Christmas Letter 2023: I once knew a guy whose wife wanted a dog for Christmas

Dear Paid Subscribers,

Merry Christmas!

I hope this letter finds you with the people you love. I hope you've got something sweet and savory, a hot drink, and a full heart.

Thank you for subscribing to Stories Talk Good. Writing is hard, it's discouraging, and there's days I sit at my desk and feel I've lost the magic — that it's never coming back. But I remember texts I've gotten about stories, messages on social media, and the fact that you all have paid me to do this. The magic doesn't immediately return, but that encouragement is enough to keep my butt in the chair and my fingers on the keyboard.

This year, I tried multiple times to write the Christmas letter. I'd find a couple hundred words, and it never felt quite what I was looking for.

So I've written a fictional story.

I haven't published any fiction here, so you all, as paid subscribers, are looking at something unique: a window into a world I'm terrified to ever share with anyone.

Enjoy. I hope this story says what I've been trying to say all along. And if not, it's about a dog, so I hope that, at least, it makes you smile.