Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Forgotten One by Catherine Bybee

Book Description

Sarah McNeilly is a rare find in the tabloid industry. She won’t ignite gossip. She finds the truth. And for once, that’s what her boss wants. With her job on the line, Sarah’s latest assignment is to identify the elusive “Maximillian Smith,” unearth his connection to the billionaire Stone family, and dig up some dirt.

Yesterday Max was an ordinary workingman, concerned with little more than the price of gas. Now he suddenly has a family, jaw-dropping wealth, and an avid (if clumsy) reporter on his trail. With the press threatening to destroy his new life, he needs to release his real story strategically, and Sarah is the key—not to mention an adorable yet invaluable resource for finding his mother.

As Max and Sarah team up to peel back the ugly layers of Max’s past, they stumble heart-first into their fiery attraction. But when their research threatens their newly built trust, it’s their future that is on the line.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Forgotten One by Catherine Bybee once again proves how she can make readers laugh yet also pull at their heart strings.

This plot has a rags to overnight riches story. Yesterday Max was an ordinary workingman, concerned with little more than the price of gas. Now he suddenly has a family, jaw-dropping wealth, and an avid (if clumsy) reporter on his trail. With the press threatening to destroy his new life, he needs to release his real story strategically, and tabloid journalist Sarah is the key. As Max and Sarah team up to peel back the ugly layers of Max’s past, they stumble heart-first into their fiery attraction. But after their research threatens their newly built trust, their future is threatened. A little bit of a cliffhanger where readers can’t wait for book three to see where this romance is going.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?

Catherine Bybee: I wanted to do a Cinderella story with the man, not the woman. Also, in the forward of the book I wrote how I was in foster care as a child for a while.  I wanted to bring things to light about the foster care system and what happens to these children who have no parents. The system fails then it helps.

EC:  How would you describe Max?

CB: Max is the reality of how someone could survive in the foster care system. He is a survivor but not thriving. He is jaded, emotionally unavailable, needs to learn to trust, needs to learn to love both romantically and platonically. He searches for closure because there are no ties to his past. Max is bitter and arrogant, his coping mechanism. He is strong willed, self-assured, and protective.

EC:  How would you describe Sarah?

CB:  She is a Lois Lane type, only she wears the glasses, not Clark Kent.  She needs to learn to take risks, and to know her own value and worth. I think she is a different kind of heroine that I usually write about with the fire behind her and is unsure of herself. She has two parents that love her and support her.  As with my other heroines Sarah does not have a past that makes her stronger. She does not have baggage and is down to earth.

EC: What is the relationship between the siblings?

CB:  Each of the three are so completely different. All three siblings have in common the disenchantment and hate of their biological father. Hate binds just as good as love binds. They have past aggressions. Max’s siblings push him. Alexandria chases her father’s love, takes no guff, leaves no prisoners, and is driven.  Chase is comfortable in his own skin. Once Max realizes what it truly means to have someone to care for, they become very close. They are all loyal to each other and have togetherness.

EC: What is Max and Sarah’s relationship like?

CB: The romance moved quickly, and they realized they are right for each other. He has an emotional wall and is wary of people. Max teaches her to stand up for herself. He did not need a strong heroine. Having her in his life helped him to withstand the new reality. She keeps him grounded. They were intrigued with each other without drama.

EC: What did you want to say about tabloids?

CB: They have no regard for someone’s privacy and the emphasis is to sell papers, not the truth. They have no regard for someone grieving. Max chastises this system.

EC:  You also highlight the foster care system?

CB:  There is a large amount of tormenting and bullying.  I talk a little about what I saw as an ER nurse.

EC:  You always have great quotes, and, in this book, it is about the title, “MS”-please explain

CB: You mean this quote, “The expectation for a woman to change how she is addressed because of her marital status is not only sexist, but also archaic and outdated.” There is a very big distinction as what Miss means, Mrs. means, and Ms. means.  We do not know if a man is married with just the reference Mr. I am divorced and will tell people when they refer to me as Mrs. that it cost me a lot of money to remove the “r.” People make assumptions with these titles.

EC: Next book?

CB: In book three I give Max and Sarah the ring and the promise. I do not think there would be a fourth book because there is not a character to put in a romance. The third book is Alex’s story with a strong hero.  This will be the story of how Alex gets over her past. The title is No More Yesterday’s, coming out in May or June.

THANK YOU!!

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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Feature Post and Book Review: Fault Line by H.N. Hirsch

Book Description

Bob Abramson’s first encounter with murder occurred four years previously, in 1985, when his roommate, the scion of an old Boston family, was murdered and the case was investigated by the victim’s Harvard professor, Marcus George. As the investigation developed, Bob and Marcus, naturally, fell in love.

