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A Cedar Cove Christmas (Cedar Cove Series) by Debbie Macomber
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(Hardcover)
- Pub. Date: September 2008
- 256pp
- Sales Rank: 7,329
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: September 2008
- Publisher: Mira
- Format: Hardcover, 256pp
- Sales Rank: 7,329
- Series: Cedar Cove Series
- ISBN-13: 9780778325918
- ISBN: 0778325911
Synopsis
Mother-to-be Mary Jo Wyse arrives in Cedar Cove on Christmas Eve, searching for her baby's father. David Rhodes had said he'd be in town. But he isn't. Which leaves Mary Jo stranded, pregnant and alone. And there's no room at the local inn.…
So Grace Harding brings Mary Jo home to her nearby ranch. She and her husband, Cliff, have a houseful of guests, but they offer her a room over their stable (currently sheltering the animals—including a donkey and a camel—for Cedar Cove's Nativity pageant!).
When Mary Jo goes into labor that night, a young man named Mack McAfee, a paramedic, comes to her rescue, just as her brothers—the three Wyse men—show up in town. The people of Cedar Cove join them in celebrating the birth of baby Noel. But no one has more to celebrate than Mack. Because this Christmas brings him faith, hope and love…
Kristin Ramsdell - Library Journal
A young expectant mother trying to warn the father of her child that her three brothers will soon be on his trail comes to Cedar Cove on Christmas Eve only to find the cad gone, the town inn full, and her only refuge, thanks to the kindness of the town librarian, an apartment above a stable filled with animals for the upcoming Christmas pageant. A fainting spell introduces Mary Jo Wyse to firefighter/paramedic Mack McAfee. When she goes into early labor, he rescues her once more-by delivering her baby. Familiar townspeople, three impulsive brothers on the hunt, and a pair of appealing protagonists bring to life this sweet, humorous romance that, with its many obvious parallels, is a satisfying, almost tongue-in-cheek retelling of the Christmas story. The Cedar Cove books are set in a town much like Macomber's own Port Orchard, WA.
More Reviews and RecommendationsBiography
When Debbie Macomber started out, she was a young, dyslexic mother of four who wrote in her kitchen on a rented typewriter. Years later, she's the blockbuster bestselling author of dozens of heartwarming novels that celebrate love, laughter, and the bonds of family and friendship.
More About the AuthorCustomer Reviews
- Reader Rating:
- Ratings: 18Reviews: 12
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A CEDAR COVE CHRISTMASby CZ2929
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February 23, 2009: GREAT BOOK. IF YOU LIKE THE CEDAR COVE SERIES YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK.
Predictableby islandtime007
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February 10, 2009: Good for a cold dreary afternoon if you don't have anything else to do.
Fact File
Name:
Debbie Macomber
Current Home:
Port Orchard, Washington
Date of Birth:
October 22, 1948
Place of Birth:
Yakima, Washington
Education:
Graduated from high school in 1966; attended community college
Biography
Publishing did not come easy to self-described "creative speller" Debbie Macomber. When Macomber decided to follow her dreams of becoming a bestselling novelist, she had a lot of obstacles in her path. For starters, Macomber is dyslexic. On top of this, she had only a high school degree, four young children at home, and absolutely no connections in the publishing world. If there's one thing you can say about Debbie Macomber, however, it is that she does not give up. She rented a typewriter and started writing, determined to break into the world of romance fiction.
The years went on and the rejection letters piled up. Her family was living on a shoestring budget, and Debbie was beginning to think that her dreams of being a novelist might never be fulfilled. She began writing for magazines to earn some extra money, and she eventually saved up enough to attend a romance writer's conference with three hundred other aspiring novelists. The organizers of the conference picked ten manuscripts to review in a group critique session. Debbie was thrilled to learn that her manuscript would be one of the novels discussed.
Her excitement quickly faded when an editor from Harlequin tore her manuscript to pieces in front of the crowded room, evoking peals of laughter from the assembled writers. Afterwards, Macomber approached the editor and asked her what she could do to improve her novel. "Throw it away," the editor suggested.
Many writers would have given up right then and there, but not Macomber. The deeply religious Macomber took a lesson from Job and gathered strength from adversity. She returned home and mailed one last manuscript to Silhouette, a publisher of romance novels. "It cost $10 to mail it off," Macomber told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2000. "My husband was out of work at this time, in Alaska, trying to find a job. The children and I were living on his $250-a-week unemployment, and I can't tell you what $10 was to us at that time."
