On Strike for Christmas: A Novel

At Christmastime, it seems as though a woman's work is never done. Trimming the tree, mailing the cards, schlepping to the mall, the endless wrapping-bah humbug! So this year, Joy and Laura and the rest of their knitting group decide to go on strike. If their husbands and families want a nice holiday-filled with parties, decorations, and presents-well, they'll just have to do it themselves. The boycott soon takes on a life of its own when a reporter picks up the story and more women join in. But as Christmas Day approaches, Joy, Laura, and their husbands confront larger issues in their marriages and discover that a little holiday magic is exactly what they need to come together. Sheila Roberts gives the best gift of all in this funny, heartwarming novel that touches the very core of Christmas spirit.

Literature & Fiction

Roberts, Sheila

Humor & Satire

St. Martin's: Griffin

Erin Merritt has returned to her scenic hometown of Heart Lake to plan her wedding, but when she repeatedly runs into her childhood crush, she wonders if she's engaged to the wrong man. To make matters worse, all the stress is making her eat, and now she can't fit into her wedding dress. 
 Erin enlists the help of her cooking club--Angela, Megan and Kizzy--and the Teeny Bikini Diet Club is born. The women make a pact to get slim enough to wear their bikinis to the lake by summertime, a pact that changes their lives forever. With a little help from her friends, Angela faces her fear that her marriage is crumbling. Megan confronts the self-esteem issues that have always held her back. Kizzy deals with her husband's efforts to sabotage her diet and keep her overweight. And Erin learns some important truths about love.
 Pull up your favorite beach chair and savor this funny, inspiring story about being true to yourself and following your heart, and the women who enrich our lives.

Bikini Season (Heart Lake, 1)

United States

Hope Walker survived early breast cancer at just thirty-years-old, but a mastectomy left her with a lot of scarring―and some serious fears about dating. Hope owns Changing Seasons, Heart Lake's most popular flower shop. When it comes to love and relationships, she's able to work magic through her expert flower arranging…for everyone but herself. Then one day a handsome contractor starts coming into her shop, but Hope knows he'd rather have a whole woman than someone like her.
 When Hope stakes a plot of ground at Heart Lake's community garden, she finds that a woman can grow all sorts of things there: flowers, herbs, vegetables and even friendship. As she gets to know the two women who share neighboring plots, they discover that they can learn a lot from each other―not just about gardening, but about life. And Hope realizes that in order to live life to the fullest, sometimes you have to take a chance on love.

Love in Bloom: A Novel (Heart Lake, 2)

Dramas & Plays

Keep the heart in Heart Lake. That's exactly what three small-town shop owners hope to do when they launch their crazy-ambitious "Have a Heart" campaign―asking neighbors to commit one random act of kindness every day. Emma, Sarah, and Jamie love their lakeside community, but the little town is growing too big too fast, and a doing a good deed never hurt anyone. Or so they thought…
When Emma slashes prices at her quilt shop, practically giving away blankets to anyone who looks vaguely cold, she almost stitches her way into bankruptcy. Sarah's free cooking class boils down to a hotbed of crime when some punk kid swipes her favorite heirloom. And at Jamie's chocolate shop, things take a bittersweet turn when a local policeman starts giving her grief, stirring up feelings she's tried to forget―and slowly melts away her defenses…
With irresistible humor, warmth, affection―and recipes!―author Sheila Roberts serves up a generous, open-hearted story about the friendships we make, the chances we take, and the lives we touch every day.

Angel Lane (Heart Lake, 3)

Contemporary

Take a trip to the charming little town of Heart Lake, and meet three best friends who you'll never forget…
Rachel, Jessica and Tiffany have money problems―major money problems. Tiffany's whipped out the plastic one too many times, and now a mountain of debt is about to come crashing down on her. Jessica's husband lost his job―thrusting this longtime stay-at-home mom out into the cold, cruel workforce. And Rachel's divorce has transformed her from an upper-middle-class mom to a strapped-for-cash divorcee. What are three best friends to do?
Get financially fit, that's what! Together, Rachel, Jessica and Tiffany start a financial support group called The Small Change Club―challenging each other to bring balance back to their checkbooks, and their lives. Even though frugality is a lot harder than they ever imagined, these women are about to learn some very important lessons: that small changes can make a big difference…and that some things in life, like good friends, are truly priceless.

