The second book I wrote, Eli’sHeart, is a love story and more. Krissy Porter and Eli Levin meet as youngteens when Eli, who is a piano prodigy, visits his older sister in Krissy’stown in Tennessee in the summer of 1953. They become good friends and are onthe verge of romance, but their relationship is ended by Eli’s over-protectivefamily. They find their way back to each other while college students and marry on Krissy’s twentieth birthday. 

The story continues as each of them builds a career in the music world. While Eli was born with an unusual gift for music, he also was bornwith a seriously damaged heart. Despite the challenge of never knowing when the various repairs on Eli’s heart might give out, Krissy and Eli enjoy a happy life. 

 

Perhaps Rachmaninoff’s famous quote,“Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music”prompted me to include in the romance the thought of reincarnation. When Krissy andEli find their way back to each other while college undergraduates, their relationship blossoms into a deep and intense love. Krissy isconvinced they are soul mates who have been together in a previous life. Howelse would Eli have such a remarkable ability to play piano with such technicalproficiency and such depth of emotion? Why else would they both have thisstrong sense that they belong together?

 

Learning more about the craft ofwriting over an additional fifteen novels prompted me to write a second editionof Eli’s Heart. There are no changes in the story, but in particular theearly chapters of the book have been tightened up by removing over fivethousand words and using less narration and more dialogue. Now the charactersare telling more of their story. I began the process nearly six years ago, butadditional books interfered. However, now I am ready to publish therevision, and it will be in print soon. The first edition was published in2014. I also adjusted the formatting to make the book an easier read, whichmeans that though there are fewer words, there are more pages. There is also a new cover, though the photo is the same one that appeared on the original: the hands of a dear friend and exceptional pianist, Scott Besser.

 

Readers of the first edition hadpraise for the book; they found it worth the read and the romance moved them.Music is Eli’s and Krissy’s life, and there are many passages about musicthroughout the book …always written from the viewpoint of the performer and/orthe listener. How music affects us is what makes it vital to life. Recently Ilearned of this quote from another great composer, Gabriel Fauré: “To me –music exists to elevate us as far as possible above everyday life.” Listeningand performing great music and allowing it to fill our being is an experiencelike no other. I hope I have managed to convey some sense of that in the book.

 

One reader’s response:

Eli’s Heart is a song from the heart.It is more than a coming of age for two young people—Eli with a damaged heart,and Krissy, with the love to embrace it. It is a romantic tale rich withintrospective detail between two people who met young and were not whole until theyjoined forces. It transcends the typical story of two people beatinginsurmountable odds. It is a story of living life to the fullest despite theodds. This provides a deep look into the world of music. Eli’s Heart isa musical delight, intertwining life and its drama with music.