Interview with Dana Pratola

I'm so pleased to be able to interview author, Dana Pratola today. I've met Dana through a group of authors and bloggers called Grace and Faith Author Connection. Her newest book, The Covering, is intriguing!

Marji - What inspired you to become a writer?

Dana - God put the desire to write in me from the start. I can't remember a time BEFORE wanting to write.

Marji - So the Father would have something to do with your ultimate goal for writing in general?
Dana - The goal is always to bring glory to God, not just by not wasting the gift He's given me, but by using it to lead others to Him.

Marji - How does The Covering satisfy that goal?
Dana - The Covering shows a man's quest for God in a real light. He's loaded with anger, bitterness and unforgiveness
(mostly at himself) and he doesn't have to be perfect before coming to God.

Marji - Amen! What inspired this particular story?
Dana - I think it's important to tell people that God isn't mad at them. No matter what mess your life is in, even if it's by your own hand, He wants to help. Now especially, in this crazy world, I think people need to know that.

Marji - I know I did, and do! As imperfect people it's a hard concept to realize how much a perfect God loves us! What a great message! Okay, I'm a visual person and this is a question I ask over and over because I love having a face in mind when I read. What actors might play your main characters if they made a movie of this?

Gerard Butler as Gunnar

Dana - I picture Gunnar sort of like Chris Hemsworth (from Thor) but with dark hair and dark eyes. Or Gerard Butler a few years ago. As for Tessa, I have no idea.

Marji - What's a lasting line from your novel - like the "Frankly, my dear ..." from Gone with the Wind, or "You had me at hello."
Dana - Wow, that's hard. One line? How about, "I knew there was a romantic under those tattoos."

Marji - Lol! That's hysterical. Makes me want to read it with that alone! Big-time thanks to Dana Pratola for sharing The Covering and a little about her life with us! She's also shared a snippet from The Covering.

    Tessa whirled away from him toward the door.

     His hand was on her arm in a second. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked. The sudden awareness of how slim her arm was in his grasp caused him to loosen his hold.

     “I won’t stand here and argue with you,” she told him.

     “Then let’s not argue.”

     Slowly, he pulled her closer, watching the pulse jump in her neck. She didn’t resist when he lowered his mouth to hers.

     Gunnar could have sworn her bones liquefied as she melted against him, into him. This was risky. It should stop. She was like a drug, the feel of her an addiction, and he feared if he didn’t break it off now, there would be no going back. He drank in a few more seconds before levering her away.

     His own ragged breathing drowned out the sound of hers, but her mouth opened and closed, evidence that she too struggled to form a coherent sentence. Desire snapped in the air between them, and he turned away before it could draw him back.

     What was he thinking, kissing her that way? He wasn’t—that was the problem. He hadn’t recognized how close he was to flashpoint and had allowed emotion to rule. Normally the emotion was anger. It was familiar, safe, he knew how to direct it, what to expect in retaliation.

     But this…altogether different. In the short time he’d known Tessa, she had infiltrated his core needs, forcing him to reevaluate his objectives, making him realize he still wanted things he’d long ago dismissed as impossible: a home, children, stability. Consequently, he feared things he hadn’t before: isolation, failure, dependence. It was too much, too soon.

     He hadn’t lied to her mother, he hardly knew her. Yet she had already influenced him in ways he couldn’t express. What would happen over time, six months maybe, when he became more attached and unable to let her go?

     When Tessa finally realized who and what he was?

     “We can’t do this,” he told her, looking back. Tessa stood frozen, catching her breath. “I won’t get us into a situation we’ll regret.”

     “But…”

     “You’re not ready for this.” The light of battle sparked to life in her eyes,

dissipating the haze of longing. “Neither am I.”

     “Because I’m a virgin,” she said, disgusted.

     “Yes.” He snapped the word out, but hearing the harshness of it, softened his tone. It wasn’t her fault he wanted her. Nor was he pushing her away because of her inexperience—at least not in the way she thought.

     “You’re innocent and I’m not. In any sense of the word.”

     Tessa crossed her arms. “So it’s your plan to keep turning me on and off like a light switch until when? Until you’re bored or decide to move back to your house?”

     “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

     “You want me.”

     It was a simple statement. He couldn’t have said why it sounded like a threat. “I do. But it’s not going to happen.”

BIO: Dana Pratola is a 47 yr. old mother of 3, married 25 yrs. The Lord is her Savior, writing is her passion and publishing inspirational books that show the grace of God is her ministry.

You can find Dana at

• her website: www.danapratola.webs.com
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/danapratola
• and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanaPratolaAuthor

You can find The Covering at Amazon.com, at the Pelican Book Group, and at Barnes and Noble Booksellers.

If you've read The Covering, give me a holler and let your thoughts be heard. And what was your latest read? Did you like it? I'm currently reading Songbird Under a German Moon by Tricia Goyer. I think it will be the topic of next Monday's review!


Blessings!