Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Christmas Wishes: A short story for the silly season.


NEW RELEASE!
Title: Christmas Wishes – A short story for the silly season
Author: Aria Peyton
Cover Design: Midnight Rainbow Designs
Release Date: Dec 15th, 2015



BLURB
Kevin is one of Santa's elves, but he's not happy. Outcast from normal elven life due to a birth defect, Kevin spends most of his time alone. And Christmas is the worst. This Christmas though, all he wants is someone to spend it with. 

Squeak is a mouse shifter and constantly relied on by her family to fetch food. When she gets lost in a storm and takes refuge in an empty warehouse, the last thing she expects is the kindness of a sad elf.

They each wish for something more for their lives. Will they get their Christmas Wishes?


GOODREADS LINK

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27419454-christmas-wishes---a-short-story-for-the-silly-season


EXCERPT
© Aria Peyton 2015.

Kevin sat on the dusty benchtop of one of the toy factory tables, his elbows on his knees, his feet on a tall stool and his chin resting on his palms.
Santa’s Toyshop was dark except for the remnants of a few candles burning. The meagre light caught on the tinsel and baubles hanging high above him, creating an occasional green and red flash in the otherwise dim space.
Christmas was supposed to be a time of giving and family and happiness. All Kevin could think of was how damn lonely it was. He didn’t have any family or any friends, and all the other elves had their own families. Being one of Santa’s Elves wasn’t all sunshine and fucking lollipops like people believed. He snorted. When they believed. Being one of Santa’s Elves with a birth defect was even harder. His was a life of being outcast, of being shunned, and of being made to work in the darkest corner of the workshop.
He was a strange anomaly—an elf born with wings and dumped on the steps of the clock tower in the centre of the compound. Yes, Santa had a compound, often known as a village. Off in the distance, said clock tolled, marking midnight and the start of Christmas day. I wish I wasn’t so alone.
Kevin didn’t realise he was crying until a tear rolled off his cheek and landed on the dirty stool his feet rested on. He stared at the now clean spot, perfectly circular with decorative spikes—the beauty of a droplet landing. He watched as one drop became two, which then became eight. Soon, the place between his curly-toed shoes was clean and wet, emphasising the filth surrounding it. It may have been symbolic that rain was cleansing and tears were purging, but it didn’t actually make him feel any better.



PURCHASE LINKS
Purchase links to come when live (no preorder available on freebies!)


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AUTHOR LINKS
Twitter:       @ariapeyton
Website:      www.ariapeytonauthor.weebly.com
Tsu:             www.tsu.com/ariapeyton
Instagram:   @authorariapeyton




AUTHOR BIO

I've been a covert operative in a foreign country, jumped out of helicopters for fun, and bungee jumped over the side of a Styrofoam factory into a vat of beans made for beanbags. I can also leap Lego towers in a single bound, pack school lunches like a boss, and burn myself on any hot surface. My multiskilling is out of this world and I successfully masquerade as an average parent 24/7. Do not be fooled by my mediocrity. To do so is at your own peril. Also, don’t believe everything you read!


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