The Heart Collector- Feb Blog

Last year I released The Heart Collector and I must say, it's one of my favorite Madison Creek Township novellas. 

When I was younger, I heard about someone writing a letter to their "older" self concerning the guy they hoped to eventually marry. I thought that was a brilliant idea! So, I did the same thing. 

You know, planning out these thing in advance is prudent for a young girl who has a whole life spread out before her. 

I kept that letter in my special box, waiting year after year for me to open before I married Mr. Right.
And that night before my wedding, I opened my secret box, pulled out the yellowed envelope, and slowly opened it. The penmanship was in childish print, odd sized letters and hearts over the i's. The paper was torn from a school notebook and still had the ripped tabs running down the side. 

Taking a deep breath, I read through the letter, written by my younger self. 

Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash

After about halfway through the letter, I was laughing so hard, I almost fell off the bed.

Yeah, I didn't pick a guy like I described. Not at all. And that's probably a good thing. Don't you think?

Many, many years later, I was talking with some friends about that letter. We were all laughing about it. Turns out, I'm not the only one who'd done such a thing. Later, it hit me. What if a young girl had written out such a description of her dream man, and someone found it? Someone who also had aspirations for his future wife.

And that, my friends, is how a story was born. 

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​Collecting hearts helped Sara to keep from losing hope.

Sara stared at the heart-shaped stone. She scooped it up and placed it in her pocket to put in her treasured collection. These hearts were safe and not easily broken. Not like Sara's had been shattered after losing her husband.
Fear rules her heart now. Fear of loss. Of more brokenness. Yes, the little stone hearts are safe.

Daniel stared at the old note he’d found cleaning out his desk. Long ago, his childhood sweetheart had made a list of what she expected in a husband. He crumpled the paper. Years ago, he’d set out to meet those requirements only to lose Sara to another man. One who met none of her expectations!
Now she’s back in Madison Creek, broken and in need of help, along with her pre-teen son. Daniel turned his thoughts away from her. She’d broken his heart once before. He wouldn’t let it happen again.

Is love strong enough to mend broken hearts?
A story of second chances rising from the ashes of fear and loss.

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So, once I had the story idea, I had to come up with characters to populate it. 

From the start, I pictured Sara Haven as a polished river rock. She is steady, but worn down from life's travesties. She's reserved, yet determined to remain standing. She has to for her son, Alexander. 
​

Sara Haven is afraid to really live. To let anyone in. The future is so uncertain and she often worries that might not live to see 40. She’s letting fear rule her actions. Despite that, she’s still tries to remember that God is the master of her future. Not her sickness. So she collects hearts to remind herself that God loves her and is in control of her life. 

I found this picture of Michelle Williams who had played in two of my favorite movies, The Greatest Showman and Oz The Great and Powerful. 

Sara is a widow with an eleven-year-old precocious son, Alex Haven. They've both traveled around the world with her deceased husband who was building churches in third world countries before they return to Madison Creek, hoping for a fresh start, 

Alex and his mother have moved around several times since Dad passed away. Alex can make friends quick, but is somewhat reserved and chooses his friends carefully. Over the past couple of years, he’s not made as many because he hates losing people. 

His deepest fear is that he’ll lose his Mom, too, So he does his best to take care of her and makes sure she takes care of herself. It's a full-time job.

He tries hard to not bring his mother more problems, but moving to the tiny lakeside town where he has to deal with his crotchety old step-grandpa George Alton, who growls at him to not touch anything, is a bit much sometimes. Granny Daisy isn't so bad, but she is always trying to get him to eat cookies and put a bit of meat on his bones.

I found this picture when I went searching for Alex. Those eyes! They're old soul eyes and fit Alexander Haven perfectly. 

Daniel McAlister is a carpenter that used to be a lawyer. 

He left corporate work, hating the stress it caused him. He’d always liked working with his hands, but felt he’d never make a sustainable living at his father's small sign shop. His dad’s business paid the bills, but while growing up, they had little else.

Daniel wanted to provide for the woman he would someday marry, which he’d hoped would be Sara. When she married another man, he lost his heart for life.

After deciding that being a lawyer really wasn't for him, Daniel returned to a quieter life in Madison Creek. His father was getting up in age and now a widower who lived alone. 

After being part in a court case that ruined someone’s life, Daniel decided it was time to return to his roots and what he truly loved doing. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that he'd ever come across Sara again. 

When he does, all he wants to do is turn around and run far, far away from her before she broke his heart again. At least, until he learns the truth about her past few years and once again, he's lost his heart to the heart collector. 

I found this picture of the hunky Hallmark hero Brennan Elliott that seems to fit how I see Daniel pretty well. 

Finally, there's Daniel's father Paul McAlister who wraps up the cast of the Heart Collector. 

Paul believes that as long as he's breathing, then there's life to be living and he plans to live each day to it's fullest. 

I actually have a piece of post-it not in my story notebook that's titled, Paul's ladies. He has a few that he's sweet on. Unfortunately, the feeling isn't always mutual.

If you've read Sun Kisses, from Madison Creek B&B novels, then you might recall running across the two McAlister men. 

I had so much fun writing Paul's story line. 

I'm not sure who this is a picture of, but to me, it's Paul McAlister all the way, from the hat and pipe to those mischievous eyes. 

So, there you go, the main casts of The Heart Collector. 

Of course, there's a few other favorite characters that pop in and out of this story. You might be surprised to learn that Sara is Haley Madison's cousin. Well, Haley's dear ol' Aunt Daisy is Sara's grandmother, so there you go. 

It's a small world. isn't it?

​The scripture for this book comes from Psalm 61:2.

From the ends of the Earth, I call to You.
I call as my heart grows faint, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
You are my hope dear Lord. My heart forever rests in Your hands. 

For the whole month of February, The Heart Collector will be on sale for only .99¢ on all distributors. 

Amazon

B & N

Kobo

iBooks

​I had a few songs that went along with The Heart Collector, but I picked this one to share with you. It seems to sum up the story best. Below will be a list of places where you can pick up your own copy of The Heart Collector. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. ​