December 21, 2012
Posted by tom
New York Times bestseller
Wendy Corsi Staub is the award-winning author of more than 70 published novels and has sold more than three million books worldwide. Her latest effort,
SLEEPWALKER, is the second book in her suspense trilogy that began with
NIGHTWATCHER and will end with
SHADOWKILLER when it releases on January 29th. When she was in elementary school, Wendy desperately wanted a copy of FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER by E. L. Konigsburg. Despite a tight household budget, Wendy’s mother cooked up what sounded like a surefire way for Wendy to own the book. But there are some things in life you just can’t predict, as Wendy and her mom soon found out.
December 20, 2012
Posted by tom
An award-winning novelist with over five million books in print,
Jane Porter’s latest works of fiction are
THE GOOD WOMAN and
THE GOOD DAUGHTER (which releases on February 5th), the first two installments in her
Brennan Sisters series. As a child, Jane read books because it slowed time for her and filled her head with countless pictures and powerful emotions. So it’s no surprise that unwrapping books was the one activity she anticipated the most as soon as she woke up on Christmas morning.
December 19, 2012
Posted by tom
Max Allan Collins is the bestselling author of the graphic novel ROAD TO PERDITION, the basis for the hit film starring Tom Hanks, and has won two Shamus Awards for his Nathan Heller mysteries, the latest of which is
TARGET LANCER. Here, Max recalls the struggles he endured during the early days of his writing career and the two events occuring in consecutive years on December 24th that changed his life.
December 18, 2012
Posted by tom
Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over 200 books, including her latest holiday novel,
THE CHRISTMAS PONY. Here, Melody looks back on the fateful Christmas when she received a collection of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales from her mother. Her love for classics like “The Brave Tin Soldier” and “The Little Mermaid” continued to blossom throughout her life. Fittingly, she plans to pass on her favorite Hans Christian Andersen tales to her eight-year-old granddaughter this Christmas.
December 17, 2012
Posted by tom
Lisa Genova is the author of three novels:
STILL ALICE,
LEFT NEGLECTED and, most recently,
LOVE ANTHONY. She and her husband are both book lovers who discovered upon first meeting each other that they were reading the same book: Bill Bryson’s A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING. Since then, they look forward to giving each other books for Christmas --- fiction, nonfiction, books of poetry, travel books, you name it. Lisa has been kind enough to share with us some of these titles, which represent their love of literature and, more importantly, for each other.
December 16, 2012
Posted by tom
Beverly Lewis is the
New York Times bestselling author of more than 90 books, including
THE BRIDESMAID, the second installment in her
Home to Hickory Hollow series. Here, she recalls the Christmas Eve when she and her three children fell in love with Jan Brett’s THE MITTEN as they read it together by the fire.
December 15, 2012
Posted by tom
Mary Sharratt is the author of the critically acclaimed novels SUMMIT AVENUE, THE REAL MINERVA,
THE VANISHING POINT and
DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL. Her latest work of fiction,
ILLUMINATIONS: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen, released in October. In 2002, Mary moved from the sunny San Francisco Bay Area to Lancashire in northern England, where, in December, it was pitch black by 4pm. She explains how reading Susan Cooper’s young adult novel, THE DARK IS RISING, helped her put her own struggle with the midwinter darkness in perspective, seeing it as part of a deeper and eternal Story while illuminating the true meaning of the season.
December 14, 2012
Posted by tom
Historical and contemporary novelist
Dan Walsh, whose latest novel is
THE REUNION, relates his frantic search for THE ELF ON THE SHELF as a Christmas gift for his wife. Dan was convinced that the storybook would be the perfect present, as his wife’s grandmother used to read it to her as a child. Little did he know how shocked he would be on Christmas morning when she finally unwrapped the book.
December 13, 2012
Posted by tom
Amanda Cabot, the critically acclaimed writer of Christian historical romances and author of the newly released holiday novel
CHRISTMAS ROSES, reminisces on the Christmas gift that still resonates with her today. Her holiday favorite, LITTLE WOMEN, was lovingly given to her by her aunt and uncle, who, despite their financial struggles, wanted to make their niece’s dream of having her own copy of the book come true.
December 12, 2012
Posted by tom
Roberta Gately is a nurse, humanitarian aid worker, and the author of two novels:
LIPSTICK IN AFGHANISTAN and, most recently,
THE BRACELET. Here, she reveals the Christmas gift she would look forward to each year as a child. It wasn’t a new doll, a game, or a nightgown, but the rectangular telltale shape of a book under her Christmas tree.