Christmas Short Stories Anthology

Black Mare Books presents 12 Twisted Tales from Artemis Greenleaf, Holly Dey, and A.B. Richards. In this Santa’s sack of Christmas yarns, you’ll find an array of monsters of all stripes.

With her husband, Ebenezer, now 'doornail dead', the coldest Christmas Eve on record finds Mrs Scrooge outside the supermarket, protesting against consumerism and waste. 'Spoilsport!' shout the passersby as they load up their shopping carts with Christmas goodies. Just as Ebenezer did, Mrs Scrooge keeps to her frugal ways...but with the current state of the world, perhaps Mrs Scrooge has the right idea.

While out for a walk, two young men find themselves on Enderly Rd., known for its poor inhabitants and shabby dwellings. They meet a crying girl on her way home and stop her. Learning that the boys who promised to help decorate the schoolhouse for the examinations to be held on Christmas Eve were backing out, the two young men decide to help out the little girl.

It’s two days before Christmas - and Evie Harris finds herself both man-less and jobless. After a chance encounter with handsome Greg (and egged on by her toy-boy-eating friend, Bea) she agrees to work at a homeless shelter on Christmas Day. Striking up an unlikely friendship with homeless Yves, Evie begins an unwitting journey of spiritual awakening, all set against the sparkling winter backdrop of London landmarks.

The scent of balsam pine fills the air. The snow falls gently outside. A fire blazes merrily in the hearth. Grab a plate of Christmas cookies and a steaming cup of cocoa and sit down to enjoy this collection of cozy Christmas tales. In this audiobook, you'll find a magical Christmas tree that appears of its own accord every year, angels, ghosts, and a century-old hotel that miraculously reappears during the holiday season.

Four favorite Australian authors present a heartwarming collection of festive stories about finding love on the farm this Christmas.

Being the only mortal in a world of magical elves isn’t easy for Chrissy Star, especially at Christmastime. Feeling as if she’s in the way, she escapes Christmas Town and her duties as CFO for a week long vacation on a Greece isle. If she could have her Christmas wish, she’d meet a man who would not only heat up her love life, but understand her unusual family. Nick Christopoulus has met Chrissy before, but a lot has changed in five years.

This collection follows on from Australian Christmas Yarns Volume I and consists of 10 stories by notable Australian author Mary Grant Bruce (1878-1958). These stories sketch challenges of landscape, relationship, loss and hope.

Decades after her divorce, a lady returns to the village of her tumultuous marriage. A railway carriage hosts a charged schoolboy encounter. A murder raises fears of blackmail. A woman waits anxiously in a café before eloping to Paris. Another steals a friend's kitchen knife. In these bittersweet tales, the author of Lolly Willowes reveals her mastery of the short story, celebrated by the New Yorker for decades. Sylvia Townsend Warner is a tragicomic chronicler of the heart's entanglements.

Each Wednesday morning they take the bus--the lonely graduate student, the marine trying to start a new life in the corporate world, the elderly woman on her way to the senior center, and the exhausted single mother and her daughter--but they never interact. Not until the day tragedy strikes and brings these five strangers together.

She has always had one goal in her mind: for things to be the way they were. But she sees some major setbacks in her path to this goal. From seeing her loved ones torn to shreds by their circumstances to seeing the people that she holds most dear completely change, will she be able to survive it all? This is a story of resilience, fighting back, love, and betrayal.

Ready to risk all that she has for one thing, will Emily succeed in having the beautiful life she once had, or will she lose it all? From the celebrations of the most beautiful time of the year to the most severe heartbreak, Emily has to keep herself together if she wants it all. Can she have it all? Or does she have to let go of one for the other? Emily is in a dire conflict with her own self.

Watson visits Sherlock Holmes at Christmastime and finds him contemplating a battered old hat, brought to him by the commissionaire Peterson after it and a Christmas goose had been dropped by a man in a scuffle with some street ruffians. Peterson takes the goose home to eat it, but comes back later with a precious carbuncle that his wife found in the bird's crop.

Gnarl Saves Christmas is a satire of classic holiday tales and modern fantasy. The tale is told on a cold, snowy night, when two children snuggle in bed while Grandpa tells them a story. In a long-ago age when monsters and magic ruled the land of men, a family of beast-like gnolls is visited by jolly St. Nick. Chaos ensues, and by the time that it's done, the ruler of their clan - Gnarl - must don the red and white garb, take up the magic bag, and finish the rounds, lest the holidays be lost across all of the land.

The beloved Victorian Christmas ghost storytelling tradition continues to thrive in modern day, and this multi-genre anthology of short stories is proof. Cuddle up next to a crackling fire with some holiday music playing softly in the background, and lose yourself in eight amazing Christmas stories by a gang of super-talented, cross-genre authors. Not only are they heartwarming, but they incorporate mystery, science fiction, romance and ghosts!

In this collection are found stories of gay romantic love, the love between a father and his gay son, and old lovers returning from the beyond. There are stories within this book about a magical Christmas tree that appears of its own accord every year, angels, ghosts, and a century-old hotel that miraculously reappears during the holiday season. Most of the stories are written for gay listeners, but some are just cozy Christmas tales. There are stories in this volume for all true lovers of Christmas.

“A Kidnapped Santa Claus” by L. Frank Baum, narrated by Aaron Sokalski, is a delightful and adventurous holiday tale that offers a unique twist on the story of Santa Claus. In this charming story, Santa is abducted by a group of mischief-making demons who seek to ruin Christmas by preventing him from delivering gifts to children. Baum’s inventive narrative mixes holiday magic with elements of fantasy, bringing listeners on an exciting journey to rescue Santa and save Christmas.

We wish you a steampunk Christmas.... Changed forever after tragedy, a woman must draw strength from her husband's love. A man learns that love isn't always what you expect. A thief steals the heart of a vengeful professor. And an American inventor finds love Down Under. Enjoy Victorian Christmas with a clockwork twist in these four steampunk novellas.

Albert is terrified that his interfering niece will not only ruin his Christmas but take over his life. Luckily help is at hand. Mary and Joe get lost on their way to visit Mary’s mum in Cornwall. Then Mary goes into labor earlier than expected, but just in time they find a village inn. Robert is stuck in a nursing home for Christmas, and he is not happy. The food is awful, and there is nothing for him to do–until he meets an unexpected ally.

Cuddle up with four sweet Christmas romance novellas! Are you ready to fall in love? Take the chill out of winter with four new multi-genre romances from best-selling and award-winning authors Tara C. Allred, Stacy Lynn Carroll, Ali M. Cross, and Stephanie Connelley Worlton. From heartwarming traditions to heart-pounding suspense, this cozy collection of toe-tingling first kisses set in Utah’s North Pole (a.k.a. Bear Lake) will leave you feeling cheerful and bright.