“Pied Piper Pest Control” Submitted to Glossy Planet’s Free Space Challenge

Another story is officially out the door!

I’ve submitted my flash fiction story, “Pied Piper Pest Control,” to Glossy Planet Magazine’s August 2026 Free Space Challenge.

This challenge caught my attention for one particularly wonderful reason: there was no theme.

Glossy Planet opened the doors and asked writers to send what they had—the unexpected, the urgent, and even the things that might feel a little too weird to send somewhere else.

Well.

That sounded like an invitation.

And apparently my answer to that invitation was “Pied Piper Pest Control.”

This little piece of speculative fiction combines supernatural fantasy, humor, an unusual bargain, and the realization that sometimes an ancient solution to a very old problem might have some surprisingly modern business potential.

I’m not saying anything more about the story itself while it’s under consideration, but I had a ridiculous amount of fun writing this one.

There’s something freeing about being handed a blank space instead of a theme. No box to fit the story into. No particular subject to interpret. Just: What do you want to write?

Apparently, this.

And I’m rather pleased with that answer.

Now it’s submitted, out of my hands, and waiting to see what happens next.

—Alicia K. Anspaugh

#AliciasDesk #AliciaKAnspaugh #PiedPiperPestControl #GlossyPlanetMagazine #FreeSpaceChallenge #FlashFiction #SpeculativeFiction #SupernaturalFiction #FantasyFiction #HumorousFiction #ShortStory #WritingContest #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #AuthorLife #AuthorJourney #StorySubmission