The Christmas Village
by Melissa Ann Goodwin
Young teen, Jamie Reynolds’ father does an illegal business deal which turns Jamie’s world into turmoil. Ashamed to face his so called friends and gossiping neighbors, Jamie and his mother need to get away and head for comforting surroundings of his grandparent’s home for what they hope is a peaceful Christmas.
Grandma’s decorations for Christmas include a miniature village from 1932 and Jamie’s mother tells him the story about the village and it’s earlier time and place.
He wishes he could go and live in this truly enchanted time where no one knew his problem.
Late one night he hears the voice of a young girl and finds the two children in the village scene in trouble on its miniature pond. Jamie quickly moves to save these tiny characters who have amazingly come to life and he finds himself physically drawn right into the small village of Canterbury. Jamie has a remarkable adventure, but it’s not long before his wishes to be back in his own time with his mother and grandparents.
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Melissa Ann Goodwin |
THE CHRISTMAS VILLAGE is a story for everyone! It is a well written story which moves and intertwines through the character’s history together. This story is destine to become a Christmas classic and will make a wonderful Christmas movie.
Melissa Ann Goodwin has written many stories, poems and articles for children's magazines, and her non-fiction work has appeared in national magazines and newspapers. For more about Melissa Ann Goodwin visit:
The Christmas Village can be bought at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Village-Melissa-Ann-Goodwin/dp/1463646259/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317906903&sr=8-1
READ The Story's Notes by the Author:
The Christmas
Village by Melissa Ann Goodwin
The idea for my
book, The Christmas Village, came – not surprisingly –
from my own miniature Christmas village. I actually never intended to
have one of those villages. It started with one piece – a little
lighthouse that I had for several years. Then I thought it would be
nice to have a couple more pieces, say three, so I got a
church and a pretty little New England cottage. Well, you know how it
goes, the next thing I knew I was on ebay bidding like crazy! My
village isn’t that big – perhaps 10 pieces or so, and it’s a
mishmash from different collections. But it’s still very pretty.
One night I was
staring at the village, thinking how perfect and pretty it looked all
lit up in the dark. And I started to wonder: Who lives in that
little cottage over by the covered bridge? And who lives in the big
house up on the hill? What song is the church choir singing? I
wonder what they are having for supper in the boardinghouse tonight
….
And so it began.
Then came the idea of a boy who was sad for some reason as yet
unknown – looking at the village and wishing he could escape into
it. All I knew at the start was that there would be this sad boy, who
thought it would a Perfect Place, where things never changed and bad
things never happened. He would make a wish to live there, and
somehow, his wish would come true.
But what actually
happens in the book is far different from what I was thinking at the
start. Along the way, characters arrived and events emerged that were
total surprises. For me, that’s the joy and excitement of writing –
the miracle, really. You think you know where you’re going, or
maybe you have no idea! Then suddenly, it all takes off. Writing The
Christmas Village was a roller coaster adventure for me, and
that’s how the story came out too. One of the things that delights
me most is when people say they expected it to just be a nice
Christmas story, but it turns out to be a jolly good adventure with
lots of suspense and surprises. I am working on a sequel, and my hope
is to complete it next year. I want to take my time with it, because
I want it to live up to the first!
Bio: I am a
storyteller. I grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, where I spent a
happy and carefree childhood reading books and living in my own
imagination. It was just a matter of time before the adventures in my
head would spill out onto the written page! I want my stories to
transport you to new places, make you laugh and cry, take you on
rollercoaster adventures, and surprise you with their twists and
turns. By the end, I want you to feel as though my characters are
good friends to whom you don't want to say goodbye, and that the
worlds I've created are places in which you wish you could stay
forever. I hope you will enjoy reading The Christmas Village.
Youtube trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my9vTx-Z-sk
Amazon.com:
www.amazon.com/Christmas-Village-Melissa-Ann-Goodwin/dp/1463646259/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317906903&sr=8-1
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/95060
It's on my wish list! : )
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