An inspirational historical romance & family saga, the second book in Mary Sullivan Esseff's "Rebecca Butler & Khalil Khoury Novels", Wedding Tales: Love's Journey continues the magic of the love story told in the author's previous book, The Butterfly & The Snail. In Wedding Tales, as the title suggests, Rebecca and Khalil's love brings them to the altar. As the couple exchange vows, two unexpected and unwanted guests crash the reception: the Blizzard of 1966 and her evil companion, the ferocious North Wind. This devious duo blankets the region with snow so deep and drifts so high that they shut down the East Coast for more than a week. Family members leave the reception in a flurry but discover they must stay put. Snowed-in guests pass the time by sharing age-old tales of why their ancestors immigrated to America. Wedding Tales, Love's Journey contains stories of Rebecca's German and Khalil's Lebanese ancestors. Rebecca and Khalil's plane-destined for their Bermuda honeymoon-is stranded on the runway. Rebecca's parents and family are stuck in D.C.'s Georgetown Inn. Khalil's large out-of-town family is marooned at his sister's home in rural Maryland. To pass the time, Rebecca's family records the riveting story of her ancestors from Wattenscheid, Germany in the late 19th century. There the wicked Viktor von Schumacher, son of a famous Baron, attempts to molest Minnie, the gentle daughter of Katarina and Karl Kringle, Rebecca's great, great grandparents. The evil Viktor then murders Karl when he goes to the Baron's home to complain about Viktor's lewd behavior. Learning of Viktor's plan to murder the Kringle's son, Karl, Jr. flees to America. He starts a new life in the coal region of northeastern Pennsylvania. There, he awaits the day his mother, Katarina and his siblings will join him and avoid the hateful plans of the wicked Viktor. At the same time, twenty-foot snow drifts pile against the Fitzgerald's house in rural Derwood where the Khoury clan gathered for festivities after the wedding. Too late, they discover they are snowed in. They tell tales of how Khalil's grandfather, Assaf and his family, survive the massacre in their ancestral village of Hardine, high in the North Lebanon Mountains. Witness to the slaughter of innocent villagers by a renegade band of Muslim soldiers, they plan to leave the village and head for America. The first group of immigrants settles in the same coal region of northeastern Pennsylvania as Rebecca's ancestors. They take up a trade they know best: growing produce. This heart-wrenching historical novel spans almost a hundred years and travels across three continents. The series of tales show the courage, fortitude and initiative of Rebecca and Khalil's ancestral families. This page-turning family saga depicts events of murder and treachery, faith and forgiveness, love and humor. Set in the late 1800s, these remarkable ancestors overcame great hardships, displayed courage and fortitude in the face of horrific events that enabled them to survive and grow. Through the tales of the ancestors, Wedding Tales shows where Rebecca and Khalil gain the strength and resiliency to overcome their setbacks. Although these events took place over a hundred years ago, the same issues are evident in the world today. Anyone who experiences intolerance or prejudice will identify with these struggles and gain invaluable insights from how the characters resolve their adversities. Wedding Tales, Love's Journey has something for every reader: love, romance, murder, hatred, revenge, courage, perseverance and forgiveness. This inspirational family saga is epic in proportion.
