Ask Elnora--About A Dark and Snowy Night--Lenora Worth

Hello, my lovely dashing, flashing fiction readers. Elnora loves a good Christmas story. Something short and sweet and with a happy ending. So when I asked the Craftie Ladies if they'd like to do a little Flash Fiction for the holidays, several hands raised. So from now until the new year, we have a little extra treat for you. We're going to write little stories right here on the blog. I know, exciting, right?

But there's more. We are going to be take names and pick winners.

Every time you post and comment on a story, we will record your name and come January 1st, we will take all the names of the bloggers who've posted on all of our stories and draw a winner to receive books, lots of books.

Yes, it's our December Book Blast Flash Fiction Merry Christmas fun time! And I get to kick things off--So here we go.

It was a dark and snowy night. Along the street, white lights sparkled on the trees and the wind howled and huffed against the buildings and caused the lights to twinkle like stars.

Noel Tinsel tugged her red coat close, hoping to block the icy bite of the frosty air. She was late for Christmas Eve dinner at her grandfather's house. As if to remind her that she hadn't eaten since that morning, her tummy growled along with the hissing wind. Yes, she was hungry but she prayed Grandfather hadn't invited another "suitor" to surprise her.

She held a hand over her eyes to keep the drifting snow away from her frozen face, her thoughts on the judge's misguided attempts to find her a "decent fellow." Just as she rounded the last corner and hurried toward the huge white Victorian house that sat all decked out in red and green like a fancy lady, she heard what sounded like horses trotting behind her.

Noel glanced back and blinked. A sleigh, here in downtown Flurryville?

When the beautiful red sleigh pulled by two white horses slid up beside her, Noel had to stop and blink again.

The man driving the shiny sleigh smiled down at her. "I'm lost and I was wondering if you could help me. I'm looking for the Tinsel home. Judge Tinsel?"

Noel smiled up at the dashing stranger. He looked too modern to be driving a sleigh. Had grandfather invited him? "Who are you, anyway? Santa Claus?"

The man smiled and Noel felt a little flutter like a dancing snowflake inside her heart.

"No, just a friend of the judge. He invited me to meet his granddaughter." He shrugged. "I don't usually go on blind dates, but ... my uncle offered me this old sleigh and well, I thought wouldn't it be nice to go on a sleigh ride tonight?"

Noel giggled. "Are you for real? I mean, you sound like a Christmas song." And he looked straight out of a Christmas ad.

The man hopped down from the sleigh and shook her hand. "I'm Jackson Frost."

"Right," Noel replied. "And I'm the Easter Bunny."

Jackson looked amused. "Do you know where the judge lives?"

Noel nodded and accepted her fate. This one might just be a keeper. "Right there." She pointed to the big, welcoming house at the end of the street. "I'm his granddaughter, Noel."

Jackson's laughter startled the horses. "Noel. I've heard a lot about you."

"I'm sure you have," Noel replied. "Hey, if we feed you, do I get to ride in that sleigh?"

Jackson lifted a gloved hand. "In this winter wonderland? I think tonight is a perfect night. Hop in and I'll take you home, Noel."

It wasn't all that far to Grandfather's house, Noel thought. But ... she'd always loved the sound of sleigh bells. And the name Noel Tinsel Frost had such a nice ring to it. "Thank you, Grandfather," she whispered into the whistling wind. Then she snuggled under the furry white blanket Jackson tucked around her and glided into the future.

Ask Elnora--About Storms--Again??? Lenora Worth

This has been a strange week for Elnora. Full of storms and those things that make you want to stay in bed under the covers. I can't even muster up anything sassy to say, except "Hold on to your pearls, girls." It started with worrying about our townhouse in Florida. Isaac was making a path right toward the Panhandle. A few days later, Isaac changed his mind and moved a little more Northwest, right toward the state of Louisiana. Which is where Elnora lives, too! Now instead of worrying about my favorite dishes down in Florida, I had to worry about making sure I had my flash drive with me at all times in Louisiana. (As every writer knows, that flash drive goes with us, no matter wind, rain, sleet or snow!)We have a pantry underneath the stairs or as I call it, The Harry Potter room. I used to grab children and my flash drive and the cat and pull all into that pantry each time a tornado threat hovered over us. But all this talk about storms, and all the graphics and live shots I saw on The Weather Channel and CNN, got me to thinking about South Louisiana. I just happened to be reading over AAs for the second book in my LI Cajun series, Sweetheart Bride, which is due out next February. In that book, a hurricane comes through the little town of Fleur, located on a bayou near the Gulf of Mexico. As I proofed those pages, they read with an eerie similarity of what was going on in real life. I didn't plan it that way, but all the emotions I'd poured into that story were now swirling in my own head as I thought about yet another flood down South and many displaced people moving into shelters here where I live. I hated to see that happen again and on the seventh anniversary of Katrina, at that. But this is life. This is a world where anything can happen. When we decided to settle in Florida, some people fussed at us and reminded us about the storms. I told those people that I couldn't worry about things I couldn't predict or change. We live in a beautiful world, but there is no completely safe place to live. You just have to go out there and enjoy life and get through the bad stuff with the help and kindness of strangers, with the love of family and with God's grace covering you. Isaac was a massive storm, full of wind and rain and a dangerous majesty. I'm blessed that I'm safe and dry. What kind of weather do you have where you live? Let's discuss life in an unpredictable world. What do you do to calm youself in a storm?