It turned out to be the best $10 Macomber ever spent. In 1984, Silhouette published her novel, Heartsong. (Incidentally, although Heartsong was Macomber's first sale, she actually published another book, Starlight, before Heartsong went to print.) Heartsong went on to become the first romance novel to ever be reviewed in Publishers Weekly, and Macomber was finally on her way.
Today, Macomber is one of the most widely read authors in America. A regular on the New York Times bestseller charts, she is best known for her Cedar Cove novels, a heartwarming story sequence set in a small town in Washington state, and for her Knitting Books series, featuring a group of women who patronize a Seattle yarn store. In addition, her backlist of early romances, including several contemporary Westerns, has been reissued with great success.
Macomber has made a successful transition from conventional romance to the somewhat more flexible genre known as "women's fiction." "I was at a point in my life where I found it difficult to identify with a 25-year-old heroine," Macomber said in an interview with ContemporaryRomanceWriters.com. "I found that I wanted to write more about the friendships women share with each other." To judge from her avid, ever-increasing fan base, Debbie's readers heartily approve.
Good to Know
Some outtakes from our interview with Macomber:
"I'm dyslexic, although they didn't have a word for it when I was in grade school. The teachers said I had 'word blindness.' I've always been a creative speller and never achieved good grades in school. I graduated from high school but didn't have the opportunity to attend college, so I did what young women my age did at the time -- I married. I was a teenager, and Wayne and I (now married nearly 37 years) had four children in five years."
"I'm a yarnaholic. That means I have more yarn stashed away than any one person could possibly use in three or four lifetimes. There's something inspiring about yarn that makes me feel I could never have enough. Often I'll go into my yarn room (yes, room!) and just hold skeins of yarn and dream about projects. It's a comforting thing to do."
"My office walls are covered with autographs of famous writers -- it's what my children call my ‘dead author wall.' I have signatures from Mark Twain, Earnest Hemingway, Jack London, Harriett Beecher Stowe, Pearl Buck, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, to name a few."
"I'm morning person, and rip into the day with a half-mile swim (FYI: a half mile is a whole lot farther in the water than it is on land) at the local pool before I head into the office, arriving before eight. It takes me until nine or ten to read through all of the guest book entries from my web site and the mail before I go upstairs to the turret where I do my writing. Yes, I write in a turret -- is that romantic, or what? I started blogging last September and really enjoy sharing bits and pieces of my life with my readers. Once I'm home for the day, I cook dinner, trying out new recipes. Along with cooking, I also enjoy eating, especially when the meal is accompanied by a glass of good wine. Wayne and I take particular pleasure in sampling eastern Washington State wines (since we were both born and raised in that part of the state).
Feature Interview
In the spring of 2005, Debbie Macomber took some time out to answer our questions. What was the book that most influenced your life or your career as a writer?
The one book that has had the strongest influence on my life, without question, is the Bible. God's Word has been the guiding force behind all I do. I read the Bible each and every day and gain inspiration, encouragement, and joy.
What are your ten favorite books, and what makes them special to you?
Before I answer this, I feel it's necessary to mention that I read widely, across the board. In compiling this list I discovered several of my favorite books are nonfiction. I have not noted the Bible a second time, although as I indicated above, it is the most influential book in my life.
What are some of your favorite films, and what makes them unforgettable to you?
I'm a big film buff, although I'm not fond of movies with excessive violence. I've always enjoyed musicals. My first exposure was with West Side Story. I memorized all the songs and belted them out for months afterward. I almost entered the convent after watching The Sound of Music. Thankfully, I didn't; it wouldn't have been a good fit for either of us. In recent years I've enjoyed The Princess Bride and the Star Wars series. I like movies with what I call a zinger -- Collateral and The Replacement Killers are good examples. And comedies, too. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard as when I watched The Gods Must Be Crazy, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World, and The Hallelujah Trail.
What types of music do you like? Is there any particular kind you like to listen to when you're writing?
I don't listen to music while writing. It's not that I need silence in order to create. I started out writing when our four children were small and I needed to keep my ears tuned to them in case one of them decided to play Superman and fly out a window or start a campfire in the middle of the living room. When it comes to listening to the radio, I prefer the oldies stations. When I'm on the treadmill, I play Christian CDs and make a joyful noise. Correction: It's a joyful noise to me, but I doubt others would think so.
