For the holiday season I have some suggestions of books that might fill the stocking, or at least, the memory on your reading device.

First up, one of my favorite books I have written. If you like sentimental nostalgic stories like “It’s a Wonderful Life” or “Miracle on 34th Street” or “White Christmas” you would enjoy my novel, “The Homecoming Tree”. In 2005 I wrote and directed a play based on my parents’ lives at the beginning of World War II. The play was well received and told the story of a family running a boarding house in Shreveport, Louisiana. The story begins on Thanksgiving and ends on Christmas Eve, 1941. After the play, I decided to rewrite the story a bit and a new version of the play has never been performed. Instead, I took the story into novel format and the main character is a modern businessman who finds himself sent back to 1941. Suffering from amnesia, he learns powerful lessons from “The Greatest Generation”. Reviews for the book have been very positive and I just uploaded a newly edited version that took care of some minor typos. I hope you enjoy, “The Homecoming Tree”.

Secondly, my two latest books take place at Christmas.

“Shadow Merchant” is a very different story for me to tell but it hits close to home. The main character is a radiologist who finds himself the target of a homicide investigation. To clear his name he becomes a consultant to the local medical examiner as a “forensic radiologist”. As the story unfolds, his problems worsen when he finds himself entangled in an international conspiracy and the target of an assassin. Tense and fast moving, “The Shadow Merchant” brings the world of radiology out of the “shadows”.

The 9th book in “The Chronicles of Jonathan Steel” will be a crowd pleaser for my readers who have followed Jonathan’s story from the prequel, “Death By Darwin” through the subsequent eight books. We finally learn most of Jonathan’s hidden secrets when he recovers his memory and relives the most painful time in his life, when he was put on trial for murdering a loved one. Featuring two demons, “The 4th Demon: The Trial of the 3rd Demon” begins the finale of Jonathan Steel’s story just in time for Christmas. And, I promise the final chapter will please my readers as Jonathan will finally find happiness. Well, sort of!

By the way, “Death By Darwin” also takes place at Christmas. Ruth Martinez, a rising star in a major Dallas, Texas law firm must defend someone caught in the act of murdering his boss over a conflict fueled by religion versus science. She must work with the mysterious Jonathan Steel as she investigates the death of Dr. Darwyn, head of a paleontology institute where a deadly creature from the distant past threatens her life. The book culminates in a tense courtroom battle when God and creation are put on trial! This is officially a prequel to “The Chronicles of Jonathan Steel” and introduces characters who show up in the last two books. A must read for anyone who has enjoyed the journey of Jonathan Steel.

My final suggestion is a book I spent about twenty years putting together. Based on many of the short dramas I wrote during my days as drama minister of Brookwood Baptist Church, “Our Darkness, His Light” shares the stories of the ordinary individuals surrounding the life of Jesus Christ. The book begins at the manger and ends on the road to Emmaus. This compilation was almost published long ago by a major publisher. My book went up against another book by a little known author of time, Max Lucado. Max won that contest and I couldn’t have been more please that I made it that far. Now, with new stories I have added over the years, I hope you will enjoy the tales of ordinary people in the most Extraordinary Story of all time.

All books are available through major outlets and you can learn more by going to hopeagainbooks.com .

Merry Christmas