I’d never heard of GISHWES before this year, and only then because writers were complaining about an unexpected flood of emails asking for free stories.
So far, I’ve only received one request, which I fulfilled (the person who asked was very polite about it). Still, as I understand it, the stories don’t have to be unique, do they? They just have to be a story by a published author, right?
Here’s a short story for any GISHWESers having trouble finding authors to write something. It’s 139 words long.
Trumpets blared a fanfare, retainers lifted their pennants, and every eye turned toward the throne.
Misha Collins, wearing a brand-new trench coat, knelt on the gleaming marble and bowed his head.
The Queen tapped the flat of her sword on his shoulders. “Rise, Sir Misha.” Misha looked up, eyes shining with joyful tears.
The cheers of the crowd were cut off by the sound of a door slamming open. A second Misha, this one naked but for a strategically-placed bearskin hat, burst from a closet. “That’s an imposter!”
The kneeling Misha grinned and began to inflate like a balloon, tearing through his clothes. Tentacles and tusks sprouted from its body…. It was the Elopus, assuming its true form.
The creature pranced before the throne. “I’m Sir Misha! I’m Sir Misha!”
The Queen rolled her eyes and raised her sword high.
Hey, if you’re new here, why not take a look at my books. Twenty Palaces is the first book in my urban fantasy series and Bad Little Girls… is my newly-released short fiction collection (which means it’s cheap).
The series listed at the top of that page, The Great Way, has not been released yet.
Good luck with your scavenger hunt.