Here are some great new Christmas books coming out this fall...I'm psyched!
A Piggly Wiggly Christmas by Robert Dalby (November 25, 2010)
Christmas is especially festive in the small Delta town of Second Creek, Mississippi.
When the big MegaMart off the interstate starts to drain away business from Second Creek's historic town square, Laurie Lepanto approaches the mayor, Hale Dunbar-previously the proprietor of Second Creek's Piggly Wiggly supermarket-with a scheme to revitalize the area.
But when an electrical fire devastates the square's beautiful old buildings a week before Christmas, everything is thrown into chaos. It falls to the town's indefatigable army of matrons-the Nitwitts-to find a way to revive the holiday spirit and raise money to rebuild. It will take a miracle... But it's Christmas in Second Creek, where everyday miracles are a way of life.
The Christmas Chronicles: The Legend of Santa Claus by Tim Slover (November 2, 2010)
Just in time for the holidays comes a heartwarming and irresistible Christmas story---the true and complete history of Santa Claus---sure to delight fans of Richard Paul Evans and inspire people of all ages looking for a little holiday spirit.
Christmas with Tucker by Greg Kincaid (November 2, 2010)
From the author of
A Dog Named Christmas. No description available at this time, but this is a prequel to the previous book.
On Christmas Eve: A Cape Light Novel by Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer (Nov. 2, 2010)
Lucy and Charlie's relationship has been on the rocks, but just as Lucy's about to call it quits, a runaway teenager crosses her path. It turns out this girl has been shuffled from home to home and has decided to make her own destiny-landing in Cape Light. Lucy takes her in despite Charlie's protests. This could be the thing that makes or breaks their frayed relationship...
With a grown son embarking on his own life, and an ex-husband starting a new family, Betty realizes it's time to find a partner of her own. Then Santa bears an unexpected gift at the Rotary Club's Christmas party: himself. Beyond the red suit and the padding, she notices a twinkle in his eye. Has the holiday cheer gone to her head, or is she really attracted to a struggling magazine writer who plays dress-up? But things aren't always as they seem, especially in Cape Light-and unless Betty realizes that good things come in different packages, she risks Santa passing over her this Christmas.
Carolina Christmas: Archibald Rutledge's Enduring Holiday Stories edited by Jim Casada (Nov. 1, 2010)
Carolina Christmas collects for the first time holiday stories of Archibald Rutledge (1883-1973), one of the most prolific outdoor and nature writers of the twentieth century and the first poet laureate of South Carolina. Some of Rutledge's finest writing revolves around his vivid memories of hunt, hearth, and holidays. These memories are celebrated in this keepsake collection of enduring stories and poems, further augmented with traditional recipes and food lore associated with the season.
Archibald Rutledge spent decades teaching at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania. All the while he supplemented his income through his writings in order to support a growing family and restoration efforts at Hampton Plantation, his ancestral home in coastal South Carolina--now a state historic site. Each Christmas, Rutledge returned to his cherished Hampton Plantation for hunting, celebrations of the season, and renewal of his decidedly Southern soul. This annual migration home meant the opportunity to enjoy hunting and communion with nature--so vitally important to him--and to renew acquaintances with those living on neighboring plantations and with the African American community he immortalized in his book God's Children.
Rutledge wrote dozens of stories and poems revolving around the Hampton Hunt, fellowship with family and friends, the serenity of the winter woods, and his appetite for seasonal Southern foodways. Edited by Jim Casada, this collection highlights the very best of Rutledge's holiday tales in a vibrant tapestry through which Christmas runs as a bright, sparkling thread. In these tales of Christmas past--each representative of the author's sterling literary reputation and continuing popularity--Rutledge guides us once more into a world of traditions now largely lost. But to tread those forgotten trails once more, to sample and savor the foods he loved, and to experience vicariously the sport he so enjoyed is to experience the wonder of yesteryear.
