Testing the Heart

About the Book

Testing the Heart follows the struggle of an urban high school teacher who is determined to rescue students from life on the drug-ridden streets, salvage her school from being deemed a failure, and save herself from the enigmatic man who distracts her from her purpose. Filled with diverse characters, humorous moments about life in the urban schools, and all-too-true predicaments that education faces today, this story takes Penelope Parsons from traditional educator to a rebel with too many causes. She must decide how to tackle each seemingly insurmountable challenge in order to make things better for her students, her profession, and herself. She is willing to face down the principal, her colleagues, and even her mysterious lover, Jonathan Perez, to ensure her success.

About the Author

Melva Michaelian is currently teaching college English, but she spent many years as a high school English and journalism instructor. She also served as an English Department chair and was appointed to committees to improve education in her district. A current member of Romance Writers of America, she has been writing since her elementary school days and has had numerous poems, short stories, and articles published in local and regional venues. With the completion of this current novel, Testing the Heart, Melva is now working on her next two projects. Lorene Morin is a former award winning English teacher and is at present working on writing as a second career. She has spent many years in urban classrooms and has instructed students in literature, technology, and composition. She has written education related material for school systems that at times resulted in grants being awarded to her school. Lorene has also been an advocate of students on professional and personal levels and is well known for her ability to tell a good story. Melva and Lorene have had success with their previously published book, A Walk on the Wide Side, a non-fiction, humorous collection of essays on the subject of weight gain, or “personal inflation.” They love writing humor, but the more serious subject of this novel led them to adopt the name Isabel Barry.