The couple call the child Holly and welcome her into their home as their little Christmas miracle. As Holly grows into a lovely girl, full of joy and imagination as wild as her red hair, so too does Rose’s resentment of her. As the years pass and the Clements have a child of their own, Holly is relegated to nothing more than the family’s maid. Not even Silas, the man that Holly has come to know and love as her papa, seems able to save her from his wife’s cruel ways. Tragedy strikes the day after Holly’s sixteenth birthday and she cast from the Clement’s home to face Christmas on the cold London streets, alone and terrified. With her world ripped from under her feet, Holly climbs the stone wall of London Bridge and peers into the rabid waters below… but a voice from the dark offers her hope…all she has to do is follow him. Find out what happens to Holly in The Dressmaker’s Christmas.

    With help from his wife, friends and the staff at the local hospital, he bounced back. Now Pickwicks is preparing to host a special Christmas fundraiser to thank the hospital. Pickwicks waitress Megan and Nick, the ward’s administrator are put in charge to organise the whole thing. Megan and Nick’s emails start out as harmless practicality but soon turn flirtatious ... Can you actually fall for someone you’ve never met? As the fundraiser draws closer, Megan finds out that Nick is bringing someone, did she imagine the whole thing...

    Grab a mug of hot chocolate, sit back and enjoy a fairytale New York Christmas.... When Londoner Penny decides to visit her best friend Kate in New York for the festive season, the surprise appearance of a previous suitor sends her plans for a relaxing, carefree visit into complete disarray. When she and Mike last saw each other, the timing couldn't have been worse. But when Mike decides to show Penny the very best of what a snowy, festive, New York has to offer - resolving to make it a fairytale Christmas - will she be able to resist his charms this time round? And will finding one other again turn out to be the greatest Christmas gift?

    a highly readable novel with a warm heart' The Independent'In just a word or two, Mark Haysom evokes the pain of a deserted parent or the fear of a little boy' We Love This Book'Love, Love Me Do manages to be both funny and heart-breaking' Good Housekeeping

    But instead of enjoying mince pies and mistletoe, their happiness is threatened by old secrets and someone harbouring a grudge. When the truth is finally revealed, can the couple enjoy the festivities with their family, or is their marriage doomed from the start? This short story is the perfect mystery to keep you guessing this holiday season, so why not enjoy it with a glass of mulled wine while sat next to a roaring fire. "A Christmas Crime is a Christmas pleasure to read. A wedding, snow, and revenge. Loved it, five stars recommended.” - Anita Waller, bestselling author of 34 Days and the Kat and Mouse Murder Mysteries

    With its history and Christmas charm, London feels like the perfect getaway.But can they truly leave their realities behind?In their luxurious quarters, the girls meet Holly who is ideal at showing Maggie and Zoe the sumptuous sights and sounds of London in their most glittering light. But behind her bright façade, Holly is hiding a secret: suffering from unrequited love, she’s looking for a Christmas miracle. Desperate to see an unattainable love story for Holly come together, will our LA starlets succeed in providing a Hollywood ending before the dawn of Christmas Day?Packed to the brim with festive cheer, this is the only story you’ll need this Christmas…

    well, almost. As Christmas rolls round once again, she longs for a child of her own to share it with. In a town where Christmas is big business all year round, it turns out Santa Claus isn’t the only one with mysterious powers. When a psychic reveals that the answer to her future will come in red and white, Kate follows this sign. It leads her to disastrous dating agencies and demoralising dead-ends until, finally, the answer seems to be revealed. But will her search for the missing piece of her family mean she doesn't recognise the one person who's loved her from the start? Or can Kate really have it all in time for the perfect Christmas?

    For the special edition slipcase please go here.You know the drill by now. The 2020 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individually bound short stories from some of the best writers in North America. This year's slipcase is a thing of beauty, too, with electric-yellow lining and spot-glossed lettering. It also comes wrapped in two rubber bands to keep those booklets snug in their beds.

