A Superhero for Christmas #StoryAdventCalendar

art by Rebecca Fyfe

A Superhero Christmas

by Rebecca Fyfe

Santa Claus shook his head at Dancer. 

"I know you are anxious to get going, but the accident means we won't be able to deliver presents. Prancer and Blitzen both have broken legs, my back is out and the sleigh's landing gear got smashed. I'm afraid Christmas isn't going to happen this year." Santa sighed heavily.

Blitzen looked at Santa intently. 

"Well, I suppose you're right," Santa said. "I could call the Superhero Official Force Task. SOFT might have a way to save Christmas."

Santa picked up the phone and made the call.

"Superhero Official Task Force here. How may we help?" The receptionist at SOFT rarely took any holiday time off.

art by Robert Fyfe

"This is Santa Claus," Santa said into the phone. "I have an emergency. There's been an accident, and I'm afraid my sleigh and reindeer are out of commission. With my back out too, I'm afraid Christmas will have to be cancelled unless you have a superhero there who can save the day."

The members of the Superhero Official Task Force who were on duty all gathered in the SOFT conference room to discuss how they were going to save Christmas. 

Sea Siren offered up her water creatures to traverse the sea, bringing gifts to far-off locations. She even had some waterproof storage for the gifts and toys.

art by Rebecca Fyfe

Ink allowed her tattoo beasts to mist up off of her skin and form into living creatures. "My tiger, wolf and dragons will help," she said. Her tattoo wings burst forth into real ones on her back. "And I can take some gifts too."

art by Rebecca Fyfe

Fire Angel let her huge feathered wings expand across the room. "I can deliver toys too."

Shadow smiled, pulling the shadows in the room around her. "I can form a shadow sleigh and reindeer and deliver gifts. I've been practising, so it shouldn't be too hard to hold the form through the night."

Demon Huntress pouted. "None of my special abilities will help deliver presents." She really wanted to help.

art by Rebecca Fyfe

"Neither will mine," said Warrior Mom. "But I would hate any children to go without presents from Santa this Christmas."

"Well," Demon Huntress had an idea. "I know of a dragon nearby. It's been terrorizing a local neighbourhood and killing people. I was going to head out to fight and kill it, but if you fight with me, maybe we can tame it long enough to deliver some of the gifts."

art by Rebecca Fyfe

"Let's go," Warrior Mom said, and the two of them suited up, grabbed their weapons and headed out.

All of the children with toys from Santa got their toys that Christmas. But for the few children who were naughty enough to try and sneak a peek to see if Santa was real, they got to see something else entirely. They either saw two women riding a dragon, dolphins and whales speeding across the ocean with giant red sacks on their backs, inky black tigers, wolves and dragons delivering their gifts along with a dark-looking fairy of some sort or a sleigh and reindeer made of shadows.

*****

The superheroes in this story were pulled from my creations for "SuperHERo Tales: A Collection of Female Superhero Stories" - Volume One and Volume Two. Volume One is out now and Volume Two will be out in January.

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Merry Christmas! I hope you have enjoyed all of the stories in this Story Advent Calendar!

*****

This story is part of the Story Advent Calendar Blog Hop. Every day from December 1st through December 25th, a variety of authors are providing you with one story to read to your child on the lead-up to Christmas. Check out the posts below to see which one to read to your child tomorrow!
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The Teddy Bear #StoryAdvent Calendar

The Teddy Bear 

by Rebecca Fyfe

Tina Diggle and her husband James Diggle had always wanted a baby of their own, but they were unable to have one. All of the children on their street adored them, because the two of them were especially kind to children. Sometimes, Mrs. Diggle made gooey chocolate chip cookies for the neighbourhood's kids, and she would often find small toys to give to the children which she knew each one would love. She knew each child on her street by name.

But, no matter how much the children on the street loved her, she still felt a hole in her heart because she couldn't have a child of her own to raise and love. Mr. Diggle knew how sad this made her. A few days before Christmas one year, he bought his wife a cute little tan teddy bear. It was soft and chubby and had a pacifier in its mouth. He knew it was nowhere near the same as having a real baby, but he just wanted to bring something home that might cheer her up, even a tiny bit.

