A Christmas Present by Katharine E Smith

A Christmas Present by Katharine E Smith

It's going to be a quiet Christmas this year for Alice, Sam and their two children (not forgetting Meg the dog). Their parents and best friends are all out of town, and it's a chance to make their own traditions. That's what they're telling themselves anyway.

Alice, however, is feeling a little down at the thought of missing so many people. After a difficult year when she's had to say goodbye to Julie, and to the beautiful business they built together, she could really do with the people she loves most around her. Instead, she is working from home, spending too much time on her own, and starting to wonder if Christmas is all it's cracked up to be. She also has her new neighbour Natalie making a beeline for her but she's just not sure she has the energy for this friendship.

Nevertheless, as the countdown to Christmas begins, it's the usual whirl of Christmas parties, school plays, evenings out and present-swapping and Alice can't fail to start feeling a little bit festive. And as she discovers more about Natalie's situation she begins to see that she really could make more of an effort.

A much-anticipated return to Cornwall and all the people and places readers have come to love, this is a thoughtful, nostalgic and heartwarming festive tale that is guaranteed to raise your Christmas spirits.

E. Katharine Katharine E. Smith is a Yorkshirewoman who lives with her husband and two small children in Shropshire, England. She is the owner of Heddon Publications, an independent publishing business, and has a degree in philosophy. Katharine has loved writing since she was a child, but it took her more than five years to finish her first novel, Writing the Town Read, to her satisfaction. Two years later, Seeing Back was published, and a third novel, Between Friends, is in the works.

Katharine's stories are defined by their settings and characters, which show a deep connection to the South West of the United Kingdom, where she attended school and afterwards lived for another five years. Kate Atkinson, Anne Tyler, and Maggie O'Farrell provide inspiration, with a dash of Nick Hornby and John O'Farrell thrown in for good measure.