Kris Kringle Year Without Santa Claus Novels & Stories

My father died of esophageal cancer. For the final two years of his life, he could barely swallow anything. By the time he passed, he was nothing but skin and bones. The first New Year after his death, he came to my mother in a dream. "I'm starving," he said. "I just want to taste the thick-cut steak you used to make." My mother believed it without question. That very day, she pan-seared a large platter of steak and carried it to his grave. The next morning, she suffered a sudden heart attack and died on the spot. Devastated, I handled my mother's funeral together with my husband. That same night, my husband dreamed of my father as well. "Chester," he said, "I haven't eaten in so long. I want your pâté, served with some strong liquor." When my husband woke up, he bought the finest liver pâté, opened a bottle of single-malt whiskey, and went straight to the grave. However, not long after returning home, he collapsed from acute liver failure. He was rushed to the ICU and died three days later. I was on the brink of collapse myself. I left my daughter in the care of a close friend while I tried to handle the endless wave of tragedy. That evening, my daughter never came home from school. I searched everywhere, and finally, on the road to the cemetery, I found her. She was clutching a bowl of spicy stew, several grilled sausages floating in the broth. "Mom," she said, "Grandpa and I used to eat this all the time. I dreamed he said he was hungry." I finally lost it. I knocked the bowl from her hands and carried her home. That night, my father appeared in my dream once more. "I suffered so much while alive," he said. "Have some pity on me. "New Year's is coming. I want to come home for a meal. Make sure you cook fish." I woke in terror. Holding my daughter, I sat before the three framed portraits for two full days without eating or drinking. On New Year's morning, I realized she was no longer breathing. Clutched tightly in her hand was a packet of spicy dried salmon. I could not believe it. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my mother, her eyes red with worry, said she was going out to buy steak.

*Abandoning ship isn’t my style. It wasn’t hers either, but our circumstances ripped us apart. Now it’s not just a literal ocean standing between us. Francine Chirilova has no direction. After coming out of the closet leaves her without a family at age 18, the quick witted 25 year old has been forced to survive on her connections and kind personality. Throw in a rapidly decreasing appetite and a tendency to gravitate toward abusive women for a epic shit show. While recovering from her latest 4 year long mistake, she makes a strong, yet unlikely connection with her virtual best friend. Que in recovering alcoholic Vasilisa Krovopuskova, aged 26 from Siberia, Russia. After surviving a grueling upbringing on her own, trust is a difficult concept to grasp. Already having experienced heartbreak once before, she wasn’t looking for anything serious when Francine crash landed into her life via an online sanctuary for lesbians. With an ocean separating the two, neither Francine nor Vasilisa know which direction to swim in. Will they stay on their side of the world, or drown trying to get to the other? *Disclaimer* - Strong mature content. 18+, please Book one. To follow is book two: “Our Blank Canvas.”

It was our seventh year of marriage when my husband, Joseph Lowe, brought my best friend, Teresa Shaw, to my ward. And they were the picture of a perfect couple. I gave them my most genuine blessing. "You two make the perfect match." Joseph tossed an agreement in my face. An asset transfer. He demanded that I give Teresa everything I had. I took the papers and signed my name without wasting a moment to think. Teresa laughed happily, pleased with my obedience. She then hugged Joseph and said, "Thanks for taking care of Joseph for me, Selina. Oh, there's the divorce papers, too. How about…" I noticed the look of impatience in Joseph's eyes, so I snatched the papers from Teresa's hand. "Yeah, I'll sign them all."

After the death of her mother, the world of twenty-five year old Penelope Castillo, a bright and kind-hearted baker, turns upside down. She's thrown into a reality that forces her to marry a hot-tempered billionaire to get her inheritance. The marriage is rocky from the start—she doesn't want him and he hates her with a vengeance. Christian Hilton is a tech billionaire, the untouchable golden boy as ruthless as he is arrogant with a dark side hidden under pressed suits and a cold personality. Hating the doe-eyed Penelope is a promise and ruining her life is a vow. Opposites attract is a popular saying but does it really happen? Can love bloom from a place of hatred? When a haunting shadow comes for Penelope and her dark secret, can she save herself without breaking apart or die in a marriage to an enemy?

