The Woodcarver's Snow-kissed Christmas – A Christmas Holiday Extravaganza
Have you ever felt completely out of control of the events in your life, even the most important ones?
Being a freshman in high school can be positively terrifying for an introvert like me. I went to a small parish school which was fed by a series of parish elementary schools. I have always been a bit socially awkward in groups and it was accentuated when I was at school.
During the first couple of weeks at my high school the senior class subjected the freshman class to some harmless hazing. I never saw anything that rose the level of dangerous, most of it, in retrospect, was just silly and usually took place in the cafeteria. People were singled out and required to form a chain and choo-choo around the room, things like that. So, one day, it was apparently my turn.
A rather large senior girl came to our table and told us we had to make a train and choo-choo around the room. Well, I didn’t want to. My compatriots stood. I remained sitting. I was terrified to be in front of a group of people like that, it was bad enough when I had to present my work in front of the class. To choo-choo around the cafeteria. No.
“That means you too.” The senior girl snarled at me and made her way to my chair. She put her meaty hand on the rail at the back and pulled. I held on to the table and didn’t budge. Once she figured out that I wouldn’t move, she walked away leaving me shaking. My “friends” rolled their eyes and choo-chooed around the room.
Of course, I realize now that it was indeed harmless fun. My friends laughed as they went around the room and the whole thing was done in a few minutes.
Unfortunately, Ann Wright in The Woodcarver’s Snow-kissed Christmas faces the possibility of a marriage arranged out of her control and against her will. A man she’d considered marrying when she was very young was coming home after finishing his education. Her match-making mother would very much like Ann to marry Reed, but Ann is not interested in a man who can always be found at the center of trouble. It will take a lot more than holding on to a table to keep Ann from doing something she doesn’t want to do.
Can a risky proposition at Christmastide make Ann and Reed see each other in new light and bring a happily-ever-after for both of them?
by Izzy James
