Stories

It is 1943 Norway, and the land lies under the iron fist of the Nazi conquerors. Two schoolboys embark on a dangerous quest to fulfill the last wish of a special friend, and learn about the importance of duty and honor - and each other - on the journey.

Danny Bright has been waiting all year to compete, and the day is finally here. He'll have to earn the chance to participate, and once he does, he hardly even knows what he's getting himself into. Make no mistake, it's going to be a day he never, ever forgets. He'll need every bit of his skill, savvy, and a little bit of something special to win... The Contest.

Hawken picked up the red Christmas Cracker and offered the other end to Lori-Anne. She grasped it. They pulled. It snapped with a satisfying bang. Hawk carefully pulled out the contents. The others had received little gifts ... but his was different. He looked at Harish, who smiled ...

A young man from the city has great ideas for redeveloping his late uncle's quaint, rural house and its garden. A present he finds in the attic changes everything ...

White Elephant Prompt Present Game #13

"You're not being sneaky. The little girl deserves the doll you saw her stare at, her eyes wide and her little palms clenched together under her chin. You'll just drop it off on their porch on Christmas Eve, just like Santa. You're about to sneak away, but..."

This story is written as part of the site's White Elephant Prompt Present Game. The prompt read - “It’s yellow. So yellow. You look up, a smile pasted on your face. ‘I love it,’ you say, and his happy grin makes you….”

Not all angels have wings. And not all sinners go to hell. Aaron, a misanthrope who blames himself for the death of his partner on Christmas Eve two years prior, discovers redemption and second chances in the most unexpected way.

Angel takes care of the family he's chosen to make his own, no matter what the cost. When a client takes things too far, Angel is the only one who can stop him from hurting other young men. Sick and frightened, Angel turns to his family who will protect him no matter what. But who will protect them when the killer comes calling. Against all his instincts, Angel enters witness protection. His expectations aren't high, especially when the cop in charge seems to despise him, but when matters of the heart are concerned, some things just can't be ignored and if Angel comes through with his life he'll find it changed beyond all imagination.

College professor Geoff Johnson's 1890's Queen Anne style house is so big he has to hire someone to help maintain it. Usually, every four years that person has always been a freshman at Warnton College where Geoff works. The house is always full of students many of whom Geoff has had affairs with. This year all of that comes to a crashing end when his life takes a dramatic turn.

Having recently lost his second parent, Huon Davenport meets a stranger from Europe, who has a story about their fathers, when they were students at Oxford University.

Meanwhile, Huon is discovered to have a singing talent, which his school friend, and his friends mother, the schools chaplain, try to encourage him to continue.