It happened one cold December morning... Writer John Passfield leaves his home, buys a coffee and drives down to the shores of Lake Erie to perform a Christmas ritual---strolling along the beach at Port Maitland. It's something he's done for many years. But this year is different. This year John suddenly finds himself in the writing room of famed Victorian novelist Charles Dickens, who sets out his new idea for a Christmas tale. Dickens invites John to watch rehearsals for the writing of the story, but as Dickens struggles through contentious negotiations with his amazingly independent characters, John wonders whether A Christmas Carol will ever be written! Together, this short novel and its companion journal and notebook comprise the thirty-second installment in an on-going novel-writing project in which the author is exploring the concept of form and meaning in the novel, and of the novel as a form of expression in the 21st century. Readers seeking further insight into John and Dickens: A Christmas Mystery may enjoy The Making of John and Dickens: A Christmas Mystery---A Reflective Journal , which records the author's reflections on the process of crafting the novella, as well as Planning John and Dickens: A Christmas Mystery---A Planning Notebook , which records the day-by-day development of the novel as it found its shape and style. The notebook reveals how a vast cluster of thoughts was sifted, selected, structured and polished. All of the journals and notebooks are available for free download at the author's website.