A Cedar Cove Christmas

Counting today, there are only five days left until Christmas. Since I lost my mother to cancer in 1999, this time of year has been difficult for me. But this month, I’ve been reading a lot of Christmas stories, and that has been keeping me in the holiday frame of mind.

I was most taken with A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber. This is one of a series of eleven books the author has written about inhabitants of the imaginary town of Cedar Cove, Washington. Except for A Cedar Cove Christmas, the title of each of these books is an address in the town, i.e.

1022 Evergreen Place

, her latest book in this series that was released in September of this year. The residents of the house at the address in the title of each book are the focal point of the book’s story, but there are sub-plots involving others in the town as well. At the beginning of each book is a cast of characters so if you haven’t read the previous book in the series, you’re not totally lost.

A Cedar Cove Christmas is a delightful take on the Christmas story. On Christmas Eve Day, pregnant Mary Jo Wyse travels to Cedar Cove from Seattle to find the father of her unborn child who has led her to believe that he will be spending the holiday with his family living in the town. But this man turns out to be a pathological liar and a con artist. His father and stepmother have taken a Christmas cruise, and fate puts Mary  Jo in touch with librarian Grace Harding who lives on a horse ranch near Cedar Cove. Grace and her husband take Mary Jo in, and she gives birth on Christmas Eve in an apartment above their barn. In the stable, there just happen to be a camel and other creatures used in the church’s nativity scene. Mary Jo’s brothers, the three Wyse men, arrive bearing gifts just as she is about to be taken to the hospital by ambulance. Grace’s grandson plays his new drum for Mary Jo and the baby, and it appears that the ox and lamb are keeping time.

Debbie Macomber has a  Web site where you can read about her and her books and join her mailing list. Please visit http://www.debbiemacomber.com/ Of course, you can always visit my Web site, the URL of which is below. I leave you now with a link to a recording of my Christmas wish for anyone reading this blog. This link will be available for at least a week.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15213189/holiday%20greeting%202010.mp3

Abbie Johnson Taylor

Author of We Shall Overcome

http://www.abbiejohnsontaylor.com

abbie@samobile.net