Now, Bob has completed law school and landed a job as an Assistant District Attorney in San Diego, and Marcus has accepted a new position at UC San Diego. As they settle in to their new home, they’re thrust into the investigation and its political ramification, and they find that a gay subculture roils much of southern California’s placidly straight surface.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/125477842-fault-line?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=May09m0GOK&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

FAULT LINE (A Bob & Marcus Mystery Book #2) by H.N. Hirsch is a murder mystery that is intricately plotted with many motives and suspects, political pitfalls, and a realistic look back at the gay scene and subculture in 1980’s California. Professor Marcus George, who has accepted a position at UCSD, and Bob Abramson, who has been newly hired to the San Diego DA’s office, have relocated to the West Coast and end up once again embroiled in a murder mystery. This book in the series can easily be read as a standalone.

Bob Abramson has graduated law school and as he studies for his bar exam, he is also working for the San Diego DA’s office and asked to assist on a politically charged investigation into the violent death of the husband of the mayor of San Diego. While Bob is excited to be working in the DA’s office, he soon discovers he may not be able to trust the supposed “good guys”. The political pitfalls are many and add in the whispered questions about the victim’s sexuality and Bob is quickly discovering that sunny California has plenty of secrets in the shadows and is questioning his and Marcus’s move.

I found myself immersed in this murder mystery and could not put it down. Bob and Marcus are a wonderful couple still finding their way as a committed gay couple in the 1980s. While Marcus is settled in his profession, Bob is now having second thoughts, even as he for now follows his family’s tradition of practicing law. The atmospheric descriptions of the gay subculture in the 1980’s is well written and realistic. All the secondary characters, family, friends, and suspects are fully developed and believable.

The mystery plot is more police procedural than amateur sleuth style with the detectives having to have Bob and/or the Asst. DA present during all interviews due to the sensitive political nature of the murder. There are plenty of red herrings and twists that kept me guessing to the end.

I highly recommend this LGBTQ murder mystery, and I am looking forward to following more of Bob and Marcus’s adventures in the future.

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About the Author

H N Hirsch was born in Chicago and attended the University of Michigan. He then received a PhD from Princeton in Politics, and taught political science for 40 years at Harvard, the University of California-San Diego, Macalester College, and Oberlin College, where he also served as Dean of the Faculty and is now the Erwin N Griswold Professor of Politics Emeritus.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.hnhirsch.info/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harry.hirsch.50999

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/fault-line-by-h-n-hirsch

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fault-Line-H-N-Hirsch-ebook/dp/B0CDCMMJT8/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Y0D4X0TBCJ0M&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yIMfpd7tGP4S5h

Feature Post and Book Review: Anywhen by Beth Duke

Book Description

Baezy is born in 2069, the centennial of the legendary Woodstock Music and Art Fair. Everything peace, love, and flower power is celebrated that year in a wave of nostalgia that takes over fashion, music, and the public’s imagination. She grows up listening to and loving the artists of that time, dreaming of witnessing everyone from Joan Baez to Santana in person. When presented with the opportunity to time-travel, Baezy immediately chooses Woodstock as her destination. She plans to enjoy a glorious weekend of vibrant sights and sounds; her bell bottoms and a peasant blouse are packed for the adventure and she’s excited to surprise her great-great-great-grandmother, Kelly Adams.

While Baezy’s certainly not a typical Woodstock attendee, Kelly isn’t either. She is at the very beginning of a stellar career researching artificial intelligence in the 1960s, and will later develop much of what will lead to the utopian society Baezy lives in. Kelly’s future family is immensely proud of her historic accomplishments.

The contrast between Baezy’s 2101 and 1969 is stunning from her first moment. Woodstock exceeds her wildest expectations, but holds far more than an introduction to her distant grandmother. Baezy quickly finds herself in life-altering situations she could never have anticipated.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220605667-anywhen?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=J1xDbP33VR&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

ANYWHEN by Beth Duke is a mash-up of genres; time travel, historical fiction, romance, and sci-fi all centered around time traveler, Baezy, who assumes the name and identity of Sarah while in the past.

Baezy was born in 2069, which is the centennial of the legendary Woodstock Music Festival and is named after the singer Joan Baez. Baezy is excited that for her birthday in 2101, her mother has arranged a three day TIP (Time Insertion Protocol) for her to travel back to Woodstock in the year 1969 not only for the live performances she has studied and loves, but to also meet her three times over grandmother on her maternal side, Kelly Adams, who was a brilliant mathematician at MIT and an originator of AI.

