Worst Christmas ever. Christmas was about traditions. Currently, Zay and her mom had about five traditions, things like gingerbread cookies and tree decorating. Not going to work. Zay has to stay home. On Christmas. Alone. Mom said her boss felt real bad about the whole thing so he was sending a nanny. It just keeps getting worse. She's fourteen years old. She doesn't need a nanny. But then the nanny shows up. She's not really a she. Or a he. More of an it. The nanny shows her that it's not really magic that makes Christmas special. It's the adventure. And when it's all over, she'll never forget. The best Christmas ever.

The Christmas story you never heard. In the early 1800s, Nicholas, Jessica and Jon Santa attempt the first human trek to the North Pole and stumble upon an ancient race of people left over from the Ice Age. They are short, fat and hairy. They slide across the ice on scaly soles and carve their homes in the ice that floats on the Arctic Ocean. The elven are adapted to life in the extreme cold. They are as wise as they are ancient. Their scientific advancements have yielded great inventions—time-stopping devices and gravitational spheres that build living snowmen and genetically-modified reindeer that leap great distances. They’ve even unlocked the secrets to aging. For 40,000 years, they have lived in peace. Until now. An elven known as The Cold One has divided his people. He’s tired of their seclusion and wants to conquer the world. Only one elven stands between The Cold One and total chaos. He’s white-bearded and red-coated. The Santa family will help him stop The Cold One. They will come to the aid of a legendary elven known as...Claus.

Sura is sixteen years old when she meets Mr. Frost. He’s very short and very fat and he likes his room very, very cold. Some might say inhumanly cold. His first name isn’t Jack, she’s told. And that’s all she needed to know. Mr. Frost’s love for Christmas is over-the-top and slightly psychotic. And why not? He’s made billions of dollars off the holiday he invented. Or so he claims. Rumor is he’s an elven, but that’s silly. Elven aren’t real. And if they were, they wouldn’t live in South Carolina. They wouldn’t hide in a tower and go to the basement to make…things. Nonetheless, Sura will work for this odd little recluse. Frost Plantation is where she’ll meet the love of her life. It’s where she’ll finally feel like she belongs somewhere. And it’s where she’ll meet someone fatter, balder and stranger than Mr. Frost. It’s where she’ll meet Jack. Jack hates Christmas.

Life hasn’t been kind to Oliver Toye. As if juvenile diabetes isn’t enough, he’s forced to live with his tyrannical grandmother in a snow-bound house. He spends his days doing chores and the nights listening to the forest rumble. But when he discovers the first leather-bound journal, the family secrets begin to surface. The mystery of his great-grandfather’s voyage to the North Pole is revealed. That’s when the snowman appears. Magical and mysterious, the snowman will save Oliver more than once. But when the time comes for Oliver to discover the truth, will he have the courage? When Flury needs him, will he have the strength? When believing isn’t enough, will he save the snowman from melting away? Because sometimes even magic needs a little help.

Jacob Marley is dead. His business partner, Eb Scrooge, is left to run Avocado, Inc., an innovative technology business, all alone. An introverted shut-in locked away in a Colorado mansion, he changes the company’s mission statement. Only his servant droids keep him company. Until the gifts arrive. Each Christmas, a messenger forces Eb to look at his life in hopes he will change. But change does not happen in a single night. And only Eb can make it happen. But who is sending the messengers?

