Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket, has moved from A Series of Unfortunate Events to stories about Hanukkah and Christmas. (Jeff Chiu/Associated Press)

If the saccharine sentiment of Christmas children's stories wears you down, Lemony Snicket has just the remedy.

The pseudonymous author behind the novels A Series of Unfortunate Events has penned his second holiday book.

And not just any holiday book, but a Christmas story about a walking, talking lump of coal that wants to be an artist.

Snicket's book A Lump of Coal is a response to the relentless cheer of Christmas in North America, said Daniel Handler, the San Francisco-based writer who answers to the name Lemony Snicket.

"There are some good holiday stories. But until now, the din of tedium tends to drown out the whining of genius," he told CBC's Q cultural affairs show.

Snicket began his holiday series with the 2007 book, The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming.

'I prefer the opposite'

Handler said people are attracted to dark and subversive stories this time of year, in part because of the dark and cold outside.

"In real life, I prefer miracles and goodness. In a work of art, I prefer the opposite. I think people often get confused over what they like in one versus the other," he said.

"When you're travelling on an ocean liner, you would prefer it to be iceberg-free. If you're watching a movie about an ocean liner, you would prefer it to run into the iceberg as soon as possible, drowning whatever good-looking actors are aboard."

Children are particularly attracted to a twisting story line — even twists on subjects as upbeat as Christmas, he said.

"What is remarkable about young people is that the second they learn something, they have the ability to subvert it," Handler said.

Handler said he doesn't like to underestimate children's ability to understand humour and dark subjects. Most children have never seen Bela Lugosi perform Dracula, but they are still able to understand the humour of the Sesame Street character, the Count.

"People often say this to me — they say, 'Your references are often aimed at adults.' I say 'If only.' If only we lived in a world where adults would say, 'I believe that's a sly reference to Les Fleurs du mal, the poetic masterpiece of Charles Baudelaire.'"

Children are more accepting of references they don't understand, and more likely to go to the library and look up things they don't know about, Handler said. They also know good story-telling.

"I think holiday stories don't necessarily need to provide lessons and stories and reassurances, but should be entertaining and engaging," Handler said.

"If you set out to teach a moral lesson, you'll probably make a tedious story. If you make a good story, it will probably end up to have a moral lesson."