The Warners are a typical family, with the usual rifts and arguments. Each year, they leave home on Christmas Day to spend the holiday week in a time-share condominium in Breckenridge, Colorado. The early-teenaged children, Tim and Julie, are opposed to the idea, preferring to stay home back in Boulder with Xmas gifts and friends, but their workaholic father insists that they spend the rare family time together. However, he is inevitably called back to his demanding business each year and is not even there for the Christmas holiday. Then, on one Christmas, Tim surprises his sister, taking her on an impromptu horseback ride to a mountaintop. There, he shows her an amazing and inspiring display of lights on a distant peak, a scene of mysterious origin that can only be viewed from that one spot and precisely at dusk on Christmas Day. The next year, their father is too busy to even make the trip to the Rocky Mountain condo for Christmas. Even so, the kids can't wait to take their mother on the yuletide horseback ride up the mountain so they can show her the beautiful light show. She, too, is inspired, and when they return home, she tries once more to convince her husband to put his priorities in the right place, to return to church and spend more time with the family. However, by the next holiday, their marriage is over and so are the rides to the mountain for the Warner family. Tim blames his mother for the breakup of the family and, when he eventually goes away to college, he ends all communication with her. Julie finally takes a Christmas journey of her own, a drive to the West Coast to convince her brother to renew the spirit they found together on that Colorado mountain peak with its mysterious light display. He does return home, and, at the same time, their father has his own epiphany. The next Christmas, the parents renew their vows, remarrying on the mountain just as the lights seem to be burning their brightest for the reunited family. But then a tragic turn brings the two siblings even closer, and a special Christmas gift makes certain their bond will never be dissolved, not by distance, hurt, or even death. A final view of the lights on the mountaintop confirms that the love of a family is the strongest tie of all. And a strange but wondrous twist shows Julie Warner the true meaning of those lights they saw on their rides to the Christmas mountain. This powerful story will resonate with today's busy families, too involved with their own distractions to experience the beauty of this special season, and offer special meaning to those who have lost someone and miss them most during the holidays. The lesson of those magical lights-that one must be in the right place and have an open heart to know the true meaning of Christmas-will touch readers everywhere. A Christmas Ride is a book about families sharing the miracle of the season and the wondrous display of lights on a snowy Colorado mountaintop is the perfect metaphor for this Christian holiday.
About the Author: EDIE HAND Edie Hand is a business woman, speaker, television celebrity, and author. She has authored, co-authored, or assisted in the development of over twenty books. Her personal books include inspirational cookbooks and novellas from the heart. In addition, the business world knows Edie for her many acts of kindness and work in various charities. Edie has starred in national commercials, daytime television soaps, and hosted numerous radio and television shows nationwide. She has been the CEO of Hand N' Hand Advertising, Inc. since 1976 while actively involved in the Alliance for Women in Media (formerly known as American Women in Radio & Television) for over thirty years. In an effort to pay it forward and leave a legacy for community involvement, Edie founded the Edie Hand Foundation after the loss of her three young brothers. Her foundation helps to benefit The Children's Hospital of Alabama and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Edie is also an alumnus of the University of North Alabama. She lives near Birmingham, Alabama, with her husband, Mark Aldridge. Her son, Linc Hand, lives in Hollywood, California. Her web sites are www.ediehand.com and www.ediehandfoundation.org. DON KEITH Award-winning and best-selling author Don Keith has published more than 25 books, fiction and non-fiction, including several bestsellers. While working as a broadcast journalist, he won awards from the Associated Press and United Press International for news writing and reporting. He was also the first winner of Troy State University's Hector Award for innovation in broadcast journalism. As an on-the-air broadcaster, Don twice was named the Billboard Magazine "Radio Personality of the Year." He was a broadcast personality for over twenty years in Birmingham and Nashville. His first novel, THE FOREVER SEASON, was named Alabama Library Association's "Fiction of the Year" award in 1997. He later co-wrote a nationally-bestselling thriller with former nuclear submarine commander George Wallace, FINAL BEARING, and its follow-up, FIRING POINT, which has been optioned as a major motion picture. Don lives in Indian Springs Village, Alabama, with his wife, Charlene. He is also a sought-after public speaker, a member of the Alabama Writers' Forum, and actively supports local and statewide literacy efforts. His web site is www.donkeith.com.