Final Hours

There is just about 24 hours left to make a donation to Toys for Tots before the cut off.

If you haven't yet had a chance to do so, get them in soon!

Thank you again to every author, beta, artist, and reader who doanted their time, talents, and money to this cause!

Donation Extension

I received a few emails last night and this morning asking if they could still donate and receive the compilation, as they didn't have the wherewithal before now. After speaking with the other two people who help with the compilation, the decision has been made to extend the donation period.We felt it was only fair if we were going to allow it for one or two people, tat we also make it a public option.

Receipts for donations to Toys for Tots will be accepted until 11:59EST on New Year's Eve.

All the same rules will apply - minimum of $5 donation, the receipt must be sent to the compilations' email, etc.

And To All A Good Night

That's it!

We're all done for this year's compilation.

All emails have been sent, Santa has made his rounds, and every donation has been counted.
We didn't quite make our first year's total, but I refuse to let that discourage me from continuing the compilation next year. I, of all people, know that times have not been easy for a lot of us, and I sincerely appreciate everyone who took the time to write, create banners, beta stories, and of course, donate to Toys for Tots.Never doubt for a minute that every single donation makes a difference in a life of a child.

Again, thank you all so very much. May you all be as blessed as you have blessed others, and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Never Too Late

Happy Christmas Eve! 

 

It's time to pull out that list and check it twice. 

Cards mailed? 

Shopping done?  

Gifts wrapped? 

Cookies baked? 

Stockings hung by the chimney with care? 

And last, but not least - have you made your donation to Toys for Tots? 

We're down to the final few hours for donations - just a little over twelve hours to go. The busy elves at Christmas Wishes have been furiously scrambling around,  compiling all the stories and banners,  making last minute tweaks, and adding pretty little details to this year's compilation. Don't miss out on your opportunity to receive a copy. 

Just a $5 donation to Toys for Tots will not only help bring a smile to a child's face on Christmas morning, but it will also ensure that the 2013 Christmas Wishes Compilation is delivered to your inbox on Christmas Day. 

We're at about half of last year's donations total, and not even halfway to this year's goal. At this point, I'd be thrilled if we could match the first year's total of $750. I know the economy has been extremely hard, and I so appreciate everyone who was able to find a few dollars to donate. 

I'll check back in later with another update, and see if we can't get a couple more story snippets posted, too. 

Until later - 

Story Teaser: The Art of Deception By Speklez

Oh, fun for me. I get to be shameless and do a little self pimping. Last year was my first year donating to this amazing charity and this was one of the three stories I donated. Our fab Busymommy made the banner and I took the idea and ran with it. After many, many, MANY talks of the direction of the story, the plot was born and here we are with the second chapter of what was my first dance with slash. The Art of Deception was started in the Christmas Wishes compilation and here is where it lives on. 

The Art of Deception

by Speklez

It’s an art form getting people to think that everything they think to be true is anything but. However, no matter how you hide, how you ignore the burn of the lies that ignite a fire in your soul, in the end they always come out to destroy you.

*****

H*A*R*R*Y POV

We stayed like that for as he drank his coffee and waited for the medication to kick in. When he was finished, he leaned forward and set his cup back on the table before standing up, lacing his fingers together, and raising his arms above his head, stretching out his back.

Dropping his arms to his side, he turned to me, leaning forward and bracing himself on the back of the couch. “I going to go get a shower.” Dipping his head to mine, he pushed my head back with his forehead so it was lying on the back of the couch before pressing his lips to mine.

It was soft at first, but picked up in intensity when I pushed back against him, parting my lips at his request. I would never get tired of the sounds that came from the man above me. The soft moan at the first touch of our tongues would drive me wild every time I heard it. I would also never get tired of the feel of his fingers sliding into my hair, pulling at it to tilt my head the way he wanted.

He could call my hair stupid all he wanted, he knew he loved it. He also knew I knew it, too.

If I thought things were going to stop there, I was pleasantly surprised when he shifted his stance, using the leverage to push me to my back, and moving with me so the kiss wasn’t broken. I arched into him when he rolled his hips, his hand on my hip pulling me rougher against him.