Mrs. Diggle thought the teddy bear was adorable. She decided to name it Connor. She set it under her Christmas tree with some of the Christmas teddy bears and presents.

"I wish you were a real baby," Tina Diggle said to the teddy bear, before leaving to get ready for bed that night.

Connor the teddy bear felt very sad upon hearing her words. He wanted only to be loved by someone and to love that person back. But he couldn't change what he was. He had been a teddy bear all of his life. If he could change himself into the baby that Mrs. Diggle so badly wanted, he would. He sighed as he sat under the tree.

"Why so sad?" asked the Christmas teddy bear beside him.

"I wish I was a real baby, instead of a teddy bear, so that Mrs. Diggle would be happy." The teddy bear sighed again.

"Well then, what are you worrying about? Tonight is Christmas Eve. Santa Claus will be coming, and he always lets us teddy bears have one wish."

"Really? What do you usually wish for?" asked Connor.

"Last year, I wished for a name, and the Diggles gave me one first thing in the morning. They named me Chris. This year, I think I'll wish for my vest to get washed. It's looking a little bit dirty lately."

"Those are very small wishes," Connor said. "What if Santa can only give small wishes? What if my wish is too big?"

"Well, you won't know unless you ask," said Chris matter-of-factly.

Connor tried very hard to stay awake long enough to ask Santa to turn him into a real boy, but, long before Santa ever arrived, Connor fell asleep.

In the morning, Mr. and Mrs. Diggle entered the living room to open their presents. Connor the teddy bear was gone and, in his place, a tiny baby wearing a teddy bear costume slept in a special red Christmas sack.

Mr. and Mrs. Diggle were over-joyed to finally have a baby of their own, and Connor got all the love any former teddy bear could ever hope for and then more.

*****

This story is part of the Story Advent Calendar Blog Hop. Every day from December 1st through December 25th, a variety of authors are providing you with one story to read to your child on the lead-up to Christmas. Check out the posts below to see which one to read to your child tomorrow!
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Fairy Christmas Bauble #StoryAdvent Calendar

Fairy Christmas Bauble

by Rebecca Fyfe

"Mommy, how does this Christmas ornament light up?" asked Cameron. He held the pretty red bauble and watched the glowing light that flitted around inside the ornament. "Is there a lightning bug inside?" Cameron had never seen a lightning bug, but he had heard that they lit up at night time.

Cameron's mom smiled. "No, honey. It's not a lightning bug. I think it probably has some sort of light bulb inside and runs on batteries."

"You think? Does that mean you aren't sure?" Cameron asked. "But how does it move around inside the bauble? Wouldn't a light bulb break?"

His mom frowned a little. "Hmm, you have a good point there. Now I'm wondering how it lights up too." She gently took the bauble from his hand. She had bought the bauble from the craft fair just the other day from a fortune teller who had some trinkets for sale to go along with her fortune-telling business.

"Maybe if I see the fortune teller again," his mom said, "I'll ask her about it." She gently hung the ornament on the Christmas tree, and then she and Cameron continued decorating the rest of the tree.

That night, just as his mom was about to tell him it was time for bed, their new kitten raced across the living room floor and jumped into the Christmas tree, knocking over several of the ornaments.

Crash! The pretty red bauble lay broken in pieces on the floor. Cameron walked over to it. His mom told him not to get too close, but he saw something sitting amongst the broken pieces of the ornament.

"Mommy, I think you need to see this."

His mom walked over to join him, already holding the dust pan and broom, ready to sweep up the mess.

The two of them stood transfixed at what they saw amongst the shiny, broken pieces of the red bauble.

A tiny fairy with glowing wings sat amongst the broken pieces. As they watched, she stood and dusted some loose fragments from the ornament off her clothes and flew away, straight out their window.

