Introducing the third annual More Than Words anthology
Five bestselling authors
Five real-life heroines

They're your neighbors, your aunts, your sisters and your best friends. They're women across North America committed to reaching out and changing lives, one good deed at a time. Five of these exceptional women have been selected as this year's recipients of Harlequin's More Than Words Award. And once again five award-winning bestselling authors have kindly offered their creativity to write original short stories inspired by these real-life heroines.

Because of this year's recipients' dedication, thousands of tiny babies born into poverty are going home from the hospital wearing warm, hand-knit clothing. Prisoners are raising pups to keep people safe and be loyal guide dogs. Special-needs kids finally have a sports league to call their own. Cancer survivors enjoy a week of relaxation and rejuvenation nestled in Canada's stunning cottage country. And high-quality, low-cost children's books in Braille are finding their way to the thousands of children who need them.

We hope More Than Words will touch your heart and inspire the heroine living inside you.

Thank you. Proceeds from the sale of this book will be reinvested into the Harlequin More Than Words program to support the causes that are of concern to women....

Somewhere, at this very moment, a woman's caring and commitment is changing a life in her community … and changing the world. Three of these exceptional women have been selected as recipients of Harlequin's More Than Words award. And three bestselling authors have kindly offered their creativity to write original short stories inspired by these real-life heroines.

We hope these stories of courage will touch your heart and inspire the heroine living inside you....

An awkward misfit in an accomplished Boston family, Isadora Peabody yearns to escape her social isolation and sneaks aboard the Silver Swan, bound for Rio, leaving it all behind.

Ryan Calhoun, too, had a good family name. But he'd purposely walked away from everything it afforded him. Driven by his quest to right an old wrong, the fiery, temperamental sea captain barely registers the meek young woman who comes aboard his ship.

To the Swan's motley crew, the tides of attraction clearly flow between the two. Teaching her the charms of a lady, they hope to build the confidence she needs to attract not only their lonely captain's attention, but his heart, as well. For everyone knows the greatest charms are not those of the formal lady, but rather the possibilities of a new world built on love....

It's been two years since the mysterious accident took Sandra Winslow's politician husband, Victor-the favorite son of a town called Paradise-and left Sandra under a cloud of suspicion. She decides to sell her beach house on the edge of town and hires Mike Malloy, who touches her lonely heart. Can she trust a man with unbreakable ties to a community she's eager to leave behind-and who is determined to unearth her deepest secrets?


Wiggs's characterizations are strong; even minor characters...jump off the page with a winning blend of realism and warmth. A richly textured story that successfully moves beyond the conventions of the romance genre, this book will polish Wiggs's already glowing reputation --- Publishers Weekly


Once again, Wiggs proves she's a master of both historical and contemporary romance, unfolding the story in slow, delicious layers. Readers who like Jayne Ann Krentz and Nora Roberts will also enjoy this. --- Library Journal...

The prim librarian is finally getting her chance to direct Avalon s annual holiday pageant, and she s determined to make it truly spectacular. But it might just require one of those Christmas miracles she s always read about.

Because her codirector is recovering former child star Eddie Haven, a long-haired, tattooed lump of coal in Maureen s pageant stocking. Eddie can t stand Christmas, but a court order from a judge has landed him right in the middle of the merrymaking.

Maureen and Eddie spar over every detail of the pageant, from casting troubled kids to Eddie s original - and distinctly untraditional - music. Is he trying to sabotage the performance to spite her? Or is she trying too hard to fit the show into her storybook-perfect notion of Christmas?

And how is it possible that they re falling in love?

#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs conjures the heartwarming holiday tale of two people looking beyond the disappointments of the past to the promise of the future. Amid the holiday bustle of crackling fires, caroling singers and delicious secrets, the season of goodwill becomes the backdrop for Willow Lake s most unlikely love story yet....

Baseball hopeful Bo Crutcher is about to get his shot at the majors. That is, until life throws him a curveball. When AJ, the son he's never met, lands on his doorstep, Bo's life becomes a whole new ball game. He needs help—fast.

Enter Kimberly van Dorn. Hired to smooth Bo's rough exterior for the media, she expects the kind of shallow pro athlete she's used to handling. But Bo is willing to sacrifice everything for his vulnerable son. Kim can train him to hit a home run with the press, but over a breathtaking winter on frozen Willow Lake, she realizes he has far more to teach her about the game of life…and putting love first....

