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HOLIDAY INSPIRATION In preparation for the holidays, I immerse myself in reading Christmas books and watching Hallmark Movies. In December 1993, while at Barnes and Noble, I spotted an elegant little novel, The Christmas Box, written by Richard Paul Evans. I enjoyed it and purchased more to use as Christmas gifts that year. It was the author's first book, which he self-published. It's a touching story about Christmas's true meaning, and he wrote it as an expression of love for his two daughters. The Christmas Box has currently sold over eight million copies. Richard's an international best-selling author, has written over 35 books, and Hallmark has adapted several of them into movies. His beautiful hardcover novels occupy my home bookshelves. Richard's stories are truly inspirational. A good example is The Walk Series, a five-book collection chronicling Alan Christoffersen's journey walking from Seattle to Key West, Florida. Alan learns lessons from the people he meets along the way while gathering facts about famous landmarks and local trivia. The author offered a Royal Caribbean Cruise package to his loyal fans who wanted to celebrate The Walk Series' completion. Our friends, Bob and Georgette, along with my husband Mike and I, would be on the cruise in June 2014. That was the plan. However, as we were boarding our next flight to Fort Lauderdale from New York City, Bob got a call from our departure airport in Buffalo. A little boy found Bob's passport on the floor and turned it in. Yikes! Bob needed it to get on the ship. All of us, especially Bob, endured several hours of anxiety and a sleepless night. Mike and I wondered if we'd be on the cruise without them. Thanks to the airline's quick actions, the document arrived moments before the boat would leave port. The four of us enjoyed the entire trip. We explored the Bahamas and other exotic ports. Key West was the location of the main event party — the final destination of Alan's walk. I attended all of Richard's writing seminars. He signed books and graciously posed for pictures with us. I was grateful to tell him how much his novels meant to me. Richard's books and seminars further encouraged my interest in the craft of writing. In December 2019, I self-published a memoir for my two sons and gave my book as Christmas gifts to family and friends. Happy holidays! ~ Andrea Zehner, andreazehner20@gmail.com FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | DECEMBER 2020 43 Writers' Club Check with your club contact to confirm meeting place, date, and time. The current situation with our book club meetings is that no more than 10 people may attend, all attendees must wear masks, and we maintain social distance by meeting outside on the patio behind the Courts. Our next meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 9:30 am. The Book Club selection for December is The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. Here is a brief description of the book from Amazon.com: "At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril's son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures." Our meetings are normally held on the second Tuesday of each month at 9:30 am in the RCN room #3, and someone volunteers to lead the discussion about the book we have chosen for the month. We are in the process of choosing our reading list for 2021. If you have any titles you'd like to recommend, please email me at the address below. For more information about the Four Seasons Book Club or to get on our mailing list, please contact me at michelesrosen@gmail.com. ~ Micki Rosen Book Club

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