The multi-award-winning “Sweet, Funny, and Strange” series of short-story anthologies brings you twenty-one new stories that span the holidays from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve.

In this new addition, the Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC, returns to its roots in and around Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (also known as “Christmas City, USA”), with its eighth anthology to celebrate the holidays.

I am honored to be a contributor with two stories, “Millie’s Christmas Wine” and “The Heart Needs a Home,” to the collection.

Emwryn Murphy’s sweet tale tells about a chosen family’s “Friendsgiving,” crashed by a blood relative who might or might not be happy with what he sees in “As Simple As That.” Jerome W. McFadden once again reveals his humorous side in his story about a would-be Santa who gets into trouble in “Flue Shot.” A. E. Decker shares an intricate Christmas fantasy about “The Goblin King’s Music Box.” Paula Gail Benson gives new meaning to a traditional symbol for the New Year in “Star of the Party.” Beyond these holidays, Debra H. Goldstein writes about Pearl Harbor Day, Diane Sismour about Krampusnacht, and Peter J Barbour about Hanukkah.

Other favorite BWG authors, including Jeff Baird, Ralph Hieb, Dianna Sinovic, Christopher D. Ochs, Kidd Wadsworth, and Carol L. Wright, also share their holiday musings.

In addition, this volume includes award-winning stories from the 2023 and 2024 Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Awards. Sally Milliken, the first-place winner in 2023, presents “The First Thanksgiving.” From 2024, we have our top three winners with first-place winner Rhonda Zangwill’s “Oh! Christmas Tree,” second-place winner Bettie Nebergall’s “Just Ask Santa,” and third-place winner Mary Adler’s “Narragansett Nellie and the Transferware Platter.”

Available October 15 for $17.95 from Amazon and at https://bwgwritersroundtable.com/. Stay tuned for the Amazon link.

We hope you enjoy these holiday gifts and that all our readers have the very happiest of holiday seasons.