A Wonderful Year in Stories

 

A Wonderful Year in Stories: An Introduction

A Letter from Sophia Salazar, Editor-in-Chief of Hollyhock Books

 

Dear Readers,

 

When we first began talking about Hocksbox—about what it could be, what it might become—Joules and I shared a vision that felt almost too simple to say out loud.

 

We wanted to create a place where stories lived.

 

Not stories that arrived all at once, demanding to be consumed. Not stories that appeared and vanished in the chaos of endless content. But stories that unfolded gently, season by season, like a garden revealing itself throughout the year.

 

That's what I want to tell you about today: A Wonderful Year in Stories.

 

The Idea Behind It

Here's the thing about stories: they have seasons.

 

Some stories belong to autumn—the ones with a little bite of darkness, a little chill in the air, a sense of things ending and beginning all at once. Some stories belong to winter—the quiet ones, the ones you read by firelight with a blanket pulled up to your chin. Some belong to spring, all hope and new growth and the feeling that anything might be possible again. And some belong to summer—long, lazy tales that stretch out like afternoon shadows.

 

Joules's stories have always felt seasonal to me, even before I could articulate why. Reading through her collection, I found myself grouping them instinctively. This one is for October, I'd think. This one is for a rainy April morning. This one belongs to the first real snowfall.

 

When I mentioned this to Joules, she smiled in that way she does when I've stumbled onto something she's been thinking about for years.

 

"They have their own calendars," she said. "The stories know when they're needed."

 

And so A Wonderful Year in Stories was born—not as a rigid schedule, but as a gentle rhythm. A promise that throughout the year, new tales would arrive when they felt right. Some tied to seasons. Some tied to moods. Some arriving for no reason at all except that they were ready.

 

What It Means for Hocksbox

Over the coming year, Joules will be sharing stories from her collection here at Hocksbox. Some will arrive monthly. Some will come in clusters. Some will appear when you least expect them, like finding a forgotten chocolate in your coat pocket.

 

But here's the part that requires a little explanation—and a little patience.

 

Joules has written many stories. More than we could possibly share in a single year, if we're being honest. Her desk drawers (and quite possibly her kitchen cupboards, knowing her) are filled with tales she's been crafting for years. The ones she sent across the ocean to her niece and nephew. The ones that arrived fully formed in dreams. The ones she wrote just to see where they would go.

 

For A Wonderful Year in Stories, we'll be selecting a handful of these tales to share with you. Not all of them—not yet—but a carefully chosen few that feel right for this time, this place, this beginning.

 

And here's the fun part: even we don't know exactly which stories will appear when.

 

The Story Collection

Let me give you a glimpse inside Joules's story cupboard. These are some of the tales waiting in the wings, any of which might appear throughout the year:

 

Wobbleton-upon-Jelly and the War of the Whiffle Waffles

A tale from the curious lands of Wobbleton-upon-Jelly, where pies are plentiful, cows hum tunes, and waffles wage wars. Join Fizzwick Tumblebutton and Toddy Brimblethatch—two pig adventurers with more courage than sense—as they defend their beloved bakery from the fearsome Whiffle Waffles. It's a story of baked goods, bravery, and a sprinkling of sugary mayhem.

 

How They Bring Back the Village of Tumbleweed When the Wind Blows It Away

In the rugged wilds of Oregon, where wagon trails twist like forgotten memories, a sixteen-year-old girl named Featherfoot visits her younger cousins on a rough homestead. With eyes as blue as the summer sky, she brings tales of floating villages and freckles that hold the memory of home—a visit that will be etched in their minds like the trails they walk upon.

 

The Great Pumpkin of Scarelock Green

A story for when the mist rises and the moon hides its face. In the peculiar village of Scarelock Green, where root vegetables take pride of place, something ancient is stirring. Old Grimblesquash is awakening, and the villagers must steel themselves for a night that will shape the very fate of their home. A tale where pumpkins rise, shadows have their own mischief, and even the most unlikely heroes find their courage.

 

The Remarkable Evening of Oliver Hefflewhistle and the Gingham Glimmergit

On a peculiar January evening, under a sky full of mischief, Oliver Hefflewhistle sets out on a curious mission. With a heart full of hope and a tune ready on his lips, he seeks to serenade Sally—the clever soul who lives just beyond that lace-curtained window. But what strange turns will Oliver's melody take? And who—or what—is the mysterious Gingham Glimmergit that shadows his every note?

 

Oh, the Roaming Fairy Folks of Mischief

Join Noddy Fiddlewhisk and Poppy Fizzleglint as they stumble into the unremarkable towns of Here and Tweebuckle. In a land where fields squelch like overcooked cabbage and buildings defy gravity, our young heroes encounter a rather unfortunate fellow on the brink of a public spectacle—tar and feathers for fashion faux pas! Expect jack-rabbits that leap over skyscrapers, mysterious disappearances, and the sort of whimsy that could only come from Widdershins and Outforth.