"Wow," Cameron said. "I never would have guessed that was how they got the light inside the ornament."

"Well, the British call those little lights that decorate houses for Christmas 'fairy lights,' but I don't think even the British would have expected this," Cameron's mom said.

"Do you think the fortune teller has trapped more fairies inside ornaments?" Cameron asked his mom.

"We'll go buy the rest of them tomorrow and free them," his mom assured him.

Cameron went to sleep that night dreaming about fairies and Christmas magic.

*****

This story is part of the Story Advent Calendar Blog Hop. Every day from December 1st through December 25th, a variety of authors are providing you with one story to read to your child on the lead-up to Christmas. Check out the posts below to see which one to read to your child tomorrow!
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But We're Not Sleepy by Robert Fyfe #StoryAdventCalendar

illustration by Robert Fyfe

But We're Not Sleepy

by Robert Fyfe

“But we’re not sleepy!”

Jenny sat scowling at her mother, arms folded tight across her chest. Tommy was not really an active part of the conversation as what could a three year old add that would be important?

“Santa won’t come until you’re asleep, ” Mommy warned in a kindly voice.

‘How will Santa know? I don’t believe you, ” Jenny said. She was determined to stay up and see Santa tonight.

Mommy swept Tommy up in her arms from the floor, and gently placed him in his cot. She sang him a lullaby and kissed him while tucking his blanket snuggly around him.

“Good night, my cuddle bug. Mommy loves you lots.”

Tommy’s eyes shone brightly and warmly. Then he blinked once, twice and on the third time his eyes stayed closed. Mommy smiled. Funny how he and his sister were so different when it came to bedtime.

She turned to Jenny who had kicked her blanket off the bed and was now doing handstands against the wall.

“Santa has his friends, and they tell him when the children are asleep,” she said.

illustration by Robert Fyfe

“Santa has a spy in the house? I don’t believe you.” Jenny was now trying to stuff her pillow into her pyjamas.

“Oh, it’s true. I think that, in this house, it's Waggs or Ginger. I’m not sure which but one of them I am sure is watching.”

Mommy smiled at Jenny who was now looking questioningly at the big ginger cat that was at that moment sitting on the chest of drawers, pushing her hairbrush closer and closer to the edge until it fell off.

“Can’t be Waggs. He can’t see us from downstairs,” Jenny said while still looking doubtfully at the cat.

Mommy had now carefully removed the pillow and plumped it back up as she placed it back on the bed. She picked the blanket up from the floor and shook the folds and dust from it. Then she slid it over Jenny. She kissed Jenny and then moved to the door.

“He can hear you talking though.”

Jenny lay on her bed and thought about that, and decided that she would stay awake and see Santa. But she wouldn't make a noise, in case her dog ‘snitched’ on her.

Ginger dropped down off the drawers and jumped up on the bed next to Jenny who stroked him.

“You wouldn't snitch on me, would you, Ginge’? You’re my friend.”

Ginger just grinned at Jenny, his deep purr hypnotic and calming as he curled up at her side. Jenny’s stroking began slowing, slowing until her hand slipped down onto the bed covers.

illustration by Robert Fyfe

As the house grew quiet and Mommy and Daddy had gone to bed, Ginger quietly stretched, jumped down onto the floor and then up onto the drawers. He checked on Tommy and then jumped back down onto the floor, walked out the bedroom and to the top of the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, Waggs, the dog, looked up, his tail waving quietly. Ginger blinked twice and then went back to the children’s room.

Waggs listened to the sounds from outside. A gentle breeze carried the sounds of the night: the sound of bells and the sound of hooves on the air. Waggs gave a quiet bark and, there, by his side, a large man dressed in red with a big white beard popped into view.

”Ho, Waggs. Thank you and Ginger for keeping an eye out for me,” he said.

*****

This story is part of the Story Advent Calendar Blog Hop. Every day from December 1st through December 25th, a variety of authors are providing you with one story to read to your child on the lead-up to Christmas. Check out the posts below to see which one to read to your child tomorrow!

