Latest Story: Tiānyì (see Summary below) – posted 2/19/2026
Adam’s Journal – A Rose for Lotta – by Pat D in PA
SUMMARY: Adam’s journal entry for the day involving Lotta Crabtree’s role in snaring a Cartwright in Virginia City at the behest of Alpheus Troy.
Rating: K/G 1,810 words
As Ye Sow, or Minor Adjustments – 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. (122,875 words)
Declaration (The) – by PatD in PA
SUMMARY: An older brother mourns his believed failure in keeping a promise. Written for the 3rd Quarter 2025 Chaps and Spurs
RATING: K/G WORD COUNT: 1,293
Summary: Hoss has a VERY bad dream…
Rating: T for reference to character death. (1,298 words)
Hero of the Charles (The) – by Pat D in PA
Summary: When Adam finds himself short of cash, fate and his college buddy come up with an ingenious way to fatten his wallet! Written for the Second Quarter 2025 Chaps and Spurs Challenge.
Wordcount: 3,345
How Sweet the Moonlight – by Pat D in PA
Summary: The vastness of the heavens speak to the poetry in a young man’s soul, offering comfort during the lonely times. Created for the First Quarter 2025 Chaps and Spurs Challenge. My deep gratitude for Cheaux’s willingness to beta read; the story is better because of it.
(1,462 words)
SUMMARY: Adam’s heart is set on attending a performance by actor Edwin Booth at a production of Hamlet at San Francisco’s Adelphi Theatre. As his departure date nears, he can feel himself coming down with a cold. He knows the moment he sneezes, Ben and Hop Sing will have him confined to bed. Can he manage to hold his illness at bay long enough to not miss something he wants so very, very badly to experience? And how much is he willing to risk in order to do so?
WORD COUNT: 17,156 Rating: K+
Infinite Curse of a Lonely Heart (The) – by PatD in PA
Summary: Unrequited affection, if not actually love, permeates this prequel tale of the Cartwrights as a church social becomes an unexpected source of disappointment and frustration for some, and wonder for others.
Rating: K+/T Word Count: 13,275
Loft (The) #1 – by Pat D in PA
Summary: In this first of three short stories, we are able to see the healing properties that can be present in a simple hayloft. In this first story, a deeply disappointed youngest Cartwright brother learns that even a bossy boots big brother can know just the right things to say… and not to say.
Rating: K/G (1,711 words)
Loft (The) #2 – by Pat D in PA
SUMMARY: In the second of three short stories, an angry father, an ornery, half-grown son, and a small(ish) sentinel guarding his elder brother’s privacy as he licks his wounds all need the Cartwright barn’s hayloft to work its magic.
RATING: T – for mature language (5,771 words)
Loft (The) #2 – by Pat D in PA
SUMMARY: In the second of three short stories, an angry father, an ornery, half-grown son, and a small(ish) sentinel guarding his elder brother’s privacy as he licks his wounds all need the Cartwright barn’s hayloft to work its magic.
RATING: T – for mature language (5,771 words)
Meaning of Christmas (The) – by PatD in PA
Summary: An explanation of Christmas, between brothers.
Rating: G (120 words)
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
Peace on Earth – by PatD in PA
Summary: A blizzard and a case of the flu conspire to make the Cartwright boys wonder if Christmas would find it’s way to the Ponderosa
Rating: K/G (10,885 words)
Saucy Sally and the Birthday Surprise – by PatD in PA
SUMMARY: Not long after Adam returns from college, he begins to wonder if he should have come back at all, as his father doesn’t seem to recognize he’s not the stripling youth he’d been when he left home more than four years earlier. It takes a wise young woman of the world to potentially set both Cartwright men straight and help heal a rift that threatens to destroy the family.
Written in answer to the 2025 Brandaversary R-Rated Story challenge.
RATING: MA+ WORD COUNT: 9,965
Talking to Jane – by Pat D in PA
Summary: Ben Cartwright reflects on his life with a kind listener.
Rating: g/k (7201 words)
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
Three Thousand Six Hundred Seconds – by PadD in PA
SUMMARY: A short piece written for the Michael Landon Birthday Literary Challenge 2025.
RATING: G/K WORD COUNT: 521 words
Weaker Sex (The) – by PatD in PA
Summary: Marie Cartwright comes home from assisting a neighbor to find … well, you’ll see! Written for the 3rd Quarter Chaps and Spurs Challenge.
Rating: K/G Word Count: 1,726
You Can Bet on It – by PatD in PA SUMMARY: With Christmas just around the corner, Little Joe Cartwright learns exactly how far his Yankee Granite Head of a big brother will go, just how much he will do, in order to keep him safe.
RATING: PG WORD COUNT: 10,301
