Every summer a mysterious man known only as "Frank" arrives to help George Givens's grandfather with his farmwork. No one knows the hired man's last name, where he comes from, or why he always seems to be so sad. Once the season's crops are harvested, he disappears only to reappear the following summer. This routine continues for many years -- until one fateful Christmas Eve.The hired man never returns to the Givens farm after that day, and the mystery of his final disappearance seems destined to remain unsolved. Then, on Christmas Eve many years later, George serendipitously discovers the long-lost hired man's fate. This discovery teaches him a powerful lesson about the importance of family and the endurance of love."The Hired Man's Christmas" is a story of simpler times, but its message resonates across the years and in the hearts of fathers and sons even today.

    And a neighbor who needs cheering.When Leah returns to Alaska after years as a travel writer, she plans to make her log cabin a home. Christmas decorations fill every room. She spreads the holiday spirit by cooking for her neighbor. Having failed at romance in the past, she isn’t looking for love now.After losing his hotel management job right before Christmas, Ben’s staying in a friend’s cabin to lick his wounds and consider his options. The cute woman in the neighboring cabin is appealing, but he may need to leave the state for work. Is there a way for them to have a merry future together?Merrying in Alaska is a stand-alone book that can also be read as book 2.5 in the sweet and clean Alaska Dream Romance series. If you like charming holiday stories, adorable kittens, and happy endings, then you’ll love this novella. Includes two cookie recipes!Buy Merrying in Alaska to bring Christmas joy today!Previously published as a book by Shannon L. Brown.

    King of the whittlers.' Sunday Telegraph Barn The Spoon, as he’s affectionately known is a rare master craftsman in the art of spoon carving. In this book he generously shares his extraordinary skill, gentle philosophy and his life’s work – designing and carving beautiful spoons that are both a joy to use and hold.The simple, ordinary spoon is part of our everyday lives, intimately entwined with the acts of eating and socialising, from stirring our first cup of coffee to scraping the last bit of pudding from the bowl. And who doesn't like to spoon in bed? Barn’s spoons will take you on a journey into the new wood culture, from understanding the relationship between wood, the raw material and its majestic origins in our trees and woodland, to the workshop and the axe block, and into your own kitchen. Barn will show you how to use the axe and knife, from how they should feel in your hand to honing the perfect edge when carving your own spoons. Featuring sixteen unique designs in the four main categories of spoon – eating, serving, cooking and measuring spoons, Barn takes you through the nuances of their making, how each design is informed by its function at the table or in the kitchen, and the key skills you will learn – such as creating octagonal handles, manipulating grain patterns and mastering bent branches. Beautiful photography will inspire and act as a blue-print to help perfect your technique.

     Packed full of expert advice on all aspects of quilting, patchwork and applique it holds the answer to all your quilting questions. This is the most comprehensive book on the market for patchwork, quilting and applique techniques and is ideal for both the beginner looking for trustworthy advice in a single volume and the committed quilter searching for authoritative reference for seldom-used techniques. It presents essential advice and instructions alongside a wide range of inspirational samples of work collected from international top-name quilters. It also features over 15 quilt projects including cot quilts, bed quilts, lap quilts, bags, cushions, wall hangings, table mats and runners, and other beautiful projects for the home. Easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions, clear diagrams and stunning photography combine to create this must-have resource for quilters of all abilities. Techniques covered include quilting basics such as making a quilt sandwich, hand and machine quilting, basting and binding a quilt. Other techniques include big stitch, sashiko, free motion, corded and stuffed (trapunto) quilting. There are instructions for over 100 different patchwork blocks, with detailed instructions for different kinds of piecing such as English paper piecing, foundation piecing and strip piecing. Techniques for applique are also included which cover different types of applique such as needle-turn; reverse, inlaid and shadow applique as well as using freezer paper and fusible web.

    While she's focused on creating a magical Christmas for their seven-month-old daughter, Via, all Cooper is asking from Santa is to finally be able to call Celina his wife. Celina wants nothing more than to become Mrs. Cooper Harris, except ties to her past keep her from making the leap. Hoping to lift her Christmas spirits, with the rest of the SCVC Taskforce lending a hand, she convinces Cooper to play Santa at a holiday fundraiser for the Aslan Children’s Hospital. The party takes a deadly turn when a cartel leader wanted by the US government crashes the guest list with his terminally ill daughter, taking everyone hostage. With the lives of so many on the line - including his own family - Cooper will have to pull a Christmas miracle from Santa's toy sack to help the sick girl, while bringing an end to her father's reign of terror.

