Shange was the first to call this multimedia mix a 'choreopoem.' It features seven women, nameless save for the colors they wear, addressing topics like abortion, rape and domestic violence. Jessica Howard, bookseller at Bookmans, Tucson, Ariz.Īuthor, poet and playwright Ntozake Shange, who died on October 27 at age 70, was best known for her 1975 Tony Award-nominated play for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, which uses poetry, music and movement to explore the many struggles of black women in America. Light and enjoyable, all three of these books are sure to boost the Christmas spirit, even for the most Grinchy of readers. Can the sisters find happiness before Christmas? Things are looking good, till Hannah has a shocking surprise, Beth's marriage hits a rough spot, and Posy begins to chafe at small-town life. But she is thrilled that Hannah, the workaholic, and Beth, the stay-at-home mom, are coming home for the holidays this year.

Suzanne runs a cafe in the Scottish Highlands with her youngest daughter, Posy, and always struggles at Christmastime with her terrible memories of the accident that killed the girls' biological parents 20 years earlier.

Sarah Morgan's The Christmas Sisters (HQN, $15.99) begins with Suzanne, the adoptive mother of three women whom she loves dearly. Camille is awkward and shy, but she begins to fall for Steve, until a series of mysterious fires in the area threatens their holidays and their happiness. There he becomes reacquainted with artist Camille Brandt, whom he vaguely knew in high school. In Katie Ruggle's Rocky Mountain Cowboy Christmas (Sourcebooks Casablanca, $7.99), single dad and firefighter Steve Springfield has moved his four kids to a Christmas tree ranch in his hometown in Colorado, in hopes of a happy new beginning. Soon, however, Lucas discovers that Molly might not care if she ends up on the naughty list. He was too drunk to remember what happened, so Molly gleefully teases him about their amazing night (even though nothing really happened) as they work the bad Santa case together. Then things get even weirder, when investigator Lucas Knight realizes he's spent the night with office manager Molly Malone.

Jill Shalvis's Hot Winter Nights (Avon, $7.99) begins when two elderly Christmas elves show up a detective agency in San Francisco, complaining that they work for a bad Santa. And since it's nearly the season for mistletoe, here are a few new romance novels sure to get you into the holiday spirit. The weather outside may be frightful, but curling up with a good book by the fire is perfectly delightful.

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