The Winter Solstice Lantern

The Winter Solstice Lantern

Book Two of The Wickmere Seasons

By Leeann Phipps

Even the longest night remembers the way home.

Winter has settled over the charming town of Wickmere, Rhode Island, where snow blankets the rooftops, candlelight glows in frosted windows, and an old tradition promises to guide the lost safely home.For Elaine "Lanie" Bellamy, returning to Wickmere was never part of the plan.

After inheriting her late Aunt Ruth's cottage, Lanie intends to spend a few weeks sorting through old belongings, preparing the property for sale, and returning to her carefully organized life in Boston before Christmas. But the little town she remembers from childhood has a way of making even the simplest plans unexpectedly complicated. Especially when an old brass lantern begins lighting itself. Hidden away in her aunt's attic, the mysterious lantern carries an inscription that seems almost too fitting: For Those Still Finding Their Way. Soon, strange things begin happening around the cottage. Frost forms unusual patterns across the windows, church bells ring without explanation, and distant lanterns appear along the snow-covered road leading into the woods. As Wickmere prepares for its beloved winter solstice celebration, Lanie discovers that the town's tradition of placing lanterns in windows may be connected to something far older than anyone realizes.

With the help of Marjorie Hale, a friendly local florist, the wise and wonderfully mysterious Ethel Whitcomb, and Thomas Vale, a kindhearted carpenter with his own reasons for returning home, Lanie begins uncovering the forgotten stories woven into Wickmere's past. But the deeper she searches, the more she realizes that the lantern's greatest mystery may be connected to a childhood memory she has spent years trying to forget.

And perhaps Aunt Ruth left behind more than an old cottage. As winter storms gather and the longest night of the year approaches, Lanie must confront the grief she has carried, the memories she has buried, and the possibility that the life she has worked so hard to build might not be the only place she belongs. Because in Wickmere, magic does not always announce itself with grand spells or extraordinary displays of power.

Sometimes it appears as a candle in a window. A lantern glowing along a forgotten road.

The Winter Solstice Lantern is a heartwarming, atmospheric tale of gentle magic, cherished traditions, found family, second chances, and the quiet courage it takes to let yourself belong.