However, meeting one shop keeper changes his perspective and complicates his work even further. Grab a copy and take a trip through Christmas Town today!

    It is three days before Christmas and a bitter wind is blowing across Norfolk.Until her daughter was born, forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway didn’t do Christmas, but now that Kate is a year old, she wants it to be special.She must get a tree, shop for food, clean the house, buy presents, including one for her new boyfriend—who she isn’t even sure is her boyfriend—and remember to get the turkey out of the freezer.But time is rushing by and the best-laid plans don’t always work out …

    Little does she realize what adventures are in store.Long time widow Sandy Forbes is breaking out this Christmas. In her 71 years on earth she has stuffed and cooked 55 Christmas turkeys, baked hundreds of pies, turned out thousands of shortbread cookies and hoisted enough pine trees in her living room to reforest the Amazon.Her family love her. They come to her for every occasion, eating, drinking, squabbling and then leaving her with a mass of dishes andcrumpled holiday wrap. But this is the year everything changes. When she wants someone else to take over for one year, the family lays a big guilt trip on her and Grandma rebels. Sandy’s giving herself a gift this Christmas. She’s running away from home for the holidays.

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    There she finds what she is searching for in the arms of a masked stranger, whose rough hands and scorching kisses leave her breathless.She never expects to see him again, but he seeks her out and tempts her with the promise of a night dedicated solely to her pleasure a dangerous proposition for a respectable widow with secrets to protect. She agrees to be his lover on the condition they remain anonymous.Merchant prince Dante Valaresso has returned to Venice to restore his family s fortune and reclaim his ancestral home. A born sailor, he misses the sea, but his fiery new mistress has him thinking life ashore might suit him just as well. All that stands between him and contentment is a dour, eccentric widow named Serena Alberenghi, who refuses to vacate his palazzo.They play out their games amidst the sensual, heady swirl of Carnival, they unmask the truth: To earn perfect happiness, each might have to give up what they covet the most."

    A strange older woman with scraggly gray hair and jewelry that jangles as she walks, Matilda is certainly not the most likely person to buy the old Barton Building on the town's quaint main street. When it becomes apparent that her new shop doesn't fit the expectations of Parrish Springs residents, a brouhaha erupts. After all, Christmas is approaching, and the last thing the town needs is a junky shop run by someone who looks and acts like a gypsy. But as townsfolk venture into the strange store, they discover that old memories can bring new life and healing.Once again, Melody Carlson delivers a Christmas story that will touch hearts and delight the senses. Sure to be a classic, The Christmas Shoppe is filled with the special magic the best Christmas stories share--that intangible mixture of nostalgia, joy, and a little bit of magic.

    I remember all about that scene and that moment as freshly now as if the affair had happened last night. The dead man lying in the crushed grass--his arms thrown out helplessly on either side of him--

    Raffles, man-about-town, thief, and "finest slow bowler of his generation." With his partner in crime, Bunny Manders, Raffles preys on the rich, the greedy, and the unspeakably vulgar. His talents are exercised not only in London, but as far afield as Italy, Australia, and South Africa at the height of the Boer War. Throughout these exciting yarns the emphasis on panache, with intensifying suggestions of fallibility, goes to the heart of late Victorian attitudes and values.

    No crowded shops, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents. That's just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they'll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on the street without a rooftop Frosty the snowman; they won't be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren't even going to have a tree. They won't need one, because come December 25 they're setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences - and isn't half as easy as they'd imagined.A classic tale for modern times, Skipping Christmas offers a hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that has become part of our holiday tradition.

    All around crime-scene cleaner Gabby St. Claire’s hometown, anything pointing to Jesus as the “reason for the season” is being sabotaged. The crimes become more twisted as dismembered body parts are found at the vandalisms. Who would go to such great lengths to dampen the joy and hope of Christ’s birthday? Someone’s determined to destroy Christmas . . . but Gabby St. Claire is just as determined to find the Grinch and let peace on earth and goodwill to men prevail.

    Her life is organized and predictable, revolving around her husband and two children. All that changes the day she stops at the grocery store for some carrots. As the cashier rings up her purchases, a gunman is busy robbing the bank inside the store. When a customer grabs the robber's mask, he is shot and everyone runs for cover. Everyone except Shelby, who finds herself face to face with the killer. The next thing she knows, she's lying on the floor with a bullet wound to her head. Luckily, the bullet only grazes her scalp, and she doesn't suspect any lasting affects until later, when she suddenly 'hears' what people are thinking. With this uncanny ability, her life takes on a whole new dimension. Her kids think she's bossy and too old to understand them, but that's nothing compared to her husband. He says he loves her, but what is it about the redhead at work that he doesn't want her to know? As if that isn't enough, the gunman knows she can identify him, and he's out to silence her forever. In her fight to stay alive, she is saved from certain death by a handsome hit-man with ties to organized crime. This pulls Shelby even deeper into danger, where knowing someone's thoughts can not only hurt her feelings, but get her killed.

    Everyone views wolf familiars like himself as dangerous beasts, unable to rein in their savage impulses. He’s resigned himself to his fate—or so he thinks, until he meets the dashing Augustus Cao. His witch. Gus is on the trail of a gang of thieves, and Roland holds an important clue. Even though they can never bond, Roland can’t pass up the opportunity to spend a night with his witch. Can Roland conceal his secret, while helping Gus catch the thieves? Or will the handsome detective be the one to steal his heart? Short story: 15,475 words

    When a priceless diamond maang tika and a simple gold bangle disappear from Sunita’s room, a diplomatic incident seems imminent, particularly after the maang tika turns up in Emily’s possession.Emily may have what appears to be the more valuable of the two pieces, but the maang tika cannot be worn without the bangle, upon which is engraved the words necessary to ward off a curse placed on the set five hundred years ago by a princess forced to forsake the man she loved. Sunita must wear the maang tika at her wedding but cannot do so without the bangle. Can Emily convince the maharaja that she is not a thief? And, more important, can she and Colin find the bangle?

    and Mrs. Darcy Wish You a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!"Share in the magic of the season in these three warm and wonderful holiday novellas from bestselling authors.Christmas Present by Amanda GrangeA Darcy Christmas by Sharon LathanMr. Darcy's Christmas Carol by Carolyn EberhartFrom two bestselling and a debut author comes heartwarming Christmas tales sure to delight Jane Austen fans.From Amanda Grange, the bestselling author of Mr. Darcy's Diary and Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, Christmas finds the Darcy's celebrating the holiday with preparations for a ball, but the festivities are interrupted by the arrival of a very special gift... Ever sensual and romantic, Sharon Lathan highlights everything that's best and most precious in the celebrations of the holiday season. After a quarter of a century together, Darcy and Elizabeth reminisce... Jane Austen meets Charles Dickens! Carol Eberhart's Mr. Darcy's Christmas Carol finds Darcy encountering ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, who show him his life if pride keeps him from his one true love.

    That is unless Jeffrey, the mischievous Russian Blue cat who led her to the icy body in the first place, can flick his sleek gray tail at the final piece in the puzzle.