Christmas Short Stories Anthology

The oldest mystery specialty bookstore in the world, The Mysterious Bookshop, has for most of its forty-five-year history commissioned an original short story as a holiday gift for its customers. Written exclusively for the store, the stories were given as a holiday gift to its customers as a thank you for their business, handed out or mailed between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

Having abandoned hope that his beloved youngest son, John, will ever return home, aging family patriarch Branch Callahan cancels Christmas. When all appears lost, a mysterious visitor arrives at his mansion on her Honda Gold Wing and takes him for a ride that challenges him to recall the blessings in his life. Will this journey on a cold Christmas Eve restore Branch's faith in miracles?

These three love-filled holiday novellas will warm the heart of winter's darkness, filling it with the glow of Christmas and the peaceful light of plain gifts.

Siobhán O'Sullivan's hopes for a quiet Irish Christmas are dashed when the local Santa turns up dead in a carnival dunk tank of hot cocoa. Now, instead of hunting down holiday gifts, she's pursuing a heartless killer. Seems the dead Santa was no angel either, stealing neighborhood dogs to guide his sleigh. But was it his holiday antics - or worse - that led to his death by chocolate?

P. L. Travers wrote with a signature blend of sugar and spice; her characters, including Mary Poppins, are endearing, outsized, and cozy. Her talent for capturing the perspective of children shines through Aunt Sass Christmas Stories. Each of the stories in this audiobook was written as a holiday gift, sent to her friends and family and never published. Now her millions of readers and listeners and generations of filmgoers will recognize how she used her life story to inform her fiction.

In "Legacy of Love", Sarah Gooding never suspected returning a brooch to an elderly woman would lead to a job and introduce her to the woman's grandson. Widow Ruth Albright uses the family brooch as collateral for a loan from the local banker and hopes for a second chance at love in "Gift of the Heart". In "A Shot at Love", Fleeta Brady never expected her family's brooch might be how a fellow hunter turns her attention from competition to romance. Maddie Winslow stumbles upon an old family brooch in "Because of You". Might it finally be her turn for love?

Sevastiano Cantarelli can barely believe Amy Taylor is real. After the lifetime of betrayal he’s experienced, her surprising sweetness is the ultimate threat to his cynical worldview! Unwrapping her innocence was a gift he couldn’t forget...but one he knows it wouldn’t be fair to repeat. Their encounter left Amy exhilarated - and wanted for the first time. She knows that walking away from the commanding Italian is the safest way to keep her heart intact. Yet it’s the one thing she can’t do...because she’s pregnant with Sevastiano’s twins!

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on 4th July 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, a town synonymous with the earlier Salem Witch Trials. It was instrumental in Hawthorne’s later use of American Gothic and dark romanticism in his writing. Hawthorne’s short stories were first published in magazines but in 1837 were collected and published as ‘Twice-Told Tales’. A steady literary career still did not come his way and so he worked in a good position at Salem’s port and married the love of his life Sophia Peabody. Finally, in 1850 came spectacular literary and commercial success with ‘The Scarlet Letter.’

'Tis the Season is a collection of stories inspired by the beloved characters of Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice.

The title story - a modern-day reimagining of Charles Dickens’ wonderful A Christmas Carol - finds Elliot’s PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from working the front lines of a large urban fire department replacing Scrooge’s greed as our protagonist’s main struggle. Elliot has seen plenty of horrors in his career, and is at a dangerous breaking point. Can ghostly, late-night visitors to the firehouse one Christmas Eve pull him from the brink of suicide?

Inside this delightful collection, you'll uncover seven tales from literary legends whose work shaped the world of writing. From gothic horror to existentialist reflections on life and society, inside you'll also find your fair share of adventures, fantastical places, compelling characters, and moral lessons.

For listeners who are tired of Christmas commercialism, or who feel that Santa Claus and reindeer don’t tell the whole story, these classic gems provide a winning alternative. Selected for their insightfulness, spiritual value, and literary quality (nothing moralistic here) they project the spirit of the season in a fresh, compelling manner that will resonate with listeners of all ages - from children too young to read to themselves, to parents and grandparents who enjoy listening to stories, as well.

This is a collection of short stories by well-known Australian author, Mary Grant Bruce (1878-1958). It combines the stories previously published as “Australian Christmas Yarns Volumes I & II”, with the addition of three previously unreleased stories.

A magical Christmas tale with supernatural paramedic Dean Flynn. Bryce, a Christmas elf, fell from his shelf. His leg is broken and he can’t give his report to Santa in time for Christmas Eve. Lucky for him, Extreme Medical Services paramedic to the supernatural Dean Flynn is on the job. With a few of his friends along for the ride, Dean responds to the call for help. Will he help Bryce in time to meet the “Big Guy” and his sleigh? Find out in this heart-warming Christmas tale. Pick up this urban fantasy holiday short story now!

Christmas at Falstone Castle - Sarah M. Eden - The Dowager Duchess of Kielder eagerly anticipates spending Christmas with her son and his family. Though their relationship has been strained, the duchess is determined to heal the chasm. Even with the help of the widowed local vicar, her plan will take a Christmas miracle. But during this magical season, anything is possible...even two second chances for love.

In the mystery of Christmas, we find its majesty. The mystery of how God became flesh, why he chose to come, and how he must love his people. Such mysteries can never be solved, just as love can never be diagrammed. Christmas is best pondered, not with logic, but with imagination.

American author Washington Irving is known for his legendary tales like Sleepy Hollow, but also as the great architect behind how Americans now perceive Christmas. In his 1819 collection, The Sketch Book, he devotes one story to a reflection on the meaning of Christmas and its celebration. The story’s protagonist reflects on how its ancient rituals may have vanished almost completely, but that the warmth of togetherness will still prevail for those who welcome it.

In this captivating collection of stories by the author of Ballet Shoes, there are auditions on stage and antics on ice, trips to the pantomime, holiday adventures and laughter shared with family and friends. Charming, heartwarming and funny, this collection will bring joy to listeners of all ages. Originally written in the 1940s-'60s for annuals, magazines and the radio, these stories have never been collected before.

This book collects a magnificent set of works by Russian classical authors: Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Anton Chekhov, Leo Tolstoy, Mikhail Bulgakov. Each original story, springing from a common creative heritage, delivers a glimpse of the immortal Russian Soul and has influenced modern literary trends. These stories are interesting to their core and will bring pleasure to readers. Get ready to immerse yourself within these immortal works that have long been counted among the best of classic world literature: Fyodor Dostoevsky.

During the hectic Christmas season, slow down with these heartwarming stories from some of literature’s most beloved writers. In this collection, listeners will discover lesser-known but tender stories and poems from classic authors they know and love. Each selection celebrates the beauty, mystery, and joy found in the season that commemorates Christ’s birth. A Vintage Christmas includes stories from Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, and many more great writers....