Chicago cartoonist Sarah Moon tackles life’s real issues with a healthy dose of sharp wit in her syndicated comic strip Just Breathe. As Sarah’s cartoon alter ego, Shirl, undergoes artificial insemination, her situation begins to mirror Sarah’s own difficult attempts to conceive. However, Sarah’s dreams of the future did not include her husband’s infidelity: snag number two in Sarah’s so-called perfect life.

With Chicago – and her marriage – in the rearview mirror, she flees to the small Northern California coastal town where she grew up, a place she couldn’t wait to leave. Now she finds herself revisiting the past – an emotionally distant father and the unanswered questions left by her mother’s death. As she comes to terms with her lost marriage, Sarah encounters a man she never expected to meet again: Will Bonner, the high school heartthrob she’d skewered mercilessly in her old comics. Now a local firefighter, he’s been through some changes himself. But just as her heart is about to reawaken, Sarah discovers she is pregnant. With her ex’s twins.

It’s hardly the most traditional of new beginnings, but who says life and love are predictable...or perfect? The winds of change have led Sarah here. Now all she can do is just close her eyes...and breathe....

Baseball hopeful Bo Crutcher is about to get his shot at the majors. That is, until life throws him a curveball. When AJ, the son he’s never met, lands on his doorstep, Bo’s life becomes a whole new ball game. He needs help—fast.

Enter Kimberly van Dorn. Hired to smooth Bo’s rough exterior for the media, she expects the kind of shallow pro athlete she’s used to handling. But Bo is willing to sacrifice everything for his vulnerable son. Kim can train him to hit a home run with the press, but over a breathtaking winter on frozen Willow Lake, she realizes he has far more to teach her about the game of life…and putting love first.

“With the ease of a master, Wiggs introduces complicated, flesh-and-blood characters into her idyllic but identifiable small-town setting.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review, on The Winter Lodge (Best Books of 2007 selection)...

Chicago cartoonist Sarah Moon tackles life's real issues with a healthy dose of sharp wit in her syndicated comic strip Just Breathe. As Sarah's cartoon alter ego, Shirl, undergoes artificial insemination, her situation begins to mirror Sarah's own difficult attempts to conceive. However, Sarah's dreams of the future did not include her husband's infidelity: snag number two in Sarah's so-called perfect life.

With Chicago and her marriage in the rearview mirror, she flees to the small Northern California coastal town where she grew up, a place she couldn't wait to leave. Now she finds herself revisiting the past, an emotionally distant father and the unanswered questions left by her mother's death. As she comes to terms with her lost marriage, Sarah encounters a man she never expected to meet again: Will Bonner, the high school heartthrob she'd skewered mercilessly in her old comics. Now a local firefighter, he's been through some changes himself. But just as her heart is about to reawaken, Sarah discovers she is pregnant. With her ex's twins.

It's hardly the most traditional of new beginnings, but who says life and love are predictable or perfect? The winds of change have led Sarah here. Now all she can do is just close her eyes and breathe....

All her life, beautiful Shiloh Mulvane has wanted to follow in her father's revered footsteps as one of the Texas frontier's greatest detectives. Now, she finally has her chance - by bringing sexy outlaw Justin McCord to her employer, a powerful judge who wants him to marry the daughter he allegedly compromised. But Justin has other ideas. The secret spy has a mission to complete, one that holds the fate of a free Texas in the balance. He knows what will happen once they reach Houston: he'll be forced into a sham of a marriage that will allow the corrupt judge to destroy the dream of Texas independence he's fought for, unless...he's already married......

Chicago cartoonist Sarah Moon tackles life’s real issues with a healthy dose of sharp wit in her syndicated comic strip Just Breathe. As Sarah’s cartoon alter ego, Shirl, undergoes artificial insemination, her situation begins to mirror Sarah’s own difficult attempts to conceive. However, Sarah’s dreams of the future did not include her husband’s infidelity: snag number two in Sarah’s so-called perfect life.

With Chicago – and her marriage – in the rearview mirror, she flees to the small Northern California coastal town where she grew up, a place she couldn’t wait to leave. Now she finds herself revisiting the past – an emotionally distant father and the unanswered questions left by her mother’s death. As she comes to terms with her lost marriage, Sarah encounters a man she never expected to meet again: Will Bonner, the high school heartthrob she’d skewered mercilessly in her old comics. Now a local firefighter, he’s been through some changes himself. But just as her heart is about to reawaken, Sarah discovers she is pregnant. With her ex’s twins.

