My first collection of short stories, The Siege, came out ten years ago. The cover, as you can see, is very different to my new collection of short stories, The Storm, and A Walk in the Woods. It’s also not in the name of Chilton, so I thought it was about time I released a new version of the book, together with a new cover in line with the other two and with the same author name.
I still have a couple of copies of the original book so, to celebrate the launch of The Storm, I’m giving away a copy of The Siege to the winner of the following short story competition:
Write a story in 50 words, using the following words in it somewhere:
- MIRROR
- SALAD
- GHOST
- MAGAZINE
- BEER
The closing date is: Friday 17th November 2023. Post your entries in the comments below, or email them to me: estherchilton@gmail.com
Good luck! The winning entry will be published on my blog.
And remember, there’s still time to pre-order my new collection of short stories, The Storm. It’s only available as an ebook at the moment, but the paperback is on its way.
Esther Chilton 
Hi Esther, this is great. I’ll try to participate.
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Great! Look forward to it 😊
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Julia had come to the famously haunted hotel hoping for a spiritual encounter.
She sat in the bar eating a salad, keeping an eye on the mirrors for ghostly presences, but started when she spied a celebrity nursing his beer. She looked closer. No! Could it really be Teddy Roosevelt?
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That’s a fun one. Thank you for your entry 😊
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Thanks for the challenge!
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Sounds fun, if I get time I may join in. Best, Marje
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That would be great, Marje 😊
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Started it! The deadline is my birthday so should remember. 😀
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No excuses then!
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Hi Esther, here is my 50 word story:
Saturday nights we had steak salad. He would follow it with a bear while reading his favourite motor magazine.
One eerie night I heard the rustling of his mag but his chair was vacant. I glanced in the mirror and saw his ghost in the chair, sat reading his magazine.
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Thank you for entering 😊
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My entry is more mundane:
Pauline looked in the mirror. She’d just eaten lunch, a salad. She hoped her diet would work. Pauline had read in a magazine that having 2 salads a day could help shed pounds. But a ghost of a smile passed over her lips. Did low calorie beer fit the menu?
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That’s creative. We usually write where our thoughts take us. I like to read stories of the paranormal, ghosts, spirits, etc. Hence my ghost theme.
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I know it’s Halloween soon but u decided to swerve round that!
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I not u
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Thanks, Christine. It’s creative as Dave said 😊
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Glad it’s OK
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Hi Esther .This is my 50 word entry.
She had got the idea from a magazine of unsolved crimes. He never detected the arsenic she added to the chicken salad he enjoyed,washed down with a glass of beer , on that fateful evening.
Now, his ghostly face stares back at her every time she looks in the mirror.
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Thank you so much for your entry 😊
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Hi Esther, here you go — my entry.
In a futuristic world, I stared into the quantum mirror, hoping to glimpse a hidden dimension.
Instead, a ghostly figure emerged, holding a holographic magazine. It revealed secrets of interstellar travel just as my beer transformed into liquid stardust.
The salad of knowledge served, I embarked on an extraordinary journey.
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Wonderful! Thank you so much for entering.
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