ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty (2) But McGinley's book had just the most basic story — about Santa wanting a year off and the children of the world rallying around ...

It's the 40th anniversary of "The Year Without a Santa Claus," so for this new edition of Salon's two-sentence fiction series, we asked our acclaimed novelists to include Heat-Miser and Cold-Miser.

Santa Claus and the mischievous brothers Heat Miser and Snow Miser are the targets of yuletide treachery when the North Wind tries to take Santa's place.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty (2) Heat Miser in 'The Year Without a Santa Claus' (right); Snow ...