[close] Hi, my name is John Allen and I just wanted to share some information about my holiday novel "Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices."

This is a book that was born of grief…and written in an effort to offer hope to others.

Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, has described my book as having “messages of love and wisdom to make your heart sing with the recognition of the miracle of life.”

My book is about the fragility of life and the incredible results that come from small acts of kindness…

Writers will appreciate this: I would not have written this book were it not for a terrible tragedy. We all know there are times you sit down and intend to write something. But then there are those times when you simply HAVE to write. There are feelings and ideas you’ve simply got to get out of your system.

Such was the case with “Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices.”

The book, published by HCI ("Chicken Soup for the Soul") Books, began as an outgrowth of a terrible tragedy I witnessed just a few days before Christmas.

My family and I had moved temporarily to a small western town so that I could work on an intensive technical writing project that required I work on the business premises with other writers. We loved small town life. We became close to a wonderful family consisting of several children. I became particularly close to two teenage sons from that family. These boys were an example of everything that great about youth. They were active in their church. They were high achievers in their high school. They loved music. And they were active in scouting and community affairs.

They were the essence of everything that’s great about youth.

Just before Christmas they were on their way to sing a special number at church meeting. Riding with them were two teenage girls. (The four young people were to sing a quartet.)

On the way to church they rounded a bend, came upon an unexpected icy patch on the road, and skidded into a river that ran parallel to the road. All four young people were lost in this terrible accident.

It was hard for me to conceive what the parents must have been going through. The next evening my wife and I went to offer our condolences to the parents of the two boys.

Words failed me. I held the father in a bear hug and shed some tears with him. When the tears stopped, he told me that he was at peace. He knew their sons were in a better place. And he knew that the Savior had made it possible that he would see his sons again.

Talk about faith...

From that point on I did some serious soul searching. I also became a better father and husband.

The unthinkable had happened to my friend. But his faith helped him to survive the ordeal.

At that point, the story for my book began to take shape.

(In the book’s Afterword I go into more detail about the origin of “Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices.”)

The book deals with a man who suffers a terrible loss just before Christmas. Then it shows how he ultimately finds peace through a few simple acts of kindness.

I appear briefly in the book in the guise of Brent Watkins and express my thoughts about the tragedy through his character.

"Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices" is definitely a sobering story. But the ending gives the reader a sense of comfort and peace. And that there IS something out there bigger and more lasting than this temporary, sorrow-filled life…and that good things can incredibly come from tragedy.

I'm always interested in hearing what readers think of the story.

“Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices” is more than a book about Christmas; it’s a book about loss, grieving, overcoming, and ultimately finding peace and comfort…it’s a story of hope which just happens to be set during the holiday season.

Here's the link for a review of the book on mymerrychristmas.com

http://mymerrychristmas.com/2006/cgcvjoh...

Best Wishes,
John [close]