A Stranger Arrives this Christmas – the latest heartwarming Christmas romantic comedy from CP Ward. When Annie Collins inherits her grandfather’s sprawling gothic mansion shortly before Christmas, she has enough to handle without the attention of the eccentric locals and the longtime staff, many of whom seem as old as the house itself. However, when, a handsome stranger arrives one dark night, Annie could forgive herself for thinking she’s stumbled unwittingly into the middle of a fairy tale. But who is this mysterious man? And will there be love in the air for Annie this Christmas? A Stranger Arrives this Christmas is sure to delight the thousands of readers of CP Ward’s much-loved Delightful Christmas series, which includes I’m Glad I Found You This Christmas and Christmas at the Marshmallow Café. A Stranger Arrives This Christmas will be released on September 30th, 2022.

Film plays a vital role in the celebration of Christmas. For decades, it has taught audiences about what the celebration of the season looks like – from the decorations to the costumes and to the expected snowy weather – as well as mirrors our own festivities back to us. Films like It’s a Wonderful Life and Home Alone have come to play key roles in real-life domestic celebrations: watching such titles has become, for many families, every bit as important as tree-trimming and leaving cookies out for Santa. These films have exported the American take on the holiday far and wide and helped us conjure an image of the perfect holiday. Rather than settling the ‘what is a Christmas film?’ debate – indeed, Die Hard and Lethal Weapon are discussed within – Analyzing Christmas in Film: Santa to the Supernatural focuses on the how Christmas is presented on the deluge of occasions when it appears. While most Christmas films are secular, religion makes many cameos, appearing through Nativity references, storylines involving spiritual rebirth, the framing of Santa as a Christ-like figure and the all-importance of family, be it the Holy family or just those gathered around the dining table. Also explored are popular narratives involving battles with stress and melancholy, single parents and Christmas martyrs, visits from ghosts and angels, big cities and small towns, break-ups and make-ups and the ticking clock of mortality. Nearly 1000 films are analyzed in this volume to determine what the portrayal of Christmas reveals about culture, society and faith as well as sex roles, consumerism, aesthetics and aspiration.

The Van Duren girls were all very smart and good at sports. Haylie and Rachel were ten-year-old twins. Haylie was strong and could even beat up the boys if she wanted to. Rachel could think her way out of any situation. She was the all-city checkers champion, and could even play chess and beat grownups, something that no other kid in her grade could do. Kayla was only seven, but she was a quick thinker and could keep up with her sisters, both on their bikes and using her brain. When the three of them team up to form a detective agency, no mystery stands a chance! As the sisters patrol the streets of Lake Alamo on their bikes, they're ready to take on any challenge. The Van Duren sisters solve mysteries of all kinds, from secret identities to stolen items to bullies, these sisters are ready to take it all on, one case at a time.

From the manger of Jesus Christ to the 21st century, this encyclopedia explores more than 2,000 years of Christmas past and present through 966 entries packed with a wide variety of historical and pop-culture subjects. Entries detail customs and traditions from around the world as well as classic Christmas movies, TV series/specials and animated cartoons. Arranged alphabetically by entry name, the book includes the historical background of popular sacred and secular songs as well as accounts of beloved literary works with Christmas themes from such noted authors as Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Hans Christian Andersen, Pearl Buck, Henry Van Dyke and others. All things Christmas are available here in one comprehensive volume.

Residents face martial law, a cashless economy, and a host of ruthless leaders seemingly bent on making the maneuvers more than just a military operation.

’Tis the season for a pair of Christmas novels that add a dash of murder to the Yuletide spirit. “Perry’s Victorian-era holiday mysteries [are] an annual treat.”—The Wall Street Journal A CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING “Could have been devised by Agatha Christie . . . [Anne Perry is] a modern master.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Charlotte Pitt’s mother, Caroline, is spending the holiday with her young husband, Joshua Fielding, in Whitby, the fishing village where Dracula first touches English soil in Bram Stoker’s sensational novel. Joshua has arranged to produce a stage adaptation of Dracula, written by the daughter of millionaire Charles Netheridge, but tempers flare after a disastrous first read-through of the script. As wind and snow swirl around Netheridge’s lonely hilltop mansion, a black-cloaked stranger emerges from the storm. At the same time, a brooding evil makes itself felt, and instead of theatrical triumph, there is murder—shocking and terrifying. A CHRISTMAS GARLAND “In Anne Perry’s gifted hands, the puzzle plays out brilliantly.”—Greensboro News & Record The year is 1857, soon after the violent Siege of Cawnpore, and India is in the midst of rebellion. In the British garrison, a guard is killed, a prisoner escapes, and a luckless medical orderly named John Tallis is arrested as an accomplice simply because he was the only soldier unaccounted for when the crimes were committed. Though chosen to defend Tallis, young Lieutenant Victor Narraway is not encouraged to try very hard. His superiors merely want a show trial. But inspired by a simple Christmas garland, and his own stubborn faith in justice, Narraway is determined to figure out the truth, despite the appalling odds. In an alien world haunted by massacre, he is the accused man’s only hope.