What are your favorite kinds of books to give -- and get -- as gifts?
There's a bookstore directly below my office. It's hard to believe but I write above a bookstore and an ice cream parlor. This, my friends, is a writer's nirvana. On average I buy a book a day, and that's no exaggeration. Mostly I purchase nonfiction for gifts. One of my favorites is Gifts from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindberg. For my writer friends I've bought Goals by Brian Tracy, and for friends who are animal lovers I've bought The Dog Who Rescues Cats by Gonzalez & Fleischer.
Do you have any special writing rituals? For example, what do you have on your desk when you're writing?
I have a cherrywood desk with a glass top to protect the wood. Over the years a number of things have made their way under the glass. There's a picture of my dad and his brother, who looked so much alike that they were often mistaken for identical twins -- only my dad was a full foot shorter than his brother. Then there are pictures of my grandchildren (by far the cutest grandkids in the universe), and there's a slip of paper on which I've written four words. They are: "provocative," "relevant," "creative," and "honest." When I decide on a plot for one of my big hardcover stories, I weigh the story against each of these words. I want to provoke my readers to think. I want the story to be relevant to them and to our times. My goal is to tell this story in as creative a way as possible and to be honest with my readers and with myself. As you might have guessed, I'm a lover of words. As for rituals, I really don't have any.
Many writers are hardly "overnight success" stories. How long did it take for you to get where you are today? Any rejection-slip horror stories or inspirational anecdotes?
In my humble opinion, there are a lot of writers out there who haven't suffered enough. I suffered plenty. When I first started writing, I didn't know another writer in the world. This was back in the late 1970s before Romance Writers of America was formed. For nearly five years I wrote and submitted my manuscripts. My work was rejected so fast it practically hit me in the back of the head on my way home from the post office. At one point in my lonely sojourn, an editor read and reviewed my manuscript, and with the utmost sincerity told me there was no use in revising it and the best thing I could do was throw it away. Thankfully, I didn't take her advice, because that same manuscript sold to a rival publishing house and launched my writing career.
What tips or advice do you have for writers still looking to be discovered?
I would suggest that writers pay close attention to the market -- read the bestsellers, analyze each story and look for the key element that is drawing an audience. Who would ever have imagined that Life of Pi by Yann Martel would command the audience it has? Or The Da Vinci Code? As writers, it's important we not follow trends but observe and understand life -- and start our own. It was when I saw a lot of angel figurines turning up in catalogs that I wrote the first Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy Christmas book.
From the Publisher
Mother-to-be Mary Jo Wyse arrives in Cedar Cove on Christmas Eve, searching for her baby's father. David Rhodes had said he'd be in town. But he isn't. Which leaves Mary Jo stranded, pregnant and alone. And there's no room at the local inn.…
So Grace Harding brings Mary Jo home to her nearby ranch. She and her husband, Cliff, have a houseful of guests, but they offer her a room over their stable (currently sheltering the animals—including a donkey and a camel—for Cedar Cove's Nativity pageant!).
When Mary Jo goes into labor that night, a young man named Mack McAfee, a paramedic, comes to her rescue, just as her brothers—the three Wyse men—show up in town. The people of Cedar Cove join them in celebrating the birth of baby Noel. But no one has more to celebrate than Mack. Because this Christmas brings him faith, hope and love…
Kristin Ramsdell - Library Journal
A young expectant mother trying to warn the father of her child that her three brothers will soon be on his trail comes to Cedar Cove on Christmas Eve only to find the cad gone, the town inn full, and her only refuge, thanks to the kindness of the town librarian, an apartment above a stable filled with animals for the upcoming Christmas pageant. A fainting spell introduces Mary Jo Wyse to firefighter/paramedic Mack McAfee. When she goes into early labor, he rescues her once more-by delivering her baby. Familiar townspeople, three impulsive brothers on the hunt, and a pair of appealing protagonists bring to life this sweet, humorous romance that, with its many obvious parallels, is a satisfying, almost tongue-in-cheek retelling of the Christmas story. The Cedar Cove books are set in a town much like Macomber's own Port Orchard, WA.
