~ Disney's Pinocchio

Today I'm sharing some thoughts (and some questions) about wishing because I've been getting into the mind and life of the main character in my next novel, Wish Upon a Sea Star. Her name is Leah St. James and she was brought up in Florida by her single adoptive mother, Estelle.

Estelle taught Leah a lot about nature, particularly the ocean and the abundance of starfish (aka sea stars) on the coast. "Perfect for wishing on," Estelle would always say. Leah also learned a lot about wishing for things she didn't have. Before Estelle adopted her, Leah wished for a real home, a family. After graduation, she wished to help people, so she studied to become a social worker. When Estelle died, Leah wished for a place she could call home, and again, she wished for a family to call her own.

As motivated by Estelle, Leah has always made her wishes on sea stars, instead of the stars that shine in the sky. As she has grown into adulthood, she has also learned many difficult lessons about how wishes don't always come true. Perhaps you can relate?

As the novel begins, Leah is in her early fifties and has been making her home in Seahaven (a fictional town in coastal Maine) for several years. She has a close friend named Anna, a career she loves at Seahaven Children & Family Services, and she is recovering from three things: breast cancer, a husband who left her during her treatments, and the loss of her beloved cat, Buddy.

So I'm curious what wisdom you might lend to me about what Leah might be wishing for at this point in her life. Can you relate to any of her losses? If so, what did you wish for then?

Please reply to this email with your thoughts on wishing. I'd love to hear from you and will always respond.

In closing, I offer this quote to you by a beloved author who has many inspiring books about gratitude, abundance, moving on, peace, and more:

~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

 🏆 February Give-Away Winners 🏆

a paperback copy of The Book Charmer, by Patty Hawkins.

Patty from Illinois

Barbara from New York

A lovely and timely “plus” is the writing about the solar eclipse. I’ve never thought much about the stars or eclipses before, but now I’m inspired! Plus, there’s a labyrinth, an art house, and a boy who can fly (with lucid dreaming).

To enter, just fill out the short form here

and I'll do a random drawing

I will send you an email notice that you've won,

(NOTE: I use the random generator at random.org to choose the winners

Greetings! Thanks for reading my author newsletter! This is me at the registration table last fall for our annual KaleidoSoul SoulCollage weekend retreat. If you aren't sure what SoulCollage is, check out my KaleidoSoul website here.

In between newsletters, I'll be posting more often on Instagram, my blog, and/or my Facebook Author page, so please be sure to visit me there too.

Also, don't forget to enter our April fiction give-away, Every Soul A Star.

and keep on shining,