Christmas Tales

by John Everson

CHRISTMAS TALES offers three “ghosts of Christmas” in its three stories celebrating the magic of the season, as well as the lyrics of four original holiday songs. While primarily known as a Bram Stoker Award-winning horror author, John Everson explores his lighter side with CHRISTMAS TALES. It’s a book with heart that can be enjoyed by all ages. “Christmas, The Hard Way,” was originally written as a holiday gift to family and friends. The story is a fantastical look at the Christmas holiday from the point of view of Will, a boy who comes from a family of... well... witches. To them, magic comes naturally. But at Christmastime, they pledge to give up magic to rediscover the importance of doing and making things with the sweat of honest labor. That will be a difficult – but important – lesson for Will to learn. “Frost," the second tale of the collection, opens with David, a young boy from a broken home on an uneasy trip home for the holidays after visiting with his dad. But his trip takes an unexpected turn when a frost sprite in the plane window escorts him on a sidetrip journey that can only be seen as the start of "growing up"... and the beginning of a rekindled Christmas. “Will You Spend This Christmas Night With Me?”, a new story written just for this Christmas collection, looks into the heart of a “lost man” who is living aloof and alone. The love in his heart has been buried with the memories of his family. Based on one of John Everson's original Christmas songs (the lyric also appears in the book), it tells the life-altering story of a lonely man who takes in a homeless child – or is she? – on Christmas Eve. Heartwarming contemporary fantasies all, CHRISTMAS TALES – which also includes a handful of original holiday song lyrics and a link for readers to hear some original holiday recordings – will bring the spirit of Christmas to your heart.

Genres: Christmas, Fantasy

57 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 19, 2010

About the author

John Everson is a former newspaper reporter who writes thrillers filled with erotic horror and supernatural suspense. He is the author of the Bram Stoker Award winner Covenant, and finalist NightWhere, which reviewers called "50 Shades Meets Hellraiser!" He is also the creator of the characters Danika and Mila Dubov, seen in the Netflix series V-Wars, based on the books created by Jonathan Maberry. Booklist said his recent New Orleans novel, Voodoo Heart, "is a solid blend of supernatural horror and hard-boiled detective fiction, and should appeal to horror devotees as well as mystery buffs” while Living Dead Magazine called him "the master of dark and sexy."

Follow John on the BookBub: John Everson page for information on book sales and new releases as well as on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For information on his fiction, art and music, visit John Everson: Dark Arts at www.johneverson.com.

Reviews

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This holiday book brought out magic and feelings of fun as I sat down to read it!



All the stories have some kind of "moral" to the story and all of them have some sort of magical quality to them. Will list out the three stories with a small taste of what the story is about without giving away spoilers.

Christmas the Hard Way:
Sometimes the simple things is all that matters and the character Will learns a lesson that brings happiness to his parents.

Frost:
A young boy by the name of David doesn't feel that he is wanted by his parents, but a trip into a magical world makes him see things in a different light.

Will You Spend This Christmas Night With Me?:
A father is down in the depths of despair and nothing matters to him until he comes across a young girl that teaches him a lesson that there is still hope and love for the holiday season.

All three stories just captured my heart and in times like these the stories brought more meaning to the holiday season.

This author normally writes horror books, but there is no horror within these pages. If you want to read uplifting stories to get yourself in the mood for the holiday season look no further than this book as I am sure you will find them to be as enjoyable as I did. Giving this book five "magical" stars!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Christmas spirit abounds in this clever mix of poignant, haunting, funny, and bittersweet collection of Yuletide tales by one of horror fiction's best and underrated authors. Interspersed with a lyrics to Christmas songs written by Everson, this is a must read for the holiday season.

Highly recommended...to drive the Bah Humbug away!

[Ronald Weston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horror writer John Everson turns his talent to a gentler form with the three seasonal short stories in Christmas Tales and a fine trio for Christmas Eve reading they are. The fantasy tales, "Christmas, The Hard Way," "Frost," and "Will You Spend This Christmas Night With Me," touch on salient aspects of the holiday: the essence of Christmas and the importance of family. The stories are light, whimsical, and touching. All well-worth reading.

[Mommacat · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Perfect book for reading with your family on Christmas. Or change the wording to fit your holiday. The third story is highly recommended and should cause a group hug. :)

[J.M. Guillemette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not his usual gory fare, but amazing nevertheless.

[Dave Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Everson, best known for his work in the horror field, takes a departure into light fantasy with three very different and very touching tales about Christmas--a witch learns the true meaning of the holiday season; an ordinary boy meets an extraordnary frost sprite, who teaches him a valuable lesson about acceptance; and a disheartened man takes a chance on a "homeless" girl on Christmas night, in a story that reminds us of the importance of remembering those we love.

The stories you find here are fantastical and heart-warming, and perfect reading for a snowy night next to the fire with a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

[AJ Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diversity is important in many aspects of life and writing is no different. John Everson’s “Christmas Tales” is a prime example of the diversity a writer should have. In the example of James Patterson, he has shown that he is capable of jumping genres. The first two stories within this title were enjoyable but “Will You Spend This Christmas Night with Me” was the clincher for me. If given the opportunity, I would gladly give this a 6- star rating. This is a definite read for anyone- AJ Garrett

[John Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not his norm, but proves that John Everson is a great teller of tales.

[Luanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent Christmas Read.