The 5th standalone novel in the Claus Universe. The stories you never heard... Christmas is hot. When Kandi’s dad gets a mysterious call, they fly to a tropical island where the buildings are enormous and the rooms empty. Despite the heat, his sunburned client wears a heavy cloak. Kandi meets a boy living all alone in one of the empty resorts. When he goes missing, she enlists the help of the technological wonders that haunt the island to find him. What she uncovers is a much deeper mystery that will affect more than just Christmas. The world doesn’t know it yet, but Santa Claus is missing. Kandi knows where he is. And why. INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR Where did you come up with the idea of writing science fiction for holiday characters? My nephew mentioned the “secret Santa ninja elves” that visit his school during Christmas, and this spawned the idea of writing a semi-serious sci-fi version of Santa. How the ideas flesh out is a long process. I started keep track of how the story arc of my latest novel evolves, just to remember where it began. It’s all over the place. I love the challenge of bringing a story to light, letting the characters get in my head and telling me where to go. Journey of a Snowman is the third book in the Claus series. It was originally Frosty the Snowman, but Frosty is copyrighted. It didn’t matter, really. The character was better suited to be something other than Frosty. Flury is a bit more serious. . Are you getting any backlash for rewriting these Christmas legends? Not at all. In fact, a lot of readers have connected to all the unanswered questions surround them, especially Santa Claus. How does he go around the world in a night? Why is he fat? Why does he live on the North Pole? How do reindeer fly? How does he carry all those presents? All of them answered with the magic wand of science fiction… I mean, the science wand of science fiction. The stories still have the fantasy element, of course. Some leaps of imagination. And also the romance angle. Why? Because all stories have love. . What is your favorite character from the books that you have written? Socket Greeny is one of my favorites. That science fiction trilogy was my first story. I wrote it in first person and really connected with him. However, Jack Frost is in Claus (Legend of the Fat Man) and Jack (The Tale of Frost) and has become my all-time fave. He’s childish, irreverent and dangerous, but at the same time lovable. . What order should readers purchase the Claus books? Legend of the Fat Man is the best start. After that, any order works. They all can be read as standalone novels.

The 6th standalone novel in the Claus Universe. The holiday legends you never heard growing up. This is Ryder’s last stop. It’s a half million acre ranch and home to forty teenagers. It’s also home to a famous and eccentric philanthropist with a peculiar obsession with the North Pole. His name is Billy “Big Game” Sinterklaas. But shortly after Ryder arrives, secret messages begin leading him to what’s really happening. Billy Big Game believes that Santa Claus is real. This is the year he proves it. He says there’s one Christmas story no one has ever heard, the legend of the biggest and baddest reindeer of them all, the one who leads the sleigh and protects the herd. But Billy Big Game doesn’t want to discover the last reindeer. He wants to capture him. That’s why he brought Ryder to the ranch. REVIEWS FOR THE CLAUS UNIVERSE “Amazing rewrites that will astound you!” –Ruth Jackson, Amazon Reviewer “Best Santa Story Ever!” – Bob, Amazon Reviewer “Simply lovely.” –jl, Amazon Reviewer “MY HEART GREW THREE SIZES…” – Amazon Reviewer “Couldn’t Put It Down.” – Amazon Reviewer “Fantasy at it’s [sic] finest.” –Carol, Amazon Reviewer “Absolutely phenomenal!” –JayFly, Amazon Reviewer “A++” –TKJ 131, Amazon Reviewer “Absolutely Awesome.” –Dee greusel, Amazon Reviewer “I absolutely love this series…” –Kara McCabe, Amazon Reviewer “Tony is an excellent story teller!” jjjlake, Amazon Reviewer “I want MORE!” –J. Bunch, Amazon Reviewer “Awesomely engaging!” –Janice Everett, Amazon Reviewer

The 7th standalone novel in the Claus Universe. If you want to play, and stay out all day, I know the place where we can do it. Great aunt Annie was a storyteller. It was mostly Christmas stories she told. No one had ever heard her tales about giant reindeer, living snowmen, and Santa Claus. There were no movies about them. No books. When she passed, everyone thought they’d never hear such stories again. But she saved the best for last. When Tin’s family inherits an enormous rural estate, they discover the hidden treasures of Toyland. The eccentric mansion was built long ago by a toy magnate named Wallace Noel, a man made famous by his beloved Noel toys. Tin and her family spend Christmas at Toyland and find abandoned workshops, old photos, and forgotten toys in strange rooms. When Tin discovers an authentic-looking elf hat, everything changes. She comes to know the truth behind the urban legends of Wallace Noel and what made his toys so special. And where Great aunt Annie got her stories.

His real name is Christmas. It’s embarrassing. He’s been accepted into the Institute of Creative Mind, a prestigious institute for eccentrics, outliers, and gifted students. A school located in the middle of nowhere with two-hundred-year-old castles and a formidable stone wall. A school where Christmas is celebrated the entire year. Christmas trees, ornaments, and lights decorate the castles. Presents are given out every month, and students are pitted against each other in creative challenges. Chris soon finds out, however, the stakes are high. The losers are expelled. He spends sleepless nights keeping up with his homework to not disappoint his parents and to keep a cruel guidance counsellor off his back. But this place is more than a demanding school for gifted students. Chris finds a clue in a textbook his first night, written in code. Run, run as fast as you can. When he’s presented with an impossibility that defies all laws of physics and biology, anything becomes possible. Chris discovers students aren’t chosen for their artistic abilities but because of a DNA test. He doesn’t know what the school is really after. If he doesn’t stop them, Christmas will end forever. Everything depends on his courage. And a strange little friend.

