Jesse Coleson had one goal...acquire the old inn and keep her real estate firm afloat with the commission. What she wasn't expecting was a car accident, an attractive single father, an interfering guardian angel, and a sudden limit to her time on earth. Luke Benson shut his inn down a year ago with no intention of opening its doors to the public. But when he pulls a mysterious woman from her sunken car, and an old foe reappears, he's forced to question what life and loss really mean. Can they learn the true meaning of life together, or will the past and heavenly forces pull them under?

A mystery unwinds in the idyllic English countryside shortly before Christmas Lori can hardly wait for Christmas this year: lean times are over, the cottage Aunt Dimity willed her is more beautiful than ever, her nine-month-old twins, Will and Rob, are thriving, and she and husband Bill have never been happier. Determined to make this Christmas the best ever, Lori embarks on a round of shopping, holly-cutting, angel-cookie making, and more. When fat snow flakes begin drifting down outside of the window, Lori feels all her holiday wishes are about to come true. But the next day, beneath the lilac bushes now covered by freshly fallen snow, Lori makes a disturbing discovery: the body of a mysterious stranger--a tramp--barely alive. While the nearby village of Finch continues with its seasonal preparations, including rehearsals for the Christmas Eve Nativity play, Lori puts her plans on hold and teams up with Julian Bright--a devilishly attractive Roman Catholic priest--to search out the stranger's identity. Their journey takes them from abandoned World War II airfields to homeless shelters, places where the Christmas star shines dimly, if at all. As Lori unveils the tragic secret that led the stranger to her door, she confronts painful truths about herself and discovers the real meaning of a perfect family Christmas.

Paula Deen meets Erma Bombeck in The Pioneer Woman Cooks, Ree Drummond’s spirited, homespun cookbook. Drummond colorfully traces her transition from city life to ranch wife through recipes, photos, and pithy commentary based on her popular, award-winning blog, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, and whips up delicious, satisfying meals for cowboys and cowgirls alike made from simple, widely available ingredients. The Pioneer Woman Cooks—and with these “Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl,” she pleases the palate and tickles the funny bone at the same time.

Since when did every cookie on the plate have to be just like the next? Or each layer of cake exactly the same height? Each piecrust an impeccable work of art and encircled by stunningly perfect pastry leaves? To the uninitiated, all that fastidious, spotless baking is intimidating, not to mention exhausting. The Messy Baker celebrates baking as it happens in the real world--sweet, messy, fun, not always gorgeous, but a way to show love. Which doesn't make it any less delicious; to the contrary, Charmian Christie's flavor combinations rise far above the ordinary. Why have a raspberry galette when you can enjoy a raspberry-rhubarb galette with drippy, unctuous walnut frangipane? Or how about a Brie and walnut whiskey tart? It's all yours without the rigid perfectionism or complicated instructions of other gourmet cookbooks. Christie's warm, irreverent voice brings the fun back into baking at a time when home cooks--pulled from pillar to post by jobs and errands--need to have fun. The Messy Baker is a full-service book that not only guides the reader through simple, delicious recipes but is also there to help out when things go wrong. For anyone who gave in frustration when that cake collapsed or the frosting smeared, Christie's practical advice is here to rescue even the worst disaster and inspire the baker to try the next recipe.

