Family Christmas Book: A Tree's Christmas by James Andrew Bowen

What if your Christmas tree could talk? What would it say? Did Anne dream this story of the talking Christmas tree, or could it be real? You must decide for yourself. The story starts when a love-filled family's Christmas in the country is over. The Christmas tree's decorations are gently removed. Anne, her dad and their dog, Lucky, take the tree outside and lay it down in the snow-covered garden. That night, to the amazement, surprise and delight of the trees around the garden, the Christmas tree begins telling the exciting story of its wonder-filled adventures inside the family s home during the Christmas season. All night, the trees listen as the Christmas tree tells its stories, and then ... A Tree's Christmas will inspire children of all ages to appreciate anew the wonders of a family Christmas, and how the tree, at the center of it all, can play an even more meaningful role in the celebration than anyone can imagine. And, as the Christmas tree tells of its adventures, readers will come to understand the importance of leading a rich, full life that makes a difference no matter what others say. It s a story that can be told over and over every Christmas, for generations to come, and still have genuine meaning for all who read it.

PRAISE FOR A TREE'S CHRISTMAS

"This could be a new Christmas classic!” -- Chicago Daily Herald

“A Tree's Christmas: A Talking Tree's Story of its Christmas Adventures, is an inspirational children's chapter book with heartwarming appeal for all ages. The Christmas tree itself is the gentle story's star, and even though other bigger trees in the forest have ridiculed or belittled the tree, it is true to its own story and attests to the virtue of perseverance and fidelity in the face of hardship. A Tree's Christmas deals with many relevant themes; the circle of life and death, family love and support, and enduring hard times to remember joy in the end. A Tree's Christmas will be a treasured gift to share with a loved one, child or adult. Its lessons of a brief life fully lived in gratitude for the wonder of creation are to be respectfully passed on to new generations.”
--James A. Cox, Editor in Chief, Children’s Bookwatch in The Midwest Book Review

“It’s a sweet children’s Christmas story that I’m sure young children will like,” commented reviewer Dr. Judith Briles, author of more than 20 books and board member of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. “Adults will understand and love the circle of life theme. And, of course, the author reminds us there’s a lot more to a tree than its branches and leaves! The surprise ending will touch everyone’s hearts.”

For more information, visit http://www.atreeschristmas.com/

Guest Blogger: Andra Watkins, Author of Not Without My Father

Can an epic adventure succeed without a hero?

Andra Watkins needed a wingman to help her become the first living person to walk the historic 444-mile Natchez Trace as the pioneers did. She planned to walk fifteen miles a day. For thirty-four days.

After striking out with everyone in her life, she was left with her disinterested eighty-year-old father. And his gas. The sleep apnea machine and self-scratching. Sharing a bathroom with a man whose gut obliterated his aim.

As Watkins trudged America’s forgotten highway, she lost herself in despair and pain. Nothing happened according to plan, and her tenuous connection to her father started to unravel. Through arguments and laughter, tears and fried chicken, they fought to rebuild their relationship before it was too late. In Not Without My Father: One Woman’s 444-Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace, Watkins invites readers to join her dysfunctional family adventure in a humorous and heartbreaking memoir that asks if one can really turn I wish I had into I’m glad I did.

For More Information

• Not Without My Father: One Woman’s 444 Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace is available at Amazon.
• Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

How I Almost Killed My Father
 by Andra Watkins

I never really liked my father. He was the classic 1960s dad: worked hard; came home and let everyone wait on him; let Mom handle all things kid-related; never talked to me.

When I turned thirteen, he decided to change his approach. He believed he hadn't taught me anything. His every sentence to thirteen-year-old me started with, "Andra, you need to learn....."

What thirteen-year-old girl would bond with that?

We shouted down my teens, harangued through my twenties and seethed away my thirties. I rolled my eyes every time I saw Dad's number on my caller ID. I couldn't send him to voicemail fast enough. He drove me MAD.

Then his appendix ruptured. He was seventy-seven. He died on the operating table. I only found out I almost lost him when I went to the hospital three days after they revived him. I was busy, after all. Chasing the mid-life dollar at the peak of my income potential. I didn't have time to drive two hours and sit in a dreary hospital room, couldn't afford to scrap a planned client trip. When I found out he almost died, I panicked.

I didn't know my father. At all.

Still, I couldn't imagine how we could fix our relationship. The pattern of dysfunctional communication was ingrained. Intense. Unalterable. He was almost eighty. Almost gone. I didn't know what to do, but spending time with him didn't change our dynamic.

When I decided to walk the 10,000-year-old Natchez Trace to launch my debut novel To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis, Dad was the last person I wanted as wingman. Things between us were still off. I couldn't imagine living with my father for five weeks. I mean, I was forty-three years old. I lived on my own for more than two decades.

Sharing a hotel room with my eighty-year-old father? For five weeks? HELL ON EARTH.

His gas was legendary. He called it 'the paper mill.' He scratched himself all night while a sleep apnea machine breathed for him, and he wasn't fond of wearing clothes to cover his almost three-hundred-pound frame. Strangers loved his stories, but I plugged my ears through the five billionth telling.

For some reason, he agreed to accompany me on my journey. While I walked fifteen miles a day on the Natchez Trace, he explored tiny southern towns and regaled everyone with The Roy Show. Usually, he picked me up and dragged me to meet someone, forced me to sign books with sausage fingers and stand even longer on feet that looked like they'd been through a meat grinder. When he got so carried away with his own mystique that he forgot to pick me up, I hated him even more.

Spending five weeks with my dad was the stupidest idea I ever had.

Until it wasn't.

I wrote Not Without My Father: One Woman's 444-Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace to encourage everyone, everywhere, to Make a Memory. We all have family members we love to hate, but we'll still miss them when they're gone. They're family. They're part of us.

That's important.

It's never too late to Make a Memory........until it's too late. Think about someone who matters to you. What have you been meaning to do with them? How long have you been putting it off? Won't you regret it when all you can say is "I wish I had?"

Turn "I wish I had" into "I'm glad I did." Read Not Without My Father and be inspired to Make a Memory. Right now. Today. Because the memories you make are the pieces you'll have to cherish when that person is gone.

Andra Watkins lives in Charleston, South Carolina. A non-practicing CPA, she has a degree in accounting from Francis Marion University. She’s still mad at her mother for refusing to let her major in musical theater, because her mom was convinced she’d end up starring in porn films. In addition to her writing talent, Andra is an accomplished public speaker. Her acclaimed debut novel To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis was published by Word Hermit Press in 2014.

For More Information

• Visit Andra Watkins’ website.
• Connect with Andra on Facebook and Twitter.
• Find out more about Andra at Goodreads.
• More books by Andra Watkins.
• Contact Andra.