Actress Jane Seymour finds inspiration

NewsOK.com - Oklahoma City,OK,USA - A local boy who raised money for Hurricane Katrina victims even as he battled cancer inspired actress Jane Seymour to write the book "Open Hearts,” scheduled for release in December.

In 2006, Seymour visited the Jimmy Everest Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, where she read to the children. While there, she met 11-year-old Fletcher Vines, a Nichols Hills Elementary School fifth-grader known for his artwork and fundraising efforts for Katrina victims. The two exchanged original paintings.

"I met him just before he died. I gave him my first ‘Open Heart' painting, and that's how the whole thing with the open hearts started, with Fletcher,” she said.

"Open Hearts” is a theme Seymour has nurtured throughout her career and one that she will share Saturday as a special guest at the Integris Women's Forum 2008.

In "An Evening With Jane Seymour: Balance and Tolerance — the Key to Life,” Seymour will share personal stories of her life's journey toward balance between physical health, spirituality and using her celebrity to help others.

"I really talk about the fact that life challenges for me have always turned into opportunities,” she said. "Really it all comes from the same place. It comes from being in the present moment, letting go of the past and being open to the possibilities of the future.”