Go back to 2002. What were you doing? For me, I was in first grade and working on my first story. Granted, it wasn’t a great story and it was maybe a hundred words or so, but at the time I thought it was the greatest thing ever. I’m sure most seven-year-olds would have the same thought if they just wrote a ten-page story in one block of writing time. Let’s not talk about how each page only allowed for three to five lines of text though.

Sadly, my first ever short story, like many of my others, didn’t survive my aging. Many were either lost or thrown out. I mean, even though I always wanted to be a writer I’m sure my parent, grandparents, and teachers didn’t have that burning desire like I did, so I don’t blame them for misplacing my work.

What I do remember about my first ever short story was that I first dove into the world of personification before I even knew what it was. My story was about an orange who wasn’t picked with his best friend and was left on the tree alone. Determined to be reunited, the orange set off on a journey of a lifetime down dusty roads, ill-lit streets, and who knows what else before the joyous reunion of the two best friends.

I know. This was a true loss for the Caitlyn Grey fans out there. While this gem was sadly lost to the World of Lost Text, I have several other pieces of pure gold from elementary school-aged me that have been preserved for your reading pleasure.

Now, without further ado, please enjoy this 2003 piece about Halloween.

“I have a scary story. Do you want to hear about it? One very scary night I went trick-or-treating. I heard rattling skeleton bones nearby. I saw green zombies. When I got a little scared I started to walk home. When I did, I smelled lit jack-o-lanterns. When I got home I counted my candy. I ate one piece. It tasted very chocolatey. See, wasn’t that a very scary story?”

There’s even a spooky zombie to go along with the story!

Okay, well, that wasn’t scary at all. But this was my first attempt at writing a scary story. Over the years, thankfully, my ability to write scary stories enhanced significantly. The difference between 2003 and 2004 alone improved significantly. Leading up to Halloween this year, maybe I’ll share some of my other scary stories, all leading up to the publication of my latest scary story, The Seventh Day. And before you ask—yes, I did have to shamelessly pitch my novel.