When Malena Lott came up with the idea for Sleigh Ride, an anthology with one common element – a sleigh ride – she thought it would be a fun experiment. First, who would contribute? Second, what would they write about? Third – the biggie – how will readers respond to it?
Number one came together easily. Seven wonderful writers – four already published and three newbies – are included in the anthology, and as Lott suspected, each story is very unique.
“I truly believe there is something in the anthology for all types of fiction lovers,” said Lott. “From debut author Megan Barlog’s action-adventure, “The Escape,” to the light-hearted romance in Maria Geraci’s “Noche Beuna,” our holiday collection runs the literary gamut. Besides having the sleigh ride theme in common, they are all very entertaining. Debut author Jenny Peterson’s story, “Fairy Lights,” takes place over several days, Samantha Wilde’s, “Monks and Musicians,” spans nine months, and in Maggie Marr’s, “Dashing Through the Snow,” the tale happens in one evening, even though all the stories are approximately 6,000 words in length.
Where will the stories take you? How does Sweden sound? A toasty holiday in Florida? A holiday with manufactured snow in the Dome?
We’re proud to give you a taste of the seven original sleigh rides to be featured in the book when it’s released in November:
Fairy Lights by Jenny Peterson
Two sisters come to grips with growing up with a troubled mother and learn the power of sisterhood in this bittersweet story set in Sweden.
Monks and Musicians by Samantha Wilde
A confession on a sleigh ride sends a couple’s marriage spiraling out of control until a song sends the distraught wife the message she needs.
Noche Buena by Maria Geraci
A widowed woman in Florida takes the holidays into her own hands with a heaping helping of humor and romance.
Dashing Through the Snow by Maggie Marr
On a trip to visit her family, a woman braves the elements to search for her dog after he runs into a snowstorm and she gets the most unexpected Christmas gift of all.
Snowflakes and Stones by Malena Lott
In this story of hope and healing after tragedy, a grieving mother returns home for the holidays with plans to deliver divorce papers.
The Escape by Megan Barlog
Set in the futuristic Dome, a young man aids a beautiful girl who hides in his Stable to avoid her captors, leading him to risk his life to give her freedom.
There’s No Place Like Home by Dani Stone
A surprise sleigh ride brings the past to the present in this light-hearted story about love and second chances.
Next week, we’ll share first lines from the stories as our countdown to 11/11/11 begins.