The 9th standalone novel in the Claus Universe. One Christmas morning, a mystery gift appeared under trees around the world. It was the exact same gift, inscribed with the maker’s initials in tiny letters: BT and Company. It was months before anyone knew exactly what the gift did. Avery Tannenbaum’s brother was one of the lucky few to receive one. It was on her birthday when the mysterious gifts came to life. A contest was announced. It was also on that very same day Avery’s grandmother passed away. An eccentric, wealthy woman, Nana Rai left detailed instructions on how to commemorate her passing, a celebration to be held on Christmas morning, which just so happened to be the same day the contest was set to end. Avery’s family travels to a cold and snowy land to honor her grandmother’s wishes. And it’s here she uncovers the true purpose of the mystery gift, and why the makers launched a global contest. As Nana Rai’s celebration nears, Avery follows clues her grandmother left behind. BT and Company are searching for the Toymaker. And Avery knows what they’ll do when they find him. She becomes part of her grandmother’s plan to stop them. The real mystery isn’t where the Toymaker is hiding. It’s why he’s hiding in the first place.

Hiro's parents rearrange the furniture every December. They make space in the corner for something tall. They plug in string lights and leave them on the floor. Sometimes, they cut down a tree but don't know what to do with it. It's not just Hiro's parents. Everyone does it. Come January, they all straighten up their living rooms and everything goes back to normal. They do this every year. No one knows why. Something's missing and they all feel it, but they never wonder what it is. And every year that passes, the world becomes colder and grayer. Until Hiro has a dream. It's a world of magic, where he can taste sounds and hear thoughts, see things that defy the laws of physics and biology. It's a place where trees are decorated and stockings are hung above the fireplace. Every day is celebrated with gifts. It's the last place where joy exists. Someone has stolen the Christmas spirit from the universe and hidden it in the dream. Hiro doesn't remember a jolly fat man or flying reindeer, or elves on the North Pole. No one in Hiro's world remembers Christmas at all. Hiro and others like him need to free the Christmas spirit. This is their one and only chance. If they fail, his world and all others like it will stay cold and gray without Christmas... unless they discover the thief's true identity. It's closer than they think.

The first three adventures in the Claus Universe. It begins with a discovery. An ancient race of elven has existed since the Ice Age. Short, fat and hairy, these jolly elves live in the ice sheets of the North Pole. Their advanced technology borders on magic, keeping them hidden from the world. Elven have lived together for thousands of years, but one very troubled elf is bringing an end to thousands of years of peace. His name is Jack. And Jack is tired of hiding. Why should they live in a shrinking ice cap when humans occupy the rest of the world? The elven are smarter, wiser, and just better than humans. So says Jack. And he’s going to do something about it. There’s no stopping him from world domination until Nicholas Santa, the only human to enter the elven colony, joins helium-bladder reindeer, artificially intelligent snowmen, and a merry band of big-footed elves to bring peace back to the North Pole. The world will never know what Nicholas Santa's discoveries. Only the legend he becomes. The Claus Universe is a collection of standalone novels. REVIEWS FOR THE CLAUS UNIVERSE “Amazing rewrites that will astound you!” –Ruth Jackson, Amazon Reviewer“Best Santa Story Ever!” – Bob, Amazon Reviewer“Simply lovely.” –jl, Amazon Reviewer“MY HEART GREW THREE SIZES…” – Amazon Reviewer“Couldn’t Put It Down.” – Amazon Reviewer“Fantasy at it’s \[sic\] finest.” –Carol, Amazon Reviewer“Absolutely phenomenal!” –JayFly, Amazon Reviewer“A++” –TKJ 131, Amazon Reviewer“Absolutely Awesome.” –Dee greusel, Amazon Reviewer“I absolutely love this series…” –Kara McCabe, Amazon Reviewer“Tony is an excellent story teller!” jjjlake, Amazon Reviewer“I want MORE!” –J. Bunch, Amazon Reviewer