Category: Prequel
Any time before the episode, A Rose for Lotta
When I Was Twenty… (Pat D in PA)
SUMMARY: One of the Cartwrights reflects on his twentieth year.
WORD COUNT: 863
RATING: T/PG
When I was Twenty… (by BluewindFarm)
Summary: Looking back on one night, when he was twenty. A Bonanza Brand 20th Anniversary Challenge
Rating: G (1,235 words)
My Age of Majority (by DJK)
Adam recounts the tale of his first engagement and Ben’s reaction. Written for the “When I Was Twenty” Challenge Rating: T Word count: 4479
A Horse Called Howdy (by JaneYvanne)
Summary: In the season 14 episode “Riot!”, Griff King, a young man imprisoned for attacking his abusive stepfather, protected both Ben and Candy during a hostage situation, and helped prevent a prison break. Afterward, he was paroled into Ben’s custody. In this prequel, Griff remembers life with his stepfather. Dialogue in the beginning is taken from the episode “New Man.”
Rating: T Word Count: 4,306
Custard-Filled Doughnuts (by DJK)
Summary: Hop Sing’s custard-filled doughnuts were prized by all whenever he made them. Ben Cartwright’s sons did not feel the need to play fair when it came to obtaining such culinary delights, and the thief simply stole them.
Rating: T Word Count: 7,023
What Brothers Do (by CareBear)
Summary: Hoss and Adam step in when Joe riles up the saloon, but not in the way you’d think.
Rating: G Word Count: 1808
Hoss Cartwright’s Grand Swing (by Michele B)
Could Hoss’ behavior ever give cause for Ben to take him on the Grand Swing through the Ponderosa?
Rated: PG Word Count: 26,687
Vows and Loopholes (by DJK)
Summary: Adam is determined to know why Ben Cartwright always refused his sons’ requests for a family dog. This was written for the 2026 Lorne Green’s Birthday Challenge which required the author to write a Carwright story that included a dog in honor of Lorne’s love of dogs.
rating: teen word count : 2843
Bringing Harmony into the World (by DJK)
Summary: Alone at the ranch, Hop Sing and a young Little Joe assist a mare in delivering her foal. Written for the 2026 Hop Sing’s Chinese New Year Challenge. rating: teen word count: 2633
Tiānyì (by PatD in PA)
Summary: Written for “Hop Sing’s Chinese New Year Challenge 2026,” honoring the year of the Fire Horse.
Rating: G/K
Word Count: 1,350
A Stain (by Krystyna)
Summary: Sometimes something quite small can bring sorrow and joy at the same time.
Rating: G, Word Count: 650
She Was Hot (by BettyHT)
Summary: This is a sequel to “I Was Hot” and is Marie’s response to her toddler son’s interruption of what had been planned as her grand party. However, a suggestion that she take the story and own it becomes her plan and this is the story of her execution of that plan.
Rating: PG Word count: 1747
“I Was Hot” (by BettyHT)
Summary: This is a prequel in which Marie’s grand gala for the ladies of the area is interrupted by a son in a most shocking way as two other sons cavort elsewhere. The family has to pull together to fix this mess.
Rating: PG Word count: 1470
A Grave Tale (by Annie K Cowgirl)
Summary: A dare, a graveyard, and something evil lurking within, makes for a night that Little Joe Cartwright will never forget. A pre-series Halloween tale.
Rating: K+
Words: 1,368
The First Thaw (by Puchi Ann)
Summary: The weather isn’t the only thing frosty that first Christmas after Marie joins the Cartwright family, but through the magic of story and song, they all find new warmth, acceptance and heartfelt love.
Rating: G (6,520 words)
Written for the 2025 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
