Christmas Treasury

By Megan Easley-Walsh

Turn the pages to immerse yourself in the magic and wonder of Christmas through a collection of short stories and poems to warm your heart and make you laugh.

Step back in time to meet an Edwardian lighthouse keeper on Christmas Eve or children in the depression. Learn how the animals spend Christmas, by meeting the sheep of the first Christmas or the donkey of the forest. Join the adventure of the snowman in search of a hat. Gather around the fire, real or imagined, to share this collection with the whole family this Christmas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: New Historical Fiction
• Release date: Feb 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393328698

Megan Easley-Walsh

Megan Easley-Walsh, PhD History, is an author of historical fiction, a researcher, and a writing consultant and editor at Extra Ink Edits. She is an award-winning writer and has taught college writing in the UNESCO literature city of Dublin, Ireland. She is a dual American and Irish citizen and lives in Ireland with her Irish husband. Megan is a Professional Member of the Irish Writers' Centre, a Full Member of the Irish Writers' Union, a member of the Historical Novel Society, a Full Member of ACES: The Society for Editing, a member of the Irish Association of Professional Historians, a member of the American Historical Association, a member of the Irish Association of Art Historians, and a member of The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. Additionally, she was shortlisted for the 2021 Hammond House International Literary Prize in Poetry and the 2023 Hammond House Origins Poetry Contest.

Book preview

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events, except in the case of historical fact, are entirely coincidental.

CHRISTMAS TREASURY

Copyright © 2016 Megan Easley-Walsh.

SECOND EDITION

(First Edition Published 2016; This Edition Published 2021)

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

ISBN:9781393328698

Written by Megan Easley-Walsh.

A Christmas Wish for You

Dear Reader,

Thank you for choosing to pause with me, to be wrapped up in the magic of the season, to step away from the hustle and bustle, to take the time to hear the bleating of the sheep at the manger, to help a snowman search for a hat, to travel into the past to meet a lighthouse keeper, and to marvel at the light of the Christmas star. It is my hope, that in these pages your heart will be joyous and you will be emerged in the festivity of the season. This collection of short stories and poems is intended for the whole family. Whether you’re reading it from a cold and wintery room, wrapped up in layers of blankets with steaming cups of tea, or if you find yourself warmer, perhaps in the desert or the tropics, I hope these pages leave you feeling just a little more Christmassy as you read them. Christmas is never a single day. At its best, it lives in every day. May the light of the candles and tree, the star and the smiles of those whom you love, continue long into the new year.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

MEGAN

Christmas Arrives

Christmas arrives full of hope, full of cheer

Out of the gloom and dark nights of the year

Christmas arrives with a promise of gold

Carried through the ages from long ago

Whisper of wings caught on the wind

Pause to cherish the love of family and friend

Christmas descends with light from above

Wrapped up in wonder, swaddled in love

May the glow of the candle stand as witness

To joy and peace in the festiveness

An Edwardian Christmas

The wind howled viciously , knocking the shutters against the windowpanes. From his chair beside the fire, the lighthouse keeper looked up. Muttering something altogether indistinguishable under his breath, he moved from the chair beside the cozy fireplace to heap on the woolen layers. He was not as young as he once had been and the cold nestled itself into his bones when he caught a chill. Prepared to face the weather, he opened the door. The greedy wind wrestled with him to gain control of the door. While the wind had the advantage of strength, he had the dexterity of fingers and won the battle.

He looked up after