Daddy's Christmas Angel
Descriptive Blurb: In Daddy’s Christmas Angel,
seven-year-old Kathleen Ryan connives to have her father meet her second grade
teacher. However, the only commitment David Ryan wants is to his daughter, and
Angie McAllister wants no commitment other than to her own independence. Will
Kathleen’s schemes change both of their minds and lead to romance? Can she
manage to change all three of their lives forever? Think “Sleepless in Seattle”
meets “Love Story”.
Daddy's Christmas Angel is the kind of story that leaps into a
writer's mind and won't ever go away. A few years ago, I saw the cover for this
book in my mind before anything was written down except the prologue. I
proceeded to finish the story and actually signed an e-book contract with a
publisher. However, the more I thought about it, the more certain I became that
the timing was not right for e-books. The publisher agreed to let me out of the
contract, and I dropped the manuscript into a drawer where it remained until
this summer. I never stopped thinking about the story until I pulled it back
out, rewrote, and revised it.
As a teacher who started out in a first grade classroom, I
know how easy it is to fall in love with the children you teach. Kathleen in my
book was no exception. I loved her and so did my heroine, Angie McAllister.
Often there are children in a class that become special to a teacher and she
never forgets them. Those same children are the ones who never forget the
teachers with whom they held a special bond. One of our daughters still talks
about the second-grade teacher who exerted an extraordinary influence on her.
Kathleen connects with her second grade teacher, Angie, in
that way. After all, she longs desperately for a mother, and she's certain
Angie is perfect for the job. Kathleen is also sure that once he meets her,
David, her father, will feel the same way. However, neither David nor Angie
wants a relationship. Life has brought hurt in the past. Sometimes it's better
to remain safe and unattached, isn't it? But every so often, magic happens, and
those are the times we never forget.
Daddy's Christmas
Angel is available from Amazon http://tinyurl.com/a6beykv
and from Barnes and Noble http://tinyurl.com/dxxtjbl.
Mary
Montague Sikes is a native Virginian who grew up in the
historic city of Fredericksburg
in the shadow of Civil War battlefields near the boyhood home of George
Washington. Motivated by her surroundings, she started writing and painting at
an early age. In high school she developed a fascination for the works of Edgar
Allen Poe and was inspired to create short stories. Always intrigued by
far-away places, as an adult she began traveling and writing about her journeys
to exotic locations.
Her first novel, Hearts Across Forever, is set in Jamaica
and relates to the legend of the white witch of Rose Hall. Hearts
Across Forever won third place in the 2002 PRISM contest by the
FF&P Chapter of Romance Writers of America.
Using both her writing and her artistic skills, Sikes next
wrote and illustrated a coffee table book, Hotels to Remember, “a snapshot in
time” that features unusual hotels she has visited and loved.
As the Passenger to
Paradise, Sikes uses many of her travel destinations as settings for her
books. Jungle Jeopardy, the fifth novel in the series, is an adventure
set among the Maya ruins of Central America.
This story is a sequel to Secrets by the Sea, continuing the
escapades of Dana and Clifton.
Located in Trinidad, Night Watch, another book
in the series, is a story of peril and rediscovery. Set in beautiful and
mysterious Sedona, Arizona, Eagle Rising begins with
a tragic loss that leads to life changing events and a reawakening.
Dangerous Hearts is a mystery story linked to the Jefferson
Hotel, the site of a star-crossed romance at the turn of the 20th
century. A priceless necklace from that impossible love story becomes the
object of greed and murder in the 21st century. A Rainbow for Christmas
is a young adult romance that takes place in 1869 on a wagon train traveling
from Missouri to Denver. Sikes was intrigued and inspired by diaries written by
women who actually crossed the prairie by wagon train.
A Rainbow for
Christmas, won first place for
young adult books, fiction in the Virginia Press Women 2012 Communications
Contest and is part of the National Federation of Press Women 2012
Communications Contest. A Rainbow for
Christmas and Jungle Jeopardy
were nominated in fiction for 15th Annual Library of Virginia
Literary Awards.
Daddy's Christmas
Angel, released in late
November 2012, is a story written from the heart. A classroom and art teacher
for many years, Sikes shows her love for children in this heartwarming story of
a Christmas wish come true for a little girl.
Sikes and her
husband make their home in a small Virginia town surrounded by three rivers.
The historic triangle of Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown is only a short
drive away.
Thanks for visiting me today. This is a perfect story for Christmas
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Wendy
W.S. Gager on Writing