    Doesn't everyone? But I had no idea that a little luck could mean bad luck too. What started as a perfectly polished plan turned tainted and tarnished. I was just trying to get back on my feet, back to the lucky side of life. But then everything changed... One look, one touch, one taste, And now, suddenly, my luck is improving. This just might be the trip I'd wanted all along. In this 21 book boxed set, from New York Times, USA Today, and other bestselling authors, find out just how lucky you can be with just one click. You'll be packing your bags and hoping Ireland will have just that sexy sort of magic you've been looking for. Contributing Authors: Theresa Troutman Amanda Heartley Andie M. Long Maggie Dallen Emma Tharp Rachelle Ayala Josie Kerr Heather Young-Nichols Tee Smith Bethany Lopez Tracy Lorraine Ja'Nese Dixon Monica Corwin Caitlyn Lynch Eva Winters K.L. Shandwick Alyson Reynolds Taige Crenshaw and McKenna Jeffries Aaliyah Burke Marissa & Thomas Dobson Emma Nichols

    Everyone but the spaceship’s grumpy XO/navigator. When mysterious Christmas-themed things start happening, can the jaded second-in-command debunk the myth, or will she start to believe in the magic of Santa and the sleigh? Warning: Filled to bursting with humour and Christmas songs you know and love to hate. Get into the spirit of Christmas with the Anvil’s crew in this light-hearted seasonal romp from the author of the Jane Poole Genesis.

    Can't find that amazing idea in your pile of sticky notes? Distracted by blog posts, social media, and email? Looking for an easy way to keep track of your research?This booklet (about 30 pages) introduces handy--and often free or inexpensive--computer-based tools to help you eliminate distractions, track your progress, organize your research, capture new ideas anywhere, streamline your writing process, and safeguard your hard work.Lessons in this booklet are based on a week-long class Gwen taught for the Romance Writers of America in June 2013.

    He wanted to claim my heart...---If you like hot, steamy, over-the-top romance with insta-love dripping off the pages, then the Midnight Reads series is for you! Suspend your disbelief and leave your panties at the door. You won't need either of them tonight.

    Now, as the holiday approaches, she finds herself at loose ends. So without telling anyone, she buys a ticket and boards a plane bound for the rural Northwest. Yet Joy's best-laid plans go terribly awry. The plane crashes deep in the darkness of a forest. Miraculously, Joy walks away from the wreckage as the plane explodes. She makes a bold and desperate decision to leave her ordinary life behind and embark on an adventure . . . just for the holidays. Magic Hour: Until recently, Dr. Julia Cates was one of the preeminent child psychiatrists in the country, but a scandal shattered her confidence, ruined her career, and made her a media target. When she gets a desperate call from her estranged sister, Ellie, she jumps at the chance to escape. In Rain Valley, nothing much ever happens ? until a girl emerges from the deep woods and walks into town. The ordeal that follows will test the limits of Julia's faith, forgiveness, and love. Firefly Lane: Spanning more than three decades, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the mainstay of their lives. Tully will follow her own blind ambition to New York and around the globe, finding fame and success...and loneliness. All Kate really wants is to fall in love and have children and live an ordinary life. What she doesn't know is how being a wife and mother will change her...

    You'll be wowing your friends and family with ice cream filled cupcakes, chocolate dipped cupcakes and more! Use these recipes for birthdays, holidays, special occasions and other events.

    Series SHORT story.Take one WLVH disc jockey who adopts a special dog.Add in one man who thinks he's lost everything.Let one Everything But... grandmother, Nana Vancy, stir things up.And maybe find Nothing But Love in this story that's full of Christmas magic.

    

    He was never quite sure what happened that night. He intended to get all of her lands, but he walked away with a contract in blood for only some of her lands, an agreement to deliver her anything she wanted, a promise of eternal life and glory, and a warning to never enter Hollow Woods again. The Crone’s demands were always odd and started becoming oddly specific. Four freshmen from the Alpha House Fraternity she established at the entrance of Hollow Woods were to be sent to her every Halloween night.The four new Alpha House recruits, Davarius, the football player, Nakata, the basketball player, Vincent, who is there on merit scholarship, and Ashton, who was given a special scholarship for being an orphan are all sent into Hollow Woods on Halloween night with only flashlights and stories of the crone that haunts Hollow Woods. They are all sure this is just another hazing ritual the fraternity has thought up.None of them know what to think when they find a bonfire in the middle of Hollow Woods with the president of Alpha House and three senior members around the fire with a beautiful naked woman they introduce as the Crone of Hollow Woods. She certainly doesn’t look like a Crone and she has other things on her mind Halloween night besides stealing souls and witch curses.The Witch of Hollow Woods is an 11,340 word reverse harem short story with a few wicked twists inside.

    When a package mysteriously arrives on his doorstep, he is invited on a trek that defies logic. Traveling far from his quaint home in St. Paul into the snowy landscapes of the Arctic, the journey takes him in search of the one man who may be able to help him find peace—Santa Claus.