While Baezy’s time insertion does not go exactly as planned, she is able to find the group of six that have gone to Woodstock together including Kelly. Baezy is very excited to meet Kelly, but their interactions lead to problems. Her naivety, beauty, and lack of complete understanding of 1969 slang and sayings leads her into conflict with Kelly’s group except for Jack, who is a teacher and sympathetic to Baezy’s differences. Baezy hopes to avoid the others and just enjoy the rest of the Woodstock performances with Jack, but every decision she makes could lead to future changes she could never anticipate.

I enjoyed the mixed genre plot throughout this story very much. The time travel, the futuristic Unity and the historic Woodstock, also with discussions of the Vietnam war were all well written. Unity may have no war or hunger, but it is still not a future I would hope for. The scenes of Woodstock are entertaining and nostalgic. I loved Baezy and her emotional awakening and evolution throughout the story, it was Kelly and the females in the travel group that I found immature for their ages and off-putting, so much so that I almost put the book down for good. I am glad I carried on though for the remainder of Baizy’s storyline.

This is a story that will capture many differing types of genre readers and satisfy them all.

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About the Author

Beth Duke is an Amazon #1 Best Selling Author and the recipient of numerous honors for her fiction on two continents.

She is eyeing the other five.

Her book TAPESTRY was the Bronze Medal Winner in Southern Fiction in Publishers’ Weekly’s 2020 Readers’ Choice Awards, an Award-Winning Finalist in the 2020 International Book Awards, and a Five Star Readers’ Favorite Award Winner.

Beth lives in the mountains of her native Alabama with her husband, Jay, and an assortment of dogs—including a recently-rescued coonhound named Daisy who has stolen her heart. Beth is the adoring and proud mother of Jason and Savannah. She is a constant reader, travel aficionado, and likes to pretend she’s in baking competitions.

She also finds great joy in joining book clubs for discussion (usually via Zoom). If your group would like to schedule a date, please email beth@bethduke.com.

Her books DELANEY’S PEOPLE, DON’T SHOOT YOUR MULE, IT ALL COMES BACK TO YOU, TAPESTRY, and DARK ENOUGH TO SEE THE STARS are all love letters to her home state.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.bethduke.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bethidee

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onlythebethforyou/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/beth-duke

Feature Post and Book Review: A Christmas Miracle in the Little Irish Village by Michelle Vernal

Book Description

When twenty-four-year-old Ava Kelly and her adventurous twin Grace return home to The Shamrock Inn, their Ma’s favorite baubles bring back so many memories of Christmases past. They have always done everything together, even leaving their little Irish village for the excitement of London. But with the locket her handsome ex Shane gave her hanging just above her heart, Ava has just one wish this festive season…

After a year stuck in a job she can’t stand and going on dreadful dates, Ava longs to be back with Shane. Curling up in front of the fire with him, the brooding fisherman everyone else sees melts away as his blue eyes meet hers. But planning a future with Shane would mean telling Grace she’ll be moving back to the village for goodAva knows it will break her sister’s heart for them to be parted.

But, before Ava can build up the courage to talk to her twin, terrible tidings about Shane hit The Shamrock Inn like a winter storm. With everyone but Grace rushing to the harbor, will Ava’s hopes for a future with both Shane and her sister in it be dashed? Or could a Christmas miracle bring them all together?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/197776782-a-christmas-miracle-in-the-little-irish-village?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=7QqWN2eArh&rank=4

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE IN THE LITTLE IRISH VILLAGE (The Little Irish Village Book #3) by Michelle Vernal is an emotional rollercoaster addition to The Little Irish Village series. This story features the youngest twin, Ava Kelly, but still involves the entire loving Kelly family and their small-town of Emerald Bay, Ireland during the Christmas season. While this women’s fiction/small-town romance can be read as a standalone, I feel they are better read in order as each sister finds her forever love and the relationships within the family and village continue to evolve.

Ava and her twin, Grace, head to London to work and live for the excitement of the big city and to travel while they are young and free. After a year, Ava believes she has made a terrible mistake. She is unhappy and lonely and regrets leaving Emerald Bay and her ex-boyfriend, Shane. She is torn between her twin and her love.

Before Ava can sit down with Grace to tell her how she feels and that she wants to leave, she gets a phone call from her mother telling her Shane has been swept off his family’s fishing boat during a storm. Ava rushes home and prays for a miracle and as she waits for news, Grace still believes nothing will change. Will Ava get her future with Shane and be able to make Grace understand her true feelings for her future?

