De Last Pete and Their Fourty Fabrications

This project is only available in Dutch, sorry.

This is a bundle of 40 stories around a major national holiday in Dutch: Saint Nicholas. All the short stories are standalone, some no longer than a few pages. But if you read them all, in order, you’ll find a larger story about the magical life of Nikolaas!

I wrote this bundle mostly by accident. I participated in a writing contest (that wanted Saint Nicholas stories specifically), but when I finished my submission I had a huge list of ideas for writing more stories in this world. My approach was more “fantastical”, giving Saint Nicholas magic and having it take place in a world that was subtly different from ours. I imagined a funny structure in which every story seemed to start with Nicholas being a criminal, but every time it quickly turned out to be a funny misunderstanding.

Before I knew it, this entire bundle was in my hands a mere 3 weeks later. All stories short and fun to read, but certainly meant to tell a bigger story together.

What’s special?

This was my first bundle publication. It also almost became my longest publication ever, because forty stories—no matter how short—do combine into a load of pages.

This was also my final work to be written in Dutch. I expect this to never change again, but you never know. (I only write English now. Only in rare cases, sucha s the Saga of Life, do I translate between both languages.)

Finally, this bundle is a mix between light-hearted adventures and more serious themes. I know that children can handle and even appreciate this. I know that I was bored to death, as a child, from all the overly simplistic stories in which nothing of note happened and everything was 100% fine in the end.

I also know many parents think this is too serious or “not done”. I hope they still give the bundle a chance and maybe change their mind.