Create Show-Stopping Cookies Using Simple Royal Icing Techniques The Crafted Cookie is a beginner cookie artist’s dream come true. Through countless courses and videos, Anne Yorks has taught thousands of home bakers how to make cookie decorating simple and fun. Here, she covers everything you’ve ever wanted to know about creating cute and whimsical cookies that taste as good as they look. With accessible step-by-step tutorials for 50 creative designs arranged into themed platters, cookie artists of all skill levels will have plenty of inspiration for celebrating all year long. No more stressing over the intricacies of royal icing. Anne shares her best tips for royal icing, from coloring it to getting the right consistencies for piping and flooding and even how to store it. What’s more, she includes her foolproof base recipe for delicious, easy and incredibly versatile sugar cookies. These are just some of the gorgeous platters offered: - Rainbow Birthday featuring a colorful Rainbow Cake with Candles Cookie - Classic Christmas Faces complete with a Jolly Santa, an Elf and a Red-Nosed Reindeer - Give Thanks featuring a stunning lettered “Give Thanks” Wreath Cookie - Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Baby Shower with a cute Sweet Dreams Footie Pajama Cookie - Farmhouse Easter including a sweet Farm Fresh Easter Eggs Barn Cookie This is the only book you’ll need to master the art of decorating stunning cookie after cookie. You’ll have as much fun designing them as you will sharing and devouring them.

Grace has always had wild red hair like no one else in her family and a birthmark on her shoulder that her mother told her was the mark of an angel. When Grace is sent from New York to spend the summer with her grandmother in Trinidad, she looks through the family album and discovers a blurred photograph of a stranger with a birthmark -- her birthmark -- and Grace is full of questions. No one is able to identify the man in the photo, and Grace is left with no choice but to find out who he is and what he might mean to her. What Grace does not know is that her search will lead to a discovery about herself and her family that she never could have imagined. Tracey Baptiste's first novel is a tender coming-of-age story set on the island of Trinidad. Angel's Grace explores the meaning of identity and truth, and the unbreakable ties of a family bound by love.

Why not give more? Van Amsterdam the baker was well known for his honesty as well as for his fine Saint Nicholas cookies. He always gave his customers exactly what they paid for -- not more and not less. So, he was not about to give in when a mysterious old woman comes to him on Saint Nicholas Day and insists that a dozen is thirteen! The woman's curse puts an end to the baker's business, and he believes it would take Saint Nicholas to help him. But if he receives that help, will it be exactly what he imagined? Find out in this inspiring legend from Dutch colonial New York about the birth of an honored American custom. TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS -- A READER'S THEATER SCRIPT OF THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE IN AARON'S BOOK "FOLKTALES ON STAGE," OR FREE ON AARON'S WEB SITE. ///////////////////////////////////////////////// Aaron Shepard is the award-winning author of "The Legend of Lightning Larry," "The Sea King’s Daughter," and many more children’s books. Once a professional storyteller, Aaron specializes in lively retellings of folktales and other traditional literature, which have won him honors from the American Library Association, the New York Public Library, the Bank Street College of Education, the National Council for the Social Studies, and the American Folklore Society. Wendy Edelson has applied her award-winning skills to a wide range of illustration projects, including picture books, pet portraits, posters, and puzzles. Among her clients have been Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, the Seattle Aquarium, Pacific Northwest Ballet, the U.S. Postal Service, Cricket Magazine, McGraw-Hill Education, and the American Library Association. ///////////////////////////////////////////////// HONORS American Bookseller Pick of the Lists Trumpet Book Club selection Valerie and Walter's Best Books for Children "The good will of legendary Saint Nick resonates in this tale about the origin of the term 'baker's dozen.' . . . Shepard's easy-to-follow retelling has an appropriate Old World flavor." -- Publishers Weekly, Sept. 18, 1995 "A particularly nice holiday story accented by paintings full of detail. . . . Well-paced and a good length for groups or individuals, this is right on target for audiences. Edelson's artwork is filled with marvelously-alive characters who almost step from the pages." -- Ilene Cooper, Booklist, Sept. 15, 1995 "A lush new version of a traditional tale. . . . Well-chosen words and a nicely-paced text that begs to be told aloud. A treat for the holiday season." -- School Library Journal, Oct. 1995 "Aaron Shepard retells a favorite colonial legend with the voice of the storyteller." -- Jan Lieberman, TNT, Fall 1995 "A fine tale of generosity for St. Nicholas Day or any day." -- Marilyn McPhie, Storybag, Special Review Issue 1997 "A story with a message to be heard during the holidays and all year long." -- Children's Book Review