Glad Tidings: There's Something About Christmas / Here Comes Trouble. Debbie Macomber

      December 2012

      Dear Friends,

      You’re going to require two things to enjoy this holiday volume.

      1. A sense of humor.

      2. An open mind when it comes to fruitcake.

      As it happens, I love fruitcake, and because I do, I’m sharing three special fruitcake recipes with you in the first story, “There’s Something About Christmas.” One comes from my mother-in-law, Marie Macomber; it started out as an applesauce cake that I adapted over the years into a moist fruitcake. (The rum certainly doesn’t hurt!) The others are from two readers, Cindy Thornlow and Penny Raven, who have become friends of mine.

      The second story in this set, “Here Comes Trouble,” is a romantic comedy I wrote in the early 1990s. It’s long been a favorite of mine. You’ll see that I’ve updated it a little…. I hope that, just like Maryanne and me, you’ll fall in love with Nolan.

      Both stories feature heroines who work for newspapers.

      The title, Glad Tidings, refers to that and, of course, to the good news of Christmas.

      My wish is that these stories will make you laugh. If you enjoy them as much as I hope, please consider your laughter my gift to you this Christmas.

      P.S. I love to hear from readers! You can reach me at www.DebbieMacomber.com or Facebook, or if you prefer to write me personally my mailing address is P.O. Box 1458,

      Port Orchard, WA 98366.

       Praise for Debbie Macomber’s Christmas stories

      There’s Something About Christmas is “a tale of romance in the lives of ordinary people, with a message that life is like a fruitcake: full of unexpected delights.”

       —Publishers Weekly

      “No one pens a Christmas story like Macomber and this is one of her best. Sweet, witty and supremely heartfelt, it’s truly special and guaranteed to warm even Scrooge’s heart.”

       —RT Book Reviews

      on There’s Something About Christmas, 4½ stars, Top Pick

      “There’s Something About Christmas is a wonderfully funny, and at times heart-wrenching story of finding the right person to love at the most delightful time of year.”

      —Times Record News, Wichita Falls, TX

      “Macomber once again demonstrates her impressive skills with characterization and her flair for humor.”

      —RT Book Reviews on When Christmas Comes

      “Call Me Mrs. Miracle is an entertaining holiday story that will surely touch the heart…. Best of all, readers will rediscover the magic of Christmas.”

       —Bookreporter.com

      “A fast, frothy fantasy for those looking to add some romance to their holidays.”

      —Publishers Weekly on The Snow Bride

      “Where Angels Go … should definitely get anyone in the mood for holiday cheer and warmth.”

       —FreshFiction.com

      “Macomber’s latest charming contemporary Christmas romance is a sweetly satisfying, gently humorous story that celebrates the joy and love of the holiday season.”

      —Booklist on Christmas Letters

      “It’s just not Christmas without a Debbie Macomber story.”

       —Armchair Interviews

      Make time for friends. Make time for Debbie Macomber.

      CEDAR COVE

      16 Lighthouse Road

      204 Rosewood Lane

      311 Pelican Court

      44 Cranberry Point

      50 Harbor Street

      6 Rainier Drive

      74 Seaside Avenue

      8 Sandpiper Way

      92 Pacific Boulevard

      1022 Evergreen Place

      1105 Yakima Street

      1225 Christmas Tree Lane

      BLOSSOM STREET

      The Shop on Blossom Street

      A Good Yarn

      Susannah’s Garden

       (previously published as Old Boyfriends)

      Back on Blossom Street

       (previously published as Wednesdays at Four)

      Twenty Wishes

      Summer on Blossom Street

      Hannah’s List

      A Turn in the Road

      Thursdays at Eight

      Christmas in Seattle

      Falling for Christmas

      A Mother’s Gift

      Angels at Christmas

      A Mother’s Wish

      A Merry Little Christmas

      The Manning Sisters

      The Manning Brides

      The Manning Grooms

      Summer in Orchard Valley

       Glad Tidings

       Debbie Macomber

       www.mirabooks.co.uk

There’s Something About Christmas

      To Emma Ingram (the real Emma) and her mother

       Chapter One

      On that cold day I was born, in February 1955, my great-aunt gave me a classic fruitcake for the celebration of the occasion of my birth. Every year during the holidays I pull it out of the attic and take a look at it and it still looks great, and every year I try to get up the nerve to take a slice and try it.

      —Dean Fearing,

      chef of The Mansion on Turtle Creek

      This job was going to kill her yet.

      Emma Collins stared at the daredevil pilot who was urging her toward his plane. She’d come to Thun Field to drum up advertising dollars for her employer, The Puyallup Examiner, and wasn’t interested in taking a spin around southeast Puget Sound.

      “Thank you, but no,” she insisted for the third time. Oliver Hamilton seemed to have a hearing problem. However, Emma was doing her best to maintain a professional facade, despite her pounding heart. No way would she go for a ride with Flyboy.

      The truth was, Emma was terrified of flying. Okay, she white-knuckled it in a Boeing 747, but nothing on God’s green earth would get her inside a small plane with this man—and his dog. Oliver Hamilton had a devil-may-care glint in his dark blue eyes and wore a distressed brown leather jacket