The Mischief of the Mistletoe: A Pink Carnation Christmas by Lauren Willig (Oct. 28, 2010)
****my most anticipated Christmas release...squeeee...can't wait****
description from Goodreads:
Arabella Dempsey’s dear friend Jane Austen warned her against teaching. But Miss Climpson’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies seems the perfect place for Arabella to claim her independence while keeping an eye on her younger sisters nearby. Just before Christmas, she accepts a position at the quiet girls’ school in Bath, expecting to face nothing more exciting than conducting the annual Christmas recital. She hardly imagines coming face to face with French aristocrats and international spies…
Reginald “Turnip” Fitzhugh—often mistaken for the elusive spy known as the Pink Carnation—has blundered into danger before. But when he blunders into Miss Arabella Dempsey, it never occurs to him that she might be trouble. When Turnip and Arabella stumble upon a beautifully wrapped Christmas pudding with a cryptic message written in French, “Meet me at Farley Castle”, the unlikely vehicle for intrigue launches the pair on a Yuletide adventure that ranges from the Austens’ modest drawing room to the awe-inspiring estate of the Dukes of Dovedale, where the Dowager Duchess is hosting the most anticipated event of the year: an elaborate 12-day Christmas celebration. Will they find poinsettias or peril, dancing or danger? And is it possible that the fate of the British Empire rests in Arabella and Turnip’s hands, in the form of a festive Christmas pudding?
The Christmas Journey by Donna VanLiere (Oct. 26, 2010)
For one solid month Christmas is everywhere. You can’t miss it. The celebration stretches from one end of the globe to the other. Other holidays receive a one-day recognition but Christmas is one-twelfth of the calendar year. There are stores, books, movies, songs and careers that are dedicated to Christmas. All because of one unassuming birth.
Because of this birth history is divided into BC (before Christ) and AD (anno Domini, in the year of the Lord). Every event in history is dated around this birth. The 80-mile journey of a common carpenter and a simple peasant girl is one of the most powerful stories in history. As books go out of print and stories fade from memory the journey of Joseph and Mary and her delivery inside a common barn continues to bless and inspire hope in people around the world.
A Christmas Odyssey: A Novel by Anne Perry (Oct. 26, 2010)
Once again, the distinguished mathematician Henry Rathbone is approached to help solve a mystery. This time, the call comes from an old friend whose son has gone missing--and just before the Christmas holiday. Now in his early twenties, Lucien has known trouble for some time and has often fallen victim to the vices of drugs, alcohol and women. Thus, his father now fears the worst.
Henry's first thought is to enlist the help of Hester, since her work in the East End clinic might prove useful. However, when he calls in at the clinic, the first person he meets is their old friend, Squeaky Robinson, who says he mustn't involve a good woman in this kind of search, and volunteers himself instead. Henry agrees and, joined by Crow, a young doctor at the clinic, the pair trawls the pubs, brothels and opium dens of the West End, which in some ways are even worse than those in the East. After all, these establishments cater to people with money, and as a result the entertainment procured is more extreme and dangerous.
The trio finds a young barmaid who actually knows Lucien and who insists on coming to help them, and through their sleuthing, they find even more troubling information about the missing youth: he had become obsessed with a woman called Sadie, and had begun working for a major drugs dealer.
Eventually, the group finds Lucien on the streets, but badly injured following a vicious knife-fight. He asks them to let him die: he's beyond redemption. But of course, they refuse to do this and instead patch him up and nurse him, all-the-while still wondering about the elusive Sadie. The only clue to her whereabouts seems to be a pool of dried blood.
Eventually they learn Sadie's sad truth--a tale of prostitution and murder. But just as this comes to light, the detectives' own situation becomes increasingly dire. The drug baron is not a man to be toyed with and Rathbone and his friends quickly realize he has them trapped, confined to a labyrinth of underground passages and alleyways.
Finally, with nothing left to lose, Lucien embarks on an act of bravery and self-sacrifice that will ultimately save all their lives and reunite father and son for a much-deserved Christmas celebration.
Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop edited by Otto Penzler (Oct. 12, 2010)
Each year, for the past seventeen years, Otto Penzler, owner of the legendary Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, has commissioned an original story by a leading mystery writer. The requirements were that it be a mystery/ crime/suspense story, that it be set during the Christmas season, and that at least some of the action must take place in The Mysterious Bookshop. These stories were then produced as pamphlets, 1,000 copies, and given to customers of the bookstore as a Christmas present.