Small Change: A Novel (Heart Lake, 4)

Discover an unforgettable holiday treasure in Sheila Roberts’ heartwarming tale of love and laughter, magic and miracles, friendship and coming home… On a blustery afternoon, Kylie Gray wanders into an antique shop and buys an enchanting snow globe. “There’s a story behind that snow globe,” the antique dealer tells her. The original owner, he explains, was a German toymaker who lost his wife and son right before Christmas. When the grieving widower received the handcrafted snow globe as a Christmas gift, he saw the image of a beautiful woman beneath the glass—a woman who would come into his life, mend his broken heart and bring him back to the world of the living. For years, the snow globe has passed from generation to generation, somehow always landing in the hands of a person in special need of a Christmas miracle. 
Kiley could use a miracle herself. This year, all she wants for Christmas is someone to love. A hopeful shake leads her on an adventure that makes a believer out of her. When Kylie shares the story of the snow globe with her best friends—two women with problems of their own—they don’t believe it. But they’re about to discover that at Christmastime, sometimes the impossible becomes possible and miracles really do come true.

The Snow Globe

St.Martin's Press

Bestselling author Sheila Roberts brings us a humorous, heartwarming Christmas novel about a matchmaking cat who brings a couple together just in time for the holidays.
 When a guy is in trouble, he starts making deals with his Creator…and Ambrose the cat is no exception. In danger of losing his ninth and final life, Ambrose makes a desperate plea to the universe. He'll do anything―anything!―if he can just survive and enjoy a nice long, final life. His prayer is answered when a stranger comes along and saves him―and now it looks like he has to hold up his end of the bargain.
The stranger turns out to be a firefighter named Zach, who's in need of some serious romantic help. If Ambrose can just bring Zach together with Merilee, the nice lady who works at Pet Palace, it's bound to earn him a healthy ninth life. Unfortunately for Ambrose, his mission is a lot harder than he ever thought. Merriliee is way too shy to make the first move on a ladies man like Zach, and Zach thinks he's all wrong for a nice girl like Merrilee. Now it's going to take all of Ambrose's feline wiles―and maybe even a good old fashioned Christmas miracle―to make them both realize that what they're looking for is right in front of their eyes.

The Nine Lives of Christmas

At Christmastime, it seems as though a woman's work is never done. Trimming the tree, mailing the cards, schlepping to the mall, the endless wrapping―bah humbug! So this year, Joy and Laura and the rest of their knitting group decide to go on strike. If their husbands and families want a nice holiday―filled with parties, decorations, and presents―well, they'll just have to do it themselves. The boycott soon takes on a life of its own when a reporter picks up the story and more women join in. But as Christmas Day approaches, Joy, Laura, and their husbands confront larger issues in their marriages and discover that a little holiday magic is exactly what they need to come together.Sheila Roberts gives the best gift of all in this funny, heartwarming novel that touches the very core of Christmas spirit.

On Strike for Christmas

Piatkus

'Within minutes of cracking open the book, my mood was lifted; the warm, glowing feeling it gave me lasted for days' First for Women'A heartwarming tale of magic, miracles and coming home' Goodreads reviewerAn unforgettable holiday treasure . . .  When Kiley Gray discovers an enchanting snow globe in an antique shop, she has no idea how much her life is about to change. For years, the snow globe has passed from generation to generation, somehow always landing in the hands of a person in special need of a Christmas miracle. Kiley could use a miracle herself. This year, all she wants for Christmas is someone to love. A hopeful shake leads her on an adventure that makes a believer out of her. When Kiley shares the story of the snow globe with her best friends-two women with problems of their own-they don't believe it. But they're about to discover that at Christmastime, sometimes the impossible becomes possible and miracles really do come true.Perfect for fans of Jill Mansell, Marie Force and Nora Roberts, this is a gentle, romantic Christmas story that's sure to capture your heart and leave you with a smile'Roberts' charming story offers hope, comfort, and a second chance for those who believe in love, and a nudge to change the minds of those who don't.' Booklist

The Snow Globe: a heartwarming, uplifting and cosy Christmas read (Christmas Fiction)

Romance

Two people are about to discover that when it comes to finding love, sometimes Christmas magic isn’t enough…sometimes it takes a pesky orange cat named Ambrose.When a guy is in trouble, he starts making deals with his Creator…and Ambrose the cat is no exception. In danger of losing his ninth and final life, Ambrose makes a desperate plea to the universe.  He’ll do anything—anything!—if he can just survive and enjoy a nice long, final life. His prayer is answered when a stranger comes along and saves him—and now it looks like he has to hold up his end of the bargain.The stranger turns out to be a firefighter named Zach, who’s in need of some serious romantic help. If Ambrose can just bring Zach together with Merilee, the nice lady who works at Pet Palace, it’s bound to earn him a healthy ninth life.  Unfortunately for Ambrose, his mission is a lot harder than he ever thought.  Merriliee is way too shy to make the first move on a ladies man like Zach, and Zach thinks he’s all wrong for a nice girl like Merrilee.  Now it’s going to take all of Ambrose’s feline wiles—and maybe even a good old fashioned Christmas miracle—to make them both realize that what they’re looking for is right in front of their eyes.

Nine Lives of Christmas

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