The 12 Best Secrets of Christmas

The 12 Best Secrets of Christmas
Author: Herbie J Pilato
Publisher: Archway Publishing
Total Pages: 103
Release: 2022-07-18
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1665716169

“Every December, the gaps close between us all; individuals, families, groups, communities, cities, states, provinces, nations, cultures, and religions. We are kinder to each other. We listen to those who are not heard, speak to those who are ignored and care about those who are disregarded. We reach out to those who are unreachable, play with those who work too hard, and laugh with those who shed too many tears. We make angels in the snow or buy our true love their favorite perfume or cologne. We give to those who sometimes only know how to take and keep, offer peace where there is unrest, and so on and so forth and so good. These are the personal things and intimate moments from which holiday memories spring — and just a few examples of the December discernments to behold in this book.” Advance Praise for The 12 Best Secrets of Christmas “Herbie J Pilato has prepared for us this delicious feast of Christmas Secrets, which he serves with love. Spend the holidays with this delightful book. It will warm your heart.” —Richard Thomas (Actor, The Waltons, The Christmas Box, Christmas vs. The Walters) “With each nostalgic turn of the page, Herbie J Pilato’s 12 Best Secrets of Christmas is written for everyone and is very relatable as the youthful Christmases we had or the ones we wished for. I found it inspirational, comforting and full of joy.” —Barry Williams (Actor, A Very Brady Christmas, Blending Christmas/Author, Growing Up Brady) “Einstein suggested to ‘make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.’ With The 12 Best Secrets of Christmas, Herbie J Pilato has done just that, artfully transforming his early experiences into heartfelt, warm, and enduring life lessons. In the guise of a seasonal offering and gleaned from his Christmas past, Pilato has distilled his introspections into a portable, poignant and insightful memoir, a wise and timeless gem of a little book. With this, as with his other work, Herbie J Pilato has again proved himself to be an American Original.” —Ed Spielman (Creator, Kung Fu, The Young Riders, among other Emmy-winning TV classics)

Christmas Secrets

Christmas Secrets
Author: Carole Mortimer
Publisher: Harlequin
Total Pages: 392
Release: 2004
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780373836185

Three tales of romance set during the Christmas season.

Christmas TV Memories

Christmas TV Memories
Author: Herbie J Pilato
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2024-10-15
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1493079719

For most of us, fond memories of the Christmas season are inseparable from TV’s holiday presentations. The world loves everything from iconic cartoons like How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Charlie Brown Christmas to the ground-breaking Julia sitcom segment, “I’m Dreaming of a Black Christmas,” Christmas in Rockefeller Center, and the 1992 TV-remake of Christmas in Connecticut directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Christmas TV Memories: Nostalgic Holiday Favorites of the Small Screen embraces it all, offering a tinsel-decked traipse down memory lane and chronicling animated classics, variety shows, made-for-TV features, and holiday-specific episodes of series like The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. With a Foreword by best-selling Free to Be You and Me author and That Girl star Marlo Thomas, along with commentary from other celebrities, historical quotes, and insights from entertainment journalists and archivists, Christmas TV Memories serves as the go-to companion to the small screen’s most cherished holiday programs.

Santa Claus: The Book of Secrets

Santa Claus: The Book of Secrets
Author: Russell Ince
Publisher: Russell Ince
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2018-11-21
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1545743010

After centuries of closely guarding ancient secrets, Santa Claus has decided that the time has come to share the magical mysteries behind Christmas. All of the miraculous happenings that contribute towards making Christmas the most remarkable time of the year are finally to be revealed to the world.

