Most Recent: Stamp Effect (The) — posted 12/24/2024 see summary below
A Broken Resolution – by Cheaux
Summary: Joe has every intention of keeping his New Year’s resolutions, but you know what they say about good intentions.
Rating: T 945 words
Summary: What Happened next for “Different Pines, Same Wind.” Struggling with heartache and loss, Joe receives comfort from an unexpected source.
WC 7900 Rating: T
A Matter of Intent – by Cheaux
Summary: A WHN for A Matter of Circumstance. Written for the Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament Round One .
Rating: T+ for subject matter. 6,840 words
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – by Cheaux
Summary: All Ben wanted was a night alone with his eldest. What he got was something quite different.
WC 2400
Rating: T+
A Toast to Tradition – Part 1 – by Cheaux
Summary: A missing ornament threatens holiday traditions for the Cartwrights.
Rating: G words 2,530
Written for the 2022 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
A Toast to Tradition – Part 2 – by Cheaux
Summary: Memories and traditions bring comfort and joy during Hanukkah and Christmas.
Rating: G Words 2,411
Written for the 2022 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
Summary: A moment in time in a special place.
Rating: K. 505 words
Summary: A WHN for Twilight Town.
Rating: K WC 2200
Summary: A rift between father and sons is healed in an unexpected way.
Rating: T WC 650
Between a Rock and a Hard Place – by Cheaux
Summary: When the Ponderosa faces financial ruin, only drastic measures can save the day…measures which turn deadly for Joe and Candy as Ben and Hoss watch from a distance.
Rating: K+ WC 7000
Summary: His brothers snickered when Hoss drew the short straw and had to clear a beaver dam—a job every Cartwright brother abhorred. Adam and Joe drew the long straws and had the simple task of delivering a bull to a ranch in California…or so it seemed.
Rated: T Word Count: 7265
Summary: A Ponderosa fairy tale inspired by a drawing by bahj’s niece.
Word count: 1187 Rated
Summary: Missing scene from Season 7’s “The Fighters” written by Robert L. Goodwin
Rating: T Word Count: 792
Summary: From disasters to memories, could a warm bed be the piece de’ resistance?
Written for day 10 of the 2021 Advent Calendar.
Rating: G Word Count: 1306
Summary: New Year’s Day in 1865 rings in both unspeakable sorrow and unbridled hope for Joe. Reference is made to Between Heaven and Earth.
WC 2200 Rated: T
Summary: It’s all a matter of perspective.
Written for day 5 of the 2021 Advent Calendar.
Rating: G Word Count: 979
Summary: Joe Cartwright’s friends are dying and he doesn’t know why. Written for the Devonshire Writing Challenge in 2011.
WC 22,000 Rated: MA subject matter
Summary: There’s disappointment when the Cartwrights can’t be home on Christmas Eve.
Written for the 2017 Advent Calendar
Rating: G 1,600 words
Summary: The Ponderosa prepares for Christmas
Rating: G
Note: This greeting was prepared for the Bonanza Brand 2020 Advent Calendar, originated in the Forums.
Christmas that Almost Wasn’t (The) – by Cheaux
Summary: Something’s wrong and the fix comes from an unexpected source
Rating: G Words: 1,170
Written for the Bonanza Brand 2023 Advent Calendar
Clothes Make the Man – by Cheaux
Summary: Does a man’s sartorial splendor have any bearing on events in his life?
WC 600 Rated: K
Summary: Joe makes a commitment without fully understanding what’s involved.
WC 1200 Rated: T
Summary: In 1873, the deaths of Hoss and Alice so close together left Ben and Joe physically and emotionally, bankrupt. Father and son masked their grief, each hiding serious health issues from the other. By a miracle, both men survived and in the aftermath, Dr. Paul Martin prescribed the whole truth and nothing but the truth as a remedy. In 1875, their pact is still intact…or is it? A sequel to “My Father’s Heartbeat.” It is helpful but not necessary to have read the first story.
Rated: T Word Count: 18,437
Devil Among Us (The) – by Cheaux
Summary: A missing scene from Season 12’s The Night Virginia City Died.
WC 2800 Rated: T+
Summary: A dream is a wish your heart makes. But what happens when your heart is broken?
Rated: T Word Count: 4988
Summary: Circumstantial evidence incriminates Joe Cartwright in his fiance’s murder. A WHI for “Justice” written by Richard Wendley.” This is my version of what happened after Sally is murdered.
Rated K+ WC 8100
Summary: For fiercely independent Little Joe Cartwright, asking for help is the hardest thing to do. A Camp in the Pines short story.
Rated T Word Count 6233
Summary: When Adam invited Joe to come to Europe for a holiday, he never imagined the consequences.
Rating: T Word Count: 9,898
Good Intentions and Unplanned Consequences – by Cheaux
Summary: As with all intentions — some good, some not so good — there are always consequences.
Written for the 2019 Advent Calendar
Rating: G Word Count: 2,225
Greatest Gift (The) – by Cheaux
Summary: Joe overhears what he knows to be a lie, but cannot convince anyone else to believe him.
