REMEMBERING CELIA by CHERYL PIERSON

Last month, many of us lost a dear friend, Celia Yeary. She was a woman I had never met in “real life” – but I felt like I’d known her forever, and I'm sure many of you felt the same way.

Celia and I were published within a few months of one another in 2009 (she was first!) by The Wild Rose Press. We went through that “first publishing experience” together, and I hope I was as good a sounding board for her as she was for me. It was comforting to have another new author to talk to about what was going on with our first “babies” being published and pushed out into the cruel world.

Celia was “a bit” older than I, and a wonderful combination of big sis/surrogate mom in a lot of ways—but most of all, she was a dear friend.

We talked about everything over the years. I always admired Celia’s determination and her courage to face whatever life threw her way. She chalked it up to being a fifth-generation Texan, and that might have been part of it, but I believe most of her inner strength came from deep within herself—no matter where she had been born and raised.

Celia went to college AFTER she was married and had small children—and that had to be tough. But she persevered. She received her BS in biology and went on for her Master’s degree in education. She taught school for many years and told me how she loved it, and how she missed it after retirement.

I knew Celia after that phase of her life was past, and we shared our passion for writing. We both wrote western romance stories, and loved to talk about our characters, and run scenes by one another. Celia was very meticulous in her writing process—more of a plotter than I am. We talked about everything under the sun along with our writing conversations. I treasured seeing her name pop up in my INBOX—she always made me laugh.

When we learned she had passed away, I felt like the world became a “dimmer” place—and of course, that’s true. Celia was one of the brightest stars I have ever known. I miss her. She was one of those people that is truly unforgettable, though I can hear her in my mind saying, “Me? Lands sakes, why would you say that?”

One of the main things I’ll always remember about Celia is her big heart. All you have to do is read one of her books and you’ll see it shine through. She spoke through her characters, and as all writers do, put some of herself into the people she created in her stories. She often told me this book, WISH FOR THE MOON, was the "book of my heart" and how glad she was to have it in print. I understood why--there is a LOT of Celia in these characters!

Her birthday was this past Saturday, August 25. Hard to believe she’s gone, but she’ll always be in my heart—a dear friend that I was so lucky to have known.