Christmas Ivy won First Place Short
Story at the 2016 Florida Christian Writers Conference and was a Winner
in the 2018 National Indie Excellence Awards.
Blurb:
How can one visit alleviate the trials of the past few years?
How can one quilt reveal truths never before realized?
It had to be a dream…
Her grandparents passed away a few years earlier, but here in the family kitchen on the dawn of Christmas morning, they greet her with the same love and sage advice she grew up with. Their presence captivates reality and brings Ivy to complete confusion.
Could this strange visit truly be the provision for which Ivy longed?
It had to be a dream…
Her grandparents passed away a few years earlier, but here in the family kitchen on the dawn of Christmas morning, they greet her with the same love and sage advice she grew up with. Their presence captivates reality and brings Ivy to complete confusion.
Could this strange visit truly be the provision for which Ivy longed?
Excerpts from Christmas Ivy
1. The sizzle of bacon cooking
brought Ivy to an upright position out of sound sleep. The smoky flavor
tantalized her nostrils as the fog in her mind slowly lifted. Her hands flew to
her face. It’s Christmas! The words rose within her, not with joy, but with
panic. How could she have slept so late!? Mama
will have my head. I should be making breakfast. But wait. It’s Christmas! Mama must have let me sleep.
A wonderful gift, to sleep past dawn. Ivy heard a gentle snoring and looked to
see the cat curled next to her legs.
2. She did not have to inspect the bed to see if James was up. He was
not. One leg and one arm dangled off the side, almost touching the floor. His
unruly hair was unruly still and his head like a mop. Ivy giggled as she
imagined turning him upside down and cleaning the floor with his independently
curly locks. James kept life happy in the Rushton family. Mama called it incorrigible
at times. Still, Ivy knew Mama appreciated his light heartedness. Besides, he
worked so hard to help out now that Dad was gone so much. When all the tragedy
descended upon the family, James, just two years younger than she, determined
to keep the family on track. He led prayer at the table when everyone else just
sat in a daze. He even tried to get everyone to sing which usually ended in a
laughing fit, as singing voices were nowhere to be found in this family.
James never lost his faith. Only me, Lord.
I’m the one who is still a mess.
3. “But it’s Christmas morning. Why is no one awake? Even the cat won’t
get up.”
“This is your
time, Ivy, your Christmas gift.” Grandad’s voice was strong. It wrapped around
her as strongly as his arms often did.
Blurb:
Linney
Merritt loves her life in the Florida scrub where she assists her Pa in raising
and taking cattle to market. The new cowman, Cyrus John, appreciates the chance
to start over. Marrying holds no interest for either, but they can’t help but
be drawn to each other. And then, just before Christmas, they find themselves
fighting together to save the life of a calf, all while discovering the One who
can remove fears and provide forgiveness.
Life changed
for the world in a stable one Christmas. Could it also begin for Linney and Cy
in this stable?
Excerpts from Run With the Wind
1. Nellie moaned, and Linney
pulled. The emerging calf licked her face. “We better hurry, Pa. He just done
licked me. Don’t want him thinkin’ I’m his mama.”
“You’ll make a good one
someday.”
“That ain’t happenin’. Why
would anyone want to go through this?”
Pa looked around Nellie’s bulk. His eyes found Linney’s. “For the likes
of you, girl. It’s worth it.”
2. Her eyes shifted to the
rider. He appeared to be a few years older’n her. She caught her breath. What
was that? His square shoulders and square jaw made him much wider than most
Crackers. But there was something else. It made her feel jittery. She must have
overeaten, or that new calf licked her too much. Her stomach didn’t normally
flop around like a snake hit by a cowman’s whip.
3. A rock buried in a shrub
derailed the wagon. The abrupt stop shrugged Linney from her seat atop the
wagon. The wind roared above her holler for help, and she wondered if Cy even
heard her. Landing on her arm, she cried out in pain. Thunder rumbled too close
while her completely sodden clothes held her like a web. Her attempt to stand
was met with a small gulley of water created by the torrential nature of the
storm. She slid backward down the hill, already a slippery mass of mud, all the
while futilely grasping at the shrubs and smaller trees. Get up, Linney, you’re a
survivor. You cannot lose control.
Judy DuCharme, Author of Christmas Ivy, Run
With the Wind, Blood Moon Redemption, Society of the L.A.M.B., The Cheesehead
Devotional Kickoff Edition, and The Cheesehead Devotional Hall of Fame Edition.
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