Darlene Foster's Blog

I am pleased to be part of Ghosts & Miracles Past: A Christmas Collection Two blog tour, another wonderful book by fellow blogger and author, D. L. Finn. I enjoyed the first book and look forward to reading this one. I will turn it over to Ms Finn.

Thank you, Darlene, for having me on your amazing blog today to share the release of Ghosts & Miracles Past: A Christmas Collection Two. I’m SO very grateful for your support!

Katie lost her mom as a teenager. Since she had no other family, she was put into the foster care system in “A Gift to Katie.” A few years later, she receives a call from a lawyer, someone has left her something in their will. Curious, she takes time off work and hops on a bus to meet with this lawyer. She can’t believe what the lawyer is telling her, and she’s tempted to just leave. But she decides to think it over and come back in the morning with an answer. With just enough in her purse for a motel and food, she heads out into the chilly night. It begins to snow, and what happens next leaves her stranded without any place to stay. What will the cold night bring her, and how will she answer the lawyer?

BLURB:

Miracles saturate the sweet-scented Christmas season—a reminder we aren’t alone.

Miracles & Ghosts Past: A Christmas Collection brings eight stories from past holidays. Rita buys train tickets for her and Morris’s 30th anniversary in the novelette, “The Christmas Train Mystery.” She’s convinced this trip will bring her and Morris closer—if he can find the time. A murder mystery excursion will change Rita’s life in more ways than one, but will she go with her workaholic husband or by herself? In the first short story, “Christmas Rescue,” Opal trusts the wrong man and loses her mother in the same year, leaving her feeling lost. On a mission to get candles for the dinner table, she makes an unexpected find. “Is There a Santa?” goes back to the 1920s, where a widower is desperate to hold on to his farm and children. He doesn’t want charity, just a bit of luck or a miracle. In the final stories, you’ll meet an eleven-year-old who’s home alone, a family living in the aftermath of war, a girl who gets some shocking news, a widow with a warning from beyond, and a woman trapped on an elevator with Santa. Hope underlies these stories; it endures even in the direst of circumstances. Whether help comes from a ghost, Santa, or an angel, miracles are just within reach.

EXCERPT FROM: A Gift to Katie, 1969

Katie Lawson sat in a tasteful beige chair in the attorney’s office that smelled of cigarettes and spicy aftershave, staring at the official document in her shaking hands and trying to understand what it meant.

Only a week ago, she got a call from this fancy city lawyer, Mr. McGovern, about a will in which she was the beneficiary of a Mr. Cooper. They set up an appointment, and he hung up. Her first thought was perhaps that one of her foster parents left her something, but she went over every house she had lived in, and not one of them was a Cooper.

“Do you know who this Mr. Cooper is, Mom?” Katie stared at the old black-and-white photo of her mom holding her as a baby.

She wished the smiling, beautiful young woman in the picture with long black hair and bright green eyes, who had died of breast cancer several years ago, was still with her. Maybe her mom could have explained what was happening, but that wasn’t Katie’s reality. Instead, alone, Katie had been placed in foster care. All her family was gone, including a father who had died before she was born. He didn’t have any family either.

“This has to be a mistake or something. But guess it can’t hurt to go find out.” Katie shrugged and headed to her low-paying cashier job.

Although Katie was able to get the days off she needed to travel, she knew Miss Baker, who had a permanent sour expression, didn’t believe she was meeting a lawyer.

“Don’t make it a habit to go running off like this with such short notice, but this one time, I’ll permit you the days off. I expect you to make it up in double shifts and anytime I need you when you come back from seeing this lawyer.” Miss Baker shook her head and went back to eating her powdered donut.

Miss Baker would choke on that donut if she could see Katie now. Even Katie didn’t believe it. Her existence had been flipped upside down.

Mr. McGovern tugged at his collar and cleared his throat. “I understand this must be a shock, Miss Lawson, but let’s start with the will.”

I, Hurbert Charles Cooper, being of sound mind and body, authorize my lawyer, Daniel McGovern, to sell my business, Cooper Industries, and apply the proceeds to any outstanding debt. The remaining will go to my only living heir, Katherine Marie Lawson. If she is under thirty years old, the proceeds will be placed in a trust to be managed by Mr. McGovern until her thirtieth birthday. It is my wish that she use this to create a charity fund of her choice. I have worked with Mr. David Frost and recommend to Katherine that she keep him on to advise her. He has my complete trust. All the rest of my possessions, including my savings, stocks, house, and its contents, which include artwork, jewelry, and an extensive coin collection, I leave to my daughter, Katherine, effective immediately. It is my hope that this makes up for the fact that I wasn’t in her life. May my daughter find it in her heart to forgive me and find pleasure in what I offer now.

Katie set the paper down and met the cold stare of her father’s attorney.

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FUN FINN FACTS

1. Nothing like taking a stroll when it first starts to snow.
2. I watch Christmas movies anytime of the year.

D. L. Finn is an independent California local who encourages everyone to embrace their inner child. She was born and raised in the foggy Bay Area, but in 1990 she relocated with her husband, kids, dogs, and cats to Nevada City, in the Sierra foothills. She immersed herself in reading all types of books but especially loved romance, horror, and fantasy. She always treasured creating her own reality on paper. Finally, surrounded by towering pines, oaks, and cedars, her creativity was nurtured until it bloomed. Her creations include children’s books, adult fiction, and poetry. She continues on her adventure with an open invitation to all readers to join her.

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D. L. Finn is a prolific author who writes in a variety of genres. I loved her first collection of Christmas stories, Miracles and Ghosts. Here is my review:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful Christmas read.

This is an enjoyable collection of stories centred around the Christmas season, a magical time of miracles and the occasional ghost. The author is obviously a fan of Christmas. The characters are believable, and I like how most of the stories include an animal or two. I love all of the stories, but my favourites are The Christmas Eve Walk and The Red Truck. Short stories are not easy to write as the writer has to use an economy of words. D.L. Finn succeeded in using just the right words to convey the messages and make me feel Christmassy.

Both books would make perfect gifts for the holiday season.