A wonderful short story with a very special message…This is a good book to share with all family members young and old!
Lisa Mansini
This story portrays the true meaning of Christmas. I love it! A story of hope, forgiveness, and joy…….a story everyone should enjoy reading.
Judy Jacobson
The Story Behind the Story
Originally. Lee wrote the story as a Christmas keepsake for his two grade school children. That was 1992. Then Christmas 1995, Lee and Donna, as husband and wife, released the book, with Donna adding illustrations. Distributed locally in their hometown of Richmond, the book proved to be exceptionally popular. It would go on to be nationally published Christmas 1996, with a 300,000 printing and optioned as a CBS “movie of the week”. Over the years, The Special Guest has become a perennial modern day classic, warming the hearts of thousands of readers with its timeless and touching lesson in the power of forgiveness. All while told in a setting we like to believe is what makes Christmas so magical…
Family in 1996
Original Cover Art
Meet the Author & Artist Today
Meet the Author, Lee Allen. After college and military service as a captain in the 82nd Airborne, Lee started his career in business, where he has been an entrepreneur ever since. Still his passion is writing. Lee is working on a full-feature film adaptation of The Special Guest.
Meet the Artist. Donna is an award-winning artist and illustrator. Her love is painting children’s portraits. In addition to painting, she teaches art to aspiring artists.
Lee and Donna are the proud parents of five grown, married children and a growing bevy of grandchildren, currently 5 and counting. Their feelings about family: “When all is said and done, our greatest legacy is our children and grandchildren…” This 30th Anniversary Edition of THE SPECIAL GUEST is dedicated to the Allen family.
Samples of the Illustrations throughout the book
“Don’t forget to be kind to strangers, for some who have done so have entertained angels unawares…” Hebrews 13:2
Dear Friend,
For me, this has always been a mysterious quote from scripture. The idea of entertaining a stranger, who might actually be a heavenly visitor in disguise, sends a tingle up the spine every time.
One might assume this passage to be the figment of the writer’s imagination. A modern day context might be to turn the idea into a supernatural tale for TV’s Twilight Zone. Still, because it does originate in scripture, it carries the authority of being true. Even more tingly, that it could happen unsuspecting to any of us…
It was with this theme that I wrote The Special Guest for my children as a Christmas keepsake back in 1992. For the setting, I chose my family’s hometown of Richmond. Feeling it would make the story more personal for my children, plus adding to its believability. This included having the teenage character in the story, Scott Reid, working at the local Food-krops grocery store (fictitiously named after Richmond’s real-life local Ukrop’s grocery chain). Other story elements, such as Carytown, the charming and quaint shopping district nestled in Richmond, and where the story opens, made it feel personal.
For readers not familiar, Richmond has always celebrated a traditional Southern Christmas. For example, Richmond is known as the “City of Candles” for its tradition of residents displaying single white candles in their home windows at Christmastime.
That The Special Guest would go on to be a national bestseller, still amazes and humbles me. At the same time, it delights me to know how the story has blessed so many people since first published 30 years ago. If you haven’t had the chance yet to read the story, I hope you will take this opportunity. And now, not just read, but you can relax or go about activities while listening to the audiobook. The production really is quite charming.
Most important, I believe in the message conveyed in the story… what can happen when we forgive… which by definition means something hurtful not naturally deserving of kindness…
Enjoy the read, and again a reminder… “Don’t forget to be kind to strangers, because you never know…”
Merry Christmas!
Lee Allen