WC 7800 Rated: T
Summary: A WHN for “The Gamble.” As events unfold subsequent to their being exonerated of robbery and murder charges, it becomes apparent that more was at stake in Alkalai than the Cartwrights knew.
3,570 words Rated: T
Summary: Adam’s quest to find answers. Hunger follows the events in Choices and Shadows. It is not necessary to have read the previous stories.
WC 17,000 Rated: T
Summary: Joe gambles with his life to give his Pa something precious.
WC 900 Rating K
Memory aka We Remember – by Cheaux
Summary: A holiday without memories brings several ideas of how to make it through the season.
Written for the 2018 Advent Calendar
Rating: G 3,675 words
Summary: In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and change.
Rating: K / Word Count: 6,496
Summary: An unhappy brother, an old house, and a celebration gone wrong . . . this Prequel is set in 1855 when Adam is 24, Hoss is 18, and Joe is 13.
Rated: K+ Word Count: 5787
My Father’s Heartbeat – by Cheaux
Summary: After a cattle drive Joe receives a heartbreaking telegram from the Ponderosa…
WC 6800 Rated: T
Summary: Joe has some explaining to do . . .
WC 600 Rated: K
Summary: Musings of Deputy Clem Foster on his city and the Cartwrights.
Rated: K+ Word Count: 1238
Summary: Ben is compelled to defend Marie’s honor. A prequel written for the Mother’s Day Challenge. Events and people occuring in the episode Marie, My Love (Season 4, Episode 20) are referenced.
Rating: T Word Count: 1900
Summary: A tragic event in Virginia City sends shock waves across the globe and spurs Adam to return home to find the truth.
Rated: T WC 16,000
One That Got Away (The) – by Cheaux
Summary: More than a fish story . . . this tale recounts how loss, memories, and discovery shape the friendships we form and the people we become.
WC 9700 Rated: T+
Summary: Joe, eager to find something to call his own, joins the Pony Express with Adam’s help.Aside from a passing reference to Ben’s investment in the Pony Express, this story is unrelated to the Season 7 episode “Ride the Wind” which was out of sync with history. The Pony Express existed for 18 months from April 1860 to October 1861 when Joe was 18.
Rating: T 5,700 words
Summary: A WHN for Pride of a Man. Joe has one more lesson to teach.
WC 1000 Rating: T
Summary: One man’s trash is another’s treasure. Written for the Dan Blocker 2012 Birthday Challenge
WC 800 Rated: K
Summary: With great deliberation, Ben takes time to update his journal.
Written for the 2019 Advent Calendar
Rating: G Word Count: 940
Summary: Joe returns home from San Francisco a changed man; a mysterious woman and a piece of jewelry give rise to difficult times between father and son, bringing heartache and understanding.
WC 5200 Rated: T+
Summary: The premise for this writing challenge was the prompt: Adam is worried about an absent friend.
WC 2300 Rating: T
Summary: Ben’s worried and sends new hand Candy Canaday on a mission.
Rating: K Word Count: 1779
Summary: A WHN for Season 4’s “The Hayburner.” When last we saw our intrepid heroes, Adam was in measured and methodical solitary pursuit of Hoss, whilst Joe and Ben made a wager on the outcome . . . with security, of course.
Rated: K+ Word Count: 3,000
Summary: The family struggles with the consequences of Joe’s ordeal. Shadows is a sequel to Choices but stands alone.
WC 8500 Rated: T
Summary: Adam, alone and hurt in the desert, is comforted by a stranger.
WC 1700 Rated: K
Someone to Watch Over Him – by Cheaux
Summary: A What Happened Instead for the episode “Bushwhacked” written by Preston Wood
Word Count: 8974 Rated K+
Summary: Written for the 2016 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
Rating: K 1,350 words
Summary: Lesson plans have real-life implications during Miss Jones’ absence.
Rating: G 3,410 words
Written for the Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
Staying the Course – by Cheaux
Summary: Ben learns from Adam that there is more than one way to reach a goal.
WC 1700 Rated: K
Then and Now – by Cheaux
Summary: Two sides of the same coin, one looks forward, one looks backward and they both struggle in the present. This post Season 14 story is set in 1878 and includes most all of the principal cast from the series run. Written for the 2018 Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament.
Rated: T 10,000 words
Things that Go Bump in the Night – by Cheaux
Summary: Did you ever wonder why Joe was obsessive about hunting creatures of the night in My Brother’s Keeper and Marie, My Love?
Rated: T WC 2500
To Reach for the Stars – by Cheaux
Summary: Some wounds heal with barely a trace; others leave scars too painful to touch. Can a father know the difference?
Rated: T WC 2200
Twice Told Tale (The) – by Cheaux
Summary: Adam wanted to help his brother, not kill him.
Word count: 6200 Rating: T
Under the Influence – by Cheaux
Summary: Words and actions impact and influence the people around us more than we realize. A WHN for “First Born.”
Rated: K+ Word Count: 2,176
Summary: When Joe Cartwright returns to the Ponderosa after his annual month-long vacation, he discovers a world turned upside down where nothing is the same.
Rating: T 30,935 words
Summary: Joe has become unusually introspective, much to the consternation of his brothers.
WC 1600 Rated: K
