A Christmas visit home becomes complicated when a letter to Santa gets involved in this sweet and simple holiday romance from bestseller Macomber (Jingle All the Way). Graphic designer Lindy Carmichael is fresh off a devastating breakup with her cheating boyfriend and waiting to hear if the proposal for her dream project was accepted at work when she heads back to Wenatchee, Wash., for the holidays. In an attempt to cheer her up, Lindy's mother shares the letters to Santa Lindy wrote as a kid, showing that sometimes she got what she wanted--and sometimes she got something even better. Lindy takes her mother's advice and writes a new letter asking Santa to introduce her to a man who "values family and commitment"--and the next day she unexpectedly reconnects with her childhood best friend, who takes her to the hot new restaurant owned by Lindy's onetime schoolyard nemesis Billy Kincade, about whom she once wrote to Santa wishing for him to receive a stocking full of coal. As Lindy spends more time with her family, friends, and especially Billy, she finds it harder to imagine leaving, and Billy finds it hard to let her go. There's not much depth to the romance, but that's not the point. It's a fun, fluffy holiday escape. Agent: Theresa Park, Park & Fine Literary. (Oct.)

Lindy Carmichael is home in Wenatchee, WA, for the holidays but not full of Christmas cheer; the man she loved has cheated on her with her best friend, and her graphic design job is going nowhere. When her mother tries to brighten her mood by reminding Lindy of an old family tradition of reading through the letters she wrote to Santa, Lindy decides to write herself a letter in an act of healing. Meanwhile, she runs into a handsome former classmate, and that could be a real holiday gift.