Perfect festive fiction

Fill a loved one’s Christmas stocking with heartwarming stories. All ten titles are only £40 plus p&p. Plus enjoy a free bestseller of our choice with six or more books. However many you order we’ll dispatch in good time before Christmas. Happy ordering!

1 A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER

A few days before Christmas, Tess rushes into Albert’s tobacconist shop with two boys in hot pursuit, who say she’s a thief. Albert chases them away, and though Tess doesn’t realise it, this incident changes her life.

4 CHRISTMAS IN THE SNOW

Allegra is pitching for the biggest deal of her career and can’t afford to fail. When she meets attractive stranger Sam on the plane, she can’t afford to lose focus either. Then Allegra finds herself up against Sam for the bid...

2 SNOWFLAKES IN THE WIND

Christmas Eve 1920 and nine-year-old Abby’s family is ripped apart by a terrible tragedy. Leaving everything, she takes her younger brother and runs away to the tough existence of the Border farming community. 5 COMING HOME... FOR CHRISTMAS Coming home for the holidays is the last thing Alison wants to do, but she and Olivia must sort their differences, throw a party and Christmas might just bring changes for Alison that she could never have imagined ….

7 TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Young widow Holly welcomes the chance to escape to a remote house on the moors. When the owner, Jude, returns home unexpectedly, he finds his family – and Holly – running amok. Will Holly and Jude get more than they bargained for?

9 CHRISTMAS AT THE LITTLE CLOCK HOUSE ON THE GREEN

After a broken heart, Jake is opting out of Christmas. Then Emma arrives and sets mayhem in motion. Snow falls, romance starts to bloom, and they find themselves repeating history...

3 WINTER ON THE MERSEY

Kitty has seen her fair share of tragedy and is determined to do her bit for King and country. When she finds herself stationed back home again, she meets up with Frank, the young officer who’s always held a place in her heart.

6 IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Beth has everything she wants, so why can’t she stop thinking about her old college boyfriend? Husband Daniel is struggling with being a good father and a good teacher. Beth’s sister is single, childless and jealous of Beth’s success. But is the grass really always greener?

8 THE LITTLE VILLAGE CHRISTMAS

Alexia is in charge of creating a community café in her village but when the cash is stolen, help comes from woodsman Ben. Then both realise that a little sprinkling of Christmas magic might just bring this village together.

10 THE COSY CHRISTMAS CHOCOLATE SHOP

With a broken heart and a miserly landlord threatening to up the rent, Emma’s Christmas looks less than cheerful. But with the whole village rallying behind her, can she rescue her business as well as her heart?

long died. How could you frighten her like that?” Harriet was astonished – and speechless, for once.

Joan continued: “Well, I think we’ve done enough for one day, don’t you? You can go and report the graffiti if you want to.”

Five days passed and Harriet had plenty of time to reflect on last Sunday’s events. She had stormed home filled with indignation. After all, she had only been going to do her civic duty. Still angry, she had phoned the council and reported the vandalism. But she refrained from mentioning Daisy or Wayne by name.

Normally, she would have met Joan for a coffee at least once during the week, but this week Joan hadn’t phoned and Harriet was too proud to make the first move.

On Saturday morning, she paid her usual visit to the library. The local knitting circle was there and she pulled up a chair to join them. Harriet took some needles and a ball of wool from the basket and started to cast on. The conversation was all about a recent road accident.

“Oooh, it was terrible,” one of the women exclaimed. “She was only a young girl and Jenny, the nurse who visits my sister, said the poor thing had only recently lost her grandfather.”

Harriet dropped her knitting with a clatter. The women looked at her with concern. “Is the girl alright?” she asked, feeling sick.

The woman only knew that the girl had been hit by a car as she was running across the busy road by the park and had been taken to hospital.

Abandoning her knitting, Harriet picked up the local newspaper and found the story on the front page. To her relief, she read that the girl had been treated for shock and bruises and discharged the same day.

Harriet felt weak with relief. She stood up to leave, but her attention was caught by the wall opposite. It was covered with bright paintings by children who attended one of the play groups. Suddenly, Harriet knew exactly what she had to do. Groping in her bag, she found her phone to call Joan.

The next Sunday the weather had improved and there was a crisp, clean tang to the air. Harriet, Jack, Flynn and Bob were hard at work in the park when Joan appeared with Daisy.

“Hello there!” Harriet called, waving a spray can at Daisy. “What do you think of this?”

Daisy stared, open-mouthed, at the bandstand which was rapidly being covered with vibrantly coloured flowers and insects.

Joan beamed. “You gave us the idea. We persuaded the council that it would improve public wellbeing, etcetera, so they agreed to give us a small grant. We also pointed out that if the bandstand was already covered with pictures, there would no space left for unofficial graffiti artists!”

“Well, Daisy, tell us what you think?” Harriet repeated, adding quietly: “I do hope you can put our first meeting behind you and give us a hand.”

Taken aback by Daisy’s spontaneous hug, Harriet coughed and said: “Of course, this isn’t really graffiti, it’s community art.”

“Art? That thing you’ve just painted isn’t art!” Flynn exclaimed. “It looks more like a cabbage than a rose. Here, I’ll draw the outline and you fill in the colour. Do you think you can you manage that?”

Harriet looked at him properly for the first time. ‘Cheeky blighter,’ she thought to herself, ‘but nice blue eyes…’

“I’ll try my best to stay inside the lines,” she said meekly.

“Oh Harriet!” Joan laughed. “That will be a first!”

About our author Jane lives in Manchester and has taken time out from her fundraising work to develop her writing. She has had success with a number of nostalgia articles exploring life in the Sixties and Seventies.

‘That isn’t art... it looks more like a cabbage than a rose. I’ll draw the outline and you can fill in the colour’