It’s hardly the most traditional of new beginnings, but who says life and love are predictable...or perfect? The winds of change have led Sarah here. Now all she can do is just close her eyes...and breathe....

Can a single moment change your entire life?

International lawyer Sophie Bellamy has dedicated her life to helping people in war-torn countries. But when she survives a hostage situation, she remembers what matters most—the children she loves back home. Haunted by regrets, she returns to the idyllic Catskills village of Avalon on the shores of Willow Lake, determined to repair the bonds with her family.

There Sophie discovers the surprising rewards of small-town life—including an unexpected passion for Noah Shepherd, the local veterinarian. Noah has a healing touch for anything with four legs, but he's never had any luck with women—until Sophie.

Snowfall at Willow Lake speaks from the heart about all the loves that fill a woman's life, and all the ways that love is tested and made to grow. It's the story of what comes after a woman survives an unspeakable horror and finds her way home, to healing and redemption and a new chance at happiness....

Chicago cartoonist Sarah Moon tackles life’s real issues with a healthy dose of sharp wit in her syndicated comic strip Just Breathe. As Sarah’s cartoon alter ego, Shirl, undergoes artificial insemination, her situation begins to mirror Sarah’s own difficult attempts to conceive. However, Sarah’s dreams of the future did not include her husband’s infidelity: snag number two in Sarah’s so-called perfect life.

With Chicago – and her marriage – in the rearview mirror, she flees to the small Northern California coastal town where she grew up, a place she couldn’t wait to leave. Now she finds herself revisiting the past – an emotionally distant father and the unanswered questions left by her mother’s death. As she comes to terms with her lost marriage, Sarah encounters a man she never expected to meet again: Will Bonner, the high school heartthrob she’d skewered mercilessly in her old comics. Now a local firefighter, he’s been through some changes himself. But just as her heart is about to reawaken, Sarah discovers she is pregnant. With her ex’s twins.

It’s hardly the most traditional of new beginnings, but who says life and love are predictable...or perfect? The winds of change have led Sarah here. Now all she can do is just close her eyes...and breathe....

Sarah Moon tackles life's issues with a sharp wit in her syndicated comic strip, Just Breathe. With both Sarah and her cartoon heroine undergoing fertility treatments, her fiction often reflects her reality. However, she hadn't scripted her husband's infidelity.

In the wake of her shattered marriage, Sarah flees to the coastal town in California where she grew up. There, she revisits her troubling past: an emotionally distant father, the loss of her mother and an unexpected connection with Will Bonner, the high school heartthrob skewered mercilessly in her comics. But he's been through some changes himself. And just as her heart is about to reawaken, Sarah makes a most startling discovery. She's pregnant. With her ex's twins.

The winds of change have led Sarah to this surprising new beginning. All she can do is just close her eyesÂ…and breathe....

The prim librarian is finally getting her chance to direct Avalon’s annual holiday pageant, and she’s determined to make it truly spectacular. But it might just require one of those Christmas miracles she’s always read about.

The problem is her codirector is recovering former child star Eddie Haven, a long-haired, tattooed lump of coal in Maureen’s pageant stocking. Eddie can’t stand Christmas, but a court order from a judge has landed him right in the middle of the merrymaking.

Maureen and Eddie spar over every detail of the pageant, from casting troubled kids to Eddie’s original — and distinctly untraditional — music. Is he trying to sabotage the performance to spite her? Or is she trying too hard to fit the show into her storybook-perfect notion of Christmas?

And how is it possible that they’re falling in love?

#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs conjures the heartwarming holiday tale of two people looking beyond the disappointments of the past to the promise of the future. Amid the holiday bustle of crackling fires, caroling singers and delicious secrets, the season of goodwill becomes the backdrop for Willow Lake’s most unlikely love story yet.
...

Frustrated by his own failures at matrimony, King Henry VIII punishes an insolent nobleman by commanding him to marry the vagabond woman caught stealing his horse. Stephen de Lacey is a cold and bitter widower, long accustomed to the sovereign's capricious and malicious whims. He regards his new bride as utterly inconvenient…though undeniably fetching.

But Juliana Romanov is no ordinary thief—she is a Russian princess forced into hiding by the traitorous cabal who slaughtered her family. One day she hopes to return to Muscovy to seek vengeance.

What begins as a mockery of a marriage ultimately blossoms into deepest love....

