Artist Listens to Heart, Creates Dream California Life

Honoring National California Day, best-selling author Mara Purl offers two of her award-winning books during a special campaign.

When The Heart Listens

Can an artist change the course of her life by listening to her “heart”? Is the California dream still alive? Does Small Town USA Offer Treasures the Big City can’t? The answer to all these questions is “Yes” according to author Mara Purl.

When the Heart Listens is a throbbing, vibrant novella that takes readers into the heart of family pressures, sibling rivalry, and the courage to create the California Dream. The Amazon Kindle E-book will be free for five days, February 22 through 26.

“I wrote this book at the request of my readers,” Purl admitted. “Three Central Coast book clubs had read the first two novels in my series, but wanted to know why my artist-protagonist had moved to Milford-Haven in the first place. I knew why—but I hadn’t written that part of the story. It turned out to be so important to the entire saga! It was a wonderful challenge and a joy to write this prequel.” The book went on to win ten book awards including the American Fiction, International, Independent Press and Global EBook Awards.

Based On Personal Experience

Best-selling, award-winning author Mara Purl weaves compelling facts into her story. Based in part on her personal experience as a successful journalist who left New York City to return to her own artistic roots, Purl delved into her own heart to find the resonating truths of this story.

The campaign will also feature the first novel in the series, What the Heart Knows, at a reduced price. In this book, as Miranda settles into her new home, we meet two other women who become her good friends. We also meet journalist Christine Christian who agrees to meet with a shady contact and then goes missing, which begins the series’ ongoing mystery storyline.

When the Heart Listens is part of Purl’s best-selling saga, Milford-Haven, which began as a hit BBC radio drama with 4.5 million listeners in the U.K., and became a multi-award winning book series with 17 million followers in the U.S. The series is set in California’s scenic Central Coast, where Purl regularly researches her stories, and is a frequent speaker.

Reviews For When The Heart Listens

“Once again Purl pulls out all the stops and goes straight to the heart of the story. This is where it all began – Miranda’s quest for the life she wasn’t aware she wanted and needed. It’s comforting to know that listening to your heart over your common sense is, at times, the right thing to do.” – Linda Thompson, The Authors Show

“When the Heart Listens by Mara Purl is a novel featuring two wildly different sisters. This book highlights the importance of maintaining family bonds even in one’s adult life as we are taken through the many highs and lows of the Jones family and the relationship between the Jones sisters. Above all, the message of following your heart and dreams is embedded very well in this story and will undoubtedly influence readers in a positive way. Overall, Mara Purl’s family saga is a captivating story with a fully developed plot, detailed descriptions, and heartwarming characters.” – Elite Choice Reviews
– Elite Choice Awards (Winner-Gold-Fiction)

Reader comments:

“Sinking into the world of Milford-Haven’s core family, it’s such fun to get to know them better and learn that I like them all, albeit for different reasons. There is a true brilliance to your work, your vision, and the only thing needed is to carry on and finish each segment and braid them all together. I am cheering you on!”
– Laurie Jameson, WILLA award-winning author

“I have enjoyed so much reading When the Heart Listens. It was so lovely I didn’t want it to end . . . and I see the series doesn’t end! I will continue to read your beautiful writing! And I will share with my mom and my sister and friends!”
– Julie Scroggs, Seattle

“Reading When the Heart Listens made me realize how important it was for me to have [the protagonist’s] history. I am really captivated by Miranda. [Having read some of your books before,] now I’m at a place where I want to go back and really read them in order from start to finish.”
– Carol Schmidt, Shell Beach, California

About Mara Purl

For her Milford-Haven Novels, Mara was named 2019 Top Female Author for Fiction by the Authors Show. To date, her book series has won more than 60 book awards, and has topped multiple best-seller lists on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Her novels, novellas and novelettes with their gorgeous watercolor book covers and engaging mix of romance and mystery are sought after by her mostly female readers, where Mara has become a trail blazer for both Women’s Fiction and Small Town fiction.

Mara, who has appeared on stage and on-camera since childhood, played the recurring character “Darla Cook” on NBC’s Days of Our Lives.

She then founded a production company and created Milford-Haven U.S.A., a serial drama loosely based upon Cambria. The show, co-starring a well-known L.A. based cast including Erin Gray, Linda Purl, Ed Begley, Jr., Michael Horse, and several others, became the first American radio drama to air on BBC radio, where it enjoyed a following of 4.5 million listeners. Purl’s story later came to the attention of New York publishers, who began publishing her novel series in hardcover in 2011. Since then, her books have become national best-sellers, as have her novellas,

Mara has an on-line following of 17 million when she does her blog tours. She is a frequent guest on radio talk shows, and also speaks for the American Heart Association, for women’s organizations, for writers’ conferences and for colleges and universities. Mara and her books have a large following nationally and particularly in California. Along with her work as an author, speaker and performer, she consults on other authors’ book projects.

Find more from Mara Purl:

When The Heart Listens will be available in e-book format at no charge from February 22 through February 26, 2022 at https://www.amazon.com/Mara-Purl/e/B07PZT64XX/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1.

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