This image is the cover for the book Compass of the Heart

Compass of the Heart

When Steve Bernard finds his college classmate Ava Jones stranded in the rain, he takes his chance to be a knight in shining armor and offer her a ride home. Only instead of a white steed, he’s driving a white Volkswagen camper van named Pearl.

State by state, Ava and Steve get to know each other on the road trip of a lifetime. When they reach the West Coast, will the compass of Ava’s heart point toward a new home?

Compass of the Heart is a short story originally included in the Loving Hearts anthology in honor of Richard and Mildred Loving

Eliana West

Eliana West, the recipient of the 2022 Nancy Pearl Award for genre fiction, is committed to embracing diversity in her writing. That means she doesn’t limit herself to a single genre. Instead, Eliana welcomes every story that comes her way with open arms. She aims to create characters that reflect the diversity of her community, with a range of social backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations. Eliana loves to weave in historical elements whenever she can. She believes everyone deserves a happy ending.
 
From small towns to close-knit communities, Eliana West loves stories that bring people from different backgrounds together through the common language of unconditional love and acceptance. Eliana is a passionate advocate for diversity within the writing community. She is the founder of Writers for Diversity and teaches classes and workshops, encouraging writers to create diverse characters and worlds with an empathetic approach.
 
When Eliana isn’t plotting her characters’ happy endings, she can be found embarking on adventures with her husband, traversing winding country roads in their beloved vintage Volkswagen Westfalia, affectionately named Bianca. Whether it’s traveling abroad or exploring locally, Eliana and her husband are always willing to get lost and see where the adventure takes them.
 
Eliana loves connecting with readers through her website: www.elianawest.com.
 

Second Press