Folks, the internet is a super cool place. Thanks to this lovely little blog of mine, I recently crossed paths with an amazing gal (and fellow picture-booking fool), Shaelyn Berg. Shae is the fabulous face behind the blog Writing PBs & Joy. In the few short weeks following our initial meeting on the interwebs, we’ve become killa critiquing buddies and general cheerleaders of one another’s whacky authorial ambitions.

Shae and I recently challenged one another to participate in Susanna Hill’s 5th Annual Halloweensie Writing Contest. Ok, if I’m being honest, she was already doing it and I just decided to jump on the proverbial bandwagon. After-all, as I mentioned earlier this month, I’m borderline obsessed with anything related to the month of October… inclusive of Halloweensie contests and the like. That is, until I saw the details. Cozy up with some spiked cider for this one, because the rules here are a real doozy (dare I say, spooky?):

• write a kid-friendly Halloween story and post online between 10/26-10/30
• use 100 words or less. for those non-writing types, just know that this is FRIGHTENINGLY short (mwa ha ha, see what I did there?)
• include these three words, or variants thereof: haunt, costume, dark

Challenge. Accepted. Spiked cider in hand (not really), I decided to knock this bad boy out on my flight to Palm Springs last weekend for some wedding festivities. Btw: congrats again Joel and Alexis! You guys are simply the best.

For those that are curious, here’s what my Palm-Springs-bound fingers ended up typing for Halloweensie:

Ocean Potion by Samantha Cronin

Gales hauntingly howl.
Waves whip salty shells.
Beach beckons for calm.
‘Tis time for a spell!

First find a costume.
Suggest one with fins!
Next gather the goods —
a few odds and ends:

One jagged shark tooth,
the tongue of an eel,
spike from a stingray,
some squid ink (congealed),

Splash of saltwater,
dark sand from the floor,
jellyfish juices,
and crab claws galore.

Then last on the list:
squeeze of sun lotion.
Give one final whisk…
Voila! Ocean Potion!

Three sips to the sky…
Two drops to the tide…
One wish to the wind…
The sea storm subsides.

What’s next, you say? Next week Susanna and her book buds will narrow down the entries to three finalists and then open it up to reader voting (I think). Winner will be announced on 11/5. But, hey, it’s not all about winning… right? It’s about the-tricks-and-the-treats, the cider, and all the other cozy Fall vibes that this contest promotes. All. da. vibes.

Do yourself a favor and head on over to Susanna’s blog to check out the other entries!

Ocean Potion 4eva,

Girl Sam