These stories are told with the freshness and directness one has come to expect of Michael Anthony.

    This collection brings to life the sights, sounds, landscapes and traditions of his home - from centuries-old May Day rituals to his own patch of garden, from carol singing in crunching snow to pub conversations and songs. Here too he writes about the mysteries of love, living in wartime Chelsea, Winston Churchill's wintry funeral and his battle, in old age, to save his beloved Slad Valley from developers.Told with a warm sense of humour and a powerful sense of history, Village Christmas brings us a picture of a vanished world.

    For all her skills, Deenah is unable to identify the strange forces at work on the injury.To save her master's life, Deenah must join the young Warder for the area, Kaern, and an aging veteran tracker, as they set out on a manhunt into hostile lands.Rating: PG (some violent scenes)7000 words (approx. 21-28 pages)

    Now you, too, can share them. Whether depicting a child coping with disappointment, friendship between young and old, or a couple awaiting the birth of their baby, these stories present a vision of hope and peace harking back to that first Christmas over two thousand years ago. Here is the perfect holiday gift for friends, families, and church congregations--to read aloud and share throughout the Christmas season and beyond.

    

    

    A story of love, loss and finding oneself again. The story of a young military widow and her son finding themselves again after the loss of their husband and father. The proceeds of this book go to Operation Military Kids. A charity that helps military children while their parents are deployed.

    When Maddie decides to visit Manhattan in December, hoping that a classic New York Christmas experience might help heal her broken heart, she wonders if an encounter with a handsome stranger might turn out to be the perfect Christmas gift.

    But as the Black Death reaches its hand into his uncle’s workshop, young Tonino is faced with making a choice to survive. From the author of THE GONDOLA MAKER and MADE IN VENICE comes a short tale of pestilence, Venetian artisanship, and the will to live.

    So, she’s booked herself a little escape in a secluded cottage in Devon. She has everything she needs for her hideaway holiday and intends to while away her time soaking in the bath, reading books, knitting (yes, really) going braless, and not blow drying her hair at all. That’s the plan: Christmas is officially cancelled.Just before she leaves for her break, she discovers the cottage is called Christmas Cottage – who names a cottage that is normally a summer rental that? Is it an omen? Could be, but she arrives late at night, snuggles down and has the best night’s sleep she’s had for two years.It’s going to be great, isn’t it? Except there’s been a mix-up, the cottage is double booked, it snows and she’s trapped with the ever smirky and smiley, Noah Steele. So much for going braless…Will Ruby discover the joys of Christmas again? Will Noah ever stop smiling?Let the bickering commence…

    Christmas at Thompson Hall brings together the best of the Christmas stories of Anthony Trollope, one of the most successful, prolific, and respected English novelists of the nineteenth century. Characterized by insightful, psychologically rich, and sometimes wryly humorous depictions of the middle class and gentry of Victorian England—and inspired occasionally by missives in the “lost letter” box of the provincial post office that Trollope ran—these tales helped to enshrine the traditions of the decorated Christmas tree, the holiday turkey, and the giving of store-bought gifts. Today, they open a window onto a time when carolers filled the streets and each house’s door displayed a wreath of evergreen boughs, a time at once distant and yet startlingly familiar.This collection includes:Christmas at Thompson Hall --Christmas day at Kirkby Cottage --The mistletoe bough --The two generals --Not if I know it.

    But when Chloe tricks him into wearing a hideous waistcoat—complete with sequins, pompoms, and jingle bells—to her family’s Christmas Eve party, she may have gone too far. Her penalty? A single, scorching kiss—and a Christmas gift she never expected.Love.

    But when old Smiler takes a seat beside him, sucking in pint after pint through his gingery whiskers, a whole new world of battles and bones opens up before him…H. E. Bates – a prolific English novelist and short story writer – wrote 'Castle in the Air' for The Evening News in 1957, but the story was never re-printed in any of his later collections. In fact, its existence was forgotten until 2013 when it was spotted accidentally during a rummage through a newspaper archive. On re-discovering this charming and humorous short story – which exemplifies H.E. Bates's great skill of drawing vivid characters and his ability to create an almost tangible sense of a place – Bates's descendants felt it had to be shared with a wider audience.Bloomsbury Reader is delighted to be re-publishing 'Castle in the Air' alongside the whole body of H. E. Bates's short fiction and novellas, and here we offer it as a free taste of Bates's irresistible writing.

    She loves her family, but on the heels of a divorce and her ex’s new engagement, an evening of togetherness is the last thing she wants. Long-time friend, Sam MacLane has been in love with Cassie for years, and he isn’t about to let her have her pity party. There’s a blizzard on the way, and Sam shows up on her doorstep—bearing gifts....