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Heather McLaren

Goodreads Author

Born

in Carbondale, The United States

Website

http://www.heathermclarenfantasy.webs.com/

Genre

Fantasy, Romance

Influences

J.K. Rowling

Member Since

September 2011

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Heather McLaren is a Cherokee/Greek writer that lives in southern Illinois with her husband, three children, and three grandchildren. She began her life in an unfortunate situation, much like thousands of children in this country. She was born to a fifteen-year-old mother who was too young to take care of her. After living in foster homes for two years, at the age of four, a loving couple adopted Heather, but feeling unwanted and rejected never left her mind. Who was she? Where did she come from? But Heather was lucky to have found her new parents. They helped her realize her own potential. They told Heather the sky was the limit when it came to what she could accomplish in life.

Over the years, Heather’s struggles mounted. She escaped an a Heather McLaren is a Cherokee/Greek writer that lives in southern Illinois with her husband, three children, and three grandchildren. She began her life in an unfortunate situation, much like thousands of children in this country. She was born to a fifteen-year-old mother who was too young to take care of her. After living in foster homes for two years, at the age of four, a loving couple adopted Heather, but feeling unwanted and rejected never left her mind. Who was she? Where did she come from? But Heather was lucky to have found her new parents. They helped her realize her own potential. They told Heather the sky was the limit when it came to what she could accomplish in life.

Over the years, Heather’s struggles mounted. She escaped an abusive marriage and lost a baby to RH incompatibility before turning 21. On May 17, 2002, Heather gave birth to Kimber Liliana—a child whom the doctors said could never survive the stroke she had suffered in the womb. After seven long months in the neonatal wing at Cardinal Glennon and then Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, Heather brought Kimber home to the amazement of the doctors. Though Kimber is still bedridden from spastic cerebral palsy, she celebrated her eleventh birthday last May—a joyous event Heather never takes for granted.

At the age of twenty-six, doctors diagnosed Heather with bipolar disorder, but instead of giving in to her disease, she picked herself up, met and married her soul mate, and began writing fantasy novels. Heather McLaren wants others in her situation—either adopted and looking for answers, families of disabled children, or sufferers of mental illness—to see her own success story as evidence that life does prevail. They can have active and fulfilling lives no matter the difficulties they may face.

Heather's passion for writing began at an early age. As far back as she can remember, she wanted to publish a novel she could call her own. She wrote the outlines for books one (Mythos) and two (Beyond Legend) of the Mer Chronicles series during free time in tenth grade creative writing class, but it took many years for her to find the courage to send her completed novels to publishers. Now, that Heather has found her niche in today's literary world, she plans on bringing fantasy into the lives of our youth for years to come.

When asked if she created her characters to inspire others, Heather immediately had an answer. ABSOLUTELY! She wanted to embrace her husband's kind and protective nature, thus bringing David Cooley's character to life. (Her son) Bryce's loyalty shines through as David's best friend, and (her daughter) Charlie's innocent and inquisitive nature and (her step daughter) Dakota's playfulness triumph in future books. Heather's youngest child's bravery and determination to live despite her handicap was inspiration enough to immortalize her in black and white. By creating Cindel's character, Heather hopes that readers will see people with special needs as having the same potential as every one else. ...more

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Heather McLaren’s books

Average rating: 4.44 · 34 ratings · 18 reviews · 9 distinct works

	Mythos (The Mer Chronicles # 1) 4.38 avg rating — 32 ratings — published 2013 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Beyond Legend (Mer Chronicles # 2) 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mythos (The Mer Chronicles Book 1) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	[ MYTHOS ] By McLaren, Heather ( Author) 2013 [ Paperback ] 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A is for Alligator 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	1 Cat in a Tree 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	What Do You Want to be For Halloween 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	What Do You Want to be for Halloween? 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	What Do You Want to be for Halloween? 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Heather McLaren…

Series by Heather McLaren

Mer Chronicles (1 book)
by

Heather McLaren (Goodreads Author)

4.38 avg rating — 32 ratings

Quotes by Heather McLaren (?)

“Be still, for you may the hauntingly familiar melody of a mermaid.”
― Heather McLaren

3 likes

“Remember your dreams. Jot them down, for they may be your next inspiration.”
― Heather McLaren, Beyond Legend

tags: inspirational-attitude

1 likes

“Be still for you may hear the hauntingly familiar song of a mermaid.”
― Heather McLaren

tags: fantasy, ya

1 likes

See all Heather McLaren's quotes »

Heather’s Quotes

“Home is the place that expects the most of you, but still welcomes you at your worst. And she has always been my home, my Merminia.”
― Emm Cole, Keeping Merminia

tags: home, love, paranormal-romance, soulmates

9 likes

“When you do find your enemy, remember he will expect and welcome your hate. So surprise him, and let him fear your love.”
― Emm Cole

6 likes

“Helping your weapon reach your target is easy. Watching someone accept that their life is over before it ever became something is not quite as simple.”
― Emm Cole

tags: mermaid-book, merminia, ya-fantasy, ya-paranormal-romance

5 likes

“Remain true to yourself, child. If you know your own heart, you will always have one friend who does not lie.”
― Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Forest House

3053 likes

“Perhaps the rare and simple pleasure of being seen for what one is compensates for the misery of being it.”
― Margaret Drabble

tags: wisdom

2047 likes

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Heather’s Groups

}~>O MERBOOKS: The Group For All Things Mermaid O<~{ — 298 members — last activity Oct 16, 2019 11:43PM
Dive into the #1 group on Goodreads for mermaid enthusiasts! Looking for recommendations on great mermaid books? Want to chat with fellow fin-atics? H ...more

SciFi and Fantasy eBook Club — 3768 members — last activity Nov 05, 2025 12:45AM
This is for those of us whose preferred format is the ebook ... So, Whether you're a Kindle, Nook, Sony, iPad, Google, or whatever person; come on in ...more

We PROMOTE Fantasy/Sci-Fi Writers/Authors — 1355 members — last activity Dec 03, 2025 05:55AM
Tweets from @altomov/my-goodreads-com-friends If you need help promoting your work, my Sci-Fi/Fantasy Team can advertise your book in our active Fa ...more

Authors Looking directly for Readers — 2196 members — last activity Nov 05, 2025 11:09PM
What's the main thing that a writer needs? A pen, paper, computer? Nope -- It's someone to read their work and give feedback. This is a group where: ...more

Lovers of Paranormal — 10590 members — last activity Dec 20, 2025 01:13PM
If, like us, you enjoy anything paranormal, then this place is for you. This is a bookclub dedicated to Paranormal (YA & Adult) Fantasy, dystopia, sci ...more

Book Review Club — 2907 members — last activity Dec 20, 2025 09:37AM
This group is to help authors to achieve more-HONEST-reviews by reviewing freely provided books/ARCs. Rather than post scathing reviews, the reader ...more

Goodreads Reviewers' Group — 13227 members — last activity Dec 22, 2025 12:36PM
This group helps to bring Reviewers and Authors together! Reviewers can make their own thread to post their reviews in, or post their reviews in the r ...more

David Estes Fans and YA Book Lovers Unite! — 2922 members — last activity 13 hours, 46 min ago
A Group for all things YA and David Estes

Romance Readers Discussion Group — 51 members — last activity Oct 17, 2019 01:39AM
If you love a great HEA, this is the place for you! We'll discuss old favorites, new heartthrobs, genres trends, and more! All sub-genres welcome. All ...more

Mermaids~r~us — 16 members — last activity May 24, 2019 09:34PM
We talk about anything and everything mermaids. Including making up stories for other to view and add to. You MUST make up your own characters!! To c ...more

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