Every year, a group of talented authors bands together under the guidance of a great editor, Amy Eye, to provide readers with the best Christmas Lites’ edition yet. I asked my fellow anthologists if they wanted to talk about the inspiration behind their shorts, and they enthusiastically answered with insightful posts.

Without further ado, let’s welcome Dani J Caile, our first featured author, who wrote for the anthology a science fiction short, Ulysses II.

About the making of Ulysses II:

“When I first heard about the anthology “Christmas Lites“, I jumped at the chance, especially when I found out that every cent was going to such a worthy cause (NCADV). The only thing I regret is that I got to hear about it so late, as this is the fifth collection. But I feel lucky to be included this time.
My story, “Ulysses II”, is set at Christmas time, 2256, a time when almost all traditions have been forgotten in favour of survival against an alien race threatening to annihilate the human race. The aliens represent the violence forever present in our lives, ready to pounce at any moment, and the humans try to keep the status quo of peace and tranquility. In the end, it is only the ‘call’ of Christmas that rescues the humans onboard Ulysses II from certain death or a life of slavery. On another thought, the POV isn’t from the hero trying to control the situation and push for a conclusion, rather the POV of a sideliner, a coward, a bystander to the action, but with the means to ‘give’ the solution. We all have that power, and some even have luck on their side, if they try.
I’m reading the anthology now and it’s full of heartwarming Christmas stories. I feel honoured to be in this company of writers. I’d like to thank Amy Eye for allowing me to contribute.”

Dani J Caile

Dani J Caile is a teacher and proofreader (BA in Philology specialising in Pedagogy) who is currently residing in Budapest, Hungary. After a lifetime of reading clones and a decade of proofreading coffee table books, in retaliation he has written 5 fantasy books and 1 novella, including ‘Man by a tree’, ‘The Bethlehem Fiasco’, ‘The Rage of Atlantis’, ‘Manna-X’ and ‘TDX2’, (plus ‘Alice on the Outside-In’). His latest book, ‘How to Build a Castle in Seven Easy Steps’, is available now. He has also published a short story compilation on smashwords.com called ‘Dani’s Shorts’ available for free, and his stories can be found in many anthologies. When not writing, dabbling in Shakespeare, teaching English, proofreading, washing up, hoovering, and driving all over the place, he is busy with his loving and long-suffering family.

http://danijcaile.blogspot.hu/
Twitter: @jedlica
Free ebook (Dani’s Shorts 5): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/587914