Category: Family
Stories that focus on the entire family
A New Light (by Wrangler)
Summary: After Joe is found alive after months spent in captivity, his family’s joy is short-lived. Now Ben, Adam, and Hoss must decipher why Joe adamantly insists that for the rest of his life he must stay in the darkness. A sequel to “Stay in the Darkness.”
Rating: MA (graphic violence and adult subject matter) Word Count: 56,931
Vengence (By Lillian Montane)
Summary: Ben and Little Joe are targeted in retaliation of being key witnesses in a murder case that lead to a hanging.
Word count: 4,928
rated: M
Among The Ponderosa Pines (by Heather-Chrysalis)
Summary: A poem about the Ponderosa Pines and the Cartwright family and how similar they are.
Rated G Wordcount: 135
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
Stay in the Darkness (by Wrangler)
Summary: After Joe is found alive after months spent in captivity, his family’s joy is short-lived. Now Ben, Adam, and Hoss must decipher why Joe adamantly insists that for the rest of his life he must “Stay in the Darkness ” Joe/ family/ Drama/ Hurt/Comfort.
Rating T-13. Word count 40,990
Catamount (by SydneyFate)
Summary: The Cartwrights’ new friend, Black Bear, encounters a wild cat, and they catch the tail end of the adventure.
This story was written for the Chaps & Spurs 2025 1st Quarter Challenge.”
Rating: T (2,350 words)
Little Boy Joe (by JC)
There are definite advantages to being the youngest Cartwright. And who would know that better than Little Joe?
Rating: G Word Count: 657
Bonanza – a Lost Episode (by SydneyFate)
Summary: The Cartwright family is forever changed when Adam encounters a wandering stranger in Virginia City.
Rating: T (12,420 words)
As Ye Sow, or Minor Adjustments (by Pat D in PA)
Summary: In this AU tale of the Cartwrights of the Ponderosa, evidence from a very painful part of Adam’s past turns up to forever change his present and that of his family.
Rating: T Mature language and themes are present throughout this story. (122,275 words)
For Real? (by ElayneA)
Summary: The Cartwright brothers take a Christmas trip?
Rating: G 1,725 words
Written for the Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
Peace on Earth (by AC1830)
Summary: Christmas candles, a cranky baby, and a neglected Cartwright all add up to one special Christmas.
Rating: G 2,420 words
Written for the 2024 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
What If … (by Missjudy)
Summary: How might a change in an episode early in the canon of Bonanza, change the episodes that followed? This is a collection of stories to show how life in the Cartwright family and in Virginia City would reflect the difference, while you try to figure what happened.
Rating: PG Word Count: 28534
No Deal (by BettyHT)
Summary: This is a prequel with Adam home from college at about 23, Hoss at about age 17, and Joe at about age 11. Returning from a trip to Sacramento, Adam has two disturbing encounters, one with someone he thought could be a friend and another with outlaws. Then he has another one with his father. The rest of the story develops from those until the issues can be resolved.
Rating – T Word Count – 32,154
All Hallows’ Harvest (by Heather-Chrysalis)
Summary: Something evil lurks in a cornfield on the Ponderosa and unleashes terror on the Cartwright family. What is it?
Rated T Wordcount: 8, 070
My Pa (by Puchi Ann)
Summary: A tribute from Adam, Hoss and Joe for Father’s Day (transcribed by Puchi Ann)
Rating: K
Word Count: 88
