I have something special to share today! You’re going to want to add The Truth About Elves to your Holiday TBR!
The Truth About Elves
by Ekta R. Garg
Publication Date: October 19, 2022
Genre: Holiday Fiction/ Novella
As a bartender in Las Vegas, Curtis seems to have the dream life. He’s single, lives close to the Strip, and only has to worry about when to pick up the next extra shift. No one knows the truth about what happened ten years ago, and no one knows how he spends three months every year: as a part-time elf for Santa Claus.
When Curtis went to the Arctic Circle the first time, he thought he could escape the unthinkable. Now, the anniversary of the worst day of his life is coming up, and he’s been asked to do the unbelievable. If Curtis wasn’t a man of his word, he would turn his back on the whole thing. But Mr. C. took Curtis in when he had nowhere else to go, and now the boss is calling in a favor—the kind that will make Curtis face the memory of the unimaginable.
If you’ve ever wondered whether holiday magic is real, come find out. Embrace the season and the power of forgiveness along with Curtis as he discovers The Truth About Elves.
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Excerpt
January 29, 2015
Villas at Desert Pointe Apartments
Las Vegas, Nevada
You probably don’t know this, but Santa is nothing more than a glorified chauffeur.
Sure, all the books and movies portray him as a jolly guy who spends Christmas Eve going around the world distributing gifts. That description isn’t far off. I mean, Mr. C. definitely has a big heart. He treats all us elves fairly, and even though he works us hard (especially once Thanksgiving hits) he isn’t a slave driver.
Oh, yeah, me. I’m Curtis. An elf. No, I don’t have pointy ears, I’m not three feet tall, and I don’t act like a doofus. I’m right around five-foot-ten and look like your average Joe. Brown hair. Green eyes.
We do have some dwarves—you know, little people with small body trunks and short limbs. They get custom-made counters and work stations. Need a special box to sit on at meal time. No pointy ears though. Not a single one. Or two, I guess; nope. Just people who are…well, little.
The majority of us elves are normal. We have lives back in the rest of the world when we’re not doing our Quarter Force shifts, and there’s definitely variety here. Diversity, the affirmative actioners would call it. People from all over, from all walks of life, from every slice of the social strata.
They came to the Arctic Circle for the same reason I did. Working for Mr. C. became the absolute last resort we had. For me, after the plane went down… Well, let’s just say every door on all of my other relationships had slammed shut.
And, no, we’re not angels in heaven. We’re alive, holding down regular jobs back home on the Continents and using our work for Mr. C. as a way to look at ourselves in the mirror again. Except for the fact that we deliver gifts to all of the people in the entire world in a single night, we’re nothing like what the movies would have you believe.
Like all that stuff about Mr. C. riding in a sleigh with reindeer? Please. Has anyone stopped to think about the fact that a sleigh can’t even support the weight of gifts for every single person in the world? And how are eight reindeer supposed to pull a sleigh that heavy?
Yeah, yeah, I know, the sleigh is magic, the reindeer are magic, and so is Santa Claus. Mr. C. makes the job look like magic, but as for the rest of it? I guess it makes for good box office sales during the holidays.
Mr. C. does go around the world but not in a sleigh. He uses a Concorde. Why do you think they grounded the entire fleet? Mr. C. worked a deal with the FAA and the other aviation organizations across the world. They would let him have the planes, and he would keep their workforce employed.
That part of the deal has worked out pretty well. And Hollywood didn’t get everything completely wrong. Mr. C. does use reindeer. They shuttle supplies between warehouses in the compound.
You didn’t actually think we made all those toys and wrapped everything in one building, did you?
For those assigned to the Final Quarter Force—October to December—we get to see everything come together on the back end of things, but work for Mr. C. goes year-round. Quality control of products, flight maneuver exercises, vetting of wrapping paper vendors, and paperwork. Mounds and mounds of it. The First Quarter Force deals with most of it, and Second Quarter finishes up (although Mr. C. really prefers that First Quarter get it all done.)
When I came on board eight years ago, I started as part of the First Quarter. If I’d had a choice, I would have lobbied to stay with First. But one thing you learn with Mr. C. is that you don’t get many choices. Freedom, yes. Choices, no.
About the Author
Since starting in niche publishing in 2005, Ekta has written and edited about everything from healthcare to home improvement to Hindi films. She became a freelance editor in 2011 to cement her essential belief that words can change people and the world. A writing contest judge, podcaster, and reviewer, Ekta blogs original fiction, book reviews, and parenting adventures from The Write Edge (http://thewriteedge.wordpress.com). Her holiday novella, The Truth About Elves, released in October 2021 from Atmosphere Press.
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