This movie made Sandra Bullock a bona-fide movie star and established her as the go-to actress for romantic comedies. It may also be one of my favorite movies of hers. There is such sweetness to her character. She’s just heartbreaking and lovable and so relatable.

A lonely token collector is in love with a guy (Peter Gallagher) she’s only seen getting on the train. When she rescues him from the tracks, she gets mistaken for his fiancé. And while he’s…well…sleeping...she falls in love with his brother (Bill Pullman) and his family. I could watch it a million times and still cry when she confesses what she’s done at her wedding…to the wrong brother.

Hmm…maybe I should just buy it so I can watch it right now.


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I was going to do this on Day 6, but then it aired last night and I couldn’t help bumping it up the list. My latest Entertainment Magazine had this one in the Bulls-Eye section, with the caption “for 25 minutes all is right with the world”. They're right. This may be the sweetest, most sincere Christmas special ever produced. It also includes the most important message on what Christmas is supposed to be about.

IMO, it’s the best of the Peanuts specials, with the best score ever. (Come on, tell me you don’t start tapping your foot when that jazz version of “O Christmas Tree” begins.)

Poor Charlie Brown is so befuddled over Christmas. He doesn’t get it, wonders why it all seems so commercialized. Just think, the special aired in 1965. How much worse is the commercialism now, with the race to start Black Friday sales now encroaching further into Thanksgiving Thursday? The mad dash of people knocking each other over as they race to save a few bucks on the latest HD TV? 

Then sweet, wise Linus brings it all into perspective, with an unvarnished Bible passage. And Charlie Brown’s little tree just needs a little love.

True story: One year my mom bought a Christmas tree from a kid who was selling them for a school fundraiser. That tree WAS the Charlie Brown tree. It lost EVERY SINGLE NEEDLE. In the end they all ended up on the floor. EVERY SINGLE NEEDLE.

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Will her most painful secret be the key to her greatest joy?

Rayne de Latham, cousin to King William Rufus, should be enjoying a life of privilege. Instead, she has only known misery. Her disastrous first marriage yielded nothing but pain, suffering, and three stillborn children. She believes she is cursed and is certain another pregnancy will end in another tragedy. When the king seeks to get rid of her by sending her to marry one of his knights, she will do just about anything to get out of her betrothal.

Widower Andre de Grelle is father to two small boys who came to him by marriage. When his first wife jumps off the castle walls in a fit of madness, he keeps the boys he has grown to love as his own. When the king sends him a new bride, the lovely but troubled Rayne, he vows to have more patience with her than he had with his first wife.

Once Rayne arrives at Cuxton Castle, Andre realizes there is much more to her than meets the eye. She does everything she can to force him to send her away, but nothing works. Frustration grows as Andre discovers his betrothed is hiding something from him about her past, something so devastating she cannot speak the words out loud.

In the midst of a siege on nearby Pevensey Castle, a truth comes to light that changes everything. As the real story of Rayne’s past emerges, lives change forever. Will love be enough, or will it be easier to walk away?

Excerpt:

Andre moved closer to her. His body was mere inches from hers as he lifted his other hand and slowly tilted her face toward his. Cupping her cheek, he wiped away a tear with his thumb. "You have no idea how fascinating you are," he whispered.

Involuntarily, her eyes closed and she tilted her chin up. She felt his soft lips brush hers and she started to tremble. The short, light touch of his mouth stirred something in her. A young maiden's dream of love, of being loved and cherished, welled up from a place where she had hidden her hopes a long time ago. She returned his kiss, but just for a moment.

Her eyes flew open, and she pulled her head back. This was all wrong. This was not how this was supposed to happen. In a rush to break the spell, she stammered out the first thing she thought of, "Someone will see us! Odo may come."

An expression of disbelief washed across his features and was replaced by irritation. "Odo? What has he to do with this? He is my guest but hardly has a say in what I do with you."

"You…" she stumbled over her words, "you… he is your…"

Andre stood and stepped away from her. He stared down at her, but she could no longer read his face. "Do your affections lie with Odo, Lady Rayne?"

Buy Link:  Amazon

About the Author:

Amy Mullen is a freelance writer and romance author living in Corning, NY, with her husband, Patrick, her two children, and an orange cat named Steve. She has written two medieval romances called A Stormy Knight and Redefining Rayne.

Amy has been writing about love both lost and regained since she was old enough to have her first broken heart. Her love of history and her intermittent jaunts into amateur genealogy led her to a love affair with writing historical fiction. When not writing, she snaps pictures, gets nutty over football, enjoys the company of her family, and when time allows, loves to bury her nose in a good book.

Connect with Amy:

http://www.authoramymullen.com / Facebook