Ann has been a writer since junior high school, but to pay the bills she’s waited tables, delivered newspapers, cleaned other people's houses, taught school, and even had a short stint as a secretary in a rock-n-roll radio station. She also worked as a 911 operator and a police dispatcher.
Ann’s stories began to win awards in her college days. Since then she’s published novels, novellas, and short stories. But even if no one ever bought another book, Ann wouldn’t stop writing. For her it’s the cathartic pause in a sometimes-crazy world. Most of the time, it even keeps her sane.
Ann’s stories began to win awards in her college days. Since then she’s published novels, novellas, and short stories. But even if no one ever bought another book, Ann wouldn’t stop writing. For her it’s the cathartic pause in a sometimes-crazy world. Most of the time, it even keeps her sane.
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Laynie & Trace. The first day of her new second-grade school year in tiny Beach Way, Oregon, Laynie and Trace became fast friends. Through the years, their friendship deepened into young love. They did everything together. Then tragedy took the life of his beloved sister, and because of the circumstances of her death, Trace felt compelled to move as far from Beach Way as possible. Laynie was left behind, heartbroken, and alone. But she was no quitter. She picked herself up and, with her family’s help, made a wonderful new life for herself. She heard he’d done the same down in Texas. But now he was back, standing in the doorway of her precious flower shop, taking up all the space the same way he’d always done. Her Trace, larger than life. What was he doing here, after all this time?
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Loneliness is a hard task master. Can she really write herself a better Christmas?
The pandemic knocked Carina flat. Now that she is home from a months-long hospital stay, she hopes to have a big family Christmas. But no one seems to care. Her husband is working out of town and her grown children are scattered all around the country. The only one who seems to understand is a young man in her grief group. He offers her his family cabin in the mountains of Colorado. There, she is guaranteed to have a white Christmas, something she hasn’t had in a long time. She writes about it in her journal, trying to convince herself she can do it alone. But it still doesn’t seem possible. She isn’t adventurous, she’s always been everyone else’s caregiver. Could she really do something so extravagant just for herself? Could she really write herself a Christmas? |
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Originally published in the 2022 A Christmas to Remember Anthology.
A COPPER PENNY CHRISTMAS by Ann Swann Some surprises are better than others. Randi thought she would get a big, fat ring for Christmas, instead she got a big, fat surprise. Who knew her beau of three years had decided to sample the wares of the cupcake cutie in the BabyCakes shop down the road? Now he wants to reconcile, but a new friend at the vet clinic where Randi works may have other plans for the holiday. Maybe it will be a Copper Penny Christmas instead. |
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Stalked, assaulted, and left for dead, Marlena thinks her life is over. Then she meets Destiny and they decide to take matters into their own hands. For these two, justice has a new meaning. It's called revenge
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Once again Stevie encounters a phantom in need of assistance. This time it happened in a prison graveyard in Amarillo, Texas. That’s also where she found her dad, Big Steve, but it didn’t end there. This phantom not only coaxed Stevie and Jase across state lines, she coaxed them across all kinds of other boundaries, too.
Of course she did, after all, this one was the Phantom of Forever. |
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Stevie and her best friend, Jase, are phantom magnets. Whenever they are together, the doorway between this world and the next swings slightly open.
The summer his parents treat them to a camping trip in New Mexico, the two friends can’t wait to visit the legendary Crybaby Bridge. Right away, they hear the crying baby. Is it a phantom, or is someone playing tricks on them? As the two friends scour the campgrounds for answers, they discover that phantoms are not the only secrets the nearby town has kept hidden for over 60 years. They also discover things about each other, and about Stevie’s family history, that will force their relationship to a whole new level—a level from which there may be no return. |
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Just as a new student with Tourette syndrome arrives at their school, Stevie and Jase also become aware of the presence of a ghost. Do the two instances have something to do with one another?
When the new student falls prey to the school bullies, Stevie knows they must act. But will they be too late, or will a tragic moment in their school's history be repeated on Halloween night? |
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Senior prom is the happiest night of Gabi’s life. Her crush has just revealed that he is every bit as infatuated with her as she is with him. When he has a car wreck and is transported to the hospital in a coma, Gabi feels as if she’s taken a knife to the heart. But his jealous cousin, Rose, sees her chance to give the knife an even harder twist. She convinces Gabi to meet her at a local parking spot outside town. It's a night that will change several lives forever. One of the girls will return, and one will become known as the remains in the pond.
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What would you do if a phantom needed your help?
When a small plane crashes behind Jase's rural home, strange things begin to happen. But no one believes him. After all, there's no such thing as a ghost, right? Then he sees his classmate, whose nickname is Stevie-girl, about to enter the legendary haunted house. He knows if anyone can help him solve the mystery, she's the one. |
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Liz falls in love with Quinn the moment they meet in college. He professes to love her, too. She begins to think about the future, but his past rips them apart. What Liz does next impacts the rest of their lives, but she feels it is the only way… she does it all for love.
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When Beth lost her father to cancer and her husband to another woman, she didn’t know where to turn. So she retreated to the family cabin at Stutter Creek. Some of the best times of her life were spent at that cabin. That’s where she met her first crush, a boy named John. But that was many years ago . . . could he possibly still be around? Or would she find something sinister instead?
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Ella and her son survived her ex-husband's drunken wrath. They are starting a new life in a new town, Stutter Creek. She's even met a real man. A gentle wild life biologist named Chet Boone. But now, her ex has been released from prison early. Is that him driving past their new house late at night? Is he the one causing the strange sounds and flickering lights? Can they survive a second round with a madman?
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They call him the Killer Cartographer because he carves the map coordinates of each victim on the femur of the one before. Then he tattoos the information on his skin. Can Detective Kendra Dean bring him in, or will she become his next tattoo?
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