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?

Special Announcements: Free E-book and a Call for Submissions

Because of the time-senstive nature of these announcements, I didn't want to wait until Monday to share them with my blog readers. 

 

The first announcements comes from Pat Smith, publisher of Welkin Press.

 

For a limited time, Pat is giving away copies of Shadows After Midnight e-book through the Amazon Kindle store. The promotion runs through Tuesday, March 26. The anthology features "12 spooky tales," including my short story "Stairway to Heaven." 

 

The second announcement comes by way of Colleen Sell, former editor ofthe Cup of Comfort Series.

 

Although Colleen is not involved in this project, she is helping spread the word about a call for submissions for Grammy-award winning songwriter Gloria Gaynor's anthology, How I Survived.

The editors are looking for "personal narrative essays that tell the story of how you survived the experience and how the song influenced your life. We’re looking for real-life stories that read like fiction—similar to the stories in the Cup of Comfort book series, compiled and edited by Colleen Sell."

 

The book will include 50 real-life stories of 1,000-1,500 words each.

 

Contributors whose essays are selected will receive a payment of $75, a complimentary copy of the book signed by Gloria Gaynor, and a signed photo of Ms. Gaynor.

 

Note the short deadline: April 20, 2013.

 

Send submissions to: glolo2004@me.com or susancarswell@aol.com

 

 

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.