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 TWELVE - CHRISTMAS DAY
7:00 am-
As the sun shines into the master bedroom, the interior is bright and bold. Harry squints to see the alarm clock on his nightstand.
“7:03? It’s Christmas morning, for Pete’s sake. Why can’t I ever sleep in? If it’s not the kids, it’s Max. (Max pushes the door open and enters the room, jumping up on the bed.) Speak of the devil. Susan, are you going to let this beast get away with this? Susan?”
Harry looks to the other side of the bed, but it is without his wife. Max makes himself at home and lies belly up as Harry rubs the pooches’ tummy.
“I bet you would like to go outside, wouldn’t you?” Harry asked Max.
“WOOF!” is the reply.
“Okay, big guy, let’s proceed to the backyard post-haste, shall we?” Harry asked.
Max leaps from the bed and is out the door in a flash. Harry dons a pair of sweats and throws on a ball cap as he slips on a pair of slippers and begins his trek down the stairs to the kitchen. As Harry walks through the house, the reality of the previous night sets in once again.
“I thought maybe I was just dreaming the whole thing, but no, there are 70 dead people in my house. I feel like that kid in that movie… I see dead people.”
Harry lets Max out to do his morning business and then grabs the orange juice from the fridge. As he pours himself a glass, a little boy comes up behind him and pulls on his sweatshirt.