Category: Mystery
The Black Widow (by Hart4Ben)
Summary: A wealthy widow comes to Virginia City seeking investment opportunities. A WHN for the season 11 episode “Long Way to Ogden” where Ben gambles the future of the Ponderosa when a convincing meat packer (Emmett J. Whitney) from Chicago, sets out to ruin the local cattle industry. Written from the perspective of the villainess.
Rating: T Word Count: 4056
Black and Gold (by AC1830)
Summary: Rumors and sightings are flying around town about a dark creature roaming the hills of the Ponderosa. Will the Cartwrights find out what it is? What is Adam’s connection to the creature?
Rating K WC = 1323
Mystery (by McFair_58)
Summary: 12 year old Little Joe Cartwright loves black horses, especially the new black mare his brothers found and brought home. Though their father disapproves, Little Joe knows she’s the one for him and sets out to prove it. What do an apparition, a burned out ranch, a stolen fortune, a group of desperate outlaws, and Little Joe Cartwright have in common besides trouble? Mystery.
Rated PG for frightening images and western violence (25,100 words)
Stranger in the Night (by JC)
Summary: A Bonanza Gothic poem written for the 2017 “Once Upon A Midnight Dreary” challenge honoring the birthday of Edgar Allen Poe.
Rating: K+ (251 words)
What the Heart Knows — aka The Guardian (by JC)
Summary: A fateful encounter at the river leads to a revelation for Adam Cartwright.
Rating: T (3,471 words)
Each Day #1 ~ Life Begins Anew (by Dogwood)
Summary: The beginning of a path Adam didn’t realize lay before him. The outcome is one that changes his life forever and opens the door to unknown and life changing challenges.
Rating: T (223,014 words)
Part of the Each Day Series, links to the stories included within
One Little Two Little Three Little Thunderbirds (by McFair_58)
Summary: A friend of Ben’s comes for a visit, bringing with him his three daughters and a dark secret from his past. At first it appears the greatest danger the visit presents lies in the insanity of a trio of young females in the Cartwright household. All too soon it becomes apparent that Gil Jenkins’ demons have not been laid to rest and threaten not only him, but the Cartwrights as well.
Rated: PG-13 WC 79,400
Bootless Cries (by McFair_58)
Summary: Who would have thought that a pair of missing boots would propel the Cartwrights into the nightmare world of a madman? One morning Joe wakes up to find his boots gone and the mystery of how he lost them – and who is wearing them – leads to a series of events that could cost not only Joe’s life, but Adam and Hoss’ as well.
Rated PG-13 (58,335 words)
The Curse of the Blue Dress (by patina)
Summary: One little dress, so much trouble.
Rated: K+ Word Count: 4802
A San Francisco Encounter (by Hart4Ben)
Summary: Ben Cartwright is in San Francisco on business and meets Barbara Dameron through mutual friends. He is quite taken with her, but pursuing a relationship with her could lead to unexpected danger.
Rating: T Word Count: 17,739
Spirit Child (by AC1830)
Summary: On his way home, Joe encounters a Spring snow storm and has to wait it out in a line shack. He has a visit from an unusual child who tells him troubling things about Adam, who has been gone for years. Adam, in the mean time has suffered a great loss and has returned home. He and Hoss head into the mountains to meet with Joe. Joe is desperate to get to Adam when he learns from the child that Adam has been injured on his way to the shack. The brothers reconnect but soon learn the child is part of a terrible tragedy in Adam’s life. Will Adam find healing or more sorrow on his way home with his brothers?
Word count – 8814 Rating K+
The Misadventures of Little Joe Cartwright ~ Book I (by bahj)
Summary: After going into town to buy a present for Hoss, Little Joe runs into a mysterious stranger with a bag of golden coins.
Rating: T Word count: 29698
Part of the Misadventure Series, links to all stories included within.
Where Ghosts Walk (By ellie248)
SUMMARY: Joseph Cartwright returns to the Ponderosa to find everything has changed in his absence – for the worst
Rating K (4,116 words)
Hauntings and Nightmares (by BettyHT)
Summary: This is a prequel in which Adam returns from college, and Little Joe has bad dreams and bad friends which turn out to be a terrible combination. Trouble on the Ponderosa combines with that to cause a combustible situation and Little Joe is the key to resolving the complex web as he learns some important lessons. It is the key to resolving a problem years later as well.
Rating = T (21,071)
Little Bit Challenge – 2015
Summary: During the last quarter of 2015, members in the Brand Forums were challenged to write vignettes for all the Bonanza episodes. Members could submit as many Little Bits for as many episodes as they were inspired to write. Multiple members could submit Little Bits for the same episode. The hardest part of the challenge was to write the vignette in exactly 100 or 200 words.
Some Little Bits are dramatic while others are humorous. The submitting member is identified after each Little Bit. 132 Little Bits have been submitted to date and are listed in episode order.
Rating: K (16,000+ words)