title: Miracle and Other Christmas Stories (Bantam Spectra Book)
author:  Connie Willis 
description: Connie Willis <i>loves</i> Christmas. "I even like the parts most people hate--shopping in crowded malls and reading Christmas newsletters and seeing relatives and standing in baggage check-in lines at the airport. Okay, I lied. Nobody likes standing in baggage check-in lines," she writes. Willis knows it's <i>hard</i> to write good Christmas stories: the subject matter is limited, the writer has to balance between sentiment and skepticism, and too many fall into the Victorian habit of killing off saintly children and poor people. Here she presents eight marvelous Christmas tales, two of which appear for the first time.
zlib_text: > > _Lavish Praise for the Books of Connie Willis_
  
  > >  _ **Miracle**_  
  >  and Other Christmas Stories
  
  > > > > > > > “A muscular imagination, with drolleries and epiphanies galore.
  > Put this at the top of your _Must Buy_ holiday shopping list.”
  
  > > > > > > > — _Kirkus Reviews_
  
  > > > > > > > “Will entertain readers both in and out of season; and as a
  > stocking stuffer for SF fans, it’s a merry delight.”
  
  > > > > > > > — _Publishers Weekly_
  
  > > > > > > > “Willis does indeed walk what she describes as ‘anarrow
  > tightrope between sentiment and skepticism’ in these tales … a nice antidote
  > to the saccharine side of the season.”
  
  > > > > > > > — _Locus_
  
  > > > > > > > “Willis … brings humor and a warm sensibility to these cleverly
  > plotted Christmas stories…. This collection—by turns touching and
  > amusing—makes an ideal refuge from the frenzy of the season.”
  
  > > > > > > > — _The Tampa Tribune and Times_
  
  > > > > > > > “A refreshing change from the maudlin, over-hyped holiday boo