Book picks similar to
The Ghost of Christmas Present: A Novel by Scott Abbott


fiction
christmas
christmas-fiction
family-relationship-s

Letters from War


Mark Schultz - 2011
    Just in case. It’s been two years since her son, James, went missing while saving the life of a fellow paratrooper in his division. Natalie’s faith has sustained her while she awaits word on her son’s whereabouts. Well-meaning friends encourages Natalie to move on, but Natalie continues to hope.

The Winner's Game


Kevin Alan Milne - 2014
    Ann and her two younger siblings fight constantly, as do their parents. When the doctors announce that Ann's only hope of survival is a heart transplant by the end of the summer, the Bennetts decide to wait for news of a donor at a family vacation home on the Oregon coast, near Haystack Rock. But rather than healing their differences, the time away only widens the rifts between them. That is, until they learn about The Winner's Game, a game their great grandparents invented to save their marriage decades ago. It doesn't work immediately, it takes some time to figure out the right way to play, but little by little things start to change. It seems everything might be okay, until the day tragedy strikes, and they are confronted with what it really means to love -- and to be a family.

Esther's Gift: A Mitford Christmas Story


Jan Karon - 2002
     In Esther's Gift, Esther Bolick is filled with the holiday spirit as she prepares to bake the annual batch of her famous-and utterly scrumptious-orange marmalade cakes. Right after Christmas Eve service at Lord's Chapel, she and Gene will deliver a two-layer marmalade to each of seven friends and neighbors, all of them favorite Mitford characters. Then Gene calculates what it costs to bake this legendary cake, and Esther is stunned. Is it worth it to spend so much money on people who haven't always measured up to her expectations? The answer is clear. She'll cut her list back-way back. This decision makes perfect sense until the lyrics of a Christmas carol steal into her heart, and help remind her what a gift really means.

Catching Christmas


Terri Blackstock - 2018
    So when her grandmother gets inexplicably ill while she’s in court, Sydney arranges for a cab to get her to the clinic.The last thing cab driver Finn Parrish wants is to be saddled with a wheelchair-bound old lady with dementia. But because Miss Callie reminds him of his own mother, whom he failed miserably in her last days, he can’t say no when she keeps calling him for rides. Once a successful gourmet chef, Finn’s biggest concern now is making his rent, but half the time Callie doesn’t remember to pay him. And as she starts to feel better, she leads him on wild goose chases to find a Christmas date for her granddaughter.When Finn meets Sydney, he’s quite sure that she’s never needed help finding a date. Does Miss Callie have an ulterior motive, or is this just a mission driven by delusions? He’s willing to do whatever he can to help fulfill Callie’s Christmas wish. He just never expected to be a vital part of it.

The Christmas Shoes


Donna VanLiere - 2001
    But if you open your eyes, and watch carefully, you will believe....Robert is a successful attorney who has everything in life-and nothing at all. Focused on professional achievement and material rewards, Robert is on the brink of losing his marriage. He has lost sight of his wife, Kate, their two daughters, and ultimately himself. Eight year old Nathan has a beloved mother, Maggie, whom he is losing to cancer. But Nathan and his family are building a simple yet full life, and struggling to hold onto every moment they have together. A chance meeting on Christmas Eve brings Robert and Nathan together-he is shopping for a family he hardly knows and Nathan is shopping for a mother he is soon to lose. In this one encounter, their lives are forever altered as Robert learns an important lesson: sometimes the smallest things can make all the difference. The Christmas Shoes is a universal story of the deeper meaning of serendipity, a tale of our shared humanity, and of how a power greater than ourselves can shape, and even save, our lives.

Amish Christmas Baby: Book One


Samantha Jillian Bayarr - 2014
    Will she have the strength and the faith to do what is best for the baby and the mother, despite the fact that she is no longer able to have anymore children of her own?

The Duet


Robert Elmer - 2004
    Two Hearts. One Song. When widower Gerrit Appeldoorn takes his granddaughter to piano lessons one day, he finds himself drawn to her music teacher: a woman unlike any he has known. It’s an unlikely attraction. He’s a retired dairyman with mud on his boots; Joan Horton is a world traveler and former piano instructor at New York’s most prestigious academy of music. Not quite “beauty and the beast,” but close.Even so, Gerrit slowly begins to open his heart: to Joan, to music, to the possibilities that may be found in both. Yet as their relationship deepens, Gerrit faces crises concerning his family and farm, while Joan confronts a dark secret that threatens her future. While coping with these challenges, neither can predict how their duet will sound as they practice the music of renewed hope and second chances.