Loading...Product Details
- Pub. Date: September 2008
- Publisher: Mira
- Format: Hardcover, 256pp
- Sales Rank: 7,329
- Series: Cedar Cove Series
- ISBN-13: 9780778325918
- ISBN: 0778325911
Read an Excerpt
Even though she was listening to Christmas carols on her iPod, Mary Jo Wyse could hear her brothers arguing. How could she not? Individually, the three of them had voices that were usually described as booming; together they sounded like an entire football stadium full of fans. All three worked as mechanics in the family-owned car repair business and stood well over six feet. Their size alone was intimidating. Add to that their voices, and they'd put the fear of God into the most hardened criminal.
"It's nearly Christmas," Linc was saying. He was the oldest and, if possible, loudest of the bunch.
"Mary Jo said he'd call her before now," Mel said.
Ned, her youngest brother, remained suspiciously quiet. He was the sensitive one. Translated, that meant he'd apologize after he broke David Rhodes's fingers for getting his little sister pregnant and then abandoning her.
"We've got to do something," Linc insisted.
The determination in his voice gave her pause. Mary Jo's situation was complicated enough without the involvement of her loving but meddlesome older brothers. However, it wasn't their fault that she was about to have a baby and the father was nowhere in sight.
"I say we find David Rhodes and string him up until he agrees to marry our sister."
Mary Jo gasped. She couldn't help it. Knowing Linc, he'd have no qualms about doing exactly that.
"I think we should, too—if only we knew where he was," she heard Mel say.
Unable to sit still any longer, Mary Jo tore off her earphones and burst out of her bedroom. She marched into the living room, where her brothers stood around the Christmas tree, beers in hand, as its lights blinked cheerfully. Eversince their parents had been killed in a car accident five years earlier, her older brothers had considered themselves her guardians. Which was ridiculous, since she was over twenty-one. Twenty-three, to be precise. She hadn't been legally of age at the time of their deaths, but her brothers seemed to forget she was now an adult.
All four of them still lived in the family home. Linc and Ned were currently seeing women, but neither relationship seemed very serious. Mel had recently broken up with someone. Mary Jo was the only one eager to leave, chafing as she did at her brothers' attempts to decree how she should live her life.
Admittedly she'd made a mess of things; she couldn't deny it. But she was trying to deal with the consequences, to act like the adult she was. Yes, she'd made a massive error in judgment, falling for an attractive older man and doing what came all too naturally. And no, she didn't need her brothers' assistance.
"Would you guys mind your own business," she demanded, hands on her hips. At five-three she stared up at her brothers, who towered above her.
She probably looked a sight, although at the moment
her appearance was the least of her problems. She was dressed in her old flannel nightgown, the one with the Christmas angels on it, her belly stretched out so far it looked like she'd swallowed a giant snow globe. Her long dark hair fell in tangles, and her feet were bare.
Linc frowned back at her. "You're our sister and that makes you our business."
"We're worried about you," Ned said, speaking for the first time. "You're gonna have that baby any day."
"I don't know nothin' about birthing no babies," Mel added in a falsetto voice.
If he was trying to add humor to the situation, Mary Jo wasn't amused. She glared at him angrily. "You don't have to worry about delivering my baby. This child is my concern and mine alone."
"No, he isn't."
From the very minute she'd tearfully announced her pregnancy four months ago, her brothers had decided the baby was a boy. For some reason, the alternative never seemed to occur to them, no matter how often she suggested it.
"You're depriving this baby of his father," Linc said
stubbornly. It was a lament he'd voiced a hundred times over the past months. "A baby needs a father."
"I agree," Mary Jo told him. "However, I haven't seen David in weeks."
Mel stepped forward, his disapproval obvious. "What about Christmas? Didn't he tell you he'd be in touch before Christmas?"
"He did." But then David Rhodes had made a lot of promises, none of which he'd kept. "He said he'd be visiting his family in the area."
"Where?" Ned asked.
"Cedar Cove," she supplied and wondered if she should've told her three hotheaded brothers that much.
"Let's go there and find him," Linc said.
Mary Jo held up both hands. "Don't be crazy!"
"Crazy," Linc echoed with a snort of indignation. "I refuse to let you have this baby alone."
"I'm not alone," Mary Jo said. She gestured toward them. "I have the three of you, don't I?"
Her brothers went pale before her eyes. "You… you want us in the delivery room?" Mel asked in weak tones. He swallowed visibly. "You're joking, right?"