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Santa Gets Stuck #StoryAdventCalendar

The reindeer landed smoothly along the rooftop, hardly jarring the sleigh at all. This was Santa's 500,000th Christmas delivery. He grabbed his sack full of gifts for the children living inside the house. Santa walked around the tiny chimney stack.

"I'll never fit in there," he said. "I'd better use the pixie dust." Santa always kept a supply of pixie dust on hand for his Christmas eve deliveries. The magic of the pixie dust helped him create chimneys on houses that didn't have them and make chimneys larger when they were too narrow for him to fit through. He had to limit how much pixie dust he used on each house to make sure he wouldn't run out before the night's deliveries were completed.

Santa took a small pinch of pixie dust out of his pocket. He kept the small amount clasped between his finger and thumb, just a pinch. As he reached towards the chimney to throw the pixie dust in, a few sprinkles of it fell from his fingers and landed on the roof top, nowhere near the chimney. Santa didn't notice.

The chimney rumbled and groaned, though the sound it made was not too loud because it would never work to wake the family inside the house. It expanded to a much larger size.

"Does it look smaller than the last one?" Santa asked Blitzen, peering closely at the chimney.

Blitzen didn't answer. Reindeer understand humans, but they can't speak like humans. Santa hadn't expected an answer anyway.

"Well, I'd better get inside," Santa said. "I hope they have some more cookies and milk for me. My stomach is rumbling again." Santa had a very big appetite.

When Santa jumped into the chimney, he found that something was very wrong. He didn't fit! He fell down the chimney but got stuck inside before he could come out from it inside the house.

Oh no! Santa had no time to be stuck! He had other houses needing his deliveries and he couldn't let the children in this house see him.

Santa hit a button on the watch on his wrist. It signalled the elves back at the North Pole that Santa needed help.

The Emergency Response Elf Team got to work right away, loading up their backpacks with things that Santa might need and going through a magic portal which always took them straight to wherever Santa was at the time.

They emerged from the portal in the living room of the house. Once there, they noticed Santa's legs dangling from inside the fireplace.

"I've got just the thing for this," said the lead elf, Tonks. Tonks took out a pinch of the extra pixie dust he had brought along with him in his backpaack and sprinkled it over the entrance to the fireplace.

With a quiet groan and rumble, the fireplace widened and Santa emerged. They quickly set out the gifts under the Christmas tree and then leapt back into the fireplace, where they were magically whisked back to the roof. One last pinch of pixie dust returned the chimney back to its normal size.

"Thanks, Tonks! That was close," Santa said, sending the Emergency Response Elf Team on its way back to the North Pole and returning to his deliveries.

Inside the house, two children were waking up, hearing the jingling of the sleigh bells as Santa's reindeer and sleigh travelled off into the night.

*****

This story is part of the Story Advent Calendar Blog Hop. Every day from December 1st through December 25th, a variety of authors are providing you with one story to read to your child on the lead-up to Christmas. Check out the posts below to see which one to read to your child tomorrow!

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The Girl Who Danced in the Snow #StoryAdventCalendar

art by Rebecca Fyfe

The Girl Who Danced in the Snow
by Rebecca Fyfe

Isabella twirled and spun as icy white snowflakes fell around her. A giggle escaped her as she threw her arms up while she rotated.

“Isabella, we need to get you to school now,” said her mother. “Come on. There isn’t time for dancing.”

Isabella stopped spinning and followed her mother down the road to her school. When school let out for recess, Isabella threw her arms up in the air and started twirling and spinning, making herself dizzy. She laughed and squealed with joy.

Some of the kids laughed at her, but a few joined her and leaped and danced in the falling snow right alongside her. I love to dance, thought Isabella.

She danced and twirled all the way home, and her mother didn’t once complain once about how much longer it took to get home because of her dancing.

While sitting at the dinner table that night, she ate her food and watched out the window at the drifting snowflakes. Snowflakes know how to dance, she thought. Look at how they spin and leap, twisting and gliding through the air like little sparkly ballerinas. I wish I was snowflake.

