A magical tale of imagination, adventure, and the power of storytelling, perfect for fans of The Golden Compass and A Wrinkle in Time. Kay's father has gone missing on Christmas Eve! And when Kay and her sister Ell go to his office, everyone he works with claims never to have heard of him. So later that evening, when Kay wakes up to find two mysterious strangers outside her bedroom window, talking about her father and looking for the last remnants of his existence, she demands to know what's happened to her dad. The two strangers, Flip and Will, are wraiths, on a mission to bring Kay and Ell's father to their world--the world of woven stories and grand imagination that their father has spent his career studying. Only things in that world have gone very wrong, and the Bride of Bithynia, the only being who can set things right, is nowhere to be found. Can Kay and Ell find their father and join Flip and Will in a centuries-old battle to save the world? Debut author Andrew Zurcher has created a world as captivating as Lyra's Oxford and Alice's Wonderland in this spellbinding quest of a novel. Praise for Twelve Nights: * "Debut author Zurcher writes with surety and panache . . . a superb adventure." --Booklist, STARRED REVIEW "One for the bookshelf of any fantasy enthusiast." --Kirkus Reviews

Felix Allsey is a travel writer with a keen eye for the paranormal, and he’s carved out a unique, if only slightly lucrative, niche for himself in nonfiction; he writes travelogues of the country’s most haunted places, after haunting them himself. When he convinces the owner of the infamous Rotterdam Mansion to let him stay on the premises for 13 nights, he believes he’s finally found the location that will bring him a bestseller. As with his other gigs, he sets rules for himself: no leaving the house for any reason, refrain from outside contact, and sleep during the day. When Thomas Ruth, Felix's oldest friend and fellow horror film obsessive, joins him on the project, the two dance around a recent and unspeakably painful rough-patch in their friendship, but eventually fall into their old rhythms of dark humor and movie trivia. That’s when things start going wrong: screams from upstairs, figures in the thresholds, and more than what should be in any basement. Felix realizes the book he’s writing, and his very state of mind, is tilting from nonfiction into all out horror, and the shocking climax answers a question that’s been staring these men in the face all along: In Rotter House, who’s haunting who?

Discover this beautiful winter gem of a novella that makes the perfect stocking filler this Christmas. 'I may have been gone a long time, but I'm no stranger...' Manfred walks alone through a snowy valley, surrounded by his memories, on a pilgrimage of sorts to his childhood home. He's been estranged from his brother Sebastian for decades, ever since their bitter feud over the love of a woman and the inheritance of the family farm. Twelve Nights transports us to the wintry depths of Europe's Black Forest, through the stillness of the snow-covered hills, the dense woods, the cold and mist, in those dark, wild days between Christmas and Epiphany. These nights are a time of tradition and superstition, of tales told around the local innkeeper's table of marauding spirits, as tangible as the ghosts of Manfred's past. But the twelfth night, Epiphany, promises new beginnings, and a hope of reconciliation at last. Twelve Nights is a hymn to the winter landscape and the power of storytelling, a beautiful novella of the natural world and our place in it.

• Explains how the 12 nights after the winter solstice offer the ideal opportunity for inner focusing, seeing signs, and laying the foundation for the year to come • Shares reflective themes and exercises for each night (and the day to follow) and guided meditations to deepen the experience The season of Yuletide--the 12 nights following the winter solstice--offers the ideal opportunity for inner focusing, for seeing signs, and for planting seeds for the future. This guide explores inner practices for the magical Yuletide season, the period between December 21 and January 2, when the veil between worlds is thin. Revealing the deeper meaning of the darkest time of the year, the authors discuss how the 12 nights of Yuletide were significant in pagan and Nordic traditions long before Christmas was grafted onto them. A special Yuletide channeling explains the ancient and modern significance of the heathen holy days. Each night (and the day that follows) has a particular energy quality and is dedicated to a theme upon which to reflect as you look at the 12 months past and ahead. The authors introduce and explain each of the respective themes of the 12 nights, such as humility and devotion, truth and clarity, the power of the heart, and self-care. They also share a series of ideas to consider for the year just gone by along with insights and guidance to contemplate for the one to come. Through the questions, exercises, and tools linked to each specific night and its theme we can gain valuable insights and shape our future. Journaling is an essential part of this work, enabling us to reflect our thoughts actively as well as record them for use during the coming year. The authors also include guided meditations for each of the Yuletide nights, enabling readers to deepen their experience. Working with the magical power of Yuletide and the 12 holy nights is a ritual that can be repeated year after year, offering the reader a completely new understanding of this very special time and a way to lay the foundations for the new year ahead.

This Christmas, two career-driven professionals unwrap a second chance at love in small town New England in a romance novel by the author of Harvest Moon. For Erik Lindholm, it’s been a long climb to the top of the corporate ladder. When he’s announced as the new president of Global Business Solutions at the company’s Christmas party, his vision for the new year is one of bold new directions. If that requires a complete staff overhaul, so be it. And if that means firing the woman who broke his heart fifteen years ago, it’s nothing personal . . . CFO Beryl Foster is respected by everyone at the office. But rumors of a shake-up are rampant and even Beryl’s job is on the line. Fifteen years ago, she made a decision to put her career before everything else—even the man she loved. Every Christmas is a reminder of the life she shared with Erik. But this year’s holiday might bring the gift of a second chance when they find each other in the charming town of Northbridge, Connecticut.