Santa Origins: A YA Dark Fairytale Fantasy: The True Story Behind Santa Claus

Forgotten Yuletide lore, the legend of the Snow Queen, and a race against time collide in this dark fairytale adventure, reimagining the origins of Santa Claus for YA readers. Having fled his abusive father and grieving the loss of his mother, sixteen-year-old Kris Kringle finds himself entangled in a life of crime with his younger brother, August, on the streets of Victorian London in 1889. On Christmas Eve, Kris’s remorse for leading August astray sparks a fateful turn of events. Returning from robbing a wealthy family to give August the Christmas he deserves, Kris discovers that his brother has been kidnapped by wicked sprites. On meeting Hild, Queen of the Elves, and her Yule horse, Kris discovers that the sprites plan to sacrifice August, along with thousands of other innocent children, to awaken their dark lord, Krampus. Kris travels to the Winterland and embarks on a perilous mission with the help of the valiant reindeer, Prancer, and the mysterious eye-patch-wearing Lussi to save August before sunrise on Christmas morning. Will Kris defy the odds and rescue his brother from the clutches of darkness, or is his story a more sinister one, a trauma buried beneath the joyous spirit of Christmas?