Laura L. Valenti has been blessed to be a Bennett Spring resident and a freelance writer for over 30 years. She has written more than 500 newspaper and magazine features, including several on the history of the state park. She is the author of two non-fiction books and two previous novels. She and her husband, Warren, recently retired from the Missouri Department of Conservation, are the parents of four grown children and grandparents to five grandsons, all of whom still love to fish at Bennett Spring. The Heart of the Spring is also available on her website www.betweenthestarandthecross.com.