This week, popular science fiction authors have found themselves unexpectedly inundated by requests for 140-word stories.  The reason?  G.I.S.H.W.H.E.S., or the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen, included item number 78:

“Get a previously published Sci-Fi author to write an original story (140 words max) about Misha, the Queen of England and an Elopus.”

There’s been some buzz in the SF author world about this, some finding it horribly rude and others finding it fun.  Some authors have even advertised their willingness to write a story in return for buying one of their books!  I wrote one for a fan who asked with polite enthusiasm, and found it pretty easy and fun to do.