"Everyone knew she was his." ~ Ava and Lucas have been best friends since Lucas saw Ava at the playground when she was 4 years old. She is innocent and shy where as Lucas is more intimidating to everyone other than Ava. Despite this, they do everything together. Where ever one went, the other followed. Never going more than a day without seeing each other, it's safe to say they were inseparable. Now at 16, Ava is forced to spend a year in public school after being home-schooled all her life. How is Lucas going to react with all the new people she is going to meet, especially being so possessive over Ava. However, even though they are best friends, Lucas is keeping a secret from Ava. A big one. Lucas is a werewolf. And Ava is his mate.

After I refused to donate my kidney to Queenie Dunn's first love, Zayn Chance, she used my parents as leverage over me and forced me to sign the kidney donation agreement. "You can still survive without a kidney, but Zayn's case is different. He will die without your kidney." After the kidney transplant surgery was carried out successfully, Queenie purposefully brought Zayn on a trip around the globe in order to punish me for being selfish. On the fifth year after I died from kidney failure, Queenie finally had her fun. She decides to focus on her family again. But no matter how much she tries, she can never find me. Furious, Queenie calls my parents. "Tell Steven to get his ass home right now, or else I'll divorce him right away!" But the one answering the call is my son, Sean Sutton, who has just returned from his kindergarten. He sounds very meek and scared over the phone. In fact, he sounds like he was about to cry. "My dad has already passed away a long time ago, miss…"

In the tenth year of my diagnosis with selective mutism, my mother decided it was time to bring home a little brother for me from an orphanage. Her eyes immediately landed on a boy in the back row, but the head of the orphanage opposed without hesitation. "Ms. Lane, this kid has been nothing but trouble since he was small. Just two days ago, he made an old man on crutches play goalie. If you take him home, your life will never be peaceful!" I looked on without the slightest interest. My mother, however, was exhilarated. Pointing at the boy, she declared excitedly, "Then, he's exactly the one I want!" And suddenly, lines of bullet comments scrolled before me. 'The mom cracks me up. Her eyes practically sparkled like spotlights.' 'Our brooding female lead grew up friendless. Her mom's been worrying about that for years. Now she's found this rascal, there's no way she's letting go.' 'Honestly, fate is wild. The mom instantly picks her future son-in-law. In their past lives, the female lead died trying to save him. Now that they've both been reborn, maybe they'll finally get a second chance together.'

In a world where the broken are hunted and the powerful are feared, refuge is a dangerous promise. Alejandro was never meant to lead. Bound to an ancient force known as Inferno, burdened with power that bends wards, spirits, and history itself, he becomes Alpha not by ambition, but by necessity. When the unwanted, the cursed, and the discarded begin to arrive at his mountain stronghold, the Haven of Shadows is born. It became a sanctuary for vampires, witches, rogues, humans, and beings too dangerous to exist anywhere else. At its heart stood Zenith a nineteen year old human luna. A healer whose touch mends more than flesh.The one thing powerful enough to ground a god. As Alejandro’s fated mate and Luna of the Haven, Zenith becomes the calm within the storm, altering scents to make enemies live as family, healing wounds the world refuses to acknowledge, and reminding monsters of the humanity they have buried. Together, they build something fragile and unprecedented. A home without hierarchy, a family without fear. But sanctuary never goes unnoticed. As war looms and loyalty is tested, Alejandro must decide how much of himself he is willing to surrender to protect the woman who reminds him he is still a man, and the home that proves monsters can choose something better.

In the third year of our marriage, my wife, Lucy Sloan, asks me to perform a striptease in place of a nightclub host, Oscar Reilly, who loses a dare. She says, "Oscar is too timid. You do it for him!" The crowd erupts in cheers. "Lucy is so generous to let her own husband entertain us!" "I hear Garrett has eight-pack abs! Looks like we are in for a treat." As I listen to the crude remarks around me, I finally break down. In a trembling voice, I say, "Lucy, let's get a divorce..." A glass of red wine splashes straight onto my face. Lucy chuckles mockingly. "The Mueller family has already gone bankrupt. Where could you possibly go without me?" But this time, I am truly exhausted.

In the third year of my relationship with Jason Chase, he told me he wanted to give me an unforgettable birthday. I never expected that that would mean pressing me onto the icy ground and letting other men humiliate me. I lifted my head with difficulty, trembling as I clutched at the hem of his pants. I asked, "Jason… why?" He looked at me with contempt and kicked me away without any hesitation. He said icily and ruthlessly, "Christine Light, this is for Lisa. I've been waiting a long time to avenge her." I closed my eyes as my heart shattered into a million pieces. Later, just as he wished, I decided to end my life. But then, he broke down in tears, begging me not to leave him.