Something has been missing from my life…by Sheila Claydon

Something has been missing from my life for a long time but I haven’t been able to figure out what it is. Now I know. I’d lost my writing companion.

Anyone who has visited my website at www.sheilaclaydon.com will know that I lost my beloved dog Newton nearly 3 years ago. It was very sudden and he was far too young, and after the heartbreak was over we agreed no more dogs. Why? Well we have friends and family who we visit in Australia, Canada and America, and we also like to travel abroad with our friends, so having a dog is impractical. Obviously. We are also getting older which means that having a puppy is impractical. Obviously. So if we ever think about getting another dog (which we are not going to do) it will have to be an adult who is already house-trained and well away from its teenage years. Obviously.

That was last month’s conversation. This month we welcomed Elfie to our home. She’s eight weeks old, cries when we put her to bed, and has to be taken outside a dozen times a day. Totally impractical. Obviously.

After only 4 days, however, the gap in my life has closed. Elfie is already a constant companion who likes nothing better than to lie on a blanket at my feet while I’m writing just as long as I give her some attention when I take a break. Soon we’ll be able to go walking together too, to explore all the places Newton loved so much. Places that have featured in some of my books. 

In wind and rain, as well as in sunshine, the wild beach, the woods and the sand hills will become part of my daily life again. I’ll no longer be the fair weather walker I’ve become in recent years. Walking with Elfie will inspire new books too. I have my writing companion again.

The books inspired by my walks with Newton can be found at amazon.com/author/sheilaclaydon  and Mending Jodie’s Heart (Book I of the When Hearts Meet trilogy) is set amongst the sand hills and woods that we walked together.

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When musician Marcus Lewis buys the derelict farmhouse next to Jodie’ Eriksson's riding school he doesn’t know whether to be amused or irritated by her angry reaction to his plans. Then her sister Izzie visits him and makes things a whole lot worse…or is it better…because now he has an excuse to see Jodie again. Although, when he sees her, it’s not exactly a meeting of minds, they do discover they have one thing in common; they both believe they know what’s best for Izzie, and for Marcus' son Luke.

It turns out they’re wrong. The children they thought they were protecting need to be set free. It’s Jodie and Marcus who have the problem; but can two broken hearts make one whole one? The battle lines that were set when they first met have long since been breached but the war won’t be over until Jodie learns how to trust again, and until Marcus allows himself to believe in his son.
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