That night, while she was in bed trying to get to sleep, something tapped at her window. Isabella slipped out of bed and went to the window, but she couldn’t see anyone out there. She opened it a tiny bit and a little snowflake drifted in.

The snowflake giggled. In her surprise, Isabella almost missed the tiny little face on the snowflake. It had eyes and a mouth, and its giggle had been light and soft, almost like the memory of laughter.

“You like to dance. We’ve seen you,” said the snowflake. “Would you like to come and dance with us tonight?”

Isabella loved the idea, but she didn’t know how she could go outside in the middle of the night and dance with the snowflakes.

The snowflake jumped up into the air and drifted on invisible currents over to land gently on Isabella’s shoulder. “I just have to take care of one thing before you come with me,” the snowflake said, and that’s when Isabella noticed she was shrinking. Her nightgown was changing too. It turned into a beautiful, sparkling and shimmering frosty white ball gown. When she was as small as the snowflake, the snowflake stood beside her and Isabella noticed that the snowflake looked like a beautiful girl in a similar pretty white ball gown.

“All snowflakes look like me. People just can’t see us as we are, because they are so very big and they don’t know how to see through winter magic.” The snowflake answered Isabella’s unspoken question.

The two of them jumped into the air and let a slight breeze carry them outside where they spent the night dancing with other snowflakes, spinning and twirling, gliding and leaping all night long until the morning sun peaked through the clouds.

“Time for you to go home,” said the snowflake.

“Thank you,” said Isabella. “I will never forget this night.”

“You will eventually. People always forget about the magic when they grow up,” said the snowflake with sorrow in her voice. “But promise me you will never stop dancing, especially when it’s snowing.”

“I promise,” Isabella said.

Isabella climbed back into her bed and she began growing until she was her normal size again. Her pretty white ball gown changed back into her nightgown, and, as she started to fall asleep for the few moments she had left before her mother would come in to wake her, she promised herself, “I will never forget about the magic. And when the snow starts to fall, I will always dance in the snow.”

*****

This story is part of the Story Advent Calendar Blog Hop. Every day from December 1st through December 25th, a variety of authors are providing you with one story to read to your child on the lead-up to Christmas. Check out the posts below to see which one to read to your child tomorrow!

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Jingle Bells available in print and SuperHERo Tales available on kindle!

“Jingle Bells: Tales of Holiday Spirit from Around the World” is now available in both print and kindle, and now “SuperHERo Tales: A Collection of Female Superhero Stories” is available in kindle!

Both are full of amazing stories from talented authors. Jingle Bells has some wonderful artwork and stories that are great for kids and adults alike. SuperHERo Tales has some stories great for older children  and adults throughout, along with stories for younger children towards the back.

Both of these books will make wonderful gifts for the loved ones on your Christmas list, and SuperHERo Tales will be available in print later this week!

About “Jingle Bells: Tales of Holiday Spirit from Around the World”:

Let these wonderful stories of holiday magic fill your heart with peace and love for the holiday season. From dragons at Christmas to dancing for Hanukkah, from fairy friends to a mermaid’s gift, you’ll find many stories within these pages to bring a smile to your face. With 33 wonderful short stories and 5 poems, written for children and adults alike, there is a variety of tales, written by authors from around the world, to help you find a bit of that holiday spirit to warm your heart.

Proceeds from the sale of Jingle Bells go towards the Chapter Book Challenge. 

About “SuperHERo Tales: A Collection of Female Superhero Stories”:

Girls are under-represented when it comes to superhero movies, toys and other merchandise. This wonderful group of authors decided to do something about it. Within these pages, you will find stories of female superheroes to enchant and delight. You will read all about their powers and their masked identities and then get to read a short story that gives you insight into who they are or who they will become. You’ll find action, adventure, magic and betrayal. You’ll find everyday female heroes, as well as super-powered heroines and devious villains. From friendly encounters to government conspiracies, 27 new superheroes, all FEMALE superheroes, can be found represented in these stories, written by 24 talented authors. 

