A Firefighter Christmas Carol

And Other Stories

By: Douglas R. Brown

Narrated by: William McDonough

Firefighters, serial killers, ghosts, and the mentally ill. It’s all here in this short-story collection.

The title story - a modern-day reimagining of Charles Dickens’ wonderful A Christmas Carol - finds Elliot’s PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from working the front lines of a large urban fire department replacing Scrooge’s greed as our protagonist’s main struggle. Elliot has seen plenty of horrors in his career and is at a dangerous breaking point. Can ghostly, late-night visitors to the firehouse one Christmas Eve pull him from the brink of suicide? Written from the heart of a firefighter/paramedic who has seen his own struggles, "A Firefighter Christmas Carol" is an emotional roller coaster from beginning to end.

Joining the title novella are five additional short stories. In "Janitor", a nightshift worker quickly realizes he’s not alone. Who is the man in black? And will Jeb keep his sanity long enough to find out?

"Death Alarm" uses real-life firefighting knowledge to explore otherworldly consequences when pure evil battles the noblest of professions.

In "CatchTime", a nasty comment on a fictional social media platform is all it takes to really get under a guy’s skin.

"Skelwaller Lane" is a brutal tale exploring how even the most horrible behavior can sometimes be justified only if the entire story is told.

Closing out the collection is "D.O.A.", a spooky little story about a paramedic with an unwanted skill that really comes back to haunt her.

So, buy now, and be ready to delve into the psychological with the occasional assist from the supernatural.

©2021 Douglas R Brown (P)2021 Douglas R Brown

Great twist on a classic.

I love the awareness this book brings to the struggles of our first responders. Brown does this in a very entertaining way by using the classic Christmas Carol theme, but still really gets the listener to feel the anguish the fire/emt workers feel.
The narrator has jumped to one of my favorites. He is amazing.

Loved it!

I love this book. I fellow coworker suggested it for me when I was going through a difficult time in my career. Was definitely an eye opener.

Riveting

Being a Firefighter for 27 years I felt the pain and struggles. Absolutely riveting. Struggled through some of it cause it really hit home.

Firefighter Christmas Carol

The title story was a well-written rewrite of "A Christmas Carol" from a firefighter's perspective. Very engaging and thought provoking look into the mental health of first responders. As a former volunteer EMT and firefighter, I could totally relate to Elliott's story.

The other stories were entertaining as well, full of ghostly happenings and creepy characters. I enjoyed the way the author wove the stories together with some of the same characters appearing in several of them.

The narrator did a great job and added a lot to my listening pleasure. My only complaint is that he mispronounced several words and I found that to be distracting. All in all, if you enjoy stories that make you think at the same time that they entertain, you will enjoy this book. I was given the chance to listen to this book by the author/narrator/publisher and chose to review it.

inspirational

I was very moved by this book. I work making firesuits for a major corporation. When the everyday stuff gets under our skin we try to remind each other that we work to help firefighters keep themselves and others safe . Thank you for what you do.