Writing from Your Heart #RB4U #Cleveland_Quarries #melissa_keir

Writing From Your Heart

Hello and welcome back to another visit with your favorite small-town author. What were your favorite things to do as a child? I grew up outside of town on a two acre spread with trees for climbing, a play house my father built and a winding road to ride my bike on. With four younger sisters, we were always running around the property playing make believe or games like Mother May I or Red Light, Green Light.

One of our favorite places to play was the property across the street from our house. I never really knew who owned it, but they let Mother Nature reclaim it with vines, trees and boulders. My sisters and I would go over there and live in our pretend houses (boulders) or save the day like Charlie's Angels. 

A few times, the place became dangerous like when someone on motor bikes chased us through the trails. Luckily for us, we didn't need to stay on the cleared areas. We could climb over the rocks, swing on the vines and escape. Along one wall, a tombstone stood etched on the tall wall, never having been removed for a loved one. Just imagine our story about her!

It was in this magical place that I created my setting for my latest release- My Secret Mate.  This wild land had once been a quarry where local masons dug Berea Sandstone from the pits. These men used their strength to dig out large slabs of stone which were used in local homes, as well as important buildings across the United States. 

I fell in love with the adventures I had in the woods. They became a second

home for me--a place to reflect, a place to search and a place to grow. In essence a place of my heart and one I couldn't wait to include in a book.

What better place for a dragon to guard a magic pond where the water has healing properties- a sort of Fountain of Youth? Sean Mackenzie is a shifter, but not only does he change his shape into a dragon but also a large black dog. He meets his soul mate when she's too young, but the dog saves the day on more than one occasion, giving her time to grow up--if the bad guys will allow it.

Luckily for my Sean and Macy, I give them a happily ever after but I did leave the reader wondering about other magical places and the beings that protect them!

Growing up, Macy Waters leaned on a special pet who came to her during some of her most trying times. Now she’s grown up and must face returning to her childhood home alone, after the death of her parents.

Sean MacKenzie waited years for his mate to grow up, silently watching over her. Now, he’s ready to claim her and make her his.

As Sean shares his secret with Macy, can she learn to love a man who is something more, or will she give up on her own magical happy ending?

Fall for a Shifter Who Has Waited a Lifetime for his Mate….

Available in print as a standalone and in a box set; Daydreams and Night Desires-- in ebook

Happy Reading,

Melissa Keir

www.melissakeir.com

Can Love Heal? I Believe.... #RB4U @melissa_keir

Can Love Heal?

I have always believed in love and romance. It's a part of the reason I read romance novels. They always feature a happily ever after, no matter what the challenges that the couple faces, whether it's another woman or their own stubbornness. I love to write about my thoughts and feelings. Here's a piece I wrote about love...

Words are inadequate to explain love. If people like Shakespeare struggle with it, who would think that I could? Trust me, I’ve tried and I am not often at a loss for words. The ones that I choose seem to lack the full experience. It is like looking at photograph of cheesecake when you are dieting and starving. It lacks the full experience. I can tell you how he makes me feel. I feel like a whole person. I can be myself and know that even no matter how yucky, he will love and accept me. No matter how tight he holds me, I feel only safe not trapped.  I feel beautiful at 3 am in the morning without my makeup on and my hair sticking up. Rather than dismiss my ideas, he listens, asks questions and is open to what I am saying. When I help him with something, I am a superhero! And yet, with these words, I only scratch the surface. Just by putting the words to paper, I find that it isn’t complete. It is still like trying to catch smoke in your hands…always slipping through your fingers.  

Maybe water is a better way to describe love... No matter how much you have, you can always have more. Everyone deserves and needs it. While it is everywhere, it is hard to hold on to, you have to be adaptable to even grasp a drop. It is powerful enough to light a city or move a mountain and gentle enough to cradle you as you float in it. It cleanses and fills you up. It never really dies but changes forms, passion to comfort. It soothes and comforts you. It nourishes your soul.

Someone recently asked why I write romance... this is why... Love is everlasting and does heal the soul. It's healed mine and I hope through my own stories, it's helped others, whether providing an escape, a second chance or a dream of what might be. If I've brought someone pleasure, friendship or love... it's worth it!

If you enjoy these musings (and recipes and poetry), you can find more in my book- Musings of a Mad-Cap Mind available in ebook and print. 

One woman’s musings become another woman’s courage… 

What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you worry about the person you’ve become? Sitting down at the computer, Melissa spent many hours reflecting on her life, family, and relationships. These musings, recipes, and poems tell the tale of one woman's changing thoughts and feelings about life. 
Come along with her as she explores her reflections, using her words which mirror her changes. 

Amazon ebook and print

All about Love

Valentine's Day is coming up soon, and although I'm not an authority on love I'm a romantic suspense author who writes about love.  The old saying: Love thy neighbor as you do yourself comes to mind.  Who do you love?

There are many different kinds of love. For instance, love between spouses, love between parents and their children, love between siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles and a whole slew of people.  I love everyone even those I don't really like because I care what happens to them.

In many cases there are varying degrees of affection for the people you care about.  Of course, you're going to love those who are the closest to you like your husband, children and other family members, but there's always room for others. 

Friends come to mind for me and I have several lifelong friends.  I have great affection for them, or I wouldn't have stayed in touch with them.  You can love neighbors who become friends when you have lived next to them for years. 

Is it possible to love someone who hurts you?  I draw the line at loving people who abuse others physically or mentally, but I write about them in my stories.  I even humanize them with some background about them, but I can't care for them in their present lives because they chose the wrong path.  Or in my stories, the path I chose for my character.  This is when you have to care and love the victim.

I love my hubby more than anyone.  When my mother was alive it was a tossup between hubby and mom because I loved them both equally, although, in totally different ways.  My siblings and children are next in line, and then the rest of the family, friends, etc. 

Who matters most to you?

Sandra K. Marshall

http://www.eirelander-publishing.com
http://www.sandramarshallblog.blogspot.com