To celebrate the release of my new book, I am inviting you all to participate in a contest. The concept: Explore a person's struggle to come to terms with a strange, sinister, or surreal reality. This is a broad theme to encourage you to be as creative as you choose. Flash and full length stories welcome in horror, fantasy, surreal, or any hybrid genres. The only rule: Prose fiction only. Three winners will be chosen, who will receive 2000, 1000, or 500 coins + a signed copy of my collection.

Most individuals believe in at least one superstition. Many individuals even self-regulate their personal behavior based on superstitious beliefs. Write a short story or piece of flash fiction based on a superstition. Pick any superstition/s you like, from any culture or tradition, and use it as the basis for a fictional story. Let's do prose only, fiction only, and any length you like. And tag me, too!

There's an idea in folklore that says you should never answer a voice calling your name unless you can see who is speaking. Why not? What will happen to you? Who or what will you see or hear? Write a piece of flash fiction based on this folkloric idea. Be as creative as you like and feel free to use traditional folklore or make up your own completely new ideas. Feel free also to explore hybrid genres and to stray from mainstream paranormal themes.

How about a little monster madness? Write a piece of flash fiction featuring a monster. Any monster you like as long as it appears in some kind of physical manifestation - think creature feature here. Make it straight horror or feel free to try a hybrid genre and make it comedic, a mystery, or even a romance!

We all know that sometimes the Devil will make a deal in exchange for a soul, but what happens when he comes to collect? Imagine a person who has sold his/her soul to the Devil. How does he come for them? Does he take them directly to Hell? How does he get them wherever they're going and what happens when they get there? Write a story exploring what happens after a deal with the Devil comes to an end. Base it on traditional folklore, or make up your own totally new ideas!

Write a riddle poem! Make it as traditional or untraditional as you want, in any genre you want. Make it dark and scary, totally mundane, or anything in between. It can be as long or short as you like and the answer can be anything you want, from an abstract concept to an everyday object. Tell us the answer in the comments or, if you prefer, have the readers guess and we'll see who gets yours right!