About Crystal

Crystal Brinkerhoff’s first short story was published by Eakin Press in 2017. Since then, she has had short stories published in a variety of places. She recently received the Praisworthy Award for Emerging Author in Fantasy/Science Fiction. She manages the social media arm for Verso.ink. Crystal lives in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains where she endeavors to raise five kids while working on writing projects. She is currently working on her first full length novel. Read more »

Wicked Fun

A home planet that kidnaps its inhabitants, an eerie asylum on an island, a friendly seance that turns deadly, and a vacation that turns into a crash course on paranormal investigations.

Find all of these and more in this short story collection. Wicked Fun promises wicked chills.

TETHERED

After a horrific accident at sea, a man finds himself stranded on an island, lucky to be alive, but not quite alone.

Blog

It’s Against the Law to Marry Your Cousin

Tyler Bay was not my first crush. Not if you count the first boy who spoke to me in kindergarten. He had my undying devotion for about 30 seconds. But even before that, there was a brief infatuation with a cousin who came to visit from out of state. We went over to...

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“Oooo! Tyler Baaaay!”

(*Name changed) I loved school. My family only knew about kids at school if I talked about them. And kids at school only knew about my family if I talked about them. It was like creating two separate worlds and I could decide how much these worlds collided. I also...

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The Day I Learned My Family Was Big

Clarissa Reeves approached me in line at the monkey bars. She was not like the delicate blonde girls in our second grade class. Freckles spattered the bridge of her nose just like mine. Her hair was much longer than my own frizzy curls, and just a shade darker. Her...

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The Reality of Homework Packets in 13 Painful Steps

We sit down at the table. It’s noisy and distractions abound, but it’s the center of the home which makes it the most logical place for me. The child pulls out his homework slowly. He leans against his hand and fiddles with his pencil. I look at the first problem,...

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Sharing the Brainchild, Making it Shine

Today I sent off the most polished version of the first ten pages of Clever Elsie that has ever existed. Wish her luck! I'm going to a writer's retreat in May, and part of that experience will be reading those ten pages out loud to a small group of people who will...

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Competition

“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.”  -George Bernard Shaw Our friends recently had a litter of puppies. The runt was several pounds smaller than her thriving littermates. She struggled and fought several times each day to get...

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My Inspiration for Clever Elsie

Clever Elsie is the name of a Grimm’s tale. After I stumbled across it I found myself kind of obsessing about it. This poor girl. She needed a happy ending! (Would it have really killed you to fudge the ending Grimm boys?) So I started to create a story for Elsie....

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Authenticity in Writing

The experience and wisdom of a high school teacher is not a thing to take lightly. I learned to sew in Mrs. Patterson's Home Economics class. We spent the semester making pin cushions, mastering the slip stitch, making pillows, and learning the art of the sewing...

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My Efforts to Create a Relevant Online Writing Presence

A friend recently asked me if I make any money when I blog. The answer: Nope. Which means I’m probably doing it wrong. Instead my goal is to create something of an online presence and establish some credibility among readers. Then when I finally get something out...

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