Author: Pat D in PA (NoBot)
You Can Bet on It (by PatD in PA)
SUMMARY: With Christmas just around the corner, Little Joe Cartwright learns exactly how far his Yankee Granite Head of a big brother will go, just how much he will do, in order to keep him safe.
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 10,301
Written for the 2025 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
The Meaning of Christmas (by PatD in PA)
Summary: An explanation of Christmas, between brothers.
Rating: G (120 words)
Written for the 2025 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
Peace on Earth (by Pat D in PA)
Summary: A blizzard and a case of the flu conspire to make the Cartwright boys wonder if Christmas would find it’s way to the Ponderosa
Rating: K/G (10,837 words)
Three Thousand Six Hundred Seconds (by Pat D in PA)
SUMMARY: A short piece written for the Michael Landon Birthday Literary Challenge 2025. (536 words, rating G/K)
The Declaration (by Pat D in PA)
SUMMARY: An older brother mourns his believed failure in keeping a promise. Written for the 3rd Quarter 2025 Chaps and Spurs Writing Challenge.
RATING: K/G WORD COUNT: 1,335
The Weaker Sex (by Pat D in PA)
Summary: Marie Cartwright comes home from assisting a neighboring woman to find … Written for the 3rd Quarter Chaps and Spurs Challenge.
Rating: K/G
Word Count: 2,067
Saucy Sally and the Birthday Surprise (by Pat D in PA)
RATING: MA/R
SUMMARY: Not long after Adam returns from college, he begins to wonder if he should have come back at all, as his father doesn’t seem to recognize he’s not the stripling youth he’d been when he left home more than four years earlier. It takes a wise young woman of the world to potentially set both Cartwright men straight and help heal a rift that threatens to destroy the family.
Written in answer to the 2025 Brandaversary R-Rated Story challenge.
(10,230 words)
The Infinite Curse of a Lonely Heart (by Pat D in PA)
Summary: Unrequited affection, if not actually love, permeates this prequel tale of the Cartwrights as a church social becomes an unexpected source of disappointment and frustration for some, and wonder for others. Written for the 2025 Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament.
Rating: K+/T Word Count: 13,275
I’m FINE! (by Pat D in PA)
SUMMARY: Adam’s heart is set on attending a performance by actor Edwin Booth at a production of Hamlet at San Francisco’s Adelphi Theatre. As his departure date nears, he can feel himself coming down with a cold. He knows the moment he sneezes, Ben and Hop Sing will have him confined to bed. Can he manage to hold his illness at bay long enough to not miss something he wants so very, very badly to experience? And how much is he willing to risk in order to do so? (17,156 words)
Adam’s Journal – A Rose for Lotta (by Pat D in PA)
SUMMARY: Adam’s journal entry for the day involving Lotta Crabtree’s role in snaring a Cartwright in Virginia City at the behest of Alpheus Troy. Written for the 2025 “Pernell Roberts’ Birthday Week” activities.
RATING: K/G
WORD COUNT: 1,901 words
The Hero of the Charles (by Pat D in PA)
Summary: When Adam finds himself short of cash, fate and his college buddy come up with an ingenious way to fatten his wallet. Written for the Second Quarter 2025 Chaps and Spurs Challenge.
Wordcount: 3,533
Talking to Jane (by Pat D in PA)
Summary: Ben Cartwright reflects on his life with a kind listener.
Rating: G/K (7201 words)
Dreams (by Pat D in PA)
Summary: Hoss has a VERY bad dream…
Rating: T for reference to character death. (1,298 words)
The Loft – #3 (by Pat D in PA)
Summary: In the final entry of three short stories, can the Cartwright hayloft provide poor Hoss with the comfort and understanding he needs to deal with the humiliation and shame he feels after being teased by unkind classmates?
Rating: K/G (3,401 words)
My Work is Not Yet Finished (by Pat D in PA)
Summary: Long after death, love maintains a bond between those who shared it and can help ease a troubled young man’s soul.
Rating: K/G 4,175 words
