When the new doctor's family moves in across the street, Glen is happy to show the son, Charlie, around the small town. With his good looks, charisma, athletic ability, and sports car, Charlie soon has the whole town in his corner.

Except Nicole, the prettiest girl in town (and the pastor's daughter), who has no intention of dating Charlie. No matter how often he asks her. Or Luke, Glen's best friend since kindergarten, who dislikes Charlie on sight and longs to wipe that smile off his face

As Glen sidesteps the hostility between Luke and Charlie and assists Charlie in his...

After going out with a girl Charlie wanted, Glen knows he'll have to stand up to Charlie or be labeled a coward. For now, though, he's happy his friend Luke has volunteered to be his bodyguard.

After being positive she has no interest in Charlie, Nicole wonders why it bothers her when he spends time with her best friend Joyce? Or with annoying Marta? Nicole isn't jealous. Is she?

When Luke is injured in a serious car accident and Charlie saves his life, Nicole is more confused than ever and Glen is knocked completely off-balance. It takes a stray dog and a small group started...

Glen struggles to figure out how to act around Nicole, who is now dating Charlie, and Nicole's best friend, Joyce, who Glen is now dating. At the same time, he looks for ways to encourage Luke, who's recovering from a very serious accident, and tries to avoid Marta, who needs more help than he can offer. As if he doesn't have enough going on, Glen wonders if the anonymous letters he's getting are a prank or something more sinister.

Meanwhile, Nicole wonders if she's made a mistake, and begins to question what she's been taught by her church.

In the end, with the help of their...

As he tries to finish up his last year of school and decide on his future, Glen is distracted by the needs of his friends. He juggles his complex, often puzzling, connections with Nicole, Joyce, and Marta; spends a lot of time and energy helping Luke cope with his new way of life; and struggles to get along with Charlie.

Meanwhile, Nicole realizes she's going to have to make the hardest decision of her life.

In order to survive, Glen clings to God and relies on his small group for help. To his surprise, he finds himself saying and doing things he'd never have imagined. And he...

Could you use a hug?

When we began to create Hot Apple Cider, our task was to produce a gift book filled with stories ordinary people would enjoy reading.

So 30 writers and 2 editors looked at our own lives and shared our pain, our fears, and our hope. We opened up about our feelings of loneliness, times of depression, unfair treatment, and the peace we feel when we pour our hearts out to God. We shared our times of helplessness and abandonment, and our faith that God never leaves us alone. We talked about our longings and our times of loss, our feeling that no one else had...

Life isn't fair. We all know that.

Bad things happen to good people. We feel alone and vulnerable. Things that should work fail. Families fall apart. We hear words we don't want to hear. We lose people we care about. At times, we all struggle to go on. And yet... there is always hope.

In this book, 37 writers share more than 50 stories of hope with you.

Our writers have learned that no one is every truly alone. That, with a little help, we can enjoy life again. Find ways around obstacles. Forge new friendships. Become a closer-knit family. Go on in spite of loss. Start...

You'll be amused, encouraged, and inspired to reflect on ways you've been shown love, and to consider how you might show more love in the future.

The men, women, and children in these stories experienced love in ways they'd never have thought of, from people they might not normally have noticed, and in surprising places:

- on the wrong side of the tracks in small-town Ontario

- beside a wood burning stove in the Central African Republic

- in the words of an old letter in a New Brunswick house

- next to a burned-out Saskatchewan farmhouse

- upon a...

Pull up a nice, warm, cozy chair and enjoy some Hot Apple Cider along with me.

Move in closer. That's it. We'll all share our stories together, like a group of close friends. Stories of heartbreak and redemption--trouble and overcoming--questioning our faith and embracing it--and, most of all, finding hope at the end of every path.

There's just nothing like a circle of warm friends to share life with. All 15 of us will take turns opening up our hearts to you--sharing little pieces of ourselves. Come and join us.

We'll even include discussion...

This Discussion Guide was created to accompany the book, Hot Apple Cider: Stories to Stir the Heart and Warm the Soul, and has questions related to each story which can be used by readers, book clubs, or small groups. The questions will help readers think further about the issues raised, enjoy stimulating discussions, and share ideas and meaningful experiences.

Hot Apple Cider is an award-winning collection of inspiring personal experience articles, short stories, and poems by writers whose work is distinguished by honesty and vulnerability, combined with...

Individual Readers
You can read the book straight through and let each contributor surprise you with his or her thought-provoking insights; use the accompanying free downloadable "Reader's Guide" to find specific stories; or look up stories on topics that are relevant to your situation. After reading each story, you have the option of using the Discussion Guide as part of a personal study: read and meditate on the questions, then journal your responses.

Book Clubs
A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider is a great choice...