The Twenty Million Dollar Give-Away

About the Book

This is a story of Marc Mackey, a dance instructor whose ambition, romances, greed and generosity drive the action. He is anxious to escape his poor background by teaching ballroom dancing. He is shifted from studio to studio because of his romantic involvements. He and Paula, a married woman, have a passionate love affair, but she leaves him to move to California with her husband. Saddened, he looks for a professional partner but is diverted by the attention he gives to rich, lonely widows he services, with patience but little pleasure, if they will take him on trips and buy him presents. When he meets Miriam Mathews his life changes. She grew up in an orphanage and through hard work and ability becomes a successful bank executive until a merger forces her to retire at age forty-eight. He considers her a good financial prospect but soon is in love with her. At first, she repulses him but later they have a frustrating affair. She dies as a result of cosmetic surgery but not before she sets up a trust fund and a million dollar bonus if Marc becomes a world dance champion. He and Andrea win acclaim as World Dance Champions. Their brief marriage is blighted by her drug habit and after the death of their infant son, Marc divorces her. Having spent most of the million dollar prize money he decides to look for a rich woman to support his expensive tastes. In Oklahoma City he finds Merrill Burnham, a seventy-year-old, oil-rich widow, and he becomes her traveling companion and lover. When she dies he inherits forty million dollars and his conscience asserts itself. He decides to give at least half of his inheritance to people who have been influential in his life. Eventually he locates Paula and finds she has borne him a daughter. They start a new life together.

About the Author

The Author spent many years in Administration in Higher Education. After retiring she took up ballroom dancing for fun, earning 118 gold awards in a span of three years. Since that time she has concentrated on Theater Arts presentations and has appeared in 23 throughout the country. Her interest in writing has been lifelong, but due to her busy schedule could only surface. Her many achievements and honors have earned her a place in various volumes of celebrity, including several "Who's Who" books.