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Latest story:\u00a0 \u00a0A Grand Christmas <\/strong>\u2013 posted 12\/24\/2025 (see summaries below)<\/p>\n A Candy Floss Christmas \u2013 McFair_58\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 Clementine Hawkins saves the day by preventing an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction. A Christmas Kiss \u2013 by McFair<\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 All sixteen-year-old Hoss wanted for Christmas was a kiss from Ellie Miller.\u00a0 He was so excited he set off for the Millers’ place before his brothers.\u00a0 Instead of a kiss, Hoss was soon hoping for a Christmas miracle…. A Cold Day in Hell – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary: Twenty-one year old Hoss Cartwright has a problem. Older brother Adam just took off into the desert without a word and Little Joe wants to follow him. Pa will have his hide, he knows. But it’s awful hard to say ‘no’ to Little Joe… A Different Kind of Desert – by McFair<\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 Fifteen-year-old Joe Cartwright dropped his gaze to the vast forest before him with its tall pines, low bushes, and tangled undergrowth \u2013 all of them buried in three to four foot high drifts. He was alone. All around him was silence and snow. Winter was a whole different kind of desert. A Grand Christmas \u2013 by McFair_58\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n Summary: Preparations abound for Christmas on the Ponderosa A Little Bit of Heaven – a Tribute – by McFair<\/a><\/p>\n Summary: This was written for Michael Landon’s 83rd birthday.\u00a0 He may be gone but he will never be forgotten!\u00a0 Joe and Hoss have a discussion. A Man that Studieth Revenge \u2013 by McFair<\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 A WHB & WHN for ‘The Last Haircut’, ‘Marie, My Love’, and ‘The Hayburner’ with a nod to ‘The Truckee Strip’ and ‘The Crucible’. Everyone in Virginia City knew Duke Miller had gotten away with murder, but there were few who knew he had done it before. At the heart of his hate lay one man and but a single goal: the complete and total destruction of Joe Cartwright. A Rose by Any Other Name – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0The ending of the pilot has always bothered me. Would Alphaeus Troy and the mine owners really\u00a0have given up that easily?\u00a0 What if the fight in China town had ended differently and Little Joe never made that dinner date with Lotta Crabtree…? A Switch in His Shoe – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 Written in honor of Dan Blocker’s birthday. The Hoffmeisters have come to the Ponderosa for their annual December visit bringing tales of Germany’s Wienachsten and its mystical creatures. As strange things begin to happen, young Hoss Cartwright becomes convinced that St. Nick’s man-servant, a feller he calls ‘K-necked Rupert’, has come to bring judgement on them all. A Tale Told by an Idiot – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 It is 1875. Two years later, Joe Cartwright\u2019s inability to cope with his wife\u2019s death is ruining his life. His Pa thinks getting away might be the answer. Little does Ben know that his decision will put Joe\u2019s life in danger, as well as the lives of the Ingalls\u2019 family who take a wounded Joe in and bring the wrath of a man who hates him down on their heads. A Warrior\u2019s Tears<\/a> \u2013 by McFair_58<\/p>\n Summary: A youthful dream becomes an adult nightmare for Hop Sing. Does he have what it takes to save his beloved Cartwrights? All the Butterflies Have Broken Wings – by McFair\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 A WHN for both the episode ‘A Time to Step Down’ and ‘Lonely House’. Five years have passed and Trock has been released from prison and returned to marry Lee Bolden. Little does the former bank robber know, but his past is about to catch up to him – and Joe Cartwright – in the form of a man whose dark secret only Dan Tollivar knows. A note for the Adam-gals, your feller is home for a visit. An Unspeakable Dawn – by\u00a0 McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 It has been five years since Joe Cartwright took Bella Carnaby as his wife and nearly twenty since he first met Rosey O’Rourke \u2013 a woman he knows his father loves, but one that life and time has conspired to keep away from the Ponderosa. A new threat and an old enemy appear to threaten the Cartwrights \u2013 will the end of their collective tale be joy, or tragedy? Baubles \u2013 by McFair_58\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n Summary: A barren tree and a string of glass beads bring two lonely men together on Christmas Eve. Be a Candle – by mcfair_58<\/a><\/p>\n Summary: Every\u00a0year, on the night before Christmas Eve, Hop Sing would make candles.\u00a0 Now, candles are kind of old fashioned, so I asked him why.\u00a0 This is the tale he told me, a tale of wonder and grace. Beauty of Darkness \u00a0(The) – by mcfair_58<\/a><\/p>\n A sequel to The Friendship, The Guilty, The Tall Stranger, The Crucible, and The Storm.