Now, all of these stories have been collected in one volume—Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop. Some of the tales are humorous, others suspenseful, and still others mystifying. This charming one-of-a-kind collection is a perfect Christmas gift, appropriate for all ages and tastes.
Contributors include:
Charles Ardai
Lisa Atkinson
George Baxt
Lawrence Block
Mary Higgins Clark
Thomas H. Cook
Ron Goulart
Jeremiah Healy
Edward D. Hoch
Rupert Holmes
Andrew Klavan
Michael Malone
Ed McBain
Anne Perry
S. J. Rozan
Jonathan Santlofer
Donald E. Westlake
The Perfect Love Song: A Holiday Story by Patti Callahan Henry (Oct. 12, 2010)
Jimmy Sullivan has been living on the road with his brother, Jack, and his band The Unknown Souls. Without a place to call home, Jimmy and Jack lead a nomadic life filled with music and anonymous cities. When they return to a place Jimmy never wants to see again—their old hometown of Seaboro, South Carolina—he falls in love with Charlotte Carrington.
With his soul now filled with hope, Jimmy writes his first love song. When he performs it at a holiday concert to a standing ovation, the lyrics are dubbed the “Perfect Love Song,” so much so that Jimmy finds himself going on tour with famous country music stars, catapulted into a world where the trappings of fame and fortune reign supreme.
All too soon, the hope that had once inspired Jimmy to write such beautiful, genuine lyrics is overshadowed by what the song can do for him and his career. In his thirst for recognition, he agrees to miss Jack’s wedding in Ireland to sing at a Christmas Eve concert. And his ties to Charlotte seem to be ever so quickly slipping away.
Alone in New York City on Christmas Eve, Jimmy finally sees—with the help of a Christmas miracle or two—that his material gains are nothing compared to love, that he is losing all that really matters in his life. Is it too late to find his way to Ireland, to his brother, and to love?
Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball: A Novella by Donita K. Paul (Oct. 5, 2010)
Can mysterious matchmaking booksellers bring two lonely hearts together in time for Christmas?
In a sleepy, snow-covered city, Cora Crowder is busy preparing for the holiday season. Searching for a perfect gift, a fortuitous trip to Warner, Werner, and Wizbotterdad’s (a most unusual bookshop) leads to an unexpected encounter with co-worker Simon Derrick. And the surprise discovery of a ticket for a truly one-of-a-kind Christmas Ball.
Every year, the matchmaking booksellers of the Sage Street bookshop host an enchanting, old-fashioned Christmas Ball for the romantic matches they’ve decided to bring together.
This year, will Simon and Cora discover a perfect chemistry in their opposite personalities and shared faith? Or will the matchmakers’ best laid plans end up ruining everything this holiday?
Christmas at Harrington's by Melody Carlson (Oct. 1, 2010)
Christmas is approaching, and Lena Markham finds herself penniless, friendless, and nearly hopeless. She is trying to restart her life after false accusations landed her in prison, but job opportunities are practically nonexistent. When a secondhand red coat unexpectedly lands her a job as Mrs. Santa at a department store, Lena finally thinks her luck is changing. But can she keep her past a secret? This tender story about fresh starts will charm readers as all of Melody Carlson's Christmas offerings do. Full of redemption and true holiday spirit, Christmas at Harrington's will be readers' newest Christmas tradition.
Carol: A Story for Christmas by Bob Hartman (Aug. 1, 2010)
Jack O'Malley hates shopping,snow, and even Christmas. All three at once is Jack's idea of a very bad day. Storming into a Starbucks seeking escape, Jack runs smack into a beautiful and mysterious stranger, almost knocking her over and unintentionally changing his life forever. In this one moment his entire life—who he once was, who he is, and who he has the potential to become—flashes before his eyes. In this humorous rendering of Charles Dickens' classic tale, timeless lessons are reexamined through the lens of modern society. The result is funny, moving, and ultimately thought-provoking.
*all descriptions are from
amazon.com unless otherwise noted.
Which titles are you looking forward to?
Happy Christmas in July!
Always in spirit...
