Sunday, February 4, 2018

OLD GRETA: a short story

Hi! How are you! Welcome back! It's been a minute, huh? I haven't posted here in FOREVER, and I apologize. Life has been...well...life. Super crazy. Super busy.

But good news - I've been writing a lot these past few months! A LOT. My new manuscript is coming along just fine, and I can't wait to share it with you all. So, until then, I thought I'd share a creepy short story!!

Check it out below...



-- OLD GRETA --
 
Sam Campbell
 


“What was that?”

            I rolled my eyes. “For the hundredth time, it was just an owl.”

            “Don’t you think we should go back now?” said Jack. “It’s getting late. We’re not even supposed to be out here.”

I spun around and pointed the flashlight in Jack’s face. He was my best friend, but he certainly didn’t share my love of adventure.

“You promised you’d help me look for her. Isn’t this fun?”

“Not as much fun as pizza and video games. You know, stuff that normal people do at a sleepover?”

“Don’t you wanna find out if the stories are true?” I said. “About Old Greta? They say she sews kids’ mouths —”

Jack pushed away the flashlight. “Yeah, I got it. Don’t remind me.”

We plunged deeper into the forest.

“I wonder what she looks like,” I whispered. “They say she’s the ugliest — whoa.”

The flashlight suddenly flickered out. I beat it against my hand, hoping to jostle it awake.

Nothing.

“Toby, stop playing,” said Jack from somewhere in the dark behind me. “That’s not funny. Turn the light back on.”

“I’m not playing. It’s dead.”

“Let me see,” said Jack. Twigs crunched under his shoes as he tried to find me. “Hey!” His feet stopped moving. “Whoa… What is this?”

“What’s what?”

I shook the flashlight one last time, and it sputtered to life.

“AHHHHHHH!”

Our screams pierced the night air.

We were face-to-face with a body, a dried-up carcass hanging upside down from a tree branch.

“Run!” shouted Jack, already racing away. He disappeared into the trees. 

Adrenaline pulsed through me, but I hesitated. My chest rose and fell with every quick breath.

It was only a child, his tiny body strung up like a piece of meat. His face was gray and frozen, his eyes closed. He could’ve been sleeping — had it not been for his lips. They were sewn together, permanently sealed shut. The dark thread zigzagged up and down.

Bile churned inside my stomach. I wanted to vomit.

“I guess the legends are true, hmm?”

I jumped at the scratchy voice behind me. It was a haggard, old woman, her spine horribly curved.

“See what happens to bad little children?” she said. “Children who speak mean things. Mean things about Greta.”

I kept the flashlight trained on her wrinkly face. Gray hair sprouted in all directions.

“It – It’s you,” I whispered. “Old Greta.”

She smiled wickedly and nodded. “Of course. You were looking for Old Greta, yes? You and your cowardly friend. Come to poke fun at a miserable, old woman?”

            “N-no,” I said. “We’d never make fun.”

            “Liar,” she spat. “Just like the rest of them. All liars.”

            Something silver glimmered in the flashlight’s beam. A needle. Old Greta began threading some black string, keeping her eyes trained on me.

            “Greta have to punish naughty children,” she whispered, nodding at the suspended body behind me. She stepped closer. “And you’ve been a naughty boy.”
 
 
 
 


See the source image
 
(source: numaniaticos.com/google images)


Saturday, March 4, 2017

Good Luck, Little Sailboat

(image: sanjeetv.wordpress.com)


This week will always be a special one for me.

As a writer, one of your biggest dreams is to walk into a bookstore or library and see your own work on the shelves.

That happened for me this week.

It's difficult to describe the overwhelming feeling that washed over me as I walked into my local library and saw DOLL HOUSE on display. It felt like a dream. Like I'd wake up any moment and it would be gone. But there it was, right up front on display, beside so many other books. Books written by well-known and bestselling authors.

But there was my little book. Right next to them.

My little sailboat that I had now sent out into the wide, wide ocean.

I picked it up and flipped it over and over in my trembling hands. It was real. It was actually there, in the library, just waiting for the world to read.

My mind raced through the past four years. I'd spent countless hours in that library, pouring over my notebook, my computer, just writing away. It was only an idea of mine back then. My idea. My brain. No one else had experienced the little story I was so passionate about.

But there it was, now in my hands. Something physical. Tangible. It was no longer just an idea.

It was a book. MY book. On the shelves. Just waiting for someone to come along and pick it up and go on the adventure.

So, good luck, little sailboat. Go out into the world and do great things. Make somebody happy.

Just like you've done for me.


-Sam

  

Friday, February 24, 2017

DOLL HOUSE trailer revealed!!

Happy Friday, Everyone!

It has definitely been a while since I last posted...but for good reason! I've been busy promoting Doll House, writing, MORE promoting...

Writing a book is only the first step. There's so much more that goes into the process after you've published, but it's all been worth it and I'm enjoying every single moment.

Especially when I get to share things like this with you...

Here's the official opening trailer for Doll House! I can just imagine Emma making her way to the orphanage for the very first time here.

ENJOY!!!



-Sam

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Release Day!!

