I’ll never forget the thrill of writing the dedication in my first book.

This book is dedicated to the oldest and youngest members of my family…. I wrote.

To my dad, Harry Hughes, who first told me the wonderful Story of Jesus. And to my grandchildren, Xander, Sam, and Brixham, who are just beginning to hear the wonderful Story for themselves.

When I penned those words I was nervous. I wasn’t sure whether my dad, frail at 90, would ever be able to hold that book, or turn its pages, or see that it was dedicated to him, or even remember that his daughter was the author. But he did. I have the photograph to prove it:

And how glad I was, because he never did get to hold my second book. He died while it was in the mail on its way to him, all wrapped up in Christmas paper, on route over the wide sea from Michigan to England.

If he could have opened it, he would have seen that I dedicated that book to my first granddaughter, newly arrived into the world.

For Colette, my first granddaughter, I wrote. How my dad would have loved to meet her, and lift her high onto his shoulder. But it wasn’t to be.

There is a time for everything, Solomon wrote, a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to weep and a time to laugh.

Isn’t that true?

When the time came for the third title in the series, Christmas Love Letters from God, I was ready when my editor asked, Who would you like to dedicate this book to? 

I knew, straight away, whose name would be printed in the front of this book, and why. And so when Laura Sassi, children’s book author, welcomed me to her blog, and asked me to share the story behind its dedication, I was happy to do so.

Do you know who I dedicated Christmas Love letters from God to?

Read the story to find out…