Thank you for supporting my novel,
The Miracle of a Broken Heart
You can make a donation to help cover the remaining costs of publishing this book by using the PayPal button above. An excerpt from the novel is written below. I invite you to read it and briefly step inside Katie McNaulty's world.
Chapter One
As Katie’s flight circled into Logan Airport—her stomach feeling each jolt of the descent—she couldn’t help but be reminded of entering an old elevator with the bad habit of lurching to a stop at every floor on the way down. Trying to calm her nerves, she kept her eyes locked on her window, at the thin layer of fog looming over Boston like smoke wafting over a bed of hot coals.
She got off the plane, making note of the red, white, and blue banner floating over the entrance to the airport. “Welcome to Boston” it said. Anxiety and fear welled up inside of her at the prospect of arriving in a city she didn’t know late at night. But she refused to let the fear overcome her. She was going to make it. This was her dream.
Grabbing her suitcase off the carousel, she paid for a cart and walked quickly to the airline kennel to pick up her beloved pets—a yellow lab named Owen and a black cat named Magic. Owen barked a greeting from inside his kennel, Magic following suit with a raspy meow as she approached.
A woman from the airline helped her load her caged pets onto a cart and wheel her luggage out to the curb to hail a cab. The driver, seeing the pets, said, “No, missy, no like dogs.” She hailed a second driver who also refused to take them, claiming he was allergic to cats. Just as she was starting to get a little worried, a cab pulled up and a woman hopped out, introducing herself as Ellen. She took a biscuit from her pocket for Owen and a kitty treat for Magic. Katie breathed a sigh of relief and a silent prayer of thanks. Ellen put the luggage in the trunk and opened the back door of the cab. Katie slid Magic’s cage in first, then attached Owen to his leash and led him into the back seat.
She provided the address of her new home, and Ellen sped off like a New York City cabbie, saying she liked Boston at that time of night. Before she knew it, Katie was confiding in the driver her nervousness about moving to a big city.
“What’s your name? Where are you from?” Ellen asked.
“Katie McNaulty. I’m from Buffalo, New York.”
“Oh, Buffalo! Lots of snow!”
Katie laughed. “Well, Boston got almost as much as we did last year, and we have many more things to be proud of than snowfall—we have amazing architecture, beautiful park systems, delicious hometown restaurants, and friendly people!”
Ellen assured Katie that Boston was a great place to live; she had lived here for twenty years.
When they pulled up in front of the brownstone, Ellen hopped out of the car to take the luggage up to the front door. Katie fished around in her purse for keys and money as she stepped out of the cab. Any remaining anxiety she had about purchasing a new home dissipated the moment she stopped to admire the cream-colored steps lined by wrought-iron railings and the elegant, tall double doors leading into the building. She breathed another sigh of relief. This had been the right decision.
Clutching Magic’s cage and hanging onto Owen’s leash, Katie unlocked the door and paid the fare, adding a generous tip.
“You’ll be fine here,” Ellen said. “It’s a great neighborhood.”
Once inside, Katie allowed Owen to run free. She couldn’t wait to tour her new home. Built in the 1800s, she could see the house had gone through several renovations. She could feel her anxiety being replaced with excitement.