The Bridge


Karen Kingsbury - 2012
    Molly Allen lives alone in Portland, but she left her heart back in Tennessee with a man she walked away from five years ago. They had a rare sort of love she hasn’t found since.Ryan Kelly lives in Nashville after a broken engagement and several years on the road touring with a country music duo. He can still hear Molly’s voice encouraging him to follow his dreams; Molly, whose memory stays with him. At least he can visit The Bridge—the oldest bookstore in historic downtown Franklin—and remember the hours he and Molly once spent there.For thirty years, Charlie and Donna Barton have run The Bridge, providing the people of middle Tennessee with coffee, conversation, and shelves of good books—even through dismal book sales and the rise of digital books. Then in May, the hundred-year flood swept through Franklin and destroyed nearly every book in the store.Now the bank is pulling the lease on The Bridge. Despondent and without answers, Charlie considers the unthinkable. Then tragedy strikes, and suddenly, everything changes. In the face of desperate brokenness and lost opportunities, could the miracle of a second chance actually unfold?The Bridge is a love story set against the struggle of the American bookstore, a love story you will never forget.

One Shenandoah Winter


T. Davis Bunn - 1998
    In this moving story of sacrifice, sorrow, and redemption, a quiet town in the Shenandoah Valley and the powerful city of Washington D.C. become the settings for a story of personal healing and renewed faith. Written by a beloved and best-selling author, One Shenandoah Winter is a heart-touching novella that reveals the true meaning of Christmas.

Sky Blue


Travis Thrasher - 2006
    Colin Scott is a top literary agent at a firm representing some of the biggest names in publishing. He's worked hard to reach this place, yet now it seems routine and aggravating. On top of the creeping cynicism in his professional life, Colin and his wife are desperate to have a baby. As the pressure mounts, he finds himself questioning almost every decision he's ever made. And he seems to be having a nervous breakdown.Then disaster strikes. On a much-needed vacation in Mexico, his wife's parasail malfunctions and she plunges to her death. From that point on, Colin's life goes from bad to worse as he loses his job and, apparently, his mind.

True Love at Christmas


Juliette Duncan - 2016
    Will they be happy spending Christmas at home when they'd been so looking forward to their trip and to meeting their two small grandchildren for the first time? Will their son, Harrison, be able to make the day special by springing a few surprises on his parents? This short Christmas love story will be sure to warm your hearts this festive season."True Love at Christmas" is a stand-alone short story, but it also fits into "The True Love Series" between Books 2 and 3 (Tested Love and Tormented Love"

Keeping Christmas


Dan Walsh - 2015
    Judith can't bring herself to even start decorating for the holiday; her kids always hung the first ornaments on the tree, ornaments they had made each year since they were toddlers. Sure they were strange-looking--some could be called downright ugly--but they were tradition. A tradition she's heartbroken to miss this year.With Judith refusing to decorate the bare spruce tree in their living room, Stan knows something must be done. And his only hope for saving the holiday is found in a box of handmade ornaments. Fan-favorite Dan Walsh invites readers to enjoy this nostalgic Christmas story that celebrates all of our most cherished seasonal traditions, especially the importance of family. Readers will join in remembering the things that make their own Christmas season so special.

A Simple Amish Christmas


Vannetta Chapman - 2010
    As her time of rumschpringe is about to come to an abrupt end, bringing for Annie an overwhelming sense of loneliness. She returns home and finds herself face-to-face with a budding romance with an Amish farmer and important choices to make.

Refuge of the Heart


Ruth Logan Herne - 2015
    He became a dogged prosecutor, with an enviable conviction rate. But when faith, conscience and love of a troubled refugee ripple the smooth waters of his existence, can Mitch risk everything for love? Magdalena Serida fought her way out of a govenment-quelled uprising in Chechnya. The church-sponsored refugee knows the horrors of war first-hand. Now in America with her five-year-old sister, Lena is uncertain who to trust. Her faith has maintained her through the loss of her family, but when Mitch Sanderson shows interest, Lena longs to take a chance. Should she open herself up to this man of law and order, a man who imprisons women like her? Or slip quietly back into the shadowed fringe of anonymity? Reflecting the world's turbulence and the plight of global refugees, award-winning author Ruth Logan Herne shrinks the vast numbers to the story of one woman... one child... the travesty of war and the grace of peace in this Maggie Award-winning book of faith, hope, love... and freedom. Lena's story won't just grab your heart. It will touch your soul.

Socks for Christmas


Andy Andrews - 2005
    In the late 1960s, New York Times bestselling author Andy Andrews thought he was having a very good Christmas… until he got socks from his Aunt Ruth--unarguably a very lousy gift. How could he know that those lousy socks would change Christmas and him forever!Socks for Christmas is great for all ages and will give your family an instant Christmas tradition. This timeless holiday book:Teaches lessons on gratitude, giving, and understanding others during the seasonInspires hearts and brings families togetherStirs nostalgia, tradition, and joy in any heart at Christmas timeSocks for Christmas is a:Safe gift for a boss, co-worker, or employeeThoughtful gift for a family member or loved oneA great option for gift exchangesWhether you read it yourself or listen to Andy on the CD (included with your purchase), Socks for Christmas is a great way to kick off the season.