Guest Post: HEATHER TERRELL: FALLEN ANGEL Author

On her tour for the YA paranormal FALLEN ANGEL, the lovely Heather Terrell, is kind enough to join us today and provide a guest post. She's also written the adult novels THE MAP THIEF, THE CHRYSALIS, and BRIGID OF KILDARE. All three involved exotic locals so we asked: 

“If you've traveled for research, what has been the most interesting/memorable country and experience?”

 Little did we know she'd have such an amazing story! Take it away, Heather!

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 "My writing aspires to unravel the larger mysteries of time, so I travel a lot for my work.  Ordinarily, I love the travel I undertake to write my books; it whisks me off to places and worlds I otherwise couldn’t imagine.  But a few years back, I started off one particular trip with uncharacteristically low expectations.  Little did I know what was in store for me. 

As I wound my way through the serpentine passport control line at the Hong Kong International Airport on that fateful day, I felt exhausted and depleted from the twenty hour flight from New York.  My aspirations at that moment fixed on a long, hot shower and two weeks trotting around Asia with my brother as I did some research for what would turn out to be my second book, The Map Thief.  Yet, as I inched forward in that line, shoulder to shoulder with strangers from around the globe, I unwittingly moved toward a gateway to a different existence -- a soulmate. 

As I neared the front of that momentous passport control line, I realized that I had failed to fill out my landing card.  The crowd pushed me toward the intimidating Chinese security guard scrutinizing passports and cards, and I braved the throngs to my left and right for a pen and some quick information.  A gaggle of cheery Aussies offered a dizzying array of writing instruments but no plane details, so I scanned the line for a likely candidate from my New York flight.  Directly behind me stood a tall, handsome guy with big brown eyes, wearing a Polo shirt and carrying a computer bag emblazoned with the logo KPMG New York, signifying the global accounting firm.  Aha, I thought, a contender.

Indeed he was.  With unwavering patience and kindness, he helped me fill out that suddenly not-so-annoying card.  We walked together down the airport’s labyrinthine hallways to the baggage claim, chatting with surprising energy and vigor given the flight.  We talked with the familiarity and ease of old acquaintances.  Our suitcases appeared punctually, and I found myself disappointed that none had gone astray.  For with our bags came our farewell.  Or so I thought.

True, we didn’t see each other for another three months.  I flew out of Hong Kong almost as soon as I landed, and he settled in for the long haul as an ex-pat.  But when we did reconnect, we quickly embarked on a trans-world whirlwind that included a second date on a resort off the coast of Singapore and subsequent trips through Thailand, Cambodia, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Ireland, the UK, Bali, Scotland, Bermuda, New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti, and Bora Bora -- in that order. 

We didn’t have a dinner and movie date for nearly nine months, when we were both finally living in New York City.  And normalcy never really set it; we jetted off to Italy, Austria, Germany, and Hawaii within a few seasons of our return.  When our wedding announcement appeared in the New York Times two years after we met – almost to the day – it dawned on me that the singular moment in the passport control line of the Hong Kong airport led to this new life path, an aisle if you will, with someone I otherwise might have never met."

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What a brilliant love story! It's right out of the pages of a romance novel. Just when you think things like this don't really happen, Heather gives us all hope! Thanks for stopping by and sharing such a wonderful, true-life tale.

FALLEN ANGEL is available now and you can look for our review Jan. 25. the sequel, ETERNITY, is out June 28. Learn more about Heather on her WEBSITE.