The Christmas House
A verified Amazon review-The Christmas House is the embodiment of the Christmas Spirit. Magical, wondrous, full of the warmth generated by the company of family and friends during good times and hard. This book hits you with a healthy dose of reality, but it also takes you on a fantastical journey filled with hope and joy, grace and forgiveness. If you don't examine it too closely, but just let the words transport you on a trip that will engage your emotions and give you cause to ponder what can be real, what may be true - if "close your eyes" and open your heart, this book will bring it all to life and make you believe. I found this book engaging from the first chapter, it kept drawing me in, pulling me into the world of the house and those who live there, as well as those individuals who visit once every year at Christmas. This story is not without tragedy, but it is also infused with the glorious strength and bright light that the human spirit is capable of producing, with a little divine help and the steadfast support of the people who love you. I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, wanting to see what happened next, anxious to find out what happened to the characters in the book I had grown to care about. The story surrounds your senses and brings the sights and smells, the many textures of Christmas to your heart, as it lifts your spirit up and makes you wonder...This podcast offers the first four chapters of the novel. The entire audio book will not be available on Amazon until Thanksgiving 2022. More episodes (chapters) will be added in the future.
The Christmas House
Chapter Three- The Carters are Out, and The Hills are In
Michael followed a moving truck to a new yet smaller home in Algonquin, IL, at the end of March. Algonquin was a lovely middle-class suburb just 60 miles west of Lake Forest. Michael sold the house on Festive Lane to Harry and Susan Hill, who believed the home would be a fresh beginning for the three children they had taken into their family due to the tragic deaths of their parents, Carin and Rick McCann.
Carin was Susan’s sister, although you would never know it. Susan, a tall and thin natural blonde, could easily have been a model in her younger years, whereas Carin was short and stocky with dark, almost black hair. Rick and Carin owned a bar and grill located on the Northside of Chicago called McNasty’s.
When Susan and Carin’s father died from complications from a gallbladder operation, the hospital was found guilty of negligence and the doctors of malpractice. After attorney fees were paid, each sister received around $2,500,000.00. Carin and Rick bought a bar and grill on Lawrence Ave. and renovated it from top to bottom. It had been a dream of Rick’s always to own a restaurant and bar. Rick is the source of the bright red hair that his girls inherited.