Catherine’s Christmas is set in the small but bustling town of Inverness, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, circa 1920. The events in the story are true, as recalled and told to the author by her mother Catherine Ann MacLellan (Forsyth). She was born in Inverness in the year 1913, to Neil and Rachel (MacDonald) MacLellan. However, events of the story are not in chronological order; rather, the author has taken the liberty to interweave them wherever she chose. In the late 19th century, many people emigrated from Scotland, to Inverness and other areas of Cape Breton, drawn to the employment offered by the coal mines dotted over the island. They brought the Gaelic language with them and it is still alive and spoken by many, at the writing of this story. Name places on Cape Breton echo those of home areas left behind by the settlers. They also brought with …
On a bright and sunny day on Florida’s Gulf Coast Old Joe took his grandsons, Bradley and Barrett, to Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida. They all loved the stories of the pirates that sailed in the waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico in those days past. The Pirate life was always exciting with lots of adventures. They hoped to sample this at Disney. Once inside the Disney Park they made their way to “The Pirate's League” attraction and got into line. Once inside they would dress in their pirate clothes that were provided as a part of the experience. They would be given a pirate name, taught the ways of the pirate and then set sail for a pirate adventure. Old Joe and the boys would find their own adventure to be more magical than what was planned by the Disney Park as the day …
Josh Martin finally manages to get a date with a girl he’s been chasing the whole school Year, but his father has won his company’s sales contest and the family will go to Walt Disney World instead. Josh must escort his little brother, George, through the park while his parents attend the sales convention functions. While waiting in line at Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear presents Josh with a pin and suggests he’ll enjoy the ride a lot more now. Josh and George board the sled, but Josh doesn’t notice the cast member pushing a button on the sled. As they start the ride, Josh is suddenly propelled into another dimension where he’s the commander of a space ship. The ship is a battle cruiser, and receives an order to rescue a princess who has been kidnapped by pirates. With the help of the ships executive officer and his staff Josh …
I was born in London in 1954 and spent my formative years in a children’s home. I was then fostered and adopted aged six. I attended a Quaker Boarding School and left when I was fifteen with six Certificates of Standard Education and excelled in sport. I took enforced early retirement from work after a succession of injuries and major surgeries aged forty two. Still, I found solace in rescuing and training large breed dogs and becoming a self-taught photographer, poet, writer, and eventually a published author. To date, I am the author of seventeen books of several different genres, an award-winning photographer and poet.
Fourteen year old Jazz O’Neill meets Ella Butler on an airplane ride from their homes in the Chicago area. They become friends at once, and as they chat, a magical being greets them and gives them each a magic amulet. When they get to Disney, they find themselves transported to another world. Here they view several unhappy moments from their respective pasts: first, they meet and have to deal with two beings, one of which seems to be Ella’s deceased mother and the other who seems to be Jazz’ father. The two teenagers are able to dismiss the two visions as falsehoods, but they immediately have to relive two dreadful situations. Jazz has to confront three school bullies who tormented and terrified him. Ella relives a situation where other girls’ jealousy of her keeps her from making the cheerleading squad. Returning to Disney, they learn that their parents intend to …