Donita K. Paul

Dear Readers,

I hate to sound all humbuggy but I am not a big fan of Christmas books.  I find them overly sappy and way too short for my taste.  I want a book that I can sink my teeth into.  One where I fall in love with the characters and learn to dislike the bad guys.  Christmas books are usually not long enough for me to do that.

With that said I was asked to read and review a Christmas book for the radio spot I am doing now. I chose Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball by Donita K. Paul and I am glad I did.  There isn't any real reason I chose it other than she hadn't written a Christmas novella before and I was interested in seeing what she would do with it as her normal genre is fantasy/speculative fiction with dragons. Of course dragons in a Christmas story might be interesting.

Cora Crowder is making it through life.  She is content in her job, her apartment and her arrangment with her family.  She lives several states away from them and she is good with that. 

Simon Derrick is making it through life.  He is content with his job, his home and his arrangement with his family.  They all live together and take care of each other and he is good with that.

The mischievous matchmakers in charge of the annual Christmas Ball are not so happy with Simon's and Cora's lives.  They are not happy that each of them is settling for a life with little or no true love. 

When Cora and Simon meet at the unusual bookstore on a very unusual street, they are both given a ticket to the ball.  They really have no reason for going until Sandy, Simon's younger sister, invites them both to go with her.  Things become more and more interesting as the time for the ball draws near. It seems more and more likely that Cora will not be going to the ball.  A family member shows up just in time to ruin Cora's plan of going.  Will she make it to the ball in time or will she find an excuse for not being there?

This was a fun, quirky, little story.  I enjoyed it and it reminded me that we are all works in progress and God is never content with were we are.  He accepts us the way we are, but wants us to draw closer to him.  This is a good read for the holidays as it is a story that can slow you down a bit during this busy season and help us remember what all the hustle and bustle is about.

Happy Reading &

Happy Holidays

Chris