Baseball hopeful Bo Crutcher is about to get his shot at the majors. That is, until life throws him a curveball. When AJ, the son he’s never met, lands on his doorstep, Bo’s life becomes a whole new ball game. He needs help—fast.

Enter Kimberly van Dorn. Hired to smooth Bo’s rough exterior for the media, she expects the kind of shallow pro athlete she’s used to handling. But Bo is willing to sacrifice everything for his vulnerable son. Kim can train him to hit a home run with the press, but over a breathtaking winter on frozen Willow Lake, she realizes he has far more to teach her about the game of life…and putting love first.

“With the ease of a master, Wiggs introduces complicated, flesh-and-blood characters into her idyllic but identifiable small-town setting.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review, on The Winter Lodge (Best Books of 2007 selection)...

Maureen Davenport lives for Christmas—and there's nothing more magical than Christmas on Willow Lake.

The prim librarian is finally getting her chance to direct Avalon's annual holiday pageant, and she's determined to make it truly spectacular. But it might just require one of those Christmas miracles she's always read about.

Because her codirector is recovering former child star Eddie Haven, a long-haired, tattooed lump of coal in Maureen's pageant stocking. Eddie can't stand Christmas, but a court order from a judge has landed him right in the middle of the merrymaking.

Maureen and Eddie spar over every detail of the pageant, from casting troubled kids to Eddie's original—and distinctly untraditional—music. Is he trying to sabotage the performance to spite her? Or is she trying too hard to fit the show into her storybook-perfect notion of Christmas?

And how is it possible that they're falling in love?...

In a story only Susan Wiggs could tell, Table for Five resonates with the sweetness and surprise of the unexpected paths life can take -- and explores what it really means to be a family.

When Derek and Crystal Maguire are killed in a car accident, their three children are left to be raised by their designated guardians -- Lily Robinson and Sean McGuire. Brought together by tragedy, the two strangers are joined in grief and their mutual love for these orphaned children. Sean and Lily are about to embark on the journey of ups and downs, patience and understanding that makes a family. And along the way they will find a future filled with hope, happiness and the certainty that love is the best choice of all....

Snowfall at Willow Lake:
International lawyer Sophie Bellamy has dedicated her life to helping people in war-torn countries. But when she survives a hostage situation, she remembers what matters most - the children she loves back home. Haunted by regrets, she returns to the idyllic Catskills village of Avalon on the shores of Willow Lake, determined to repair the bonds with her family.
There Sophie discovers the surprising rewards of small-town life - including an unexpected passion for Noah Shepherd, the local veterinarian. Noah has a healing touch for anything with four legs, but he’s never had any luck with women - until Sophie.
Snowfall at Willow Lake speaks from the heart about all the loves that fill a woman’s life, and all the ways that love is tested and made to grow. It’s the story of what comes after a woman survives an unspeakable horror and finds her way home, to healing and redemption and a new chance at happiness.

Fireside:
Baseball hopeful Bo Crutcher is about to get his shot at the majors. That is, until life throws him a curveball. When AJ, the son he’s never met, lands on his doorstep, Bo’s life becomes a whole new ball game. He needs help—fast. Enter Kimberly van Dorn. Hired to smooth Bo’s rough exterior for the media, she expects the kind of shallow pro athlete she’s used to handling. But Bo is willing to sacrifice everything for his vulnerable son. Kim can train him to hit a home run with the press, but over a breathtaking winter on frozen Willow Lake, she realizes he has far more to teach her about the game of life…and putting love first.
“Susan Wiggs paints the details of human relationships with the finesse of a master.” – Jodi Picoult
“With the ease of a master, Wiggs introduces complicated, flesh-and-blood characters into her idyllic but identifiable small-town setting.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review, on The Winter Lodge (Best Books of 2007 selection)...

Feisty orphan Pippa de Lacey lives by wit and skill as a London street performer. But when her sharp tongue gets her into serious trouble, she throws herself upon the mercy of Irish chieftain Aidan O'Donoghue.

Pippa provides a welcome diversion for Aidan as he awaits an audience with the queen, who holds his people's fate in her hands. Amused at first, he becomes obsessed with the audacious waif who claims his patronage.

Rash and impetuous, their unlikely alliance reverberates with desire and the tantalizing promise of a life each has always wanted—but never dreamed of attaining....