 

Puddington-on-the-Puff

Meet the slightly tatty but much-adored Miss Threadbare McScruff—the sort of doll who's seen better days, her stuffing a bit lumpy, her button eyes replaced with something rather unusual. And Sir Stouttwig the Broomstick stands proudly by her side. It's a wedding day, with all the usual suspects: spoon lickers, pan bangers, and an excess of chocolate that will likely end in a glorious, sticky mess.

 

How Lottie Tweaks Found Her Thumb Stuck to Her Nose When the Wind Changed

In the curious goings-on of Pebblewhisk Ridge—where sheep do the counting and Thursday skies have a habit of raining custard—our heroine Lottie Tweaks finds herself in a rather sticky situation. Can her father's inventing skills, the wisdom of Professor Cloudwhiff, and a goblin who lives behind the Wiggly Woods help her pry her thumb from her nose before it's too late?

 

Old Crumpet Noggin and the Singing Flummywisters

In the charming village of Whistlepork, where the air is sweet with rhubarb crumble, meet Old Crumpet Noggin—a man with a face like a confused turnip, hair like mashed carrots, and a talent for playing a violin that no one else can see. On a bright Tuesday morning, under the serenade of flummywisters, Crumpet shuffles to his usual spot, ready for a day of mischief, music, and marvellous misunderstandings.

 

The Twelve Rusty Rabbits of Festivus: A Tale of Whiskery Winter Magic

In the village of Nutmeg-on-the-Fen, where cinnamon-scented air and gingerbread cobbles set the stage, the greatest Festivus conundrum has arrived. The Twelve Rusty Rabbits—those magical, fluffy-tailed wonders—have gone missing! It's up to Maysli Figglebottom, her brother Bilberry, and a rather pompous rabbit named Sir Flufferkin the Second to save the day. Expect snowdrifts, misplaced mittens, and a dash of festive magic.

 

As They Sneaked Away to the Land of Bumblethorpe-on-the-Wold

Join Petunia Soggybottom and her two curiously named sons, Pushkin and Pipkin, as they decide that enough is enough. Who needs ordinary chimneys or sensible doorknobs when the stars—and possibly pigs in dungarees—are just a train ride away? Hop aboard the most peculiar train, where ticket agents yawn and rails twist like tangled shoelaces, heading for Bumblethorpe-on-the-Wold and all its perfectly ridiculous joy.

 

The Surprise

Now, here's the thing I want to be honest with you about.

 

From this entire collection—from all these wonderful, whimsical, wildly imaginative tales—we will only be sharing four of them throughout this year.

 

I can hear you asking: Only four? But you just listed ten!

 

Yes. And there are more where those came from. Joules's story cupboard is deep, and it's growing all the time.

 

But here's the philosophy behind A Wonderful Year in Stories: we'd rather share a few tales well than many tales rushed. We'd rather each story arrive with care, with attention, with the space it deserves. We'd rather you look forward to each new release, wondering which one might appear next, than feel overwhelmed by a constant flood of content.

 

So throughout the year, four stories will emerge from the collection. They might be seasonal—a winter tale when the nights draw in, a spring story when the first flowers appear. They might arrive for no reason at all except that they felt ready. They might be the ones you least expect.

 

And which four? That's the surprise.

 

Even I don't know yet. Joules keeps her own counsel about these things. The stories tell her when they're ready, she says, and she listens. I've learned to trust that.

 

What This Means for You

If you're the kind of reader who likes to plan ahead, I know this might feel a little frustrating. Believe me, I understand. I'm the sort of person who likes to know what's coming, to mark my calendar, to anticipate.

 

But there's something lovely, I think, in not knowing. In opening Hocksbox one day and finding a new story waiting—a surprise, a gift, a tale that arrives exactly when you needed it. In letting the year unfold story by story, season by season, without a map.

 

Think of it as a story advent calendar, if you like. You know something's coming. You just don't know which door will open next.

 

Throughout the year, we'll also be sharing other content—introductions to characters, glimpses of the illustration process, perhaps even some news about where these stories might travel next. The four tales will be the heart of it, but they won't be the only thing beating.

 

A Final Thought

There's a line in one of Joules's stories—I won't tell you which one, because you might meet it this year—that goes like this:

 

"The best things arrive when you're not watching for them. That's why surprise exists. To remind us that we don't know everything. To remind us that the world still has gifts we haven't imagined."

 

That's what A Wonderful Year in Stories is, in the end. A gift we don't fully understand yet. A series of surprises, wrapped in paper and ink, arriving when they're needed most.

 

I hope you'll stay with us through all four seasons. I hope you'll let yourself be surprised. I hope that when each story appears—unexpected, unannounced, exactly when it's meant to—you'll feel what I feel every time Joules sends me something new.

 

That feeling of a gift arriving. Of a story finding its reader. Of the world being slightly more magical than it was a moment before.

 

With anticipation and warmth,

 

Sophia Salazar

Editor-in-Chief, Hollyhock Books