\u00a0 Jimmy Partridge. Margie Owens. Peter Kane. Laura White. Things were far from routine on the Ponderosa. His life \u2013 his family \u2013 was a shambles. That indefinable \u2018thing\u2019 that held them together, what made them \u2018the\u2019 Cartwrights, was lost.\u00a0 Ben Cartwright despaired of ever getting it back. Belly of the Whale – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 14 year old Joe Cartwright was just trying to do something nice for a friend. Older brother Adam didn\u2019t see it that way. An argument between brothers sets off a series of events that turns into an unstoppable torrent of trouble, which leaves one of Ben Cartwright\u2019s sons with a terrible task to perform and another near death, trapped in the Belly of the Whale. Best Proof of Love (The) – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary: This piece is a WHN and WHB for season thirteen’s ‘Bushwhacked!’.\u00a0 This is my idea of how and why Joe might have thought his big brother was trying to kill him. Big Things \u2013 by McFair_58\u00a0\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n Dedicated to Debbie B. or Debbie Beshears (because she asked for it!) Eleven-year-old Little Joe Cartwright is on a mission.\u00a0 His friend, Sarah Winnemucca, needs his help and so, he sets out to find her in the woods.\u00a0 Of course, since this\u00a0is\u00a0Little Joe Cartwright, he’s bound to find something else as well – BIG trouble! Biggest Miracle of All (The) – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0\u00a0Just before Christmas Ben Cartwright makes a choice he will soon regret. He allows his twelve-year-old son, Joseph, to help the young woman who is filling in for Abigail Jones over the holidays find her way home. Little does Ben know that the blue sky of morning will soon become the deep gray of an approaching snow storm, and that his son and his teacher will need a miracle to survive. Bittersweet – by McFair\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n Summary: It is October, a time of looking back and giving thanks for a harvest of blessings. \u00a0For Joe Cartwright, this is impossible.\u00a0 The autumn marks\u00a0one year since he lost his beloved brother, Hoss. Needing to escape, Joe heads out to visit to Carrie Pickett.\u00a0 He never makes it.\u00a0 Instead, Joe finds himself lost and alone and badly injured. Half-dead, he works his way toward a plume of smoke rising in the distance.\u00a0 Little does Joe suspect that what he finds at the end of his journey will change his life forever. Blindsided – by McFair<\/a><\/p>\n Summary: Two years after he was bushwhacked, Joe Cartwright returns to Lone Pines and the Griswolds\u2019 spread. Though he intends to stay for one night, circumstances beyond his control compel him to change his plans. Something is terribly wrong, and he is bound and determined to set it right \u2013 even if it it costs him his life. Slightly AU in that the eps \u2018Forever\u2019 never happened. Blood and Bread #1 – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 Twelve-year-old Little Joe is late for supper. Hop Sing is hopping mad and Adam is none too pleased. When he heads for the stable to look for his brother, Adam expects an argument \u2013 what he gets is something else entirely. Something that begins in terror and rolls on toward tragedy. Will the Cartwrights ever be the same? Blood and Bread #2 – Keep Your Eyes on the Sun – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 Nearly a year after Little Joe was kidnapped by Wade Bosh a new threat arises born of an old pain. Can the Cartwrights survive being drawn into the tangled web woven by the choices Rosey O’Rourke made long ago? Blood and Bread #3 – Thirty-Six Ways to Get Out of Trouble – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 Continuing the story of Ben and Rosey O’ Rourke. Blows of Sound (The) – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n A WHN and Missing Scene story for ‘The Stillness Within’.\u00a0 While rewatching the episode I realized that, after the first commercial break, while Doc Martin was examining him, Joe says it’s been a month since he was blinded.\u00a0 Say WHAT??\u00a0 This tale explores what happened between the explosion and Paul’s examination of Joe, as well as what happened during that missing month and ends after Miss Dobbs’ departure. Bootless Cries – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 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. Bring Marie – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 A WHB or prequel to ‘Between Heaven and Earth.’ Have you ever wondered what happened when Little Joe climbed Eagle’s Nest as a five year old boy that could have been so traumatic it resulted, not just in a fear of falling, but in total amnesia that lasted for nearly 20 years? This is my take on what happened when Ben Cartwright was told to ‘Bring Marie’. Broken Cord<\/a> (The) \u2013 by McFair_58<\/p>\n Summary: A tie that binds is broken. Can Hop Sing make it \u2013 and the Cartwrights \u2013 whole again? Cavalry is Coming (The) – by McFair<\/a><\/p>\n Summary: A prequel to ‘A Rose for Lotta’. Ben Cartwright’s meeting with Alpheus Troy and the other mine owners did not go well. They want his timber and he won’t give it to them. The rancher knows Troy will do whatever it takes to keep his mine running, and when he arrives home to find out sixteen-year-old Little Joe is missing, he fears the worst. Christmas has Come \u2013 McFair_58\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 No one signed up for the fourth, so this day was opened to all members in the Forums to try their hand at writing poetry for the season. Circumstances of His Return (The) – by McFair<\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 A violent storm, a frightened mare, and the matter of his homecoming.\u00a0 My entry for the 2021 \u2018Man in Black\u2019 challenge. Clara \u2013 by McFair_58\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 A Christmas peek at Ben and Adam on the trail West. Curse of Bodie (The) – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0In 2269 an archaeologist digging in the ruins of the Bodie mine on Earth discovers skeletal remains dating to 1876. On the wrist of the dead man, who is wearing a green jacket, is an alien device. Its discovery sends the crew of the Enterprise into the past to Ben Cartwright\u2019s Ponderosa where the eddies of time and an alien menace are moving together to doom Ben\u2019s youngest son. Darker Angels of Our Nature (The) – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary: An angel. A messenger. Sent to bring news, sometimes good, often bad. Which was this, the one who gazed at me? Had she come to reward or punish me? To return me to my family or cut me down as I deserved? Forgive me, Adam, Pa. Mama, forgive your little Joseph. If only, I had known\u2026. Devil’s in the Details (The) – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 Ten year old Joseph Cartwright has been assigned a project by Miss Jones to write a paper about his mother. The trouble is, he’s not quite sure what he knows so he asks for her help. Difficult Roads – by McFair<\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 Ben Cartwright’s young sons are under threat.\u00a0 Could a secret long buried be the reason?\u00a0 And if so, just whose<\/em> secret is it? Forget Me Not – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright sentimental?\u00a0 A certain day and a certain blue velvet chair hold bittersweet memories. Fragrance of Violets (The) \u2013 by McFair_58\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n Summary: A shadowed room, thick with the scent of incense, reverberates with the whispers of the Ancestors. What do they seek, and can anyone defy their mystic call? For He Xing\u2014known to the white man as Hop Sing\u2014questions crowd the silence, yet only one answer emerges, undeniable and unyielding.\u00a0\u00a0Xu\u00e8 h\u01cei xu\u00e8 ch\u00f3u.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Blood revenge. Frail Branch (The) – by McFair_58<\/a><\/p>\n Summary: A tale for our times.\u00a0 17 year old Adam Cartwright is sure he’s up to taking care of his two younger brothers while his Pa and Marie head into town.\u00a0 And he would have been, had an unseen and deadly enemy not come to call. Glass Bird (The)<\/a> \u2013 by McFair_58<\/p>\n Summary: Christmas brings an unexpected guest to the Ponderosa and forces Joe Cartwright to confront his past, present and future in the form of a tiny glass bird. Going Home – by McFair_58<\/a><\/p>\n Summary: It is 1847 and such a winter had never been seen!\u00a0 Snowstorms and squalls.\u00a0 Sleet and ice.\u00a0 Winds so ferocious they built drifts high as a man.\u00a0 Driven by a need to escape the memory of his late wife, Ben Cartwright ventures out into a frozen landscape and becomes lost.\u00a0 As he seeks a way to survive, he has no way of knowing that another member of the family has become lost as well.\u00a0 Will the killer snow claim two Cartwright lives? Good Farmers \u2013 by mcfair_58\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n Summary: Adam intended to introduce his youngest brother to good literature, but you know Little Joe \u2013 instead of culture, he found trouble! Gully Washer – by McFair <\/a><\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 With a storm approaching, Little Joe heads out to find the prize foal his father is so fond of and is caught in a flash flood. While his brothers deal with their own fears, Ben Cartwright fights a battle to overcome despair and grief and face the very real fear that Joe may never be found. Heart of Stone – by McFair<\/a><\/p>\n Summary: A new school teacher comes to town and Adam and Hoss fear their little brother is growing too attached to her. Little do they know that the real danger is to their father. Will Ben’s heart break if he dares to love again, and what secrets does this mysterious woman hold?
