Smoke Signals

Vol. 6, August 2026

Greetings Friends!

Has July felt weird to anyone else? Maybe it’s just all of us over here at Campfire Publishing. Maybe we’re just too excited that as I sit and write our newsletter’s opening letter Fall is a mere 35 days away. Meaning that by Friday we’ll be three days closer.

The submissions for Savagery on the Salty Seas, Volume 1 closed on July 10th. Congratulations to everyone who submitted on time! Writing a short story is no easy feat. So please, regardless of outcomes, celebrate yourselves! And as a reminder, we’ll be reaching out on or before September 10th. Also, check the website often. We are trying hard to stick to this timeline. Doing so, is not always a guarantee and should anything change, we’ll post the changes on our main page and our submissions page.

I’ve truly appreciated so very many of these stories, the range of voices and interpretations has been impressive. Making final decisions will be pretty difficult.

This issue of Smoke Signals features our very first TIE in our Campfire Tales micro-fiction contest. Scroll down to give both stories a read. We’ll also issue our August challenge, film festivals, and much more!

Thank you for supporting our art!

Cheers!

Aaron

Before announcing the tying winners of July’s Campfire Tales contest, we’d like to thank our guest judge, P. Mattern.

USA TODAY Bestselling and Award-winning Author P.Mattern was born and bred in Virginia and currently lives in the Midwest where there are no amazing geographical features above ground. A lifelong fan of vampires she is the author of over 170 published novels, novellas and horror/chiller shorts including her flagship Full Moon Series, Midnight Magnolias Series and the Vampire Princess Saga.

She is currently involved with one of her characters (*”It’s complicated”!)

Judge’s Feedback:

Greetings All!

I was completely honored to be asked to judge the collection of Shorts with the “Neighbors” theme as a prompt. Because it was a Campfire Tales Publishing Writing Opportunity and I am familiar with the quality of their published works my expectations were sky high!

I was absolutely NOT disappointed! Every single entry was engaging, well executed and captivating in its own way! That was the upside!

The downside was that there would be only one winner. Trying to choose just ONE was pure torture, as I poured over the stories.

SO …I was forced to do the only honorable thing. I BEGGED the CEO of Campfire , Aaron Crocker to allow me to choose TWO WINNERS!

Two of the entries particularly left me with lingering goosebumps, along with unexpected zingers of dark humor and killer endings-all of those masterfully delivered in spite of the word limit ( and something difficult to do)!

“CAPTURING A DAEMON” was upfront, gritty and instantly engaging. The Main Character a powerful witch with a MILITARY background no less- quirky, troubled and dark , tasked with helping to deliver a longtime neighbor from torment. THis story grabbed my entrails and twisted as I read, waiting for the proverbial axe to drop , yet unable to look away!

The finale? MIND BLOWING!

“AS I LOOKED OUT ONE EVENING’ was surprising in all the best ways, like macabre Chinese Boxes revealing their content-gritty, gruesome and poetic at the same time! I fell instantly in love with the tone. AND the dark humor and sarcasm. Not to mention the twisty conclusion that left me wondering,

“What the fuck did I just READ?”

CONGRATULATIONS to both winners and also all the other authors who entered ! It was both a treat and a privilege to read Y’all’s work!

Peace,

P.Mattern

Capturing a Daemon

How does one even begin to explain what happens in the daily life of a witch?
Oh, okay I’m not the nose twitching arm waving kind, I’m the kind you don’t suspect as she sits on her front steps sipping her coffee. But there’s a lot these residents around me don’t see, yet I do and must address those things before the night overtakes the city. It all started five years ago when my grandmother sat me down for a talk. A talk that meant she was retiring as Guardian and giving me the keys, so to speak.

My first night started peacefully…. the moon was high; the city was quiet and
there went a shadowy figure sneaking up the alley trying all the back gates. Well now I wasn’t having any of that, so I did my own sneaking…right up on the…. well…I wasn’t
sure what it was….at first. My initial thought was that it was one of the home invasion
burglars the police had been trying to nab. It had managed to get into the back yard of my elderly Greek neighbor and I realized this was not a burglar, instead it was
something from his homeland and my mind got to cataloging while easing into that
yard…then laying down and using my old military tactics from my time in the Army to
get closer. (Yeah, grandmother was NOT thrilled about that particular life decision of
mine).

The yard was cold, dark and absolutely perfect for capturing whatever was after
my neighbor, hell even the crickets had shut up, and I could feel them watching us both. Glad to provide a show for you little twerps, why didn’t you swarm it like you did that rabid dog a week ago!? Easing into Athanasios’s garage, and relieved the alarms didn’t go off, I grabbed some charmed rope which had been innocently placed there after the rabid dog incident. Whatever was heading for the house I was determined it would not make it. Fortunately, the thick grass muffled my footsteps as I came up behind the being…. oh, good the security light didn’t come on!

