Daddy's Christmas Angel

by Mary Montague Sikes

Descriptive Blurb: In Daddy’s Christmas Angel, seven-year-old Kathleen Ryan connives to have her father meet her second grade teacher. However, the only commitment David Ryan wants is to his daughter, and Angie McAllister wants no commitment other than to her own independence. Will Kathleen’s schemes change both of their minds and lead to romance? Can she manage to change all three of their lives forever? Think “Sleepless in Seattle” meets “Love Story”.

Daddy's Christmas Angel is the kind of story that leaps into a writer's mind and won't ever go away. A few years ago, I saw the cover for this book in my mind before anything was written down except the prologue. I proceeded to finish the story and actually signed an e-book contract with a publisher. However, the more I thought about it, the more certain I became that the timing was not right for e-books. The publisher agreed to let me out of the contract, and I dropped the manuscript into a drawer where it remained until this summer. I never stopped thinking about the story until I pulled it back out, rewrote, and revised it.

As a teacher who started out in a first grade classroom, I know how easy it is to fall in love with the children you teach. Kathleen in my book was no exception. I loved her and so did my heroine, Angie McAllister. Often there are children in a class that become special to a teacher and she never forgets them. Those same children are the ones who never forget the teachers with whom they held a special bond. One of our daughters still talks about the second-grade teacher who exerted an extraordinary influence on her.

Kathleen connects with her second grade teacher, Angie, in that way. After all, she longs desperately for a mother, and she's certain Angie is perfect for the job. Kathleen is also sure that once he meets her, David, her father, will feel the same way. However, neither David nor Angie wants a relationship. Life has brought hurt in the past. Sometimes it's better to remain safe and unattached, isn't it? But every so often, magic happens, and those are the times we never forget.

"I was inspired by the romantic comedy, Sleepless in Seattle," Sikes explains. "In that movie, Jonah, whose mother died of cancer, wants his father to find a new wife. In Daddy's Christmas Angel, Kathleen also wants her father to find a new wife, but she wants her to be Angie McAllister, the second grade teacher she adores."

Daddy's Christmas Angel is available from Amazon http://tinyurl.com/a6beykv and from Barnes and Noble http://tinyurl.com/dxxtjbl. I'll be signing copies December 15 at the Author Book Fair. Hope to meet lots of new readers then!