Mary Jo had delayed registering for the birthing classes because David had promised to attend them with her. Only he hadn't managed to show up for the first session or the one after that or the following one, either. Giving up on him, Mary Jo had begun a session that week—a lot later in the pregnancy than she should have. She'd gone by herself and left the class in tears. Although she'd considered asking Ned if he'd be her birthing partner, she hadn't found the courage to do it yet. And she wasn't sure he'd be the best choice, anyway. Her other options were her girlfriends Casey and Chloe; however, Casey was terrified by the idea and Chloe, married last year, was expecting her own baby.
"Right." She struggled to maintain her composure. "That was a joke."
They released a collective sigh.
"You're distracting us from what's important here." Obviously, Linc wasn't going to be put off. "I want to talk to David Rhodes, just him and me, man to man." He clenched his hands at his sides.
"And when Linc's finished, I want a turn," Mel said, plowing his fist into his open palm.
Mary Jo rolled her eyes. She'd defended David to her brothers countless times. She'd defended him to Casey and Chloe—the only other people who knew David was her baby's father. Casey worked with her at the insurance company in Seattle, so she'd met David, since he'd come to their office for meetings every few weeks, representing corporate headquarters in California. David had charmed just about everybody—with the possible exception of Casey.
He'd always had such good excuses for missing the birthing classes, and she'd believed him. It was easy to do because she so badly wanted to trust him. He claimed to love her and while the pregnancy certainly hadn't been planned, he'd seemed genuinely pleased when she'd told him.There were a few legal and financial matters that needed to be cleared up, he'd explained, but as soon as they were dealt with, he'd marry her.
For a number of months Mary Jo had convinced her brothers that David's intentions were honorable. Now, though, she had to resign herself to the fact that David wasn't willing or able to marry her. She realized she didn't know as much about him as she should. Granted, he was older by at least twenty years, but her infatuation had led her to dismiss the significance of that. Now Mary Jo had to doubt his sincerity. She hadn't heard from him in more than two weeks and he wasn't answering his cell phone, and even during their last conversation, he'd been preoccupied and abrupt. He'd mentioned that he'd be in Cedar Cove for Christmas with his father and stepmother and would call her then.
"Do you want to marry David?" Ned asked. He was the only brother to take her feelings into consideration.
"Of course she wants to marry him," Linc answered, scowling at him. "She's about to have his baby, isn't she?"
"I believe I can answer for myself." Mary Jo calmly turned toward her oldest brother. "Actually—"
"You're getting married," Linc broke in.
"I won't have you holding a gun on David!"
Linc shook his head, expression puzzled. "I don't own a gun."
She sighed; her brothers could be so literal sometimes. "I was speaking figuratively," she said loftily.
"Oh." Linc frowned. "Well, I'm not talking figures, I'm talking facts." He raised one finger. "You're having a baby." He raised a second. "The father of that baby needs to accept his responsibilities."
"He will," Mary Jo murmured, although any hope that David would take care of her and the baby had long since been dashed.
"Yes, he will," Mel said firmly, "because we're going to make sure he does."
"And that includes putting a wedding band on your finger," Linc informed her, giving her a look that said he wouldn't tolerate any argument.
The baby kicked as if in protest and Mary Jo echoed the child's feelings. She no longer knew what she wanted. In the beginning she'd been head-over-heels in love with David. He was the most exciting man she'd ever met, and without even trying, he'd swept her off her feet. Mary Jo had been thrilled when he paid attention to her, a lowly accounting clerk. Compared to the boyfriends she'd had—as naive and inexperienced as she'd been herself—David was a romantic hero. An older man, confident, witty, indulgent.
"Mary Josephine," Mel said loudly. "Are you listening?"
Blinking to clear her thoughts, Mary Jo focused on her middle brother. "I guess not, sorry."
"Sorry?" Mel stormed. "We're talking about your future here and the future of your son."
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Mary Jo yawned. She couldn't help it. She covered her mouth with one hand and placed the other on her protruding belly. "I'm going to bed," she declared.
"Mary Jo!" Linc shouted after her as if she were a marine recruit and he was her drill instructor. "We need to decide what to do here and now."
"Can't we talk about it in the morning?" She was too exhausted to continue this argument with her brothers at—she glanced toward the antique clock—almost midnight.
"No."
"Linc, be reasonable."
"We have to get this settled." Mel joined forces with his older brother.
Again Ned didn't speak. He cast her a look of quiet sympathy but he wasn't taking sides. Mary Jo could see that he felt Linc and Mel were right—not about becoming Mrs. Rhodes but about the need for her to make some kind of decision.
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