Group Posts – The Writers in Residence

Last ‘Group Post’ in 2025 – a Holiday Story

by WinR members

“In 150 words or fewer, use (most of) these holiday words in a story: snowflake, candle, cookie, bell, star, and mitten. Your story can be funny, magical, reminiscent, or adventurous—it’s up to you!”

Jill Amadio

“Despite the snowflakes landing on her nose and eyes (the only parts of her uncovered) as she trudged along the lane in Boston, she kept hoping for a glimpse of the stars. It was her sole method of navigation, and she longed to see Venus, her home planet.

Suddenly, she spotted a small dark object a few feet ahead. Curious, she picked it up, noting five leather tubes, four next to each other, and another, shorter tube separated from the others (a mitten!). The object appeared to be similar to her own three tubes for each hand. She threw it back onto the snow as she heard a deep booming sound coming from the pointed structure up ahead (a bell tower!).

She stopped to listen as the booms changed tone quickly, and she realized this was what mortals called music. She entered and saw a myriad of little burning candles on a stand. Was this a code?

She ran outside, fumbled in her pocket to retrieve her “nallimachine,” and pressed the shifter button. Instantly, she shot up into the sky, through the snow clouds, and into a triangular craft that had its door already open.

“SoiurmmegivomortChristmasalsii,” she gasped. The pilot nodded and pushed a series of knobs, sending the craft into space.

2. Maggie King

Every year, my daughter Molly and I watch Christmas movies. When The Bells of St. Mary’s ended, I started Frosty the Snowman and went to the kitchen to heat hot chocolate for the two of us. Outdoors, fat snowflakes fluttered in the air, covering the ground in a thick, white blanket. I picked up one of Molly’s mittens from the floor.

“Mom,” Molly cried from the family room. “The star is crooked!”

I handed Molly a mug of fragrant hot chocolate and straightened the star on top of the tree. The tinsel on the branches reflected the lights in jewel colors of red, green, and blue.

“Mom, can we leave Christmas cookies on the mantle for Santa?”

“Of course, darling. And you get to pick the cookies Santa will like.”

Molly squealed in delight. “I love Christmas, Mommy.”

“So do I, darling. So do I.”

3. Jackie Houchin

Mittens, my black-and-white tuxedo kitten, jumped from my bed to the bookcase by my window and wiggled her head through the slit in the curtains. I heard her “chat-chat-chatter” at something outside, but I was too cozy in my bed to get up and see.

She started “running” her front paws on the cold glass, making a squeaking sound, and jingling the bell on her collar. “Meow,” she said, pushing through the curtain to stand on the windowsill, her tail twitching.

I popped the rest of my gingerbread cookie into my mouth and climbed out of bed. “Brrrrr.” I stuck my head between the curtains to see what Mittens saw. She was purring as loudly as an electric pencil sharpener now!

“Awwww,” I purred too. In the neighbor’s upstairs window across from mine was my friend’s new white Persian kitten. She had a big red Christmas ribbon around her neck.

“Hi, Star!” I said and waved Mittens’ paw at her. She squeezed her golden eyes shut briefly and smiled.

4. G. B. Pool

A bell went off in young Bobby Gentry’s head last year when he tried catching a glimpse of Santa and his reindeer, which he did every Christmas Eve. He saw something flash across the night sky, followed by a shower of snowflakes that looked like glittering stars.

He planned all year for this next Christmas Eve. He picked out the prettiest cookie his aunt had made for the holiday party earlier that evening and stuffed it in his pocket. It was broken by the time he got home, but it would have to do.

He left a note, the cookie, some mittens for Santa to keep his hands warm, and a handmade card. In the note, Bobby said he didn’t want anything for himself, but would Santa deliver this card on his journey.

The card featured a lopsided cake and three candles. Written inside were these words: Happy Birthday, Jesus.

5. Linda Johnston

Who Saved Who?

Wearing a jacket and boots, Ava approached her car outside her Indiana home as snowflakes fell. Christmastime was nearing. Today was growing late, and a star glowed in the darkening sky.

She and her husband, Bret, had no kids yet, and Ava was lonesome since Bret had suddenly left town for business. Well, she knew where to go. She and Bret had already made the decision. Now, it was time.

Driving carefully, Ava soon reached the pet shelter where a candle burned in the window. Exiting her car, she pulled on mittens for the short walk inside.

And yes! She was met at the entrance by volunteer Sue, with a special dog leashed beside her: an adorable, abandoned Papillon mix.

“Hi, Lucy!” Ava knelt to offer a small dog cookie. As Lucy ate it, Ava stood and looked at Sue. “Is she–?”

“She’s yours after we finalize paperwork.”

Ava smiled and picked Lucy up. Christmas in their household would be wonderful.

6. Renee LeVerrier (guest)

A Haiku

Mom’s cookie tins hold

Stars and snowflakes, mittens, bells

Reach in for childhood

7. Barb Bland (guest)

All the other women in my family were up to their eyebrows cooking, shopping, wrapping, and decorating for Christmas, so I volunteered to look after my three-year-old niece, Lizzie, who was sick in bed. In her darkened bedroom, I told her about The Star and the heavenly angels appearing to the shepherds watching their flocks by night.