This title contains stories that include "The Changeling" by Susan Wiggs, "To Recapture the Light" by Morgan Llywelyn, "Earthly Magic" by Barbara Samuel, and "Bride Price" by Roberta Gellis. "The Changeling" - All her life, Aislinn Finn has longed for love, but the family curse has kept her from romance of any kind. And then a bold cowboy from Texas visits, bringing feelings of passion and tenderness that she's never had before..."To Recapture the Light" - As one of the Sidhe, Lasair has little interest in the mortal world. Until she meets a wandering artist whose passionate touch entwines them in a magical spell of everlasting love..."Earthly Magic" - When Ciarann summons the fairy prince, she is unaware of the potent magic she is unleashing. The only one who can save her is a darkly handsome bard whose pure music finally opens her heart to love..."Bride Price" - Findbhair has waited ten years for the man to whom she was bound in marriage. And now that Fraoch has come, she vows that no family trickery shall keep her away from her one true love......

Baseball hopeful Bo Crutcher is about to get his shot at the majors. That is, until life throws him a curveball. When AJ, the son he’s never met, lands on his doorstep, Bo’s life becomes a whole new ball game. He needs help—fast. Enter Kimberly van Dorn. Hired to smooth Bo’s rough exterior for the media, she expects the kind of shallow pro athlete she’s used to handling. But Bo is willing to sacrifice everything for his vulnerable son. Kim can train him to hit a home run with the press, but over a breathtaking winter on frozen Willow Lake, she realizes he has far more to teach her about the game of life…and putting love first.

“Susan Wiggs paints the details of human relationships with the finesse of a master.” – Jodi Picoult
“With the ease of a master, Wiggs introduces complicated, flesh-and-blood characters into her idyllic but identifiable small-town setting.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review, on The Winter Lodge (Best Books of 2007 selection)...

Chicago cartoonist Sarah Moon tackles life’s real issues with a healthy dose of sharp wit in her syndicated comic strip Just Breathe. As Sarah’s cartoon alter ego, Shirl, undergoes artificial insemination, her situation begins to mirror Sarah’s own difficult attempts to conceive. However, Sarah’s dreams of the future did not include her husband’s infidelity: snag number two in Sarah’s so-called perfect life.

With Chicago – and her marriage – in the rearview mirror, she flees to the small Northern California coastal town where she grew up, a place she couldn’t wait to leave. Now she finds herself revisiting the past – an emotionally distant father and the unanswered questions left by her mother’s death. As she comes to terms with her lost marriage, Sarah encounters a man she never expected to meet again: Will Bonner, the high school heartthrob she’d skewered mercilessly in her old comics. Now a local firefighter, he’s been through some changes himself. But just as her heart is about to reawaken, Sarah discovers she is pregnant. With her ex’s twins.

It’s hardly the most traditional of new beginnings, but who says life and love are predictable...or perfect? The winds of change have led Sarah here. Now all she can do is just close her eyes...and breathe....

Baseball hopeful Bo Crutcher is about to get his shot at the majors. That is, until life throws him a curveball. When AJ, the son he’s never met, lands on his doorstep, Bo’s life becomes a whole new ball game. He needs help—fast.

Enter Kimberly van Dorn. Hired to smooth Bo’s rough exterior for the media, she expects the kind of shallow pro athlete she’s used to handling. But Bo is willing to sacrifice everything for his vulnerable son. Kim can train him to hit a home run with the press, but over a breathtaking winter on frozen Willow Lake, she realizes he has far more to teach her about the game of life…and putting love first.

“With the ease of a master, Wiggs introduces complicated, flesh-and-blood characters into her idyllic but identifiable small-town setting.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review, on The Winter Lodge (Best Books of 2007 selection)...

Chicago cartoonist Sarah Moon tackles life’s real issues with a healthy dose of sharp wit in her syndicated comic strip Just Breathe. As Sarah’s cartoon alter ego, Shirl, undergoes artificial insemination, her situation begins to mirror Sarah’s own difficult attempts to conceive. However, Sarah’s dreams of the future did not include her husband’s infidelity: snag number two in Sarah’s so-called perfect life.

With Chicago – and her marriage – in the rearview mirror, she flees to the small Northern California coastal town where she grew up, a place she couldn’t wait to leave. Now she finds herself revisiting the past – an emotionally distant father and the unanswered questions left by her mother’s death. As she comes to terms with her lost marriage, Sarah encounters a man she never expected to meet again: Will Bonner, the high school heartthrob she’d skewered mercilessly in her old comics. Now a local firefighter, he’s been through some changes himself. But just as her heart is about to reawaken, Sarah discovers she is pregnant. With her ex’s twins.

