Year after year, season after season, for as long as Darak's people could remember, the battle of the Oak and the Holly had taken place, bringing an end to Winter and the rebirth of Spring. But this year the battle went wrong as Darak's brother became possessed by the spirit of the Holly. To free him, Darak must undertake a quest to restore the very balance of nature.

Barbara Campbell wrote her first novel after having a dream while visiting the Jersey Shore. Publishers turned it down becuase they didn't know how to market it: was it a fantasy or a romance? After much work and revision, that novel became Heartwood, and in 2004 it was published. She can be found at barbara-campbell.com.