When I wrote The Christmas Box, I never intended to publish the story-it was simply an expression of love for my two young daughters, Jenna and Allyson. Though I often told them that I loved them, I didn’t believe that they could ever really understand the depth of those feelings until they had experienced the joy of rearing their own children, and by that time our relationship would have already changed. Forever. In writing The Christmas Box, I hoped that at some future time they could read this book and know of their father’s love.

As I began to write, I was amazed at the inspiration which flowed into my mind and heart. I completed the book in less than six weeks and, when I had finished, I produced twenty copies to give as Christmas presents to my family and friends. In the next four weeks those twenty copies were shared from family to family, and friend to friend. I never imagined that what began as a tale for two little girls would spread to millions throughout the world. The inspiration, which began with The Christmas Box, is continued with Timepiece, the story of David and Mary Anne Parkin, in which we learn where the Christmas box and the angel statue had come from and the powerful lessons of hope the couple learned from their little girl, Andrea. I have learned from those who have read my stories that books can heal, and characters like Mary Anne Parkin, though fictitious, can provide warmth and companionship.

• The Christmas Box has more than 8 million copies in print. If you were to stack them on top of each other they would roughly by the height of 258 Empire State buildings.
• The Angel Statue in the book has become a “Mecca” of sorts, and people come from around the world to lay a flower at its base. There are currently more than 100 full-size replicas of the statue around the world.

Published November 1995
Simon & Schuster
Length: 128 pages
ISBN:

• 0684814994
• 9781476702568