A Season of You: A Cloud Bay Christmas Novel

Douglas (Need You Now) sets this Christmas story on a small island off the coast of California. Although there is no snow, there’s holiday spirit aplenty, as the town’s mayor gets set to go overboard with that deck-the-halls thing. Strong-willed young widow Mina Harper prefers solitary anonymity. Holing up in her cottage studio makes her happy, and now she’s up against a deadline for the first big exhibit of her paintings. On a cold, foggy night, she’s changing a flat tire alongside a deserted road when she slips in the mud and cracks her head against her car. Luckily, distillery owner Will Fraser comes to her rescue, and from there on fate seems to throw them together at every turn. Douglas does a fine job of setting the scene, crafting characters readers will want to know, and setting the stage for at least a couple of sequels. Agent: Miriam Kriss, Irene Goodman Literary. (Oct.)