Homemade Hanukkah, Emerald Hearts
Noah Stern's patients at Seattle Children’s Hospital don’t mind his OCD quirks. He loves his job as a physical therapist. Working with children is easy. Checking in on Gideon “the Beast” Wilder at his remote mountain cabin as a favor for the owner of the Seattle Emeralds proves to be anything but easy. Gideon seems determined to live up to his nickname. But beneath his surly demeanor, Noah glimpses a man who is longing for love.
Seattle Emeralds star player Gideon Wilder doesn’t want company, especially a physical therapist with a charming smile and eyes that sparkle when he laughs. Noah Stern’s arrival on his doorstep is an unwelcome interruption, complicated when an avalanche traps them together for Hanukkah. Gideon came to his cabin to nurse both the physical injury that ruined his soccer season and a heart broken by failed relationships. People he dares to love always leave him. Noah will surely do the same.
With each homemade Hanukkah gift, Noah tames the Beast. When the snow clears and Hanukkah comes to an end, Gideon’s fear takes hold before he realizes that Noah's presence in his life has been the greatest gift of all. Will Noah accept Gideon’s belated Hanukkah gift—Gideon’s heart?
Eliana West
Eliana West, the recipient of the 2022 Nancy Pearl Award for genre fiction, is committed to embracing diversity in her writing. That means she doesn’t limit herself to a single genre. Instead, Eliana welcomes every story that comes her way with open arms. She aims to create characters that reflect the diversity of her community, with a range of social backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations. Eliana loves to weave in historical elements whenever she can. She believes everyone deserves a happy ending.
From small towns to close-knit communities, Eliana West loves stories that bring people from different backgrounds together through the common language of unconditional love and acceptance. Eliana is a passionate advocate for diversity within the writing community. She is the founder of Writers for Diversity and teaches classes and workshops, encouraging writers to create diverse characters and worlds with an empathetic approach.
When Eliana isn’t plotting her characters' happy endings, she can be found embarking on adventures with her husband, traversing winding country roads in their beloved vintage Volkswagen Westfalia, affectionately named Bianca. Whether it’s traveling abroad or exploring locally, Eliana and her husband are always willing to get lost and see where the adventure takes them.
Eliana loves connecting with readers through her website: www.elianawest.com.
