Christmas Short Stories Anthology

Christmas is coming – and so is love. Love is in the air this Christmas, and three couples are finding that working at the holidays comes with an unexpected benefit – a soul mate. This holiday anthology includes three previously published novellas, together for the first time in one collection. Each steamy story features a midlife couple, an alpha male, an independent woman, meddling friends, and a guaranteed happily ever after. Dating Santa: A Hot Workplace Seasoned Romance Forty-year-old Samantha has never had much interest in falling in love. Her troubled childhood taught her that ...

Christmas brings out the best and the worst in us, as can been seen in this evocative anthology. Among what Thomas Love Peacock calls the "many poetical charms in the heraldings of Christmas," there are eulogies by saints and diatribes from curmudgeons. Here, Christmas is expounded by divines, sung by rustics, deplored by philosophers, made mystical in stories and summed up in a line by the poet Elizabeth Jennings: "The hush, the star, the baby, people being kind again."

Angie Reynolds' heart aches for a husband and family of her own. Unfortunately, she's looked for love in all the wrong places with nothing to show for it but disappointment. None of the guys she's dated is worthy of her, including her ex-husband. This Christmas season looks to be another one spent alone. Yet until Angie realizes her own worth, she will never be able to accept the gift of love from someone like Brad Miller.

Christmas with Princess Mirror-Belle features two festive stories from Julia Donaldson. Ellen gets a big shock when her reflection climbs out of a mirror. But Mirror-Belle is a double with a difference! She is a princess, and a very mischievous one at that. Join Mirror-Belle as she sweeps Ellen into hilarious Christmassy escapades - from joining in with the Christmas ballet show to attending Ellen's friend's fancy-dress party and trying to catch Father Christmas!

This edition of Christmas Stories for the Heart offers an uplifting collection of many of the best Christmas stories ever told. The heartwarming and tender treasury - another release in the best-selling Stories for the Heart series from Alice Gray - includes stories by several of America's most respected and beloved Christian communicators. It's the perfect holiday gift to give or to keep for listeners who want to curl up by a crackling fire and renew their faith, hope, and love for the holiday season.

Single mom Meghan Shaunessy and her four-year-old autistic son Liam move to Heaven, Pa., for a temporary post as a special education teacher. Her parents were killed in a tragic car accident, and she wanted to be close to her sister; her only remaining family. Playboy bartender at Nick's Bar & Bistro, Byron Watts hides a deep pain from the casual hookups in his life. Grieving over the loss of his toddler son, he keeps things as fluid as the drinks he serves. Nobody will get close again. Byron lives above her in her new apartment and Meghan tags him immediately as a man like her ex.

In Christmas at Red Butte, Theodora, the jolliest, bravest girl of 16 in all Saskatchewan pawns a precious locket so she can afford to buy toys for the poor family that has kindly taken her in after her own parents died. A heartwarming Christmas story for all generations by Anne of Green Gables author Lucy Maud Montgomery.

The holidays have arrived in Avalon, Illinois and everyone is filled with festive cheer. Well, maybe not everyone. The husbands of Avalon have started a Bah Humbug Club. A neighborhood cookie exchange wreaks havoc on Erin Meeks' carefully planned life. Melvin O'Malley's daughter has abandoned him for the holidays in a senior facility, and shop owner Margot West is intent on creating the best holiday shopping experience for her customers when a stranger threatens to ruin it. But a few surprises await them as well.

Celebrate the joys of the holiday season with a trio of exquisitely crafted, richly romantic tales by three of the brightest stars in contemporary fiction. Filled with passion, drama, and a touch of magic, this festive gathering of classic Christmas stories—available for the first time in ten years—tells about the lives and loves of one unforgettable family and the enchanted heirloom that links one generation to the next.

Papa was a great storyteller, and his daughter wouldn’t settle for recycled tales. While Papa was not interested in telling stories he was badgered enough to come up with a whopper. Prepare to smile, and to wonder what it would really be like if it were Christmas every day - at least the way we often celebrate it.

Alice McKinney was supposed to be home for the holidays. Instead, she’s trapped in a blizzard, held up in a small cabin somewhere on the coast of Oregon. If that wasn’t bad enough, her brother had sent his best friend, Eric, to drive her home instead. The man of her childhood dreams. It was supposed to be a simple road trip for him, too: Go down to Cali, grab Alice, and bring her home to Portland. But spending 15 hours in a car with the girl he’d always wanted - but couldn’t have - was punishment.

The beloved Victorian Christmas ghost storytelling tradition continues to thrive in modern day, and this multi-genre anthology of short stories is proof. Cuddle up next to a crackling fire with some holiday music playing softly in the background, and lose yourself in eight amazing Christmas stories by a gang of super-talented, cross-genre authors. Not only are they heartwarming, but they incorporate mystery, science fiction, romance and ghosts!

Christmas, the happiest time of year. Plum puddings, candy canes, carols by the fireside. But outside, the mist lies deep and still. Frost gnaws at your fingertips. Shadowy forms lurk in the evergreens. It’s the season for ghost stories.

In spite of a brief experimentation early in their relationship, Doc and Carrie Baumgartner have since maintained a monogamous marriage without too much difficulty or even temptation - until now. A move far from home, coupled with new friends and long hours away from each other, have left the young Baumgartner couple on shaky ground. Doc believes bringing in someone "new" like they did early in their relationship might add just the spice their marriage needs, but Carrie isn't so sure about that plan.

Decades after her divorce, a lady returns to the village of her tumultuous marriage. A railway carriage hosts a charged schoolboy encounter. A murder raises fears of blackmail. A woman waits anxiously in a café before eloping to Paris. Another steals a friend's kitchen knife. In these bittersweet tales, the author of Lolly Willowes reveals her mastery of the short story, celebrated by the New Yorker for decades. Sylvia Townsend Warner is a tragicomic chronicler of the heart's entanglements.

Ada knows true love and happily-ever-afters only exist in the romance books she reads. It's Christmas...again. She needs to get away from home, away from the dreaded memories of her failed marriage. The serene Green Mountain Inn seems like the ideal place. But there’s not the only reason. It’s also her favorite romance author Patricia Millett’s rumored hangout spot. There, Ada runs into Warren, a charming guy, who's also come to the Green Mountain for a break from life. An uncanny chemistry sparks between them. Ada knows not to trust it.

Nothing puts a damper on the Christmas spirit more than a fluffy white rooster named Sweetie. Reginald and his flock plot to serve the big bully a helping of humble pie with the aid of their fellow farm animals and some creative storytelling. Will they end up on Santa's naughty list? Or Martha's stewpot? And can they teach a humbug how to get along?

Six talented authors make your Christmas lights twinkle with these modern-day adaptations of Jane Austen's novels. Curl up with some peppermint tea and enjoy something special in your stocking this holiday season.

From an unexpected visitor on Christmas Eve in "The Christmas Mouse" to an unwanted change of plan in "No Holly For Miss Quinn", Miss Read recounts some of the most memorable Christmas events where often, despite best-laid plans, things do not always go as expected.For heart-warming reading there is no writer to rival Miss Read, and this charming collection of Christmas tales is packed with unforgettable characters, enchanting stories and festive cheer.

A vicar nailed to a tree in Yorkshire. The theft of a priceless artefact during a fire. A detective forced to tell the truth for 24 hours. A body hidden in a basement. From the restless streets of London to the wilds of the Lake District, displaying all his trademark humour, playfulness and clever plotting, this landmark collection brings together the very best of Reginald Hill’s short stories for the first time, complete with a foreword from Val McDermid.