It’s hardly the most traditional of new beginnings, but who says life and love are predictable...or perfect? The winds of change have led Sarah here. Now all she can do is just close her eyes...and breathe....

Maureen Davenport lives for Christmas—and there's nothing more magical than Christmas on Willow Lake.

The prim librarian is finally getting her chance to direct Avalon's annual holiday pageant, and she's determined to make it truly spectacular. But it might just require one of those Christmas miracles she's always read about.

Because her codirector is recovering former child star Eddie Haven, a long-haired, tattooed lump of coal in Maureen's pageant stocking. Eddie can't stand Christmas, but a court order from a judge has landed him right in the middle of the merrymaking.

Maureen and Eddie spar over every detail of the pageant, from casting troubled kids to Eddie's original—and distinctly untraditional—music. Is he trying to sabotage the performance to spite her? Or is she trying too hard to fit the show into her storybook-perfect notion of Christmas?

And how is it possible that they're falling in love?...

With a little determination and a lot of charm, Rosa Capoletti took a run-down pizza joint and turned it into an award-winning restaurant that has been voted "best place to propose" three years in a row. For Rosa, though, there has been no real romance since her love affair with Alexander Montgomery ended without explanation a decade ago. But guess who's just come back to town?

Reunited at the beach house where they first fell in love, Rosa and Alexander discover that the secrets of the past are not what they seem. Now, with all that she wants right in front of her, Rosa searches for happiness with the man who once broke her heart—and learns that in love, as in life, there are second chances....

The prim librarian is finally getting her chance to direct Avalon’s annual holiday pageant, and she’s determined to make it truly spectacular. But it might just require one of those Christmas miracles she’s always read about.

The problem is her codirector is recovering former child star Eddie Haven, a long-haired, tattooed lump of coal in Maureen’s pageant stocking. Eddie can’t stand Christmas, but a court order from a judge has landed him right in the middle of the merrymaking.

Maureen and Eddie spar over every detail of the pageant, from casting troubled kids to Eddie’s original — and distinctly untraditional — music. Is he trying to sabotage the performance to spite her? Or is she trying too hard to fit the show into her storybook-perfect notion of Christmas?

And how is it possible that they’re falling in love?

#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs conjures the heartwarming holiday tale of two people looking beyond the disappointments of the past to the promise of the future. Amid the holiday bustle of crackling fires, caroling singers and delicious secrets, the season of goodwill becomes the backdrop for Willow Lake’s most unlikely love story yet.
...

Roguishly handsome Oliver de Lacey has always lived lustily: wine, weapons and women are his bywords. Even salvation from the noose by a shadowy society provides no epiphany to mend his debauched ways.

Mistress Lark's sole passion is her secret work with a group of Protestant dissidents thwarting the queen's executions. She needs no other excitement—until Oliver de Lacey drops through the hangman's door and into her life.

As their fates become inextricably bound together in a struggle against royal persecution, both Oliver and Lark discover a love worth saving…even dying for....

The prim librarian is finally getting her chance to direct Avalon’s annual holiday pageant, and she’s determined to make it truly spectacular. But it might just require one of those Christmas miracles she’s always read about.

The problem is her codirector is recovering former child star Eddie Haven, a long-haired, tattooed lump of coal in Maureen’s pageant stocking. Eddie can’t stand Christmas, but a court order from a judge has landed him right in the middle of the merrymaking.

Maureen and Eddie spar over every detail of the pageant, from casting troubled kids to Eddie’s original — and distinctly untraditional — music. Is he trying to sabotage the performance to spite her? Or is she trying too hard to fit the show into her storybook-perfect notion of Christmas?

And how is it possible that they’re falling in love?

#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs conjures the heartwarming holiday tale of two people looking beyond the disappointments of the past to the promise of the future. Amid the holiday bustle of crackling fires, caroling singers and delicious secrets, the season of goodwill becomes the backdrop for Willow Lake’s most unlikely love story yet.
...

Frustrated by his own failures at matrimony, King Henry VIII punishes an insolent nobleman by commanding him to marry the vagabond woman caught stealing his horse. Stephen de Lacey is a cold and bitter widower, long accustomed to the sovereign's capricious and malicious whims. He regards his new bride as utterly inconvenient…though undeniably fetching.

