Heart of My Heart »

Stella's interest in writing began in grade school when she attempted to describe the love of her life...a dog named Rover. The essay was a bit of a flop, but from this first endeavor Stella's writing career began to blossom.

Books and reading have been a central part of Stella's life—from fiction to the phone book and just about every subject in between. Reading Gone with the Wind—all six-hundred and eighty-nine double-columned pages—ignited Stella's interest in romance, prompting her to secretly dream of someday meeting her very own Rhett Butler.

But over the years, Stella had little or no opportunity to write, unless you count university essays, business proposals and to-do lists. Instead, Stella kept busy with a number of careers—from nurse, to ambulatory care director, to certified management accountant and systems analyst. All of them had a purpose, but none satisfied Stella's creative drive to write.

Finally, fate offered Stella the chance to devote her energies to writing. Delighted at the opportunity, she wasted little time in getting organized. But Stella's path to publishing success had more twists and turns than the plot of The Bourne Ultimatum. Stella wrote eleven manuscripts and was crowned 'Rejection Queen' of her local RWA chapter. She was pretty darn close to quitting when things finally took a turn for the better.

Stella had been writing a romance review column for the Chronicle Herald in Halifax, Nova Scotia, when opportunity knocked in the form of an interview with Debbie Macomber and her editor, Paula Eykelhof, at the RWA Conference in Reno, Nevada. Having had her share of setbacks in life,Stella haslearned to listen to her heart and to that wee, little voice that encourages her to be open to every possibility. The interview in Reno changed everything.

In April 2008, Stella's book, Heart of My Heart, will be available in stores. A second book, tentatively titled Love Always, has yet to be given a publication date, but Stella has high hopes she'll know the release date soon.

In the meantime, Stella continues to write and invites you to contact her through her Web site.

"You'll always be a part of my life."

When James McElroy said those words, seventeen-year-old Olivia Banks believed him. And when she discovered she was pregnant with his child, she expected to marry the love of her life. Instead, the young couple was separated. Olivia thought she'd been abandoned and was forced to accept another man's offer to marry her and raise the boy as his own.

Now, decades later, the truth reunites James and Olivia. They are husband and wife at long last. As James lies ill in a hospital bed, Olivia recounts her life with--and without--him. Their story gives her faith that the heart of her heart will return to her again. Because her first love is her last love--her only love.