Welcome to Carol Kittie’s Christmas Favorites for 2015.
A new tradition for my blog. First up –
Building A Christmas by Patricia Bond
From Soul Mate Publishing
Colonel Nathaniel Walker has been ravaged by the Civil War nearly as much as his country has. Now he seeks the sanctuary of home, hoping to find solace from the dreams that haunt him most nights. Instead, he finds an orphanage for war orphans has sprung up next door. Now, his guilt has faces – fourteen of them. And the woman who cares for them.Melanie Treymont exhibits more courage under fire than any soldier he’s ever seen. Is she the one who can help him rebuild his life and finally put his demons to rest?
Melanie Treymont hopes to make amends for her dead husband’s actions by taking responsibility for fourteen war orphans. But facing eviction, she may have to give up her plans of building a life for them. Help comes from an unexpected source, as her neighbor, Colonel Nathaniel Walker, steps up to the challenge, despite fighting his own inner battles.
These two tortured souls unite for the children, working to build a life for them as well as themselves. They start by “Building a Christmas.”
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This is a tale of strength, kindness and Christmas miracles.
Nathaniel returns home from the war to find his father almost an invalid, and being helped by some of the older children from the orphanage run by Melanie.
The orphanage is fraught with problems, some to do with the general lack of maintenance on the property, but the biggest is the pending sale that will make all of them homeless.
The overwhelming generosity of neighbors when they have so little themselves. A last ditch effort to find funds to keep the children together.
A love blossoms between these two characters in spite of, or maybe because of their experiences.
This book made me cry a lot. A wonderful read that captures the emotions of the era and weaves them into a Christmas Miracle.
Thank you for your attention to even the smallest details, Patricia.
5 Contented Purrs!
They say your childhood dreams and aspirations are your purest, truest desires. They are your destiny. If that’s true, my destiny was written before I could even read on my own. Like most authors, I’ve carried on a life-long love affair with books. From the time I was about eight years old, my vision of life as a grown-up included having a dozen children and a room at the top of an old Victorian mansion where I would spend my days looking out at the sea and writing stories.
A dozen kids and solitude? Hey – I was eight. What did I know?
Except that I wanted to be a writer.
I couldn’t decide what to write, opting mostly for mysteries until I realized I couldn’t plot an escape route from a three-sided phone booth, much less a murder. It was during a six-week bedside vigil when mom was in the ICU that my sister introduced me to historical romances. I devoured them. The first time I thought “I can do this,” I felt a calm settle over me and a feeling of “coming home.” I was ready to run.
Life… Juggling marriage, a husband with a full-time job and full-time school, four children (I had to down-size my original vision – economics, you know), multiple jobs, my best friend’s cancer diagnosis that led both of us down a metaphysical path as we spent hours talking about destiny, intention, attraction, energy work and more. Life experiences. Rich and full.
It’s all led to this.
Where I was meant to be – right from the beginning.
Ms. Bond lives in the best place on earth – Western New York – not quite close enough to see the waterfront, but close enough that you’ll often find her there, camera and notebook in hand, patient, hero-inspiring husband nearby. “Only” four children, not a dozen, but count in their spouses and grandchildren, and she’s getting closer.
She may still try her hand at mysteries. She hasn’t seen a three-sided phone booth in years.
Carol Kittie Reviews 