But Juliana Romanov is no ordinary thief—she is a Russian princess forced into hiding by the traitorous cabal who slaughtered her family. One day she hopes to return to Muscovy to seek vengeance.

What begins as a mockery of a marriage ultimately blossoms into deepest love....

The prim librarian is finally getting her chance to direct Avalon’s annual holiday pageant, and she’s determined to make it truly spectacular. But it might just require one of those Christmas miracles she’s always read about.

The problem is her codirector is recovering former child star Eddie Haven, a long-haired, tattooed lump of coal in Maureen’s pageant stocking. Eddie can’t stand Christmas, but a court order from a judge has landed him right in the middle of the merrymaking.

Maureen and Eddie spar over every detail of the pageant, from casting troubled kids to Eddie’s original — and distinctly untraditional — music. Is he trying to sabotage the performance to spite her? Or is she trying too hard to fit the show into her storybook-perfect notion of Christmas?

And how is it possible that they’re falling in love?

#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs conjures the heartwarming holiday tale of two people looking beyond the disappointments of the past to the promise of the future. Amid the holiday bustle of crackling fires, caroling singers and delicious secrets, the season of goodwill becomes the backdrop for Willow Lake’s most unlikely love story yet.
...

Exploring the many facets of love and friendship, New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs evokes a summer in the Catskills, where family ties clash with family secrets during lazy days and hot, languid nights . . .

Real estate expert Olivia Bellamy reluctantly trades a trendy Manhattan summer for her family's old resort camp in the Catskills, where her primary task will be renovating the bungalow colony for her grandparents, who want one last summer together filled with fun, friends and family. A posh resort in its heyday, the camp is now in disarray and Olivia is forced to hire contractor Connor Davis -- a still-smoldering flame from her own summers at camp. But as the days grow warm, not even the inviting blue waters of Willow Lake can cool the passions flaring or keep shocking secrets at bay. The nostalgic joy of summers past breathes new promise into a special place and people . . . a promise meant to last long after the season ends....

Long, Lazy Days . . . Hot Summer Nights

With her daughter grown and flown, Nina Romano is ready to embark on a new adventure. She's waited a long time for dating, travel and chasing dreams. But just as she's beginning to enjoy being on her own, she finds herself falling for Greg Bellamy, owner of the charming Inn at Willow Lake and a single father with two kids of his own.

Greg lost his first marriage to a demanding career. Now he's determined to make a new start before it's too late. Juggling work, raising his young son and helping his nearly grown daughter face life's ultimate challenge, he has no time to fall in love. Still, with Nina Romano, love feels just right this time around.

From the award-winning author of Summer at Willow Lake comes an unforgettable story of a woman's emotional journey from the heartache of the past to hope for the future....

Set in a world of enchantment, fantasy, and legend, a quartet of magical, romantic tales includes Morgan Llywelyn's "Galway Bay," "The Trysting Hour" by Susan Wiggs, "Rarer Than a White Crow" by Roberta Gellis, and Barbara Samuel's "The Harper's Daughter." Reprint....

On the longest night of the year, Jenny Majesky loses everything in a devastating house fire. But among the ashes she finds an unusual treasure hidden amid her grandfather's belongings, one that starts her on a search for the truth, and on a path toward a life that she never imagined. The Winter Lodge, a remote cabin owned by her half sister on the shores of Willow Lake, becomes a safe refuge for Jenny, where she and local police chief Rourke McKnight try to sort out the mysteries revealed by the fire.

But when a blizzard traps them together, Jenny, accustomed to the safe predictability of running the family bakery, suddenly doesn't feel so secure. For even as Rourke shelters her from the storm outside, she knows her heart is at risk. Now, following her dreams might mean walking away from her one chance at love....

Baseball hopeful Bo Crutcher is about to get his shot at the majors. That is, until life throws him a curveball. When AJ, the son he’s never met, lands on his doorstep, Bo’s life becomes a whole new ball game. He needs help—fast.

Enter Kimberly van Dorn. Hired to smooth Bo’s rough exterior for the media, she expects the kind of shallow pro athlete she’s used to handling. But Bo is willing to sacrifice everything for his vulnerable son. Kim can train him to hit a home run with the press, but over a breathtaking winter on frozen Willow Lake, she realizes he has far more to teach her about the game of life…and putting love first.

“With the ease of a master, Wiggs introduces complicated, flesh-and-blood characters into her idyllic but identifiable small-town setting.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review, on The Winter Lodge (Best Books of 2007 selection)...