There was a momentary thought of how stupid this was, a 45-year-old starting to
wrinkle, gray haired broad retired from the Army because of a back injury sneaking upon a something something from Greece. But duty called and my old neighbor was a sweetheart, if something happened to him, I’d never forgive myself. Fortunately, it did not scream when I roped it and hauled it to the end of the yard and into mine.

It’s been 5 years now and I still have a Greek Daemon tied up in my basement.
My gray hair and wrinkles have vanished for some reason, my back no longer hurts,
and grandmother does not answer her phone. I may have made a mistake.

As I Looked Out One Evening
(from W.H. Auden)

O stand, stand at the window

I like simple pleasures. Smoking a joint isn’t about the high for me anymore. I’m too old for that. I’ve been smoking CBD bud instead. I was smoking out the window when I saw them moving in.

Our complex (it was theirs now too, wasn’t it?) has a small courtyard. It’s one of the things I like about it. From my window you can look down at the comings and goings. There’s some squirrels, cats, and pigeons that have made it their regular territory. A couple of stray crows show up sometimes.

I could see the movers they hired. A couple of young burly guys dragged furniture into the building, shuffling past the propped door. I surveyed the curve of their shoulders before my attention shifted to the shelf they were lugging.

“BILLY strikes again,” I mumbled. It was seventy-nine dollars from IKEA. We have two of them.

As the tears scald and start;

The next time I saw any hint of them, it was a few weeks later. I couldn’t sleep because I was freaked out about death again. It’s a panic that overtakes me. It’s biological like nausea, disgust, or hunger. My doctor says it’s a natural response to the animal body’s fears.

I was looking out the window to practice being grounded and grateful. I could see one of the new neighbors sitting on the bench two flights down. It was dark, so I couldn’t make out which of them it was. But I think they’d been crying too.

You shall love your crooked neighbour

I’m pretty sure they’re in the apartment above us. There was a family above us for a while. They rang bells a lot, and I’d hear the kids screaming and clattering around. It’s been silent. Mostly.

I follow their shuffle of feet when I can. We’re all in the same building. It’s what I imagine a red blood cell feels like. Or maybe an ant.

With your crooked heart.

The other day I watched the ants climb to my neighbor’s patio. They were dragging the carapace of a firefly up the sides of the building. They have a distinct division on their back. That’s how I recognized it.

Ants can recognize each other by smell. It’s how they tell their nestmates and sisters from strangers. On the other hand, if you slowly expose them to a foreign ant’s scent they’ll become adjusted to it. All this is done through their antennae.

Then I finally saw one of them. The main difference is I don’t have a patio, so I was looking up out of the window. I was relieved to see we had the same face.

Aaron K. Crocker films is proud to announce that our short films, “The Letter” and “Another Letter” will screen on Saturday, August 8th at the Mightier than the Sword Awards at the historic Sunset Theater in Asheboro, North Carolina. I will also be participating in a Q&A following the screening!

Click here for tickets and details on the 2026 Mightier than the Sword Awards!

“The Letter” and its sequel, “Another Letter” follow the appearance of a mysterious letter and sinister consequences to those who dare read it.

We’re excited and honored to be invited back to MTTS film festival and can’t wait to see all the creative works and to network with other filmmakers.

As the fire crackles and the shadows stretch, a brand-new story waits for us in the flames.

This month, we’re inviting you to tell a tale in 500 words or less.

August’s Prompt: “What if we all just stopped”

Rules/Details:

500 words or less

One submission per person

NO AI

NO EROTICA

Deadline: Friday, August 28th 2026

Format: .docx (.doc)

**We will NOT accept any other file format**

Please include: Name (or pen name) and email address

Send submission to info@aaronkcrocker.com

Subject Line: Campfire Tales

Authors who have been published in Campfire Publishing’s anthologies are encouraged to submit!

STORIES WILL BE JUDGED BLINDLY (Please include your name in your file with submission. All names will be removed before being sent to our guest judge)!

Winner receives a $10 AMAZON GIFT CARD, and their story and bio will be featured in May’s Newsletter!

We all have a story! —tell us yours. Keep it dark (or twistedly funny) and send it our way for a chance to be featured in next month’s newsletter!

To see our current and past winners and read their stories, visit our CAMPFIRE TALES page!

August’s Guest Judge is Jennifer Weigel!

Multi-disciplinary mixed media conceptual artist Jennifer Weigel (she/her/they/them) lives in Kansas, USA. Weigel was a staff writer for Haunted MTL from 2020 – 2025 until the website was shut down, and is now involved with Weird Wyrlds, posting poems and stories every Sunday. She also serves on the Board of Nat 1 Publishing, from 2024 – current. Weigel is the author of Witch Hayzelle’s Recipes for Disaster trilogy and her writing has appeared in over 150 publications in print and online. https://jenniferweigelart.com/