“The German Shepherds?” she interrupted.

I realized that her next-door neighbor had two dogs of that breed and that Lizzie was too young to have yet learned about nationalities, so I simply laughed and said, “Yes. The German Shepherds.”

Hope you all enjoyed the stories. Got any of your own to share??

GROUP QUESTION #3 – Settings & Research, Where & How Much?

By WinR members & guests

Where & when do you set your stories?
How much research do you do on that time & place?

MIKO JOHNSTON: I’ve done extensive research for my historical fiction series, set primarily in and around Prague during the first half of the 20th Century, to give it authenticity. That includes using real places, people, events – even moon cycles accurate to the day – alongside my fictional characters. Some information has been unobtainable (at least in English), so when I can’t make it accurate, I aim for plausible.

G. B. POOL (Gayle): The setting I use in my novels or short stories depends on what the story is. So many of my private detective stories are set in Los Angeles because that city is known for its “high crimes and misdemeanors,” as we saw in these old black and white detective movies from the 40s and the great TV detective series from the 60s and 70s. I watched them all. I like having my contemporary private detectives walk that same turf. My spy novels are set in various countries during WWII, the Cold War, and into the later part of the last century. That might sound like a long time ago, but I lived through part of that time, so I know the later era.

As for how I write about those other times before I came on the scene, I watch a lot of old B&W movies and see what places looked like back when they filmed them and how they dressed. It’s a great way to “see” history when you didn’t live through it.

JACKIE HOUCHIN: My dozen stories for 4th to 6th grade kids are set in present-day Malawi, Africa. However, many of the people in the surrounding areas still live in very primitive circumstances. My goal in these stories was to show upper elementary kids in America how a missionary family (with 6 children) would live among and interact with less than modern circumstances, and still have fun. (And get into trouble!)

Most of the research I did was hands-on. I visited Malawi five times, spending a couple of weeks each. I went into villages, watched kids doing chores, caring for babies and animals, and playing primitive games. I ate the food and learned a few words. I cringed at the sight of humongous insects and scary witch doctors. I lived with a missionary family each time, seeing how they “made do.” I had lots of fun, asked questions, and took copious notes! I also never caught malaria, meningitis, typhoid, or HIV. Whew!

DIANE ASCROFT (Guest): My Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries are set in Fenwater, a fictional small town in Canada, during the 1980s. The place is far from where I now live in Northern Ireland, but I grew up in Toronto, Canada, and often visited the real town of Fergus that Fenwater is inspired by. I loved the place and thought it would be a great setting for my stories.

For my series, I wanted to create a place that beckons readers to step in and stay a while, so a fictional version of Fergus was perfect. Setting my books in Canada during the 1980s is also a nostalgic journey back to my homeland. It was forty years ago when I was a young woman, so it’s a pleasure to spend time writing about the place.

JILL AMADIO: I set my contemporary mystery series on Balboa Island, Newport Beach, CA. My amateur sleuth is a British gossip columnist banished for a year at the request of the royal family, tired of her perceptive comments. She is from the fishing village of St. Ives, Cornwall, my own hometown, which allows me to recall its pub built in 1310, my school, the beaches, my father’s pharmacy, my mother’s dance academy, and the pantomimes she produced every Christmas.

My research to jog my memory is a delight as I have several travel books on the British Isles, reminding me, too, of London, where I was a newspaper reporter. I also keep up with the news in Cornwall.

ROSEMARY LORD: I have been writing mostly about Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s. I’ve always been fascinated with this era, and learned a lot more when researching my non-fiction books, Hollywood Then and Now and Los Angeles Then and Now.

I do a lot of research, which I find fascinating, and sometimes get far too carried away with that! I love to show how either simple or how difficult life was one hundred years ago, compared with today’s world.

I must confess that writing mysteries set today, when crimes may be solved using cell phones and today’s technology rather than old-fashioned “gum-shoe” sleuthing, leaves me cold!

MAGGIE KING: My stories are set in Virginia in the present day. Most take place in Richmond, the state capital. It’s a city rich in history and culture, and it boasts two major universities. Many of the residents, myself included, moved here from other parts of the country and the world.

Charlottesville and Fredericksburg are also Virginia cities featured in my work. A few months ago, I posted here about a research trip I took to Charlottesville. It’s important to get the details right!

To date, I’ve been content to set my stories in contemporary times. But contemporary times are distressing, so I’m tempted to try my hand at something historical that will involve significant research.

LINDA JOHNSTON: These days, I set all my stories in the present, although I used to also write time travel romances. But these days. my romances, romantic suspense, and mystery stories are set today, since I now enjoy the present more than the past.

I’m currently writing mostly romantic suspense stories, in my own successive miniseries for Harlequin Romantic Suspense. They’re all set primarily in fictional towns, so my characters can get into different kinds of trouble with the law and get out of it without my stepping on real law enforcement toes. My recent mysteries, though, were set in real areas in Alaska, for fun. And of course, I’d visited Alaska.

Thank you, ladies!