About the Book

Letter from the Author

Last year’s Christmas was really special! We had quite a houseful. Both of our kids were there. So was our new son-in-law, Alex. Tom’s mom and his brother, Mike, came, too. And so did Dan and Suzanne.

There’s a story about Dan. You see, we first met him when he was engaged to Betsy, who was Tom’s sister. Over the years, we spent lots of holidays together. For some reason, Dan and I used to end up in the kitchen after the big meals. We’d wash dishes so the rest of the family could enjoy some time together. (Boy, did we wash a lot of dishes!) Then, several years ago, Betsy passed away. When the next holiday rolled around, we all missed her tremendously. But we missed Dan, too! It just didn’t feel the same without either of them.

A couple of years ago, Dan met Suzanne and was gracious enough to invite all of us to their wedding. It was such a joyous occasion! Then, when it turned out that they were going to be near us for Christmas, Tom and I were thrilled to have them join us for the holidays once again. Actually, all of us were thrilled to have them join us. We all had a great time. We did the usual—ate too much, stayed up too late, and laughed a lot. We even washed dishes together! It was perfect.

I’ve thought about Dan and Suzanne a lot while writing this book. Maybe because so much of The Gift has to do with things that happened that were out of the characters’ control.

The “gift” in this novel refers to a person who has been a particular blessing in my heroine’s life. Maybe, like me, you can think of many people who fit this description.

If so, I hope you get to see them this holiday season. If not, maybe you’ll get the chance to let them know how much they mean to you. That’s a present worth giving, I think.

Merry Christmas!

Shelley