\nRating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 \u00a02,710 words
\nWritten for the 2024 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar<\/p>\n
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\nRated: PG-13 for mild language and Western violence and brutality
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\nRating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 (2,630 words)<\/p>\n
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\nWord count: 1216\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Rated: G<\/p>\n
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\nRated PG-13 for Western brutality and lots of angst and SJS
\nWord count: 72,114<\/p>\n
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\nRated: PG-13 Word Count: 21,226<\/p>\n
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\nRating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 14,550 words<\/p>\n
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\nRating: PG-13 for violence, brutality and adult situations\u00a0 54,680 words<\/p>\n
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\nWord count: 61,659\u00a0 Rated: PG-13 for adult situations and innuendo, torture, and typical Western violence and brutality<\/p>\n
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\n81,360 words \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Rated PG-13 for western violence and brutality and mild adult language<\/p>\n
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\nRated G Word count: 4121<\/p>\n
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\nWritten for day 9 of the 2021 Advent Calendar.
\nRating: G Word Count: 3915<\/p>\n
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\nRated: PG-13 for brutality and Western style violence
\nWord count: 55,298<\/p>\n
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\nRating:\u00a0 PG-13 for mild language and implied adult situations, which do not occur.\u00a0\u00a0 WC 76.500<\/p>\n
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\nRated PG-13 for angst, some violence, and vile characters Word count: 13,660<\/p>\n
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\nRated: PG Word count: 32,644<\/p>\n
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\nRated:\u00a0 PG-13\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Word count: 66, 499<\/p>\n
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\nRating: PG-13 for typical standard episodic TV Western violence and brutality.\u00a0 92,480 words<\/p>\n
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\nRating:\u00a0 T\u00a0 69,970 words<\/p>\n
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\nRating:\u00a0\u00a0 PG-13\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 WC:\u00a0\u00a0 83,100<\/p>\n
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\nWord count: 18,320 Rated: PG<\/p>\n
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\nRating: PG-13\u00a0 58,335 words<\/p>\n
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\nRated PG-13 Word Count:\u00a0 31,167<\/p>\n
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\nRating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 \u00a0Words 3,420
\nWritten for the 2022 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar<\/p>\n
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\nWord Count: 19871 Rated PG-13 for typical Western violence<\/p>\n
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\nRating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 350 words
\nWritten for the 2024 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar<\/p>\n
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\nRated: PG\u00a0 \u00a0Word count: 10,999<\/p>\n
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\nRating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 (4,040 words)<\/p>\n
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\nRated: PG-13 for western violence and adult situations\u00a0\u00a0 77,500 words<\/p>\n
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\nRated PG-13 for brutality and violence, minor torture, and some uncomfortable language.\u00a0 Story contains words in use by some people in the South during the 1860s such as ‘dusky’, ‘bright’, and so on when referring to African Americans.
\nWord count: 71,074<\/p>\n
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\nRated G \u00a0 2,100 words<\/p>\n
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\nRated PG-13 for racial slurs and western style brutality and violence<\/p>\n
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\nWord Count: 3019\u00a0\u00a0 Rated: G<\/p>\n
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\nRating: T+
\nWord Count: 55,685<\/p>\n
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\nRated PG-13 Word count: 20,692<\/p>\n
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\nRating G Words (4750)
\nWritten for the 2022 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar<\/p>\n
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\nRated PG
\nWord count 20,990<\/p>\n
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\nRating:\u00a0 G\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Words:\u00a0 4,500
\nWritten for the Bonanza Brand 2023 Advent Calendar<\/p>\n
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\nRated: PG-13 \u00a0Word count: 38,190<\/p>\n
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\nWord count: 50,584 Rated: PG-13<\/p>\n
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