Category Archives: Christmas

CRIME FOR CHRISTMAS

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Is it too early to talk about Christmas? I’ve been seeing a lot of yellow in the trees lately…

My short story, “Santa Lucia,” is releasing in September as part of ReBound Press’s Crime for Christmas anthology, along with 11 other stories by Canadian authors. Mine is set in the Yukon (a favourite setting) and has suspense, humour, and, dare I say it, a hint of romance. And my good friend, Charlotte Morganti, has a fabulous story (“Iced”) in the anthology, too! Here’s the publisher’s write-up:

Whether you enjoy cozies, noirs, police procedurals, whodunnits, or lighthearted mysteries, there’s something for everyone in this terrific Christmas-themed collection by twelve of Canada’s finest mystery authors! An OPP officer investigates a John Doe dressed like Santa in July. A Toronto woman traces a mall Santa to the Caribbean. A woman’s body is found in an isolated part of Cape Breton. A graduate student helps CSIS trace the source of a death caused by listeria. An aging singer discovers the mall Santa is a former bandmate. An RCMP officer tracks an escaped prisoner through a Yukon blizzard. A retiring Alberta sheriff investigates a movie star’s murder. A controversial ice sculptor is stabbed with an ice pick. A Winnipeg private eye uncovers a clinic performing illegal surgeries. A teenager is suspected of stealing a neighbour’s gold jewellery. A young Chinese boy plots revenge against a bully with ChatGPT’s help. A pair of down-on-their-luck young lovers pull off a series of bank robberies.

These well-crafted stories ramp up the tension with resourceful investigators, colourful characters and riveting plotlines, and relieve it with humour. This wonderful seasonal anthology features stories by Peggy Blair, E.R. Brown, Renny deGroot, M.M. DeLuca, Raywat Deonandan, Marcelle Dubé, Chris Forrest, Peter Moreira, Charlotte Morganti, Joel Nedecky, Wayne Ng, and Brad Smith.

I’ve thought about it, and it’s definitely not too early to start shopping for Christmas! Visit ReBound Press at https://reboundpress.com/ to pre-order.

A few Christmas short stories

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I have four Christmas shorts–romantic ones at that–to offer:

And one compilation of three of my short Christmas stories (Running Away from Christmas, McKell’s Christmas, and A Yukon Christmas):

And here are the links:

Running Away from Christmas: https://books2read.com/u/b6Z7LZ

McKell’s Christmas: https://books2read.com/u/brWJ8w

A Yukon Christmas: https://books2read.com/u/bPdDrb

Trepalli’s Christmas: https://books2read.com/u/m2vDp7

Christmas Magic (compilation): https://books2read.com/u/mVA2p3

“Training Run” launches on November 3

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Time Travel Holidays: A Holiday Anthology, which includes my short story “Training Run,” is set to go live on November 3, wherever ebooks are sold. That said, the anthology is also included as a stretch reward in WMG Publishing‘s Kickstarter for The Holiday Spectacular.

This is how it works: Every day from November 23 to January 1, backers will receive one holiday-themed short story… a kind of fictional Advent calendar. Those who back it for a bit more will receive their choice of a number of excellent anthologies, including Time Travel Holidays. Check out the Kickstarter here.

You have until November 2 to take advantage of this great deal!.

Recommended Christmas Reading

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While my short story, “A Yukon Christmas,” is still FREE until the end of the month, I wanted to point out that Kristine Kathryn Rusch recommends two of my other Christmas shorts on her web site: https://kriswrites.com/2022/11/25/special-holiday-recommended-reading-list-2/

A Yukon Christmas: https://books2read.com/u/bPdDrb

After her 20-year marriage collapses from inertia, Beatrice Talsma sets off on a year-long, cross-Canada journey to discover where she truly belongs. When she reaches the Yukon, however, her short pause turns into a decision to settle down in this strange new place.

In a complete break with the past, she rents out a cabin in the Yukon wilderness. It’s a wonderful spot, except that her closest neighbor, Henry Pekarik, also her landlord, seems determined to help Beatrice out, whether she wants it or not.

McKell’s Christmas: https://books2read.com/u/brWJ8w

Deputy Chief Rob McKell doesn’t trust Christmas. Bad guys don’t take time off during the holidays so why should he? Then the lovely Jillian, a gemologist with an independent streak, invites him to dinner on Christmas Eve for the all-important meeting of her friends. Soon, he starts to revise his feelings about the holiday—and his fear of long-term commitment. But before the evening ends, Jillian’s dangerous past will rear up to prove that Christmas is no time to let his guard down.

Running Away from Christmas: https://books2read.com/u/b6Z7LZ

When Faith decides to escape Christmas and her friends’ matchmaking efforts by spending the holiday alone in the big city, she never expects to find Christmas waiting there for her.