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Journal
& Updates
Notes from the desk—updates, reflections, and insights into the creative process.
This is where ideas take shape before they become stories.
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A Story That Refused to Stay Small: Entering A Pocketful of Hopes into the Hero Chronicles Contest
Author Alicia Anspaugh shares the journey behind entering A Pocketful of Hopes into the Hero Chronicles writing contest and how two unexpected young heroes grew into something much larger than planned.
aliciaspaintbrush
1 day ago2 min read
Outpost 37 Enters the Inkitt Hero Chronicles Contest | Alicia Anspaugh
Science-fantasy adventure Outpost 37 by Alicia Anspaugh has officially entered the Inkitt Hero Chronicles Contest. Follow Win, Vox, and Weatherby as they uncover the mysteries hidden beneath a peaceful frontier colony.
aliciaspaintbrush
2 days ago2 min read
The Crossroads Inn | A Supernatural Short Story by Alicia Anspaugh
A strange elevator ride, a wish for one more day, and a mysterious crossroads lead to unexpected consequences in this supernatural short story by Alicia Anspaugh.
aliciaspaintbrush
Jun 121 min read
Alicia Anspaugh Enters Vocal Plus Stay Awhile Horror Contest with My Waters & A Hundred Lives
Author and artist Alicia Anspaugh explores slasher horror, creature horror, and sci-fi horror with her contest entries My Waters and A Hundred Lives for Vocal Plus’s Stay Awhile writing contest.
aliciaspaintbrush
May 231 min read
Alicia K. Anspaugh Submits “To Quell the Quiet” to the History Repeating Writing Challenge
Writer and artist Alicia K. Anspaugh submits her speculative fiction short story “To Quell the Quiet” to Glossy Planet Magazine’s May 2026 History Repeating writing challenge.
aliciaspaintbrush
May 151 min read
The Road to Hell | A Sci-Fi Horror Short Story About Good Intentions and Alien Invasion
A burned-out night-shift janitor tries to help a mysterious captive creature escape a secret underground lab, only to discover he has restarted an alien invasion delayed for sixty years. Read this dark sci-fi horror short story from Alicia’s Desk.
aliciaspaintbrush
May 131 min read
Submitted a new short story to Vocal’s “I Made It Worse” writing challenge.
This latest sci-fi horror piece, The Road to Hell, follows a tired night-shift janitor whose attempt to help a mysterious captive creature escape from a secret underground lab accidentally restarts an alien invasion that had been delayed for sixty years. This story was written for the challenge prompt: Write a confession about a situation where you tried to fix something and only made it worse. I had a lot of fun balancing dark humor, escalating consequences, and cosmic horro
aliciaspaintbrush
May 131 min read
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