Compass Star

Tales of love, lost and found. Eight short stories centered around the ocean, and the people who find each other on their journeys. The long awaited follow up to A Long Drive to the Coast (2019), James Heaton takes the reader on a trip through the lives and struggles of people searching the world for truth and love. From the streets of Savannah Georgia to the coast of California, James takes his readers on a journey of discovery, two lovers looking for nothing more than true happiness in a world of second chances and true love. Each story is an original tale of romance and the search for fulfillment.
The Treasure is one of eight beautiful stories included in A Compass Star. It is the tale of Jason and Eliza as they search for a long lost book and in the process find something more valuable than they could have ever imagined. Set in the town of Savannah Georgia, The Treasure is a modern day love story that explores the lives of two souls as they discover the connection we all search for. Heart-wrenching and wholesome stories that offer a glimpse of love in the real world.
James' work is often described as a harmonious mix of classic and modern love stories, where love is mixed with tragedy and enlightenment. From the chilling tales of two lovers searching for a lost book in The Treasure, to the haunting tale of a brother searching for his lost sister in The Witches House. Including updated versions of the classics, Elizabeth Jenkins and What the Tide Brings in.
Eight brilliant stories of love that will bring tears to your eyes and a smile to your face. A must read for anyone ever enchanted by the magic of Savannah, Georgia.

Excerpt from The Treasure:
And then in my mind I remembered the first time Ellen came into the store. I remembered how we laughed at our first encounter and how amazed I was at her the first moment that I saw her. In my mind I travelled through all the moments we had been together. The first kiss at the counter, making love in the playground, our breakfast at the diner. And then I recalled Eliza’s voice from the video, “I hope you two fall in love.”

Excerpt from Surfing with the Old Man:
I watched her face as she told me the story of her father. She had truly lived an arduous life. But it wasn’t her life, it was his. Behind the mad creative genius there was a beautifully broken young lady sitting in front of me. And she was tired, exhausted, and drained from his creative genius. She might be twenty-five but inside she was well into her fifties. That’s when I felt it. The empathy had turned to compassion and then it turned to something more intense. I felt feverish, and dizzy. I didn’t know it at the time, but this was the first time I had ever felt true, unbridled love for another human being.

Quote from the author, James Heaton:
"Growing up I was drawn to the work of Hemingway, because we shared a birthday and later I would discovered that we shared bipolar disorder. He gave gave me the strength to write the stories that were in my heart, and show the world that being different could be beautiful. Later on in life I was drawn to the works of Nicholas Sparks and his tales of two people finding love in the most unusual settings, and I was taken by those stories. I always loved his endings, and his passion for the ocean and I felt that bipolar disorder gave me a different view of the world, a different view of love. After-all, love stories give us hope that we can find that connection to others, no matter our situation."