Book description
The best holiday traditions are meant to be broken.
It's only December 1, and Vanessa Clayton has been dreading
Christmas since she spotted tinseled trees at her local mall in
September. Thankfully, she and her husband, JT, can't afford to drag
their twin boys across the country to New England for the annual
celebration at her stuffy sister-in-law Patience's home. Not that
Vanessa has prepared a proper Christmas for her family in years, and
she has less time than ever since she agreed to consult on the script
of a local play. Her older sister, Thea, is no help -- she'd rather
make art and flirt with surfers than babysit her nine-year-old
nephews. Then Patience drops a holiday stress bomb: Her family will
come to California instead.
In between "baking" cinnamon rolls for the school potluck
and overbearing Patience testing her patience, Vanessa can't
stop thinking about the difficult but charming playwright at work.
Meanwhile, Patience's teenage daughter, Libby, obsesses over a college
boy she has met by the pool, and Thea searches desperately for the
meaning of Christmas -- for her latest installation, of course. As
their holiday plans go comically awry, these four women discover the
true spirit of the season is hidden in every festive surprise.
Sandra Harper is the author of the play, Magpie's Tea
Room, which enjoyed a successful run in Los Angeles at The Ventura
Court Theatre. She has written a cooking column, "The California
Cook" for the newspaper, Skirt. A script reader for Pathe
Studios and Springcreek Productions, she also wrote and produced
fashion and rock videos for Elvis Costello, Chaka Khan and Vidal
Sassoon, amonf others. Ms. Harper recieved her B. A. in Journalism
from the University of Southern California and has completed a
children's book, The Witches Club.
