Hearts in the Storm

＂This is a touching story about loss, tragedy, and overcoming it. The way the author pulls you along spilling bits of the past only hints at the losses felt by Trista and Duck, but when the entire truth was revealed, it gave me goosebumps.＂ - Tina Marie Says Book Blog Review＂Seward’s capability for creating characters that you want to get to know is spectacular.＂ The Moral of Our Stories Book Blog Review＂The story flowed beautifully with suspense, emotions and secrets. I was engrossed until the last page.＂ Juniper Grove Book Blog ReviewA woman haunted by loss, a man shattered by failure, a wave-battered boat in the clutches of a monster storm, a love that reaches beyond the grave - Hearts in the Storm. Trista’s life has fallen apart. A failed marriage and the death of her daughter have left her struggling with loss and regret. Desperate to free her conscience, she formulates a plan that takes her to North Carolina’s Outer Banks on the anniversary of her daughter’s death. However, Hurricane Renee, a monster storm bearing down on the tiny barrier islands, threatens her perfect plan. In the face of the storm, only one man is willing to help her. Reluctantly, Trista accepts the help of an irresponsible drunkard known as ＂Duck.＂ Trista discovers that Duck is haunted by the death of his best friend. Together they drive a wave-battered boat into the teeth of the hurricane. Each one hopes to conquer the tempest that rages around them and the tempest that rages within.

Elmer Seward was born and raised along the Chesapeake Bay in southeast Virginia. Growing up, the cemetery behind his house was his playground. The metaphorical theme of death and rebirth that figures prominently in his novels is probably influenced in some way by the time that his mother heard, through the screened window, a small voice crying for help. Rushing from the house and through the yard, she discovered her all-too-curious six-year-old son at the bottom of a freshly dug grave. In that moment, he discovered that trouble is much easier to get into than it is to get out of. Sometimes we need help getting out of the hole that we jump into willingly. He is blessed to have a large blended family. He is also the reluctant servant of three crazy dogs, a Maltese and a Japanese Chin, and a BruMaltChiYorkie. All of these strongly influence the characters and events in his novels; however, his beautiful wife, Mitzi, is the true inspiration for the tender hearted but determined women in his stories.