One Tough Dame

One Tough Dame
Author: Herbie J Pilato
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2024-09-16
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 149685280X

One Tough Dame: The Life and Career of Diana Rigg offers a sweeping portrait of the revered performer’s life and career. Deemed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1994, Diana Rigg (1938–2020) initially found fame as super sleuth Mrs. Emma Peel in the 1960s BBC/ABC-TV espionage series The Avengers. A classically trained and multi-award-winning thespian, Rigg is known for her diverse body of work — from her big-screen debut in 1969 as Countess Teresa di Vincenzo, wife of James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, to her Tony Award–winning, leading role in Medea on Broadway, culminating with her Emmy-nominated portrayal as Lady Olenna Tyrell on the heralded small-screen gem Game of Thrones. This eclectic volume traces Rigg’s career as a renowned star of television, film, and the stage. The author includes insights from rare, archived interviews, encompassing both video dialogues conducted by the University of Kent and Oxford Union. The meticulously curated archival material is further complemented by equally rare photos and retrospections drawn from diverse media sources and hitherto unpublished accounts from the people who knew Rigg best, affording readers an unprecedented, all-encompassing glimpse into her private world. With exclusive commentary from Rupert Macnee (son of Riggs’s Avengers costar and dear friend Patrick Macnee); the show’s stunt coordinator/director Ray Austin; actors Samuel West, Bernie Kopell, Barbara Barrie, Juliet Mills, John Schuck, and Damon Evans; director Bruce Beresford; and documentarian David Naylor, among others, One Tough Dame delivers an in-depth perspective of a beloved, brave, brilliant, and trailblazing actor.

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas
Author: Lizzie Shane
Publisher: Forever
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2020-09-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1538735881

A delightful holiday romance about a small-town single dad and an animal rescue owner as they try to find forever homes for a dozen lovable pups before Christmas. Pine Hollow has everything Ally Gilmore could wish for in a holiday break: gently falling snow in a charming small town and time with her family. Then she learns some Grinch has pulled the funding for her family's rescue shelter, and now she has only four weeks to find new homes for a dozen dogs! But when she confronts her Scroogey councilman nemesis, Ally finds he's far more reasonable -- and handsome -- than she ever expected. As the guardian of his dog-obsessed ten-year-old niece, Ben West doesn't have time to build a cuddly reputation. But he does feel guilty about the shelter closing. So he proposes a truce with Ally, agreeing to help her adopt out the pups. As the two spend more time together, the town's gossip is spreading faster than Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. And soon Ben is hoping he can convince Ally that Pine Hollow is her home for the holidays. . . and the whole year through.

Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas

Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas
Author: Stephanie Barron
Publisher: Soho Press
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2014-10-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1616954248

Jane Austen turns sleuth in this delightful murder mystery set over the twelve days of a Regency-Era Christmas party. Christmas Eve, 1814: Jane Austen has been invited to spend the holiday with family and friends at The Vyne, the gorgeous ancestral home of the wealthy and politically prominent Chute family. As the year fades and friends begin to gather beneath the mistletoe for the twelve days of Christmas festivities, Jane and her circle are in a celebratory mood: Mansfield Park is selling nicely; Napoleon has been banished to Elba; British forces have seized Washington, DC; and on Christmas Eve, John Quincy Adams signs the Treaty of Ghent, which will end a war nobody in England really wanted. Jane, however, discovers holiday cheer is fleeting. One of the Yuletide revelers dies in a tragic accident, which Jane immediately views with suspicion. If the accident was in fact murder, the killer is one of Jane’s fellow snow-bound guests. With clues scattered amidst cleverly crafted charades, dark secrets coming to light during parlor games, and old friendships returning to haunt the Christmas parties, whom can Jane trust to help her discover the truth and stop the killer from striking again?

