Angel In The Parlor

Typescripts, galley proof.

This delightful collection brings together five short stories and eight essays on writing by Newbery Medal–winning author Nancy Willard Nancy Willard’s gift for bringing out the whimsical in all of us illuminates this memorable anthology. “ ‘Who Invented Water?’ ” celebrates the craft and magic of creating children’s books. In “Becoming a Writer,” Willard admits she dislikes giving and receiving advice. She prefers telling a story, with real-life characters ranging from members of her own family to Jane Austen, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Charles Dickens on stilts. “The Well-tempered Falsehood” explores the fabulist art of storytelling; “The Rutabaga Lamp” is a dreamy, delightful riff on how to read and write fairy tales. In an autobiographical piece, “Her Father’s House,” Erica, Theo, and their three-year-old son travel home for the funeral of Erica’s father. As the whole family gathers, the heroine is hit with an onslaught of memories, Willard style. “The Tailor Who Told the Truth” is Morgon Axel, who tells nothing but lies . . . until the day a wild boar comes into his shop. This ebook includes an introduction by Robert Pack, former director of the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference.

When two strangers appear during the annual MacDougal family Christmas celebration in the Blue Ridge Mountains, siblings Shayne, Morwenna, and Bobbie must band together to fend off the growing danger and figure out who they can trust.

After losing her daughter Charlotte to a rare genetic disorder, life for Sukey Forbes is completely shattered. As devastated as she is, Forbes searches for ways to deal with her grief. She wants desperately to recover a full, meaningful life on the private island of Naushon where she and her family live. Forbes begins exploring her family's rich history of spiritual seekers, including her great-great-great grandfather, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who similarly lost a young child.

The Angel was written as a fairytale, but contains elements of truth, in the way God may possibly use angels in people's daily lives. This idea comes directly from scripture as written throughout the Bible, in which angels appeared to people, prophets, and animals. In this tale, the angel and animals are able to speak to one another and conversations flow freely. The book traces the activities of Dionysius, an angel, as he orchestrates the lives of those God entrusts to him. The story begins by explaining who Dionysius is and commences with the peculiar way in which he meets the main characters. His somewhat humorous encounter with Hercules, the large shire-horse, and Phinehas, the mastiff dog, takes place on a farm belonging to old Ma Bond. After questioning the animals, Dionysius finds the old lady and her granddaughter, little Rosie, are living in very dire circumstances. The angel, seeing the predicament, takes charge. After receiving instructions from God, he begins to arrange events to benefit Rosie, who is soon unfortunately orphaned by her grandmother's demise, her parents being deceased. The story details the incidents after her grandmother's death, introducing two more very important characters, a husband and wife, Sam and Beverly Harris, who have been praying for a child. As the tale progresses, more characters enter who help the little girl. Having no family alive and nowhere to call home, Rosie is forced to stay at the local orphanage, where she makes friends. During this time, a terrible fire disrupts life at the orphanage. Will Rosie find a new home, and will Sam and Beverly get the child they have been praying for, or will the difficulties be too great? Throughout the book, horses, dogs, and cats play an important role alongside the people, and the mastiff, Phinehas, remains Rosie's faithful companion and guardian. The angel, Dionysius, plays a vital role in everyone's lives, weaving in and out of the story at intervals, following God's instructions. The book concentrates on love, healing and forgiveness, repentance, and the salvation message, as explained in the Bible in the gospel of John, Chapter 3, where Jesus explains "....unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

The magic of Naples during Carnival inspires love between a disparate group of local citizens and visiting Englishmen.

Ten-year-old Angel finds plenty to worry about when she learns that her mother's new boyfriend is a clown.

THE TRUTH LIES ON THE OTHER SIDE... South Baltimore's Angel Café is a trendy new eatery where patrons can enjoy exotic tea, aromatic coffee, and the psychic readings of clairvoyant Tia Melody. The star and main attraction of the restaurant, Tia claims to channel an otherworldly guide, Valentine, and somehow knows all there is to know about her expanding list of patrons. Kat Valenti is a workaholic attorney still coming to grips with the death of her fiancé, Peter, who died two years ago. Although drawn to the Angel Café, she is skeptical of Tia's readings -- until her late fiancé 'contacts' her to shed new light on how he died. Kat's wariness only grows as more clues turn up about Peter's death -- and all of them lead back to the Angel Café. Tia Melody is no simple fortune-teller, and Valentine is no benevolent spirit. Valentine's true power may be almost limitless -- and he doesn't want to tell the future anymore... He wants Kat.

Raina is happy and relieved that her friends Kathleen and Holly found volunteering at the hospital rewarding. They loved their summers at the hospital so much they will be working for credit during their junior year. Raina is also looking forward to spending as much time as possible with Hunter during their last year of high school together. Kathleen is still dating Carson, but they are at different schools and she’s worried it won’t last. And poor Holly’s still waiting for her parents to let up on their rules so she can actually go out on a date. Everything is going well until Raina’s old boyfriend Tony shows up and threatens to ruin the thing that matters to Raina the most—her relationship with Hunter. But she isn’t the only one with a secret. When Raina’s mother reveals her family secret, Raina feels betrayed. Luckily she has Holly and Kathleen to lean on.