Heather S. Rivera knew when she met her protagonist that Tess lived on Belmont Shore in Long Beach. Heather and Tess met in a creative writing class during a guided meditation.

(Ed. Note: I once thought it might be fun to go on a cruise and impersonate my character. Heather comes close to doing what I dreamed of!)

In Heather’s words

“While I was in this relaxed state the protagonist began speaking to me. She hasn’t stopped talking. I first saw her sitting on a curb cutting her jeans with a piece of glass she found in the gutter. Intuitively I knew she lived in Belmont Shore. Belmont Shore is a small section of Long Beach in Los Angeles County. It features trendy shops on 2^nd street and then it’s an easy walk to the expansive beach. Off in the distance the orange smoke stacks of the sleepy Queen Mary stretch towards the sky in unison.

The following weekend my husband and I visited Belmont Shore and searched for the apartment I imagined that Tess lived in. We visited where she shopped and where she sat on the beach. I let her guide me, listening within. I sat in her place on the beach many days while I wrote her story. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going Tess would tell me different.

“As I wrote Quiet Water I tried to portray Belmont Shore accurately.  I sifted the grey sand from Belmont Beach through my fingers, walked the residential streets and ate at the restaurants. I did, however, change the names of the businesses that Tess visits.

Living in Southern California my entire life inspired me to write about areas I loved. Many stories are set in Los Angeles and other large cities but Tess’ story is personal and intimate. Belmont Shore is that type of town. One can sit in sidewalk cafes feeling connected with the other visitors or relax on the quiet beach in solitude.

An excerpt from Quiet Water

Three rings . . . Four rings . . . Five rings. And then her cheery voicemail begins. I’m sunk. I hang up the phone. I don’t want to leave a voicemail and sound completely pathetic. I can hear myself, “Naomi, I don’t want to bother you and I know logically that I’m doing the right thing by striking out on my own, but right now I can’t recall why I ever thought this was a good idea. My life was fine and now I screwed it all up. My husband is struggling to adjust to the change. Wade won’t speak to me. Oh and by the way, I can’t even pull up the energy to get up off this damn, hot curb. So, can you help me remember why I’m doing this?” Nah, I can’t leave a message like that so I hang up and stay glued to my spot.

Maybe, I’ll use this opportunity to take in my new neighborhood. Let’s see:

• Pink house across the street
• One-way street with many cars parked on both sides (and space enough for me to plant myself on the curb)
• One guy (grey tank top stretched over beer belly) fixing his blue mustang two doors down with 70s music playing on his radio
• Yappy dog somewhere behind me
• Ocean to the left about two and a half blocks down
• And 2^nd Street with the assorted trendy shops and international cuisine one and a half blocks to my right

This would be great if I wasn’t so damn depressed. I would love this town. Wait . . . I will love this town—Belmont Shore. That’s why I chose it. I love still being in Los Angeles County, but tucked away, close to the ocean in this tiny section of Long Beach, California. I remember coming here as a child with my older brother, Jared. Grandma and Grandpa lived in Cerritos. A visit to them almost always meant Disneyland. What can be better than that to a nine-year-old? I fiddle with the fluke pendant. Old memories come forth as I rub Jared’s necklace. I haven’t taken it off since he passed away.

About Quiet Water

Quiet Water is the story of thirty-eight year old Tess Whitaker. She’s haunted by dreams of an idealistic and romantic past life. She measures all love by the 1900 life of Kathleen and Thomas from her dreams. After leaving a stifling marriage she discovers through hypnosis that she was Kathleen in a past life. Tess wonders if Thomas, her soul mate from her dreams, has also reincarnated. She embarks on a quest to find him. It is a story of timeless love, forgiveness and self-discovery.

About Heather S. Rivera

Heather S. Rivera, R.N., J.D., Ph.D. lives in Huntington Beach, California with her husband, Mark. Her best friends consist of Kala (a Puggle), Kiki (a neurotic Chihuahua), and Danzy (a black cat who believes he helps her write). When not writing, Heather works in the institute that she founded with Mark and speaks on past life research.

Heather is the author of Healing the Present from the Past: The Personal Journey of a Past Life Researcher, Quiet Water, and Maiden Flight (to be released late 2014)