesting characters, great romantic chemistry and lots of laughs.

She is NOT looking for stories about tying anyone up or beating them with whips or anything like that. She writes, "It's Christmas, people!"

Story Length: 2,000 to 8,000 words

Deadline: September 30, 2012 (Better get moving!)

Payment: $10.00 per story, plus royalties on sales of the anthology.  

Authors retains copyrights for their stories after publication. Submit stories to Pat at mizgotrocks@wt.net