When the kiss did break, Draco was panting, his steel eyes dark and hard as slate boring into mine. His voice was deep and rough. “Bedroom.”

*****

Is it hot in here, or is it just me? *giggles*

Time is very quickly running out to get your donation in. For a measly 5 dollars, you not only get exclusive first rights to every story in our compilation, but that donation will ensure that a child gets a visit from Santa that otherwise wouldn't have a Christmas. We are accepting donation slips right up until midnight Christmas Eve. Simply email us a copy at christmaswishest4t@yahoo.com and Santa will make a stop by your email on his way around the world.

Story Teaser: Tip Up at Copper Thief by S.A. McAuley

S.A. McAuley is a fabulous author that I had the pleasure of becoming friends with earlier this year due to our shared love of a certain British boy band that shall remain nameless. I then shamelessly coerced her into donating to this year's compilation by playing on our friendship and her misplaced fondness for me. In trade, I did make her banner, so all's fair, right?

Tip Up at Copper Thief 

by S.A. McAuley 

Len stood and extended his hand. “Then come on in. I’ll make us a proper holiday meal of fried fish and whiskey. Then you can tell me why in hell you’re crazy enough to be snow camping on Christmas, Graham Occam.” 

 *****

Len wasn’t the only resident on the lake, but he was—or so he thought—the only one who had stayed in town for the holiday. But the extra tip-up was closer to the far shore—state owned land—than it was to his side—the colloquially nicknamed region of Copper Thief.

Len huffed out a breath as a high-pitched zing cut through the silence and the mysterious tip-up across the lake abruptly swished to point to the star-filled sky.

Then a broad figure stepped out of the line of trees on the far shore.

The figure crunched out onto the ice, boots skidding below him for purchase. It was only then, when he was really looking for it, that Len noticed the jumping glint of firelight from beyond the tree line.

The person was apparently camping on the state land. In snow. On Christmas.

*****

Interested in seeing more? Make your donations before midnight on Christmas Eve to receive the entire compilation, while making a child's Christmas Wish come true.  

Story Teaser: Home for Christmas by Jasper1863Hale

Home for Christmas was our first submission received this year, and  Jasper1863Hale has diligently supported our efforts every year that we've done the compilation - always ending her submission email with a note that she is on board for the next year, too. She probably keeps me more on task than anyone else - slipping me messages on Facebook to check on when sign-ups will start, teasing me with her story ideas, and just generally being awesome.

Home For Christmas
by Jasper1863Hale

Wrongly accused of shoplifting two days before Christmas, Carlisle takes punishing Jasper too far, resulting in the younger vampire running away. When the rest of the family get wind of what happened, they stand by the innocent party and turn their backs on Carlisle, who just wants his loved ones home for Christmas.

*****

Realizing that his plan was no good, Jasper turned and tossed his passport onto the bed. He could just wait for Esme and Alice to come home from their shopping trip, but the chances of Carlisle making it back from work long before their arrival was a hundred percent, and the soldier didn’t think much of that at all. Even though Jasper was no stranger to punishments, even the more humane ones that his father and coven leader had adopted in order to keep his family in line, the actions of Carlisle toward him today had wounded the younger vampire—both physically and emotionally. There was no way that Jasper intended to wait for the patriarch to come home.

With his mind made up for a second time, Jasper crossed the room, moving toward the window, and pulled the sliding glass open to allow the winter breeze to swirl around him. If he chose to leave the house through the front door, Carlisle would smell him as soon as he returned home and would be more likely to follow him. Instead, Jasper jumped out of the window and landed on his feet with a faint hiss when the jarring caused his hide to ache. When he attempted another step, he walked with a limp into the trees, heading north away from his family home in Forks. 

 *****

I was so excited for this story, as the author typically does not write canon pairings. Even as someone whose favorite stories are non-canon, I loved it, and I hope you will, too. Only a few days left to ensure Santa delivers the Christmas Wishes compilation to you during his rounds. Don't forget to donate in between wrapping your holiday baking, shopping, and wrapping.