Most Recent: A Lesson in Gratitude – posted 12/25/2022 see summary below.
A Bonbon Too Far – by Sierra Girl
Summary: Beware gifts that fall into the wrong hands. When a little brother sees an opportunity to make an easy buck, trouble ensues in a fun Christmas prequel of misunderstandings, tipsy Irishmen and bonbons.
Rating: G 5,164 words
Note: This story was written for the Bonanza Brand 2020 Advent Calendar, posted in the Forums.
A Christmas Miracle – by Sierra Girl
Summary: On a crisp, white Christmas Day, ten-year old Little Joe startles his pa and brothers when he asks too many questions and loses his faith in miracles. It takes the help of some unlikely friends to help him believe again.
Written for the 2019 Advent Calendar
Rated: K+ Word Count: 5,007
A Lesson in Gratitude – by Sierra Girl
Summary: It takes a winter storm for Adam to appreciate what’s right in front of him.
Rating: G Words 3,000
Written for the 2022 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
A Rose for Abigail – by Sierra Girl
Summary: A year following the marriage of Abigail Jones and Hank Myers, the services of Cupid and Cupid Unlimited are called into action once again when the Myers’ marriage hits a rocky patch. And once more, Adam finds himself an unwilling participant—or should that be victim—in Hoss and Joe’s uproarious schemes.
Rating: K+ Word Count: 9105
Boy Who Kept Christmas Alive ( The ) – by Sierra Girl
Summary: It’s up to one of the boys to keep Christmas alive during a dark time on the Ponderosa.
Written for day 15 of the 2021 Advent Calendar.
Rating: G Word Count: 2989
Cabin in the Woods (The) – by Sierra Girl
Summary: Nothing stays the same, no matter how much we believe we want it to. For a lonely homesteader, life in her remote forest cabin was to be changed forever with the arrival of a riderless horse, a wounded Cartwright and a trigger-happy gunman.
Rated: T 24,151 words
Dead Moon Rising – by Sierra Girl
Summary: On the night of a black moon, the three Cartwright brothers venture out for what should be a night of fun, merriment, and pretty girls. But when the moon’s shadow faces the earth, it’s never wise to leave the sanctuary of a warm home. For the youngest Cartwright, the night turns into a terrifying experience beyond his wildest imaginings. And one that only a trusted friend can help him overcome.
Rated: T (7,217 words)
Eighth Day (The) – by Sierra Girl
Summary: When Adam encounters a mysterious woman on the shores of Lake Tahoe, his whole world will be changed forever. And just what is the woman’s involvement in the abductions taking place around the lake? This is my take on how and why Adam left the Ponderosa. An AU fantasy set in the ‘real’ world of Bonanza. A story where the lake is the star of the show.
Rating: T 36,890 words
Englishman and His Wayward Horse (The) – by Sierra Girl
Summary: It should have been a routine cattle drive. But what with Hop Sing announcing it was doomed from the start, and then the arrival of an Englishman and his eccentric horse, the cattle drive was to be anything but.
Rated: K+ Word Count: 7750
Friendship Game (The) – by Sierra Girl
Summary: It’s tough being a 14-year old boy, but it’s especially hard when you have little brothers, a friend you’re eager to impress and the added complication of those creatures from another planet…girls! Will Adam survive his first forays with the opposite sex in one piece, and still have a friend at the end of it? Written for the 2018 Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament.
Rated: K+ 13,535 words
Gingerbread Man (The) – by Sierra Girl
The Gingerbread Man was included in the 2016 Advent Calendar Collection. Click ‘Comments’ or “Leave a Comment” above to leave comments for the author. Or click Read More … below for a link to the story. Summary: As Christmas as the tree and ornaments, it’s not Christmas without the Gingerbread Man.
Summary: When the abduction of one brother leads to injury for another, it seems that two Cartwrights may be about to meet their maker. But fraternal bonds aren’t easily severed, especially on Paiute land.
Rating: PG-13 / Word count: 12,596
Little Joe Cartwright, Indian Fighter – by Sierra Girl
Summary: When the Paiute are seen prowling around the Ponderosa ranch house, Little Joe Cartwright is desperate to help defend his home and family. Only, he’s under orders to stay inside and work on his spelling . . . Disobeying his father’s commands will take him to a place he never, in his wildest dreams, thought he would see.
Rating: K+ Word count: 3664
Summary: The boys have a job to do in a mysterious old house. Only Hoss is hearing things and Joe can’t help goading his jittery sibling. It’s up to Adam to keep his brothers in check, but even he is astonished by an unexpected discovery in the attic.
Rating: K+ Word count: 4014
Man of Many Spirits (The) #1 – by Sierra Girl
Summary: Adam’s life is turned upside down after an attack on a wagon train leaves him alone and injured in the desert. He is helped by an unlikely saviour. But what has become of his family? And why is his rescuer so keen to keep the truth from him.
Rating: T 83,320 words
Man of Many Spirits (The) #2 – The Man Who Lost His Heart – by Sierra Girl
Summary: The sequel to ‘The Man of Many Spirits’. For two years Adam had been living in a village of Ute Indians believing his family had died in a wagon train attack. He was settled in his new life until the day he was abducted and left to die in the desert. Now, with help from some old faces, he embarks on a desperate search for his wife, before a heart-breaking decision has to be made.
Rating: T 54,802 words
Out of the Darkness – by Sierra Girl
Summary: The murder of a friend, and the ensuing trial, lead an exhausted Adam to confront deeply buried fears and long-held guilt about events in his past. Will he come out the other side unscathed and able to face up to his father?
Rating: T Word Count: 23,980 words
Protector (The) – by Sierra Girl
Summary: After six years away, Adam is on his way home. But events conspire against him to delay his long-anticipated return, and he finds himself up to his eyes in a plight that threatens both his life and those around him. With his father and brothers one step behind, will they be able to reach him in time to bring him home to the Ponderosa.
Rated: T 49,558 words
Summary: Christmas greetings.
Created for the 2017 Advent Calendar
Rating: G (30 words)
Summary: When Adam, Hoss and Little Joe sneak out in the early hours for Adam’s last childhood adventure, their father’s reaction is not what they expect. A prequel set in the months before Adam leaves for college.
Rating: K Word Count: 3,527
Summary: St. Nick delivers four very unusual gifts from the heart.
Written for the 2018 Advent Calendar
Rating: G 3,735 words
