"Cash In the Past" Quarterfinalist for ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Competition

And more on Pepper's Ghost second edition

This month’s content is brought to you by readers like you whose paid Substack subscriptions and book purchases help produce and promote my work: extraordinary stories about ordinary Americans. If you’re a free subscriber, consider upgrading to a paid subscription. Thank you for supporting and reading my work and spreading the word. And thank you to new subscribers—a hearty welcome to you; I hope you stick around.

Pepper’s Ghost Second Edition

Now available.

And a big thank you to The Bean coffeeshop and to everyone who came out when I was in person to promote the novel.

BEHOLD THE GORILLA-GIRL! Charlotte Alexandra Long is determined to leave all she knows: her ill-fitting office job, her unreliable boyfriend, and the city she has lived in since adolescence. But leaving that life requires leaving her haunted father who wants nothing but the best for her yet reminds her of a past he’s not ready to let go. After joining a traveling amusement company as a sideshow performer, where an old theater trick blurs illusion and reality, Charlotte transforms into Alex who ascends into a star. While wrestling with a spectrum of coworkers, her evolving identity, her troubled father, and her concerned mother, Alex faces an uncertain future that threatens everything she has established. As Pepper’s Ghost weaves in and out of the South and Midwest, Alex must reevaluate who she is and navigate the crossroads of family, memories, and places that challenge her in times of ambiguity and tragedy.

ISBN (print): 9798986092737

ISBN (ebook): 9798986092744

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The second edition is eighty percent different than the first, which came off market when the publisher’s contract ended in 2017. But this also opened the door for an opportunity: shaping a stronger story and sharing it under my control.

And I’m asking you to help spread the word about the second edition of Pepper’s Ghost. A book’s success can thrive on word-of-mouth and grassroots marketing. Anything below you can do can positively impact me and my work:

• Buy the book (print and e-book).

• Recommend to family, friends, acquaintances, book clubs, libraries, bookstores, bloggers, and platforms devoted to American fiction and culture.

• Share on social media and websites.

• Add and rate on Amazon, Goodreads, and similar outlets.

• Place a copy in Little Free Libraries.

"Cash In the Past"

This month’s story is a quarterfinalist for the 2024 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Competition. Your book purchases and paid Substack subscriptions helped cover the submission fee—thank you.

William Auten

Copyright William Auten

williamauten.com

Before the microwave bings, Marlon pushes Bobbie’s wheelchair to their table and sets her napkin, covering her collarbone’s scar. He mushes up her food and blows on it and verifies her neck is aligned like the new therapist showed him and pulls up a website folder named M+B’s Faves. “That one,” she says while he scrolls. The muscles around her cheeks and mouth quiver but can’t contract into the smile she had.

The first video starts. A couple drives their van up a mountain then into a valley where hot springs bubble. The film’s speed remains normal when the man unbuttons his shirt but slows when the woman disrobes into a bikini and slips into the pool. The man drifts to the other end and its illusion of water disappearing in the mountain and never dropping off. The woman swims toward him, water and steam sliding over her long lean body.

Bobbie spits out her food.

“Too hot? Cold?”

“I don’t want to see this.”

He soaks up her dribble and starts highlights from an obstacle course for dogs.

A border collie gives up halfway on a balance beam. The dog runs over to the owner and nudges out a bag of treats and a belly rub. “Just because. Why not?” the announcers say as the audience cheers and oohs and ahhs and Bobbie practices with her straw.

An email buzzes Marlon’s phone: Contestant Application. “I need to check on something. I’ll be back.” He slips into the office, logs in, and skips over bills past-due; notices from the insurance company reiterating their coverage does not pay for this or that; and a thread he started with a lawyer who is “confident we can get them to pay. Neither you nor Roberta have to suffer.” He opens the reply from the gameshow’s producers:

After receiving your application, we would like to invite you as a contestant for an upcoming show.

…

We found your story about your wife moving, and it would be an ideal fit.

…

We have located Lynne Kovic, confirmed who she is, and…

Reading that name, he seethes.

We have contacted her with this same opportunity, and she has agreed to appear with you at our next taping, scheduled below, should you agree to this as well.

…

***Please read and agree to our Terms, Conditions, and Waiver attached to this email.***

He reviews: the gameshow cannot be liable during or after production including but not limited to media coverage and physical, emotional, and mental concerns; by agreeing to appear and signing the waiver, he assumes all responsibility and liability; none of the parties involved can sue or be sued. “As long as it’s the same for her.” He glares at Lynne Kovic.