I loved this return to the Kelly family and Emerald Bay. There are two parts to this story that both revolve around Ava, and both had my emotions all over the place. I cannot say a lot about the plot points because it would give too much away, but I can tell you to keep the tissues handy. This heartwarming story is full of family, love, hope, reconciliation, and second chances.

I highly recommend this joyful and heartwarming women’s fiction/romance and cannot wait for the next book in the series!

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About the Author

Michelle Vernal is the Amazon UK top 100 bestselling author of Christmas in the Little Irish Village. In 2015 her debut novel, The Traveller’s Daughter, was shortlisted for the Love Stories award and in 2020, The The Letter won the Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal Award for Chick lit. In addition, The Autumn Posy, Book 1 in the Liverpool Brides timeslip series, was a finalist in the 2021 Page Turner Book awards. She also writes the popular Guesthouse on the Green series featuring the hilarious O’Mara family. Michelle’s books are full of laugh out loud moments and warmth. Her readers describe her novels as unputdownable, feel-good and funny. She lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, with her husband, two teenage sons and attention-seeking tabby cats, Humphrey and Savannah.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.michellevernalbooks.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michellevernalnovelist

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichelleVernal

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michelle-vernal

Feature Post and Book Review: The Wedding Dress Christmas by Rachel Hauck

Book Description

December comes to quaint Hearts Bend, Tennessee, with a blanket of white and the glitter of Christmas lights.

For JoJo Castle there is no place like home. Her onetime love of adventure ended when her life in the big city came crashing down. Now that she’s home, she never wants to leave again.

Country music sensation Buck Mathews has charmed the world with his smile and his music. However, news of his mother’s illness brought him home to Hearts Bend for the holiday season.

Working with her cousin Haley in The Wedding Shop, JoJo has no aspirations of love. But when her high school crush returns to town, her buried feelings surface.

Busy with his career, Buck hasn’t had time for family and friends, much less love. Seeing JoJo in The Wedding Shop reminds him there are things more important than his career.

But JoJo and Buck have opposing life goals, and there’s no middle ground. Can love, especially the kind that touches hearts at Christmas, overcome her fears and his quest for greatness?

With the help of a very special wedding dress, there just might be a Christmas miracle.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52742020-the-wedding-dress-christmas?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=TT5Vx9xTR4&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE WEDDING DRESS CHRISTMAS (The Wedding Collection Book #3.5) by Rachel Hauk is a heartwarming small town holiday romance novella. This story is a part of The Wedding Collection series which features a special magical wedding dress and while only novella length it packs an emotional punch. (Have the tissues ready.)

It is Christmas time in Hearts Bend, Tennessee.

JoJo Castle returned to the safety of her parents’ home after a horrific personal attack while working in Dallas. Her dreams of adventure and life in the big city are gone. While she is happy working with her cousin in The Wedding Shop and helping with projects around town, she has no interest in love or marriage for herself.

Buck Matthews left Hearts Bend with a dream of country music stardom. His dreams have come true, but he comes home for the holidays when he receives news of his mother’s illness. While his career is at its height, being home reminds him of the things that are missing from his life.

JoJo and Buck were close friends in high school, but life moved them in different directions. With opposing life goals and JoJo’s ever-present fear, can the magical wedding dress and the man in a purple shirt help these two realize a special holiday miracle?

For a quick novella read, this story has well developed characters, an emotional punch and a holiday HEA. Even though JoJo and Buck’s romance moves quickly, it is believable because of their previous friendship and the realistic adult discussion of feelings throughout. There are no sex scenes in this novella. The religious elements in this story are hinted at Christian values and not preachy.  I normally do not give novellas more than a 4-star rating, but this one deserves all 5. I am glad I gave it a try and now I want to go back and read the full-length novels in this series.

I highly recommend this beautiful holiday romance novella!

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About the Author

Rachel Hauck is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author.

She is a Christy Award Winner and a double RITA finalist. Her book The Wedding Dress was named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times Book Club. She is the recipient of RT’s Career Achievement Award.

Her book, Once Upon A Prince, was filmed for an original Hallmark movie.

Hauck has been acclaimed for her split time novels and royal romances.

A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, and a former sorority girl, Rachel and her husband live in central Florida. She is a huge Buckeyes football fan.

In other news, she’s recently learned how to hard boil an egg. She’s quite proud.

