CHRISTMAS STORIES FROM A PARALLEL UNIVERSE

Christmas is supposed to be a time of peace, goodwill, family, and questionable decisions involving eggnog.Christmas Stories from a Parallel Universe takes the familiar traditions of the holiday season and drags them somewhere considerably stranger. Inside you'll find twisted fairy tales, mangled Christmas classics, drunken cobblers, incompetent wise men, Martians with a Santa problem, spoiled aristocrats, unfortunate elves, questionable miracles, and assorted people who probably shouldn't be allowed anywhere near Christmas.Some of these stories began with the bones of old favorites-from Dickens and the Brothers Grimm to O. Henry, Hans Christian Andersen, and other writers whose lawyers are now safely beyond reach. Others wandered in entirely on their own.The result is a collection of dark comedy, absurdity, adult themes and language, science fiction, horror, satire, bad behavior, and occasional genuine Christmas spirit-although the Christmas spirit may have been drinking.These are Christmas stories for readers who love the holidays but suspect they've become a little too wholesome.So pour yourself something festive, lock the doors, ignore whatever is scratching inside the chimney, and enjoy a Christmas from somewhere just slightly sideways of reality.Merry Christmas.You have been warned.