About The Mayweather Christmas Quest:
Of all the things to
find in the snow… A husband?
The
forecast is for snow—but she's dreaming of more than a white Christmas. Olympia
Mayweather is sure there's only one way to find a husband - through a family
tradition that says she must kiss the man of her dreams in a Christmas snow.
When a reporter comes to interview her for the local paper, she's afraid he's
going to make a mockery of her, ruining her chance for a Christmas love. David
Santina isn't sure a magical kiss will make Olympia a bride. But spending time
with the charming woman and getting to know her just might make David believe
in fairy tales. He'll protect her from a tabloid story, but who is going to
keep him from completing The Mayweather Christmas Quest?
About Dana Pratola:
God
gave me a passion to write Christian Romance. These books don’t contain explicit
sex scenes, but my characters have real desires, struggles and choices to make.
A lot of the time they make the wrong ones. No subject is prohibited, but good
always triumphs and God is glorified.
In
my personal life, He has also blessed me with a wonderful husband and three
dynamic children, all of whom are destined to make wide, colorful splashes in
this world. We share our New Jersey home with three dogs. I have no hobbies to
speak of, unless you include writing. I don’t.
Excerpt:
Olympia
sneered. It was hard to tell if this guy was sincere. He seemed to be, but
reporters would do what was necessary to get a story, right?
David
twisted, reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small note pad and pen.
“If you don’t mind…” he said, raising the items for their inspection. “How long
has this tradition been a part of your family?”
“Oh,
who knows,” Mom said. “It’s been going around at least as long as my great,
great grandparents. Who knows before then? I suppose you could research it.”
“That’s
what he’s doing now, Mom.”
David
smiled at her, then back at her mother. “And what specifically does this
tradition entail? Are there certain guidelines, superstitions…?”
“Are
you asking if we go through a blood ritual?” Olympia asked.
“Olympia,
be nice,” her mother scolded. “It’s pretty straightforward,” she told David. “A
Mayweather girl has to be somewhere where it’s snowing on Christmas Day, and if
she meets a man under a Christmas snow, God blesses that union so that they’ll
be together forever.”
Olympia
rolled her eyes. Not missed by David.
“I
take it you don’t believe it,” he said.
“Olympia
is my last single girl,” Sharon said. “So, we’re taking any edge we can.”
Olympia
laughed. She did believe it—mostly—but didn’t want him to ridicule her. “I’m in
no hurry to be married.”
“I
know, dear, I know,” her mother said, patting Olympia’s hand. “It’s just wise
to keep your options open.”
“Your
other daughters were married this way?” David asked.
“God
blessed two that way, yes; Aliza and Brinna.”
“What
about the other”—he glanced at his notes— “Helena.”
“We’re
waiting to see how it turns out.” Her mother waited a beat before
laughing.
“So,
where is your pursuit taking you this year?” David asked.
“Snow’s
predicted in Duluth, Minnesota, so that’s where we’ll be,”
As
they talked about where they would be staying, how long, etc., Olympia got up
and made the hot chocolate. She was trying to take it in stride, after all,
this was something special the family did every year, but now it didn’t feel
right. She’d agreed to go to make her mom happy, but it wouldn’t be the same
with none of her sisters participating. If she didn’t find a husband this year,
there would be no one to deflect the attention. And now, having this stranger
turn her family’s harmless fun into a blatant joke was irritating.
She
set a steaming mug in front of him and then took her seat.
“Thanks,”
David said. “So, you fly out a few days before Christmas. Do you scope out the
prospects, or just wing it and let destiny have its way?”
Unsure
if he was trying to insult them, Olympia offered what she hoped would pass for
a genuine chuckle. “It wouldn’t be much of a custom if it was based on
searching out a husband ourselves, would it? What would be the point of going
when we could do that at church, or the mall?”
David
flipped a page in his pad and turned to Olympia directly.
“Speaking
of faith, would you say God is behind your mission to find a husband?”
His
words forced her back in her seat. “I’m not on a mission. This isn’t a belief;
it’s a legend, a game.”
He
smiled. “But, you all take it seriously enough to travel to Minnesota, or
wherever the snow is forecast.”
She
didn’t like the turn this was taking and she had a feeling her expression said
so. David’s smile disappeared.
“It’s
a four hour drive, not a big deal,” she snapped.
“Three,
the way you drive,” her mother said, shaking her head. “Mercy.”
Olympia
ignored her. She felt herself getting upset but couldn’t stop it. “Some
families spend Christmas in Tahiti, or South America, would you call that a
religious quest?”
David
tapped his pencil on the top of the pad. “Sorry, I’m just trying to—”
“I
know what you’re trying! To make my family look like a bunch of fools. Why
don’t you come back on New Year’s when Ma dances naked around the mailbox so
the fairies will bring her grandchildren!” She pushed back her chair and
stormed from the kitchen.
Her
mother called after her, but Olympia kept going, straight up to her room, where
she resisted the urge to slam the door from its hinges.
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