Finding Home by Tammy L Grace

I asked author Tammy L Grace... "Your book, Finding Home, is about life in a small town. Can you explain why you decided to set it there? And what is it about the whole small town 'lifestyle' that appeals to you?"
Here's what she said: The main character in Finding Home, Sam Collins, is seeking refuge from her feelings of despair and hopelessness. She’s leaving the big city life and returning to Friday Harbor, a picturesque island community she visited as a child.
I chose a small town setting for the book based on a few visits to the area. The San Juan Islands are beautiful and peaceful, offering a restorative balm for the soul. My main character needs to find a place where she’ll feel at home and heal from the past she can’t seem to let go. I believe small towns offer a sense of community more than a larger city. Sam quickly becomes accepted by the townsfolk and is enveloped in warmth. The care Sam is shown helps to mend her wounds and focus her on the future.
Small towns are a place where everyone knows everyone and their business. This was another essential piece to the story. I wanted a place where there was a bit of gossip and a few busybodies who would be poking their noses into Sam’s life.
I’m from a small town and still live in my hometown, so I relate to the lifestyle and am able to describe it much better than I could life in a booming metropolis. I like the idea of knowing my neighbors, being close to family and lifelong friends, and the sense of history that accompanies living in small community. There are days when it would feel good to be more anonymous, but overall life in a close-knit town, where everybody knows my name, is comforting.

Finding Home is a coming of age novel, but for a middle-aged woman devastated by past heartaches and loss, who flees to a small island expecting a change of scenery and discovers much more.
Shattered by her husband's infidelities after twenty-five years of marriage, Sam Collins is plagued by constant fear and loneliness, reliving the tragic death of her parents and the betrayal by the man she loved. She leaves Seattle seeking relief from the relentless darkness that has swallowed her. With only her dog for companionship, she sets out to live in her vacation home on San Juan Island.
In her search for a carpenter, she meets the handsome and very available, Jeff Cooper. Sam's not looking for romance, but can't deny the attraction to the retired firefighter, turned handyman. While working together and eating her pies, Jeff finds himself falling for her.
The past she wrestles to let go of comes hurtling back when she least expects it. In an effort to help a struggling young man, she is forced to