There was not much of Amanda Leigh that Amy Lee can remember anymore. At a very young age, she lost her parents in a fire and was whisked away by her Aunt Flo to live in Malibu, California. Amy had occasional flashbacks of moments in her childhood - decorating the house for Christmas, the kiss from her first boyfriend, Hank, the silver bells that she always kept with her. When she makes the decision to return to her parents’ home and hometown, she can’t possibly predict that the changes she is considering making in her career will have such a profound effect.

In “Dear Santa,” a Christmas ride through the mountains is Holly’s attempt to inspire her writerly muse. For weeks now, she has been unable to create a viable story for her next novel. Since Holly has fought the urge to get lost in Christmas traditions, it seems a perfect time to go looking for that evasive character who can be the basis of her story. When an accident on the road leads her to Santa Village for the week of Christmas, Holly will find out what she is really hiding from.

“Christmas Past” is a dark holiday story about the evil that can invade our lives without our going out to look for it. Nicole’s marriage to Richard seemed perfect in the beginning, but it didn’t take long for his possessiveness and physical abuse to reveal themselves. As soon as Nicole could figure a way to escape, she did. Richard came after her but was killed in the attempt. Now Richard returns from the grave with the evil plans he left behind to punish Nicole. Although Nicole has trust issues, her ability to overcome will be her way back to sanity.

“A Mulberry Park Christmas” is the story of a teenage love, forbidden by well-meaning parents, that comes around full circle. Jillian and Mack loved each other as teens but weren’t well suited to each other. When Jillian’s father broke them up, they both accepted it as the best thing. Now, years later, they are given another chance to make it right. What a special Christmas gift this will be.

This Christmas season, Fern Michaels, JoAnn Ross, Mary Burton and Judy Duarte give us stories that will touch our hearts. In this collection of four stories, each reader will find her favorite.