Well, you guys, it's December 17, 2016.

AND I CAN'T BELIEVE IT.

I can't believe that my little book -- this manuscript I've been pouring over for the past few years -- is finally being released into the world today. I've poured my heart into this book. I've spent countless hours with these characters, writing page after page, tagging along on their adventure.

And now the world can tag along.

This may sound cheesy and cliché, but this is an emotional day for me. I can't help it. I've wanted this for so long. I've prayed and waited and asked the Lord for guidance.

And He's led me to this day. This moment.

I'll always remember December 17, 2016 as the day my debut novel was released. The day I became a PUBLISHED AUTHOR.

Holy cow... Just typing that makes me stop and reflect. I've wanted to be published since I was 14 years old, and now it's really happening. Today that dream has come true.

I'm PUBLISHED.


Again, I want to thank each and every one of you who have congratulated me on the publication of Doll House. Thank you to those who have championed my writing and supported my dreams. Today is the day we've been waiting for!!

If you'd like to go on this adventure and see what I've been working on for the past four years, I invite you to check out Doll House. I invite you to meet Emma Winters, a young girl whose story has become so special to me.

Amazon
Createspace Bookstore

I hope you enjoy!
-Sam

Monday, December 12, 2016

What a Ride

"Boring" is not a word I would use to describe these past few weeks.

They've been anything BUT boring.

Since I made the announcement last month that I'd be publishing my first book, I have been flooded with warm wishes, messages, encouragement, and the support of so many people around me. People whom I haven't spoken to in years have reached out and told me how excited they are.

It's been a ride, that's for sure. Ups and downs. Highs and lows. Twists and turns. There have been happy tears, overwhelming fears, anxiety, restlessness, unspeakable joy...and a couple heart-to-hearts with Jesus.

This writing and publishing business is a funny thing. You put yourself out there, invite people to meet characters you've secretly known for years, and wait to see how they'll respond. And I must say, the response has been great.

People literally from the other side of the world have congratulated me and shown so much excitement for this project. The crazy thing is...a month ago they had no clue about Emma or my writing! And then BOOM. The ride started, and all I've been able to do is sit back and take it in.

Sit back and let God lead.

So, I just want to say thank you. Thank you to all who have congratulated me and reached out to me these past few weeks. Your messages have meant so much. I'm overwhelmed by your responses and excitement, and I'm so thankful for the support that you all have shown me and DOLL HOUSE.

Not only are you my friends, but I am blessed to call you my "readers" as well. And for that, I am truly thankful.


-Sam

Saturday, November 19, 2016

SNEAK PEEK

Here's a sneak peek from the moment Emma Winters first arrives at Crummings' Home for the Dispossessed...

 



The windshield wipers on the car squeaked as they flew back and forth, trying their best to fight off the rain.  We crossed the bridge and began driving through town, still hitting every pothole along the way.  Small cafés and convenient stores lined both sides of the street, and soggy newspapers littered the grimy sidewalks and gutters.  The place felt abandoned.  And dirty.

We rounded a corner, and soon the car was slowing to a stop.  As the driver threw the gearshift into park, I peered out the window, eager to see my new home.  But all I saw was a wall of twisted metal.  The driver opened my door, and I stepped out onto the sidewalk, my jet-black hair blowing in the drizzly autumn wind.  A tall, wrought-iron gate loomed above me, like a set of prison bars, and I started to wonder if the legends were true.

“Don’t just stand there gawking,” said Delores.  “You’ll get pneumonia out here.  Grab your bag and let’s go.”

The driver handed me my tattered suitcase, tipped the brim of his hat to say “good day,” and then climbed back into the cab.

There was the sharp sound of metal scraping against metal as the gate suddenly swung open.  All by itself.  With my one piece of luggage in hand, I stepped through the entrance and into the courtyard.  Cobblestones covered the ground, though patches of dead, yellow grass fought through the cracks.  It was like walking through a cemetery.  Stone statues and fountains were scattered throughout the yard, many chipped and broken.  I passed a crumbling, three-legged fawn and an angel whose face had disintegrated long ago.

“Homey, isn’t it?”

I rolled my eyes at Delores’s smart comment and kept walking.

Black birds scattered as I passed more decrepit statues, squawking loudly as they flew away in annoyance.  The orphanage looked like some medieval castle.  I gazed up at the towering fortress and couldn’t believe how massive it was.  Rows of tall, skinny windows lined all three floors, and as we walked up the front steps, I was surprised to see the grimacing faces of several stone gargoyles staring at us, as if they were guarding some secret.  I shivered as I walked past their disapproving scowls.  
 
DOLL HOUSE ebook available for preorder now! Arrives 12.17.16.
 

Friday, November 18, 2016

Now Available for Preorder!!

The ebook version of DOLL HOUSE is up and ready for preordering! If you'd like the novel automatically downloaded to your Kindle on release day -- 12.17.16. --  then visit the link below.

And get ready to enter Crummings' Home for the Dispossessed...



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N95XVZD/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_awdo_t2_1i9lybGDYEY7Y


*paperback version available 12.17.16.