     Harri (Harriet) Hall thinks Christmas will be perfect in her ancestral home, The Hall, with roaring log fires, scented pine trees, sparkling decorations, and mouth-watering, festive feasts. She’s been abroad for the last two years and is excited about introducing her, admittedly quirky, family, and The Hall, to her boyfriend, Art (Arthur) and his family, the Camlan-Browns. She soon finds things have changed. The family funds are dwindling fast and The Hall looks like a dilapidated pile. But Harri has her savings and it won’t take long to spruce it up. Although letting Lance Knightly do the renovation, may be a big mistake. There’s something about the man, Harri really doesn’t like. She needs to keep an eye on him. Snow is gently falling and preparations are going well – until Harri’s stepbrother blows up the cooker; water leaks through the roof and blizzards arrive before the Camlan-Browns. Will Art get through the snow by Christmas Eve, and will Lance finish work on The Hall in time? Harri’s perfectly capable of dealing with a crisis as well as any man, but it seems Christmas may not turn out quite as she expected.

    Being on call means that anything could happen.Take half an hour out of your busy day, and join the midwife on call at Christmas.The best presents are sometimes the ones we least expect.This is a quick-read story, featuring characters from the Lessons of a Student Midwife series.

    Yet it seems like only yesterday when I had my first book, Let's Meet on Platform 8, published. I'm so lucky to have an enthusiastic and devoted following of readers - some who've stayed with me from the very beginning and some who are recent converts. Without you reading and enjoying my books, I would never have had the fabulous career I've been blessed with. We make a great team!I thought it would be nice for you all to join the celebration with me and to offer a small token of my thanks and appreciation for all your support over the years. I love writing short stories and that's what helped to get me started on this road so I've put together a collection of a few of my favourites that have interspersed the last twenty-five books. Each one is very special to me for a different reason and has lovely memories. I hope you enjoy them too. Find half an hour to curl up on the sofa with them and raise a glass to toast twenty-five books and us!*Includes an exclusive extract from The Cake Shop in the Garden*

    Gran was the heart of Christmas and Eden hasn’t embraced the spirit of the season ever since losing her. In fact, she’s lived a fairly reclusive life other than her job as a vet’s assistant at The Country Vet practice. When a stranger shows up at on Eden’s doorstep one stormy evening, she is shocked to discover the handsome man is none other than her childhood friend, Brady Shepard. He’s all grown up now and gorgeous. Now a veterinarian, Brady is taking over the practice for his ailing grandmother, Vicky Shepard, who happens to be Eden’s boss. As Eden and Brady begin to work together, Eden’s heart begins to open up to the spirit of the season…and to Brady.

    But the jolly strains of Jingle Bells drift through her door and soon she finds herself on a last-minute, snowy excursion with the inn’s surly sleigh driver.She doesn’t know much about driving sleighs, but oh what fun it is to ride with a man who does. Boone is attractive. Just being around him ties Grace into brighter knots than those on the presents surrounding the inn’s Christmas tree. But he’s also cold, uninterested, and because of his painful past he’s determined to keep his distance from the perky, blonde writer.During their ride, in the middle of a perfectly sunny day, music plays and snow begins falling and shows no signs of stopping. Boone and Grace have no choice but to wait out the storm at his nearby cottage.Romance is the last thing Grace and Boone have in mind. Santa and his magic radio have other ideas…If you like to snuggle inside with a book on a snowy day and sizzle inside with all the feels, this book is for you.

    Whether this is your first trip to Chancey, or you're an old friend - Welcome! This is one meeting you don't want to miss. Christmas is just around the corner and there's a crisis so a meeting has been called. And you never want to miss a meeting in a small town because you just might end up in charge of the Christmas Parade. Memories surface, tempers flare, and new suggestions get shot down because it's never been done that way before. This novella is a perfect way to sip a cup of hot cocoa and take a quick trip to a small Southern town for the holidays.

    As it’s Bertram's first Christmas at White Orchards since he purchased it, he has a sudden desire for a big Christmas party – which creates a huge task for Euphemia, one which her normally excellent staff are reluctant to take part in. For, as she struggles with her responsibilities, Euphemia learns that White Orchards is built on the site of Hadwell House, a manor which suffered a terrible fate one Christmas Eve …As Christmas draws closer, and people start behaving strangely, there is a palpable sense in the air that something is very, very wrong. Forming an unlikely alliance with Bertram's step-sister Richenda, Euphemia tries to prevent disaster befalling the entire household, and faces her most terrifying mystery as she sets herself against seemingly supernatural forces…