After being abandoned at the age of two and a half, Holly Hillman was raised without whimsy or fantasy. She was taught that there were no such things as Santa Claus, fairies, elves or any other accepted fantasies that help a child deal with the harder realities of life. Now in her forties, she is the CEO of a Fortune 400 company. She rose to the top through hard work, but also by living without distractions or social attachments. Despite her rigidly ingrained dedication, Holly was content with her life, having never lived by any other tenet. Everything was perfect until she was required to give her DNA as part of a health check leading up her company’s merger with an Asian conglomerate.

The results of her test unlocked the secret of her unique ancestry, leading to her having to confront a fantastical truth that would forever change her views on life and reality itself.

Holly Hillman is one hard-nosed businesswoman. Raised by adoptive parents who were religious zealots, she entertains no fantasies and few illusions. Her laser focus on her career has brought her to the very top—she is the CEO of Marshall Whiteman Logistics. Success has come at a cost, though. Holly has virtually no personal life or private time. And her approach to business makes Mr. Potter from It’s a Wonderful Life look like a philanthropist.

All this changes when MWL enters an agreement to buy a Hong Kong-based company, the Ling Chow Group. As part of the deal, the Chinese insist that the essential people at MWL have a DNA test at a lab in Greenland. Holly’s test reveals an anomaly, so she returns to Greenland for a retest, where she learns that her biological father is—Santa Claus!

As you might imagine, the story now requires considerable suspension of disbelief on the reader’s part. Author Chris Coppel makes a valiant effort to inject science (and maybe some pseudo-science) into explaining Santa, but there’s still more than a little high-powered magic. The plot teeters between science fiction and fantasy, and it isn’t always evident which is in play.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what pigeonhole the book fits in. It is an enjoyable, feel-good read with a perhaps slightly sappy conclusion. But as I’ve noted before, I like happy endings, even if they come with a dose of saccharine.

Like Scrooge, chastised by the spirit visitations, Holly’s association with the Jolly Old Elf causes her to re-evaluate her life and transform from an automaton-like CEO to a relatable human being. It’s a genuine pleasure to see this happen.

Chris Coppel was born in California. His family moved to Europe, living in Spain, France, Switzerland and mainly England. He has written numerous screenplays but Far From Burden Dell is his first novel. He taught advanced screenwriting at U.C.L.A.

Chris is also an accomplished drummer and guitarist. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Clare, and their very own scaredy-cat, Samantha.