"Three Ghosts for Maisie Tidwell"

Three ghosts aid a teen for her prom. Plus Cloudbreak, a forthcoming collection of short stories.

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. Good stories don’t, and shouldn’t have to, conform to the dominant aesthetics and politics. 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 a hearty welcome to new subscribers.

Cloudbreak: Stories

Cloudbreak, my next collection of short stories, is edited and formatted and has a cover for release later this year. Your books purchases and paid Substack subscriptions helped produce and will promote this book—thank you.

“A life inside yourself isn’t a life.” Seventeen stories laced with humor and heart crisscross America where ordinary men and women search for identity and order. A retired colonel investigates a cloaked figure at a naval station. Struggling with PTSD, a sister makes a request of her brother. After success at work, a man’s stress outlet creates problems on a family vacation. Old flames cross paths and tour a cave. A former athlete weighs an invitation to a ceremony honoring his team’s achievements. On the day of the winter solstice, a trail guide takes a stranger to a vista. During the last day of filming, a reality show’s contestant wrestles with his goal. And a grandfather distracts his granddaughter with the outdoors while her parents figure out their marriage. From the coasts to the lands in between, these and other characters seek connection and meaning amid expectations, responsibilities, and chaos.

Thanks to the following publications where versions of stories in Cloudbreak first appeared:

“A Circle of Men,” Origins

“Cloudbreak,” Crab Orchard Review

“Confluence,” Sequestrum

“Estuary,” District Lit

“Indirect Light,” Bicentennial Celebration of North American Review

“Little Things” (as “Good Morning Good Morning”), SunStruck Magazine

“Long Past Due” (as “A Place to Turn Around”), Cahoodaoodaling

“One Day’s Worth,” Solstice

“Pacific Time” (as “A Sweet Taste under the Skin”), Rum Punch Press

“Pinto” (as “Out There in the Sunlight”), Red Earth Review

“Retire to the Netherlands,” Panoplyzine

“Solstice” (as “Tread”), Saturday Night Reader

And now for this month’s story…

“Three Ghosts for Maisie Tidwell”

William Auten

Copyright William Auten

williamauten.com

Maisie clicks through the next page of search results and sorts by price, style, popularity, reviews, estimated arrival. “No, no, no.” She chucks her phone onto her bed and flings around the clothes she cut, whittled down, and sewed together and fidgets with scraps and sketches on her sewing bin. “None of this.” Her brother strolls by.

“Will you take me to the mall?” she asks him.

“I just got back from practice.” His backpack slaps the hardwood floor. “Why would you want to go there?”

“I need a dress for prom. By Friday.”

“Go online like everyone else.”

“I was. Now I need something else.”

“Are you doing drugs now, and you want to hang out with your people?”