Letty Wishima
Letty Wishima (the nom de plume of Mishael Austin Witty) writes swoony romances with a splash of sass and a whole lot of heart. She believes second chances are sacred, art is healing, and love stories should come with a hot cup of coffee, a cozy blanket, and a soothing playlist. When she’s not dreaming up emotionally wounded heroes and tales of unrequited love resolved, you’ll find her creating digital art or curled up with a good book. Her stories are for anyone who’s ever loved, lost, and dared to love again - because Letty writes about love that lingers through even the hardest challenges.
Letty appears in our holiday romance anthology, Midnight, Mischief, and Mistletoe, with her sweet, mature romance, “The Art of Loving Again”!
“The Art of Loving Again is a heartwarming holiday romance that explores second chances, healing, and the quiet magic of rediscovered love. When two grieving souls join forces to honor someone dear to them, they must confront the past and open themselves to the possibility of a future together. Tender, redemptive, and full of seasonal charm, this story reminds us that love, like art, can be beautifully reimagined.”
Check out this sneak peek!
The late-morning sun filtered through the arched windows of the Savannah Gallery, scattering soft golden beams across the gleaming hardwood floors. Dust motes drifted like silent ice skaters between the rays of light. The unseasonably warm winter air carried the faint scent of pine and decaying foliage through the sliver of window that was open to let some of the breeze in.
Grateful for the cool since her body seemed to be in a perpetual state of overheating, Grace Carbondale lay stretched out on the twin bed in her husband’s studio. He used to take naps here between painting sessions. Or, as he used to say, he was getting in his creative rest time.
Her heart gave a little flutter as she remembered he wouldn’t be at tonight’s celebration. That was why they were having the gallery benefit. In honor of her late husband’s final watercolor collection. To the rest of Chokeberry Falls, though, it wasn’t just about honoring Noah Carbondale’s memory. Grace had decided to include a festive Christmas party to lighten the mood. The holiday was just a week away, and Noah had loved it more than any other day.
So had Savannah, their fourteen-year-old daughter, who Noah had named his art gallery after while Grace was still pregnant. The baby was a late blessing. She’d been conceived on the night of Grace’s thirty-seventh birthday. Long after she had Noah had given up hope of a family.
A late blessing gone much too soon.
Grace swiped away a trail of tears. Every dark corner of this room whispered of memories she wasn’t quite ready to face.
Her hand fell to the side of the bed, and her fingers grazed the edge of a glass frame that held one of Noah’s earliest paintings. She didn’t even have to look at it to know which it was. The two-hundred-year-old oak at Forsyth Park, its branches heavy with Spanish moss. Grace remembered watching him work that afternoon. How his brushstrokes caught every flicker of light through the leaves. Eli had been in the park with them that day, but Grace had only had eyes for Noah.
The memory made her heart swell and ache. She drew a fortifying breath and brushed a stray lock of chestnut hair out of her eyes.
Could hope bloom now, amid the hushed anticipation of tonight’s event? How would Eli factor into her hopes for the future? Was she ready to let him try?
What happens next? Get cozy with your own copy of the anthology and Letty’s favorite holiday treat, then settle in to read her story with some raspberry-filled cookies!
