Raphael and the Noble Task [SIGNED COPY, FIRST PRINTING]

Raphael is a griffin, one of the ferocious stone creatures sworn to guard the Cathedral from harm. Yet Raphael feels a mysterious longing for something more -- a Noble Task, one that will bring meaning to his life.

When a baby is abandoned at the Cathedral door, Raphael believes he's found his Noble Task at last. But Raphael soon learns that caring for the child brings danger and sacrifice as well as love. And when the baby's mother returns, only to find that her child is missing, Raphael must set things right by performing an act of enormous courage: an act that depends not only on a legend kept secret for generations but that will demand of him all of his heart and soul to prevail.

More than twenty illustrations bring the characters of the Cathedral to life in this unforgettable adventure, destined to be cherished as an enduring Christmas classic.

Catherine Salton was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois in 1963. When she was six years old, her family moved to London, England. Before returning to the United States, her family visited virtually every major cathedral in England and Catherine became fascinated by the middle Ages. "I wish I could say it was the glorious architecture that did it," says Catherine, "but it was really just the gargoyle to spur a kid's imagination. They're kid-size. They're fantastic-looking. And you think that if you just say the right thing to them, they'll talk right back to you."

After growing up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Catherine attended the University of Rochester in upstate New York. She graduated with an English degree and a passion for medieval literature. But since Chaucer didn't pay the rent, Catherine moved to Northern California with her husband Michael Tuciarone and attended law school at the University of California, Berkeley.

Catherine practiced law for several years, but never lost the bug for reading and writing about a medieval Cathedral for her young son and his cousins. She also has published essays as well as magazine articles and fiction, and her next book, The Star-Catching Tree, is forthcoming from HarperCollins Publishers.

Catherine lives with her husband and son in Northern California. She collects gargoyle statues and books on the Middle Ages. She also plays the cello for her own amusement, but unfortunately no-one else's.