Prickle Forrest Chronicles – December 2025 – Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Partner! – PrickleForrestChronicles By Chrissy Hartmann

Prickle Forrest Chronicles

December 2025

Howdy Prickles,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Well shucks, we made it through another year. Some stretches of trail were smooth, others tried to buck me off, but here we are, aiming to finish 2025 with a grin and a good cup of coffee.

I kicked the year off with my cookbook, The Grub Wrangler: Heartfelt Grapeseed Oil Recipes with Benefits, and looks like I’m closing it out with—well—another Grub Wrangler, sort of. The Grub Wrangler and Gruff trotted out alongside Merry Christmas Whiskey, my Whiskey Salvation holiday novella. Didn’t think I could pull that off, but there they are, roaming free. Yeehaw! Turns out you really can write a Christmas romance and dog biscuit almanac while wrangling a busted tootsie.

Speaking of that tootsie—my right one’s healing, slow as molasses in January. Broke a few bones in September, had surgery a couple weeks later, and now I’m sporting a scar that looks suspiciously like a shark took a nip. Doc says I might ditch the CAM boot by the end of January. Fingers crossed. I’ve got my eye on a new pair of boots that I’ll need to break in before I hit the trail to train with a new dog guide.

When I hit the trail for a heap of book events this year, I lucked out and met more readers than I could count. My only regret is not getting to chat with everyone. Sometimes folks browse quiet as church mice, and I never know if I should holler howdy or let ’em mosey. I think I fixed that—I’ve got a slideshow now that makes people laugh, chuckle, or say “Well, I’ll be.” Still need to swap out the music, though. Got a favorite western tune that won’t make my table partner glare at me? Let me know. I did meet a real bull rider, too—never caught his name, but he sure sparked a story idea.

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With winter settling in, I’ll be hunkered down at the ranch, aiming for JanNoWriMo and finishing Treasuring Whiskey’s Salvation. It’s already a third done and slated for 2026, so I best keep my tush in the saddle. I’ll also be releasing a few short stories about one of the Tyler brothers from Whiskey — seasonal, like good chili.

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A few changes are coming, too — new goodies on the website , a change up of the newsletter, and some promotions. If you haven’t grabbed Merry Christmas Whiskey: A Whiskey Salvation Christmas Novella, the paperback’s on sale until January 1st. I’ll run another birthday special at the end of January—don’t know which book yet, but I’ll surprise you.

These sales are straight from this here Christmas Sale link in this newsletter—fresh off the press and headed your way by Pony Express. If you’re hankering for a clean, sweet, second-chance, forced-proximity holiday western romance, Merry Christmas Whiskey might just be your kind of ride.

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And if anyone lassoed themselves a copy already or have a hankering they have one waiting under their own Christmas tree, then get your own cowboy to snap a photo and send me the picture with you holding it. I’d love to share it with the wild west just to let them know what they’re missing out on.

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So I’ll be rounding out the year planted in my favorite chair, watching them Buckeyes play on New Year’s Eve, boots kicked off and fingers crossed. Here’s hoping the new year rides in with a healed-up foot, a shot at a new dog guide, and a whole mess of fresh biscuit flavors to share with my next best friend. If you want to spoil your own furry sidekick—or wrangle a perfect gift for the dog lover in your life — The Grub Wrangler and Gruff: Dog Biscuit Almanac paperback is on sale right now over on that there big river, though who knows for how long.