Christmas Fiction

The holiday season has arrived, and Richmond is bustling with activity. But for the Reids, this Christmas marks the first anniversary of the accident that changed their lives forever. Sixteen-year-old Scott Reid is working Christmas weekend when he meets an elderly man dressed in clothes as outdated as his automobile. The stranger explains he was passing through when his car broke down. Realizing that the man is stranded, Scott invites him home to spend Christmas with his family. Soon after the guest arrives, unexpected things begin to happen, leaving the Reids to wonder if something more than coincidence has brought this stranger to their home. Then, on Christmas morning they discover who their special guest really is. What they learn may be the most wondrous part of all.

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It begins with a writer's dilemmaQhe's been asked by "The New York Times" to write a story that will appear in the paper on Christmas morning. The writer agrees, but he has a problemQhow does one write an unsentimental Christmas story? The result is Auster's timeless, utterly charming Christmas fable, beautifully illustrated and destined to become a classic. 0-8050-7723-5$17.50 / Henry Holt & Company

The national bestselling author celebrates the Yuletide season with one all-new Regency Christmas tale--plus four of her most beloved holiday classics.

From the "New York Times" bestselling author of "Circle of Friends" and "The Glass Lake" comes "This Year It Will Be Different," a stunning new work that brings us the magic and spirit of Christmas in fifteen stories filled with Maeve Binchy's trademark wit, charm, and sheer storytelling genius. Instead of nostalgia, Binchy evokes contemporary life; instead of Christmas homilies, she offers truth; and instead of sugarplums, she brings us the nourishment of holidays that precipitate change, growth, and new beginnings.
In " A Typical Irish Christmas, " a grieving New York widower heads for a holiday in Ireland and finds an unexpected destination not just for himself, but for a father and daughter at odds. The title story " This Year It Will Be Different" also delves into the emotions of a person at mid-life--a woman with a complacent hu

Four award-winning romance authors--and one critically-acclaimed newcomer--contribute to this holiday treat containing all-new heartwarming Regency romances. Stories are from authors Sandra Heath, Carla Kelly, Edith Layton, Amanda McCabe, and Barbara Metzger.

After the death of her mother, a college student discovers she was adopted. When she goes in search of her biological family, she finds a shocking lineage. Carlson's tale of loss, recovery, and acceptance will captivate current fans and create new ones.

In a major departure from his usual work, bestselling author John Grisham tells a charming fable of one couple's hilarious attempt to escape Christmas, only to be forced by friends and family to rediscover the true meaning of the season.

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There's a new pastor at the Cove Road Church in Covington. He discovers that the pastor 40 years ago had never graduated from ministerial school and was therefore not qualified to marry anyone--so the marriages of several long-"married" couples are invalid! The couples want to remarry on Christmas Eve, but with the church desperately in need of repairs and lacking the funds to fix the rotting floorboards and the outdated heating system, how can they get it ready in time? The ladies of Covington--Grace, Hannah and Amelia--step in to help organize the event. With all the folks in Covington working together to raise funds, and despite last-minute obstacles that threaten to stop the weddings, the ladies of Covington help save the day! And on Christmas Eve, all the gray-haired couples can walk down the aisle on

A bus driver takes his grandson along on Saturdays as he travels a historical route around New York City. What comes out of these travels is a series of wonderful adventures that culminates on Christmas Eve, when the bus gets stuck in a snowstorm. Watercolor illustrations.

Three stories from renowned Harlequin authors celebrate the warmth and magic of Christmas. In these stories--"A Christmas Romance, An Outback Christmas", and "Sarah's First Christmas"--Cupid slings his arrows at a hospital clerk in London, a news reporter in Australia, and a Montana woman who rescues an abandoned child.

Luke Potter vows to put an end to Susan Carpenter's gaudy Christmas display. But before his case gets to court, he gets to know the surprisingly charismatic woman he's up against. And suddenly the season seems much more joyful.

Narrated by the chief gardener from Rockefeller Center, it is the tale of a little girl named Anna from New York City who is orphaned and sent to live in a convent. Lonely and unaccustomed to her new surroundings, Anna befriends, as only a child can, a tiny fir tree. "Tree", as she calls him, becomes Anna's best and most special friend. They grow up together, unlocking the secrets of friendship as well as sharing the wonders of nature. Indeed, it is this profound appreciation and love of nature that Anna later, as Sister Anthony, passes on to her adoring students. Of course, nature is not without its tragedies, and when Tree is threatened by a cruel winter storm, Sister Anthony, now an old woman, decides to finally give up her dearest friend - allowing him to become what is perhaps the most enjoyed and famous Christmas tree of all. The pe

It's a Christmas full of unexpected romance when a man rescues a widow and her child from a raging snowstorm and brings them along to a house party for the holidays. Original.

This wonderfully subversive holiday gift package reprints Sedaris' deliciously acerbic short story "The Santaland Diaries" and combines it with two equally sardonic Sedaris Christmas classics plus an all-new holiday tale. For everyone who's had enough of the forced good cheer, family madness, and commercial overkill of Christmas, "Holiday on Ice" is the perfect antidote.

When it finally snows just four days before Christmas, the people of Ryland Falls are forced to stop hurrying and take time to celebrate. "Reading "Giovanni's Light" is like being transported by magic into one of those miniature villages under an old-fashioned Christmas tree."--Sue Grafton. Line drawings.

"On the first Christmas, so say the Christians, a redeemer was born to save our kind from the consequences of our greed, waste, pride, cruelty, and arrogance. No redeemer appeared for the animals; however, none was needed. The animals were much the same then as they are now, just as God made them, perfect according to his plan..". So begins this resonant tale by one of our most gifted storytellers and most perceptive animal watchers, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas. When an unusual star appears on the horizon one clear winter night, among those drawn to its bright promise are two shepherds - a dog named Lila and Ima, a goat. Therein lies an adventure, and Thomas's departure from the familiar story treasured by generations. With their flock, the animals journey to Bethlehem and home again, witnesses to a redemption of which they have no need. Ye

A temperamental Yorkie provokes Yuletide mayhem at an English country house...A puppy forgotten in Santa's bag helps quell a coup at the North Pole...During a snow-white Christmas, a Portuguese water dog noses out murder at a Vermont inn...and many more!

These thrilling tales of canine derring-do give dog lovers the treat of celebrating Christmas with sleuthhounds of many breeds -- as they sniff out crime and render holiday justice.

These fine-spun stories-- wrapped in watercolor illustrations-- transport us straight to the heart of the holidays. In tales that echo our own reminiscences, eleven storytellers share the magic, melancholy, and mirth of the season. And after the icicle lights have been unplugged, the tree has been wrestled to the curb, and the last sugar cookie has been eaten, these glimpses of Christmases large and small, harried and hopeful, will call to mind the time of year when, for a brief moment, everything seems right with the world.