CHRISTMAS PRESENCE: edited by Celia Miles and Nancy Dillingham

Dillingham, Nancy and Celia H. Miles. CHRISTMAS PRESENCE. North Carolina: Catawba Publishing Company, 2008. 221 pages. Trade paperback. $18.00.

From Celia Miles: "This anthology features writings about the Christmas season from 45 western NC women writers, some published (Sherry Austin, Susan Reinhardt, Julia Nunnally Duncan, for example); others published in local venues and anthologies, and some published for the first time. We did a quick count when finalizing the bios and saw that the contributors have over 45 books published (Nancy and I account for 10 or 11); counties represented range from McDowell to Swain, with Buncombe and Henderson having the most."



(The editors--Celia Miles and Nancy Dillingham)

For orders, send to these addresses: Celia Miles-- 104 Clubwood Court Asheville, NC 28803 or Nancy Dillingham: 48-A Dunstan's Rd. Asheville, NC 28803. Email: celiamiles@fastmail.fm

“Christmas is a special time, an intense season when emotions are heightened, memories are made, hearts are warmed or broken, illusions blanketed or shattered. Relationships reveal their soft and sharp edges; joys are magnified and so are losses. These stories, memories, reflections, and poems by western North Carolina women shine with the sincerity of a Christmas star and glow with the warmth of a winter’s fire. They invite you to come into the presence of Christmas.”

-----Joan Medlicott author of "Ladies of Covington Series"

"You'll smell the cedar, feel the warmth of a fireplace, watch snowflakes twirling through the mountains, taste gingerbread, and hear "Jingle Bells," in CHRISTMAS PRESENCE. This is a wonderful collection of stories, essays, and poems by 45 western North Carolina women writers. Many of these contributors describe the Christmas customs of mountain people during the Great Depression."

--Brenda Kay Ledford, from blueridgepoet.blogspot.com


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Glenis Redmond --Presence
Sherry Austin ---The Edge of Night
Nancy Purcell ---I’ll Be Home for Christmas
Penny Morse ---Grandpa and the Snowsnakes
Dare Freeman Ford ----Colored Angels
Barbara Ledford Wright ---Purple Violets
Jeri Senor --The Eve of Christmas
Lana Hendershott-- Rhella Jobe
Susan Reinhardt-- An Open Letter to Mr. Claus
Mary D. Marsh-- Memories of Wartime Christmases
Carole R. Thompson --A Bag of Sugar for Paula
Glenda Barrett--The French Harp
Jessica Heriot --Jewish Christmas
Nancy Dillingham --At Christmas
Janice Norman --Solace of Solstice
Marian Gowan --Connections
Brenda Kay Ledford --Miss Bessie and the Christmas Biker
Sonja Contois --The Year of the Socks
Nancy Sales Ca The Christmas Catalog
Cecily Hamlin Wells --Southside Diner
Louise K. Nelson --Most Memorable Christmas
Celia H. Miles-- And the Animals Knelt
Marijo Moore --Western North Carolina: Winter’s Silent Theatre (in ten acts)
Pam Shuford Murray-- O Holy Night
Cynthia Stewart --The Doll Who Came to Christmas Dinner
Mona Rae Miracle --Where’s the Spirit?
Mary Louise Welther --Elves in Our Attic--
June Bare --The Midwife of Bethlehem
Polly Kent --The Magic of Snow
H. Byron Ballard --A Season of Light: How We Celebrated a Hillbilly Yule
Cheryl Dietrich --Mavericks
Sherry W.Boone- The Silk Handkerchief
Pat Riviere-Seel -My Mother, in the Last Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease, Comes Home Christmas Day
Beverly Ohler -Tannenbaum and Stollen
Martha O’Quinn -Christmas in July
Karen Luke Jackson -Elves for Santa
Peg Rhodes -A Copper Christmas Pot
Exie Wilde Henson -A Logging Camp Christmas
Gwenda Ledbetter -Not Even a Mouse
Joan Blessing- We Didn’t Do Christmas without You
Susan Snowden -A Hair-Raising Holiday
Joan Crook- A Tiny Red Stocking
Tonya Staufer -I Believe
Cecily Hamlin -Wells Weathering Christmas
Nancy Dillingham -Santa Redux: Afterthoughts on Giving
Dee Dee Parker -The Yellow-Haired Doll
Julia Nunnally Duncan- Experience to Fiction: A Christmas Memory