Book Title: Jingled
Author: Evan J. Corbin
Publisher: Atonement Books, LLC
Cover Artist: https://openbookdesign.biz/
Release Date: November 7, 2025
Tense/POV: Third Person
Genres: MM Speculative Fiction; Satire
Theme: Family accepting a gay son
Heat Rating: 1 out of 5 flames
Length: 77 777 words/275 pages
It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
When Christmas never ends… Reality does.
A biting, satirical thriller about a world trapped in endless Christmas cheer.
Blurb
Matt Daughtry has always felt like he and his parents live in separate worlds—his shaped by the urbane, Northeastern liberal elite, theirs by Southern conservatism, homespun “common sense,” and talk show-fueled conspiracies. His homosexuality remains an open secret, something they sidestep rather than confront, much less accept. When he and his sister return for Christmas, the wrong sibling brings home a boyfriend for the first time.
What starts as a tense but routine holiday gathering takes a surreal turn the next morning. Flights are canceled, pilots and flight attendants mysteriously take time off, and by the following day, an estimated seventy-eight million Americans fail to return to work. Their explanation? They just want to spend more time with their families. Christmas can be every day when you’re with family.
His parents—and millions of Americans—are suffering from a bizarre condition, trapped in an endless holiday loop, determined to celebrate Christmas every day. They make choices that go against their self-interests. Blissfully unbothered by their accumulating debts, economic collapse, or even basic responsibilities, they live in a festive delusion seemingly fueled by an addictive algorithm used by an evangelical shopping app called MerryNet.
At first, Matt sees no reason to get involved. He’s never been able to reach his parents before—why would this be any different? But as the syndrome spreads, paralyzing the country, he stumbles upon evidence linking the outbreak to corporate actors intent on silencing their perceived right-wing enemies. Faced with a choice between complicity and action, Matt realizes that exposing the truth may come at the cost of his career, safety, and sanity. But the country may slide further into a dystopian nightmare if he doesn’t act.
With the help of his boyfriend and sister, Matt must not only uncover the syndrome’s cause and cure but also confront the deeper divisions tearing his family—and the nation—apart.
He returned to the rental house, absentmindedly chewing on a dry breakfast bar while fumbling for the television remote. This time, a news anchor was reporting live from outside the White House, so Matt turned up the volume.
“Our breaking news story continues to develop, Alex, but we can now report that President Bloom hasn’t left the residence since Christmas Day,” the reporter said.
The station anchor’s voice cut in, sharp and incredulous. “Susan, do your sources indicate why the public is only finding out about this now?”
The reporter pressed a finger to her earpiece, glancing over her shoulder at the building behind her. “I’m just getting confirmation now—sources say the president of the United States is believed to be suffering from Christmas Syndrome. The White House physician was seen leaving the residence earlier this morning.”
The anchor’s tone grew more urgent. “Susan, hold that thought. We’re getting word of a live press conference from the White House. Stay with us.”
Matt froze mid-chew, the partially eaten bar forgotten in his hand. He cracked open an energy drink and took a sip, wiping off the dribble that had fallen down his chin as he stared at the screen. The camera shifted to the briefing room podium, where the White House press secretary stepped forward into a barrage of camera flashes.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” she said, waving her arms to calm them and repeating herself. “I have a statement, and then I can answer your questions.”
The room fell silent, absent a smattering of camera flashes. “The president has been working from the residence and spending time with the first family since Christmas Day,” she began, reading from a paper. “White House Chief of Staff Ralph Murphy became concerned when the president canceled a call with the UK prime minister and refused to take briefings on Sunday and over the following days. As a precaution, he requested that the White House physician conduct a routine evaluation.”
She paused, looking up at the reporters in the room. “At 9:41 this morning, the White House physician concluded his examination. While the president appears cognizant and otherwise healthy, he insists today is Christmas. And Christmas is for family.”
The briefing room on the television erupted into chaos, reporters shouting over one another as the press secretary struggled to maintain control. Matt sank into the living room couch, his mind racing to connect the dots. The warning from the guy in line at the mall’s food court. His parents’ unsettling behavior. The carolers. Gas shortages. The airline representative who never called to rebook their flight. It all swirled together in his head, forming a picture he didn’t want to see. Jesus, he thought, the enormity of it pressing down on his chest.
Evan is a member of the LGBTQ community who fancies himself as a playboy socialite, living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Between work and lucid moments of sobriety, he writes a little. His debut novel is a light-hearted work that still manages to confront religious hypocrisy and contemporary LGBTQ struggles to balance their loss of culture with new-found civil rights.
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