James Kier is a jerk. A cutthroat businessman who can't see beyond his own interest, his motto is "eat, or be eaten."

Over the years, he has not only offended but done real damage to countless of his associates. So when his obituary is printed prematurely due to a misidentification, there is an outpouring of glee and rejoicing in the online comments on the story.

As Kier reads and reflects on them — and realizes that the person he hurt the worst is the only one to come to his defense — he sets out to right some wrongs and to try to change his legacy.

But as the drama unfolds against the backdrop of the Christmas season, Kier finds it is not that easy.

This is the story of Richard Paul Evans' latest novel, "The Christmas List" (Simon & Schuster, $19.99). And if it sounds like the story has overtones of Ebenezer Scrooge and "The Christmas Carol," that is no accident. One of the Evans' family Christmas traditions is to see a local production of the Dickens classic.

"It always thrills me to see the change that overcomes Scrooge as he goes from a dull, tightfisted miser to a penitent 'giddy-as-a-schoolboy' man with love in his heart. I wanted to write a story that explored that same kind of redemption."

Kier, however, finds that sometimes it's too late; some things can't be undone. "He sets out to change his legacy, but he finds he has to change as a person. There's a big difference in that," says Evans.

"The real meat of the story is that in the end, redemption and forgiveness come through grace. You can't earn forgiveness; you can't even earn love. It's incorrect to think that if you are good enough, you will get God's love. The truth is, God will love you anyway."

You have to work; you have to forgive others and yourself. But in the end, "God's love is a gift to us all," he says.

"The Christmas List" is the 14th novel from Evans, who broke on the scene with "The Christmas Box" in 1993. Of all those books, this one is probably the most overtly Christmas since "The Christmas Box," he says.

Although the New York Times has dubbed him "the king of Christmas fiction," most of his books have not been all that Christmasy. "For a time, I deliberately tried to stay away from Christmas, because I didn't want to be known as just a Christmas writer."

But his books have been feel-good stories released at Christmastime, and since the success of "The Christmas Box," which has become a huge publishing phenomenon, author after author has jumped into the Christmas genre.