Christmas In A Flash

By Linda L Rigsbee

This collection of flash fiction (short, short) stories leads an intriguing path to Christmas, using multiple genres. “Christmas In A Flash,” is a collection of flash fiction Christmas stories that capture the spirit of Christmas in the lives of everyday people. Rather than depicting what constitutes the Christmas spirit, these stories explore what it is to each character. Each story ranges from 650 to 800 words – which is much shorter than a short story.

The Harvest: Christmas Eve provides a special lessen when a family is stranded during a snow storm.
Lamplight: When the electricity goes out, Zelda lights the lamp and illuminates the error of her ways.
Christmas Is For The Kids: Cindy and Eric are struggling through their first Christmas without children in the house. Eric finds a solution that helps not only them, but others as well.
The Visitor: Bright lights, expensive gifts and a fancy meal isn’t what Christmas is about. Something else is much more important.
Poinsettia: When a young girl befriends an “old” lady, she finds more than a career choice. She learns a valuable Christmas lesson.
Christmas @ Heart: An old woman is all alone at Christmas except for her computer; but people don’t send emails on Christmas – do they?
Christmas On The Farm: For the farmer, Christmas is like any other day. Animals must be fed and cared for. Still, Christmas surprises can occur anywhere.
Fanciful Christmas: On the planet of Nadeje, life is different from Earth, but they haven’t forgotten their Christmas roots.
In The Twilight: When a woman has a stroke, she is limited by her negative outlook. She has a Christmas revelation that changes her mind.
Tropical Christmas: A vacation to a tropical island for Christmas reminds a family what the holiday is about.
The Brightest Lights: A Christmas light contest gets out of hand and threatens a friendship.
Under The Mistletoe: A father is missing during WWI, but the family is determined to make Christmas happy.
A Warm Christmas: A family decides to have a family Christmas get-together where it is warm – in the Arizona desert. Everything doesn’t work out quite like they expected.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Linda Louise Rigsbee
• Release date: Dec 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463602386

Linda L Rigsbee

Linda L. Rigsbee writes romance as Linda Louise Rigsbee and Westerns as L. L. Rigsbee. All other books are Linda L. Rigsbee. Linda is a multi-genre writer who has been published since 1986. With over 30 books to her names, Linda isn't afraid to tackle something new. Recently she completed a biography of her father and is working on a memoir about her husband's paralysis in 2010. Linda also writes young adult and children's books.

Book preview

Christmas in a Flash

A Collection of Flash Fiction Christmas Stories

Linda L. Rigsbee

Copyright © 2016 Linda L Rigsbee

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Table of Contents:

Introduction

The Harvest

Lamplight

Christmas Is For The Kids

The Visitor

Poinsettia

Christmas @ Heart

Christmas on the Farm

Fanciful Christmas

In The Twilight

Tropical Christmas

The Brightest Lights

Under the Mistletoe

A Warm Christmas

About the Author

Other Books

INTRODUCTION

This book contains 13 flash fiction Christmas stories. Flash fiction, also known as short-short stories or sudden fiction can be anything from a brief sentence that tells a story up to 1000 words. It is a brief story, shorter than a short story. The stories in this book range from 500 to 800 words.

The Harvest

When I was a kid, before everyone had cell phones, we had a family Christmas adventure. Ma didn't like it when Pa took shortcuts - unless we didn't have to be any particular place at any specific time. Still, Pa was bored with the same old trip across the interstate, so when we left the house on Christmas Eve morning, he studied that old yellow map and decided on a shortcut. Ma didn't protest too much, as it was a sunny day and we had plenty of time. We weren't expected until Christmas Morning and no hotel reservations had been made yet. That was how it all started, but boy howdy, that wasn't how it ended.

We started out singing Christmas songs and having a good time, but when the rain moved in and we were on a dirt road that was a short cut on Pa's shortcut, Ma started to protest. Apparently, we were past due to meet that highway. Every few miles Pa would say that the highway had to be right around that next curve. Pa's foot got a little heavy on the gas with anticipation and we wound up stuck in the mud. Ma didn't say a thing. She just got out of the car and went around the back to push. She didn't have any luck, and Pa told all three of us kids to get out of the car. That's how we wound up witnessing Ma getting a mud shower and using some words we'd never heard. Pa decided to walk up to the next farm house and see if someone had a tractor to pull us out. When he returned he said he found no homes. Ma didn't ask, and Pa didn't say, but I