AUBURN, Wash. Sex, love, violence and hate are the table seasonings of this world, says author Helen Collier with Meow at The Helm. With these seasonings in hand, she penned her new book Ms. Anna and the Tears from the Healing Tree (published by iUniverse), a romance that works to shed social stigmas associated with interracial relationships. In Ms. Anna and the Tears from the Healing Tree, Collier weaves romance, mystery and fantasy together in a story that takes many surprising twists all the way to the end. As the characters dip into new relationships, Collier challenges stereotypes and explores the intricacies of interracial romances. The political and cultural explorations of race and stereotypes are featured prominently in the story, but Collier also uses elements of fantasy to reveal the spiritually charged motivations of her characters. An excerpt from Ms. Anna and the Tears from the Healing Tree: Anna s heart staggered. She looked at the scar just below his hairline and wondered how it happened. This man was the only part of her past still intact, thanks to the Old Head. Tucked away safe in her dreams where not even her mother could hurt them. Finding him in that apartment near death had shattered her heart. Seeing him struggle to rise and feeling his body tremble and his tears flow when nightmares shook him, touched her in a way she could not explain. Lying in bed with her arms wrapped around him, she assured him that she would never leave.