From dueling families to an insane asylum, these short stories are… twisted.

During the autumn of 2016, the team behind the Chapter One Young Writers Conference mentored two talented young writers through the publishing process, giving them a head start on becoming the successful authors of tomorrow. Now, read the stories on which these up-and-coming writers worked, along with four by the Ch1Con mentors themselves.

Each of these stories comes with a twist. You’ll never see what’s coming next.

The paperback and e-book editions of Twisted are available now for order on Blurb.com, and the e-book will be available soon on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks.

• Paperback Edition (Blurb): http://www.blurb.com/b/7498410-twisted
• E-book Edition (Blurb): http://www.blurb.com/b/7498410-twisted?ebook=602724

And, in honor of this new release, check out our blog tour schedule. We will be sharing excerpts from the stories, interviews with the authors, and even a chance at winning a copy of the anthology!

• Monday, November 21: Excerpt from Brett Jonas’s story on www.juliathewritergirl.com
• Tuesday, November 22: Excerpt from Allison Mulder’s story on www.ultimatelyuselessstories.com
• Wednesday, November 23: Excerpt from Emma Rose Ryan’s story on www.juliathewritergirl.com
• Saturday, November 26: Excerpt from Kathleen Rae’s story on www.ultimatelyuselessstories.com
• Sunday, November 27: Interview with Anne Brees on www.literaryabstractions.blogspot.com
• Monday, November 28: Interview with Cameron Vanderwerf on www.brettjonas.com
• Tuesday, November 29: Interview with Mentors on www.ch1con.tumblr.com
• Wednesday, November 30: Giveaway of one paperback copy of Twisted on www.chapteroneconference.com

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Hi all,

If you haven’t heard already, I have some really exciting news to share with you. Over the course of the summer and fall, Chapter One Young Writers Conference worked with two extremely talented young authors, teaching them the ins and outs of the publishing industry, and helping them to explore and improve their craft.

Their short stories, along with several from the Ch1Con mentors, have all been published in a brand new anthology entitled “Twisted” – short stories, all complete with twist endings!

I am thrilled to be able to give you a sneak peak of one of those short stories today.

May I present Allison Mulder!

Allison grew up in assorted small Midwestern towns, and credits the internet with nurturing her nerdiness. A graduate of Northwestern College in Orange City, IA, she majored in Writing & Rhetoric with a minor in Literature, and spent several years copy editing for the campus lit mag as well as the campus newspaper. If you (rather unwisely) count the Magic Tree House rip-offs Allison produced as an eight-year-old, she’s spent approximately fourteen years writing fantasy, science fiction, and (often by accident) horror. Her first pro sale–a creepy tooth fairy story published in Crossed Genres Magazine–may have terrified several in-real-life neighbors.

With patience, sensitive equipment, and a fully-stocked backpack of granola bars, you can sometimes glimpse Allison at her blog. Or, track her far more easily on Twitter, where she broadcasts any significant life happenings, gushes over her current fictional obsessions, and uses far too many X-Files gifs.

Find Allison Online: Blog / Twitter

Allison is such a sweetheart and super fun to work with. I am so excited to be able to give you a sneak peak at her work today.

So, without further ado, I give you “What You’re Missing,” an excerpt…

-KP

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“Something’s missing.”

The words slipped past Anya’s lips, not for the first time. Most days she could keep them buried under other, safer thoughts. But on quiet, peaceful days like this one, when she’d successfully coaxed Colton past the fences to the off-grid hills, the words had a nasty habit of wriggling out to warm themselves in the sun.

“Of course something’s missing,” Colton said, staring back toward the sprawling gray city. Sun sparkled off the high chain link fences between the hills and town. “No Wi-Fi, no cell signals. The power grid’s scrapped out here. If it bothers you, let’s head back.” He fiddled hopefully with his loose tie, obviously ready and waiting to tighten it.

Anya shook her head, enjoying the unfamiliar feeling of unbound hair swishing against her cheeks. “Not what I mean.”

“You bring this up every time you drag me here,” Colton said. “If it bothers you that much, why keep coming?”

She couldn’t help herself. The gap in the fence was like the hole left behind by a lost tooth. She couldn’t stop fiddling with it. It had been like that from the first day she found the hole, on another warm day like this one. Her feet had carried her to the overgrown, unknown exit, and then past it, until she stumbled onto a little, weed-covered path. It was an escape route—sure to be forbidden if any of the adults knew about it. It was like it had lain there for years, just waiting for her.

She’d followed the path all the way up to the hill, fighting the sense that she’d done so before; she’d never felt such a strong case of déjà vu in all her life.

“Because if I sit here long enough,” she said, feeling out the words as she said them, “maybe I’ll remember what it is that’s missing.”

“Or, if we sit here long enough, we’ll get caught,” Colton said, pushing to his feet. “Come on. Let’s head back.”

He tightened his tie. She pulled back her hair. They brushed the dead grass from their pants and sheathed their feet in the plain, worn-out shoes distributed to everyone in the community. Anya lingered on the hill’s peak, searching her mind as Colton fidgeted on the path back to the city.

“It’s on the tip of my tongue,” she said.

“Well, let’s make a list,” Colton said. “Got your socks? Your interface remote?”

She shook her head, starting down the path. “It’s nothing like that.”

Whatever it was, it was something important.