Thirty-year-old Elise Andrews couldn’t bring herself to marry Griffin, her childhood friend-turned-sweetheart, so she let him walk away. Eight months after their break-up, she arrives in her hometown of Chicago on Christmas Eve and hears a voice from the past calling her name in the grocery store. It’s Griffin’s mother Janice, who invites Elise over for a neighborhood gathering of eggnog and carols.Walking into Janice’s house sends Elise tumbling headlong into memories of her relationship with Griffin — and with Janice, who exudes the kind of warmth Elise ached for after her own mom passed away when she was six. But Griffin has moved on, and suddenly Elise doubts her decision to give him up, and lose her chance at being folded into his wonderful family. Confused and reeling, she goes in search of an answer to a universal question: How do we say good-bye to people we’ve loved without losing everything they’ve meant to us? Heartwarming and witty, All Is Bright is a charming story about coming home for the holidays — and finding gifts in the most unexpected of places.

Everyone's heard a picture is worth a thousand words, but when you only have a few months to live it can be worth so much more. Noah Prescott wanted nothing more than to be your everyday typical 15-year-old boy, but with stage 4 melanoma, he was anything but normal. Depressed and completely ready to give up on life, he has lost all interest in the world around him. That is until he meets Glenn Green, the dying boy with a sunny disposition. Unable to accept Noah's pessimistic outlook on life, Glenn sets out to show the younger teen that life might not turn out how he pictured it, but it can still hold so much beauty. That is, if you know where to look. Highest Ranking in Short Story #50 *Featured Story*

Dear Library Girl, I almost asked you what was wrong the first time I saw you crying. Then I saw the book you were reading, and realized that you were crying because of it. And I was interested, because I'd never read anything that moved me that much. I checked out the book you were reading, and guess what? I cried - just a little - too. That's how it started. Every time I go to the library, you're almost always there, usually with a completely new book. Sometimes you smile, or laugh out loud, or cry again, and when you do, I check out the book you're reading. That was it, really, until I realized how gorgeous you are. You're not pretty in the normal kind of way, but god, when you smile, it lights up your face in the best way. I wish you'd notice me, sitting a few tables away from you, reading the book you were reading a few days ago. I wish you'd smile at me. I don't have the guts to talk to you. I'm afraid you won't be anything at all like I imagine. One of these days, I'll work up the courage and I'll ask you about what you're reading. And maybe you'll smile that gorgeous smile and tell me all about it, and then we'll talk about all the books we've read. But until then, thank you for the book recommendations. I love them. Love, Tyler *The body of this letter is not my original work, but rather a prompt for the story you are (hopefully) about to read. Enjoy! French translation on @ClesteVrld's profile!

Rylyn Delson's life has been pretty predictable for the past eight years after her mother's death. She's gotten used to her dad being "clingy". But when life takes a turn for the unexpected, Rylyn has to face the reality of the world alone, with no one who understands. God understands, doesn't He? What good is He planning to come out of this anyway? Meanwhile David Ark and his wife, Mirissa, are just a Christian couple adjusting to their new lives in the town of Riverside. Getting to know the teens firsthand as a Youth Minister, he discovers the shy, only child girl with a hard past. Soon after gravitating toward her, tragedy strikes her hard. When they take her in, both of them go through hard times themselves. But God's ways are higher than our's, right? Told from the two perspectives that resemble a father-daughter relationship, they not only discover hidden truths of the struggles but also try to learn to take on unwavering faith. {Started: September 2014 Finished: February 2015} (Picture credit to legit-faith.com)