Boy meets girl. Boy tells three Christmas stories to BS girl into dating him. Boy should probably keep his mouth shut.
It’s Christmas Eve, and Douglas McCray, chief holiday grinch, has just met the woman of his dreams.
Miranda is visiting his company on business, trying to sell it marketing materials it doesn’t want and having no luck. But when Douglas’s attempted introduction accidentally fools her into thinking he’s in management with the power to buy the products she’s peddling, he must tell her three holiday-themed stories to backtrack on his deception and convince her he’s neither a liar nor an idiot, while also helping her get the sale she wants, and maybe, hopefully, getting a date out of her in the process.
The McCray Parables: The Fountain of Truth is the retelling of the original stories from the 2015 edition of The Fountain of Truth, which include “The Fountain of Truth,” “Christmas Log,” and “St. Nick’s Gym,” all now re-imagined as catalysts for a new ongoing series featuring Douglas, Miranda, and their cast of wacky friends and coworkers, continuing the tradition of telling feel-good fables at Christmas while simultaneously teaching its storyteller a lesson in humility and thoughtfulness.
This updated edition also includes the follow-up story Happy New Life. In Happy New Life, Douglas and Miranda meet for dinner on New Year’s Eve and learn shocking truths about each other while telling the stories of “Happy New Life,” “New Fear’s Eve,” and “Hopeful New Wife” to gain the upper hand over the other in a tug-of-war battle exposing the realities of a future where they might hit it off but also possibly regret it.
Will their storytelling bring them closer together in a lifetime of happiness, or will it set them up for failure and heartbreak?
The McCray Parables is the official launch of a new holiday series inspired by the stories of The Fountain of Truth and will continue Douglas and Miranda’s story in future installments.
The Fables:
“The Fountain of Truth”: Something unusual is happening at the Kingdom Affair restaurant on Christmas Eve. Families at the dinner table are suddenly telling each other how they really feel about each other, and no one knows why.
“Christmas Log”: Four bachelors are given the opportunity to spend Christmas winning a million dollars if they can be the first to find the key inside the log and escape the locked room. How they get to the key may depend on their psychological profiles.
“St. Nick’s Gym”: Many stories have been told about Santa Claus, but how many recall his journey to becoming Santa Claus? In this version, St. Nick is a fitness addict who just wants to be left alone with his gym equipment at the North Pole. But when an elf shows up looking for work and his village follows him, the rest is history.
“Happy New Life” “New Fear’s Eve” “Hopeful New Wife”: A trilogy of connected stories explore the hypothetical highs, lows, and realities of marriage to a partner of interest, as told on the first date.
It’s Christmas Eve, and Douglas McCray, chief holiday grinch, has just met the woman of his dreams.
Miranda is visiting his company on business, trying to sell it marketing materials it doesn’t want and having no luck. But when Douglas’s attempted introduction accidentally fools her into thinking he’s in management with the power to buy the products she’s peddling, he must tell her three holiday-themed stories to backtrack on his deception and convince her he’s neither a liar nor an idiot, while also helping her get the sale she wants, and maybe, hopefully, getting a date out of her in the process.
The McCray Parables: The Fountain of Truth is the retelling of the original stories from the 2015 edition of The Fountain of Truth, which include “The Fountain of Truth,” “Christmas Log,” and “St. Nick’s Gym,” all now re-imagined as catalysts for a new ongoing series featuring Douglas, Miranda, and their cast of wacky friends and coworkers, continuing the tradition of telling feel-good fables at Christmas while simultaneously teaching its storyteller a lesson in humility and thoughtfulness.
This updated edition also includes the follow-up story Happy New Life. In Happy New Life, Douglas and Miranda meet for dinner on New Year’s Eve and learn shocking truths about each other while telling the stories of “Happy New Life,” “New Fear’s Eve,” and “Hopeful New Wife” to gain the upper hand over the other in a tug-of-war battle exposing the realities of a future where they might hit it off but also possibly regret it.
Will their storytelling bring them closer together in a lifetime of happiness, or will it set them up for failure and heartbreak?
The McCray Parables is the official launch of a new holiday series inspired by the stories of The Fountain of Truth and will continue Douglas and Miranda’s story in future installments.
The Fables:
“The Fountain of Truth”: Something unusual is happening at the Kingdom Affair restaurant on Christmas Eve. Families at the dinner table are suddenly telling each other how they really feel about each other, and no one knows why.
“Christmas Log”: Four bachelors are given the opportunity to spend Christmas winning a million dollars if they can be the first to find the key inside the log and escape the locked room. How they get to the key may depend on their psychological profiles.
“St. Nick’s Gym”: Many stories have been told about Santa Claus, but how many recall his journey to becoming Santa Claus? In this version, St. Nick is a fitness addict who just wants to be left alone with his gym equipment at the North Pole. But when an elf shows up looking for work and his village follows him, the rest is history.
“Happy New Life” “New Fear’s Eve” “Hopeful New Wife”: A trilogy of connected stories explore the hypothetical highs, lows, and realities of marriage to a partner of interest, as told on the first date.
Other books by Jeremy Bursey
Jeremy Bursey is the author of many short stories, novels, and other things he no longer remembers writing, each covering topics and genres that differ from what he had written previously because why not? He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Central Florida, which he’s been paying for since the ‘90s, and currently works as a writing tutor, so he, like that organ grinder who severs his business relationship with his pet monkey, will pay for it indefinitely. He appreciates feedback for anything he posts, and he hopes you’ll read it—any of it—now, preferably.
Brought to you by the smart people at