From the foreword by Emmie Mears: 

"When I was growing up I was told superheroes weren't for me... that superheroes and comic books weren't for girls. They were for boys... This anthology is a tribute to superheroes who happen to have XX chromosomes. I want the next generation of girls to grow up in a world where they won't get told superheroes aren't for them."

Proceeds from sales of SuperHERo Tales go towards the charity Because I am a Girl. 

About the charity (from their pages on their website):

"Because she is a girl, she’s more likely to suffer from malnutrition, be forced into an early marriage, be subjected to violence, be sold into the sex trade, or become infected with HIV. Because she is a girl, she faces discrimination in her own home. Because she is a girl, she’ll have limited access to a doctor or even a primary education (if she’s able to go to school at all). But we’re here to change all that. Because being a girl should always be a positive, empowering experience." 

Get your print copies of “Jingle Bells: Tales of Holiday Spirit from around the World” here.

Get your kindle copies of “Jingle Bells: Tales of Holiday Spirit from Around the World” here.  

Get your kindle copy of “SuperHERo Tales: A Collection of Female Superhero Stories” here. 


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#NaNoWriMo, #PiBoIdMo & the #JBAP and #CAFSC anthologies

November is a very busy month for me this year. I am putting together two anthologies, “SuperHERo Tales: A Collection of Female Superhero Stories and “Jingle Bells: Tales of Holiday Spirit From Around the World.” The plan is to have them available before December 1^st so that the authors and others can buy the books in print format in time for Christmas gift-giving.  Proceeds from SuperHERo Tales will be going to support the charity Because I Am A Girl, and proceeds from Jingle Bells will go towards the Chapter Book Challenge (ChaBooCha).

Here’s a sneak peak of the covers for both of the anthologies:

"SuperHERo Tales: A Collection of Female Superhero Stories"
cover art by Julia Lela Stilchen

"Jingle Bells: Tales of Holiday Spirit From Around the World"
cover art by Rebecca Fyfe

While putting together the Kindle and print versions of the anthologies, I am also participating in NaNoWriMo. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write 50,000 words of the first draft of your novel in 30 days, from November 1^st through November 30^th. I have participated in NaNoWriMo four times now, succeeding in reaching my 50,000 word goal every time. Two years ago, I wrote over 75,000 words during National Novel Writing Month and last year I wrote over 100,000 words during the challenge. This year, I will try and attempt to reach at least the minimum 50,000 words, because I have too many other things going on this month at the same time.

One of those other things that I have going on this month is that I am also participating in PiBoIdMo. Picture Book Idea Month is a challenge to write an idea down for a new picture book every day in the month of November. It’s a great way for me to take a break from my NaNoWriMo writing and working on the anthologies.

I’m also making sure to write posts for at least some of my blogs every week during the month.

I’m also doing some research this month on two of my non-fiction books, and I plan on writing the first chapter of each one by November 30^th, which will add at least another 2,000 words to the 50,000 I already need to write.  There’s a small part of me that would love to reach 100,000 words on my novel again this month like I did last year, but last year I didn’t have the anthologies ot put together so I am not going to add any more pressure to my workload right now. Maybe if I finish with the anthologies before the end of the month, as I am hoping to, then I will be able to focus even more time on my NaNoWriMo novel writing.

So in a nutshell, this is my to-do list for November:

1. Finish putting together the Jingle Bells anthology
2. Finish putting together the SuperHERo Tales anthology.
3. Write 50,000+ words of my novel
4. Research and write the first chapter of my Skinny Dreaming book and my other non-fiction book
5. Write down a new picture book idea every day
6. Post at least once a week on more than one of my blogs

It's a busy schedule, especially when taking into consideration school runs, cooking meals, daily exercise sessions, taking care of my children and walking the dog along with everything else from my day to day life. But I am capable of doing this, and I am looking forward to the challenge of it all.


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