Christmas Shopping With A Broken Heart

When her boyfriend dumps her four weeks before Christmas, Hannah throws herself into holiday preparations in order to dull the pain. But nothing seems to help, until Hannah quite literally bumps into Owen, while Christmas shopping. Hannah and Owen hit it off immediately. But Owen is nursing an old grief of his own… This is a short and sweet holiday romance of 5900 words or approximately 20 print pages.

Sixteen tales of Christmas by Hugo winner Cora Buhlert. Romance, cozy fantasy, murder mysteries, pulp thrillers, science fiction, post-apocalyptic fiction, horror and humor – we have all that and more. Watch young people find love in the pre-holiday shopping rush at Hickory Ridge Mall, at a Christmas tree lot, on the parking lot of a shuttered outlet mall and at the one bar in town that’s open on Christmas Eve. Experience Christmas in Hallowind Cove, the permanently fog-shrouded seaside town, where strange things keep happening. Watch as Santa’s various helpers unite to depose him. Massachusetts 1695 AD: Follow apprentice witchfinder Matthew Goodson and condemned witch Grace Pankhurst, as they try to dodge both witchfinders and a creature that lives in the woods and hunts around the winter solstice. Follow Detective Inspector Helen Shepherd and her team as they investigate the death of a robber dressed as Santa Claus as well as a wave of thefts at a Christmas market. Meet Richard Blakemore, hardworking pulp author by day and the masked crimefighter known only as the Silencer by night, as he fights to save an orphanage from demolition in Depression era New York City. Watch Alfred and Bertha, an ordinary married couple, as they decorate the Christmas tree and live their marvellous twenty-first century life. No one ever expected the robot apocalypse to begin in the little town of Brighthaven. And no one ever expected it to involve murderous robot turkeys and their even more terrifying brethren, robot Santas that fire laserbeams from their eyes. Experience Christmas on the space colony of Iago Prime as well as after the end of the world. Enjoy sixteen novellas, novelettes and short stories in six genres. This is a collection of 136000 words or approx. 420 print pages. Contains the following stories: Christmas Gifts Christmas Shopping with a Broken Heart The Crappiest Christmas Ever Christmas Eve at the Purple Owl Café Driving Home for Christmas The Bakery on Gloomland Street Revolt at the North Pole The Solstice Horror A Bullet for Father Christmas Santa’s Sticky Fingers St. Nicholas of Hell’s Kitchen The Tinsel-Free Christmas Tree The Robot Turkey Apocalypse Invasion of the Robot Santas Christmas on Iago Prime Christmas after the End of the World

When two men dressed up as Father Christmas rob a London jewellery store and one of them ends up dead on the floor, shot by his own accomplice, it’s certainly one of the more unusual cases for Detective Inspector Helen Shepherd and her team. But as Helen begins to investigate, it turns out that the case is even more bizarre than she suspected. This is a holiday mystery novelette of 9300 words or approx. 30 print pages in the Helen Shepherd Mysteries series, but may be read as a standalone.

Waiting until closing time on Christmas Eve to get a present for his Mom certainly wasn't one of Tim's better ideas. Especially not since the store only has a self-service wrapping station and Tim is utterly hopeless at gift-wrapping. Lucky for him, the lively and unconventional Shannon is there to lend a hand. This is a short and sweet holiday romance of 5700 words or approximately 16 print pages.

Jessica is having the worst Christmas ever, when her parents announce that they are getting a divorce two days before the holidays. Stuck on her own with no home to go to, Jessica heads for the mall to buy a Christmas tree for herself. Here she meets Matt, who sells Christmas trees and is having a really awful Christmas himself. Matt and Jessica bond over their shared pain and also manage to make each other laugh. So maybe, this won't be the worst Christmas ever after all... This is a short and sweet holiday romance of 12000 words or approximately 40 print pages.

Massachusetts in the Year of the Lord 1695: Apprentice witchfinder Matthew Goodson, and condemned witch Grace Pankhurst have been on the run from Matthew's former masters for months now. Shortly before Christmas, Matthew and Grace find shelter with the Whitelaw family in the town of Cold Hollow. But the witchfinders are on their trail, so Matthew and Grace have to flee again on the day of the winter solstice. Many dangers lurk in the dense woods of Massachusetts Bay Colony. But which is the greater threat, the witchfinders or the thing from beyond that dwells in the woods and hunts on the darkest nights of the year? This is a historical holiday horror novelette of 11100 words or approximately 40 print pages by two-time Hugo finalist Cora Buhlert.

Long before Kurval became King of Azakoria, he was a guard captain in service to the tyrannical King Talgat of the land Temirzhan beyond the sea. One day, Talgat orders Kurval to escort the condemned witch Aelisia to the Plains of Shadow and behead her, so her blood may feed the dark gods who dwell there. Kurval does not want to execute the sentence, once he learns that Aelisia is innocent of the crimes of which she has been accused. But if he lets Aelisia go free, Kurval will not only have to face the wrath of Talgat but also the fury of the dark gods who dwell upon the Plains of Shadow. The new sword and sorcery adventure by two-time Hugo finalist Cora Buhlert and her occasional alter ego, 1930s pulp writer Richard Blakemore. This is a novelette of 9800 words or approx. 33 print pages in the Kurval sword and sorcery series, but may be read as a standalone. Includes an introduction and afterword.

In the year of the forked serpent, Kurval came from beyond the sea, slew King Orkol and became King of Azakoria. On the day of his coronation, Kurval consults the oracle in the temple of the goddess Ashvarya, where he is supposed to gaze into a magical jewel called the Tear of Chronos, hoping for a vision of the future. But before Kurval can receive his vision, a young woman named Stella suddenly appears in a flash of light in the inner sanctum. Not only is Stella a deadringer for the goddess, she also wears the Tear of Chronos around her neck. Can Stella help Kurval retain the throne he's barely won? And is she truly a goddess or just an imposter? The new sword and sorcery adventure by two-time Hugo finalist Cora Buhlert and her occasional alter ego, 1930s pulp writer Richard Blakemore. This is a novelette of 13500 words or approx. 45 print pages in the Kurval sword and sorcery series, but may be read as a standalone. Includes an introduction and afterword.