Social Media Links

Website: https://rachelhauck.com/about-rachel/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelhauck

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelhauck/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-wedding-dress-christmas-by-rachel-hauck

Feature Post and Book Review: Bad Liar by Tami Hoag

Book Description

Small-town labels are hard to shake. Hometown hero. Fallen angel. Can anyone ever escape their past?
 
A murder victim dumped at the dead end of a lonely country road, face and hands obliterated by a shotgun blast, is not the way sheriff’s detective Nick Fourcade wants to start his week. His only lead takes him to the family of a hometown hero suddenly gone missing. Marc Mercier left his home for a weekend hunting trip and hasn’t been seen since.

Meanwhile, sheriff’s detective Annie Broussard begins her first day back on the job after suffering a brutal attack by taking on the case of B’Lynn Fontenot, a mother desperate to find her grown son, a recovering drug addict. Robbie Fontenot has been missing for eight days, but the local police have no interest in the case, telling B’Lynn that an adult has the right to disappear, and a missing addict is no big surprise. But B’Lynn swears her son was turning his life around. Sympathetic to a mother’s anguish, Annie agrees to help B’Lynn, knowing she’s about to start a turf war with the city police.

As Annie searches for Robbie Fontenot and Nick investigates the disappearance of Marc Mercier, it quickly becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems in the lives of either man. And it’s still not clear whether either—or neither—of them might be the unidentified murder victim. Old jealousies and fresh deceits, family loyalties gone wrong and love turned sour all lay a twisting trail that leads deep into the Louisiana swamp, endangering all who cross the path of a bad liar.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205846882-bad-liar?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=6fxQITTDev&rank=2

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

BAD LIAR (Broussard and Fourcade Book #3) by Tami Hoag is a fast-paced, dark, and intricately plotted crime thriller/police procedural featuring a married couple, both Sheriff’s Detectives in Partout Parish in the French Triangle of Louisiana. This crime thriller is easily read as a standalone crime thriller, but it is based in a small-town and all the characters continue to grow and evolve in their everyday lives.

Sheriff’s Detective Nick Fourcade is called to the scene of a dumped murder victim in the tall grass off a country road. Identification is going to take time because the victim’s face and hands have been obliterated by a shotgun blast. As he begins to look for leads, he discovers a returned hometown hero has gone missing. Are his victim and the missing man one and the same?

Sheriff’s Detective Annie Broussard is on her first day back on the job after recovering from a brutal attack. She takes on the case of a mother, B’Lynn Fontenot, desperate to find her adult son. She has gone through ten years of drug addiction, but she truly believes this time he had finally turned his life around. Annie is willing to fight the city police detective to take over the case.

As Nick and Annie investigate their cases, they soon discover that there is much more to the lives of the missing men as they wait to discover if either is the unidentified corpse in the morgue. The investigation leads to surprising twists and turns that will endanger Nick and Annie until the pieces of all the lies fall into place.

This is another example of the strength of Ms. Hoag’s ability to produce an atmospheric crime thriller full of compelling, complicated characters, good and bad, and a twisted plot that keeps you guessing until all the pieces have been discovered. Nick and Annie are fascinating as a couple, while also being the ying and yang of investigative styles. This book realistically portrays many types of drug addiction, domestic abuse, family loyalties, good and bad, jealousy, and murder. It took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions throughout and left me guessing to the end.

I highly recommend this compelling crime thriller/police procedural!

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About the Author

Tami Hoag is the #1 international bestselling author of more than thirty books published in more than thirty languages worldwide, including her latest thrillers–COLD COLD HEART and THE 9TH GIRL. Renowned for combining thrilling plots with character-driven suspense, Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller list with NIGHT SINS, and each of her books since has been a bestseller. She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Other interests include the study of psychology, and mixed martial arts fighting. A woman of eclectic tastes, to say the least, Tami was recently asked to list seven things people may not know about about her: 1. I was once offered a job by a private investigator. 2. I have a license to carry concealed weapon, but never do. I took the course for research purposes. 3. My high school guidance counselor encouraged me to become an actress, but I thought that was too impractical (Of course, there’s nothing practical about being a writer, either, but at least I’m not obligated to look good on a daily basis.) 4. I used to sing at weddings. 5. While I have no intention of ever getting married again, I love watching Say Yes To The Dress 6. I have legitimate knockout power in my right hand, and I’m not afraid to use it. 7. When I’m stressed out, all tech devices around me go haywire. I’ve stopped watches, and fried hard drives. I once killed a television in a store display by merely touching it. I’m better off sticking to life’s simple pleasures–like books!

Social Media Links

Website: https://tamihoag.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TamiHoag

Twitter: https://x.com/tamihoag

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tami-hoag