The X-mas Files

The X-mas Files
Author: Pat Shand
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 48
Release: 2021-10-12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1647224519

Find out what really happens behind the scenes at Santa’s workshop in a Christmas countdown book that reveals the secrets of the North Pole! An unauthorized tell-all penned by an ousted South Pole elf with an X-mas ax to grind exposes what really goes on at the North Pole in the 24 days leading up to Christmas. This hilarious, day-by-day accounting pulls back the red velvet curtain to reveal the truth behind Santa’s Christmas “magic” and delivers laugh-out-loud fun for the whole family with activities for 24 days plus added surprises hidden throughout. COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS: Packed with activities and ideas for family fun for every day from December 1st to 24th HOLIDAY HUMOR: Filled with funny lines and silly scenes that will keep kids laughing throughout the lead-up to Christmas BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED: Vibrant illustrations bring the ideas—and Santa’s secrets—to life START A NEW TRADITION: The X-mas Files is sure to become a treasured family tradition year after year PERFECT PRESENT: A great gift for kids and families

Christmas Secrets by the Sea

Christmas Secrets by the Sea
Author: Jane Lovering
Publisher: Prelude Books
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2018-12-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1788421221

Christmas by the sea – that sounds romantic, right? Tansy Merriweather is down on her luck. She’s lost her business and her relationship, and instead of a glamorous London apartment, her home is now a campervan on a Dorset beach. And as if things couldn’t get any worse, a scruffy dog called Brian with a taste for sardines has adopted her. When Tansy’s new-found friends at the cafe in the bay help her find a job as a location scout for a new TV show, things start looking up. However, when she finds herself babysitting the show's grouchy star, Davin O'Riordan, she's not sure she wants to stay around. But when Brian forges a touching romance with Davin’s elegant whippet Seelie, Tansy begins to see another side to Davin. As Christmas approaches, secrets emerge and Tansy and Davin discover a bond between them. But how will they cope with the storms headed their way – and can they save the cafe from closing? What readers are saying about the series: “Jane Lovering has that ability to choose exactly the right words and images to make you laugh, with a wonderful touch of the ridiculous, then moving seamlessly to a scene of such poignancy that it catches your breath.” “Excellent characterisation (people and dogs!), well worked plot, great descriptive passages, and of course, Jane’s hilarious signature one-liners.” “It’s a wonderful story, fully of whimsy and gentle humour, a terrific story and wonderful characters, all wrapped up in a very satisfying ending.” “...total sense of place, unforced humour, slow-burning romance. Jane Lovering’s writing is very strong” “It is very difficult to explain just how wonderful this book is. The power of her words and her descriptive prowess to put it bluntly is amazing... the emotional impact it has had on me will be long lasting.” “I enjoyed every word in this novel, once again Jane didn’t disappoint with her unique, inimitable writing. Warm, witty, funny characters with interesting histories, set against a beautifully descriptive narrative of a wintery beach landscape. A lot of laugh-out-loud one-liners, it's a book I have to read again, only slower this time so I can absorb every word.” “What a heart-warming and emotional ride this book was! I loved it! The cast of characters were so enjoyable and realistic.”

Auggie Wren's Christmas Story

Auggie Wren's Christmas Story
Author: Paul Auster
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Total Pages: 33
Release: 2014-05-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1466871008

A timeless, utterly charming Christmas fable, beautifully illustrated and destined to become a classic When Paul Auster was asked by The New York Times to write a Christmas story for the Op-Ed page, the result, "Auggie Wren's Christmas Story," led to Auster's collaboration on a film adaptation, Smoke. Now the story has found yet another life in this enchanting illustrated edition with Argentine artist Isol. It begins with a writer's dilemma: he's been asked by The New York Times to write a story that will appear in the paper on Christmas morning. The writer agrees, but he has a problem: How to write an unsentimental Christmas story? He unburdens himself to his friend at his local cigar shop, a colorful character named Auggie Wren. "A Christmas story? Is that all?" Auggie counters. "If you buy me lunch, my friend, I'll tell you the best Christmas story you ever heard. And I guarantee every word of it is true." And an unconventional story it is, involving a lost wallet, a blind woman, and a Christmas dinner. Everything gets turned upside down. What's stealing? What's giving? What's a lie? What's the truth? It's vintage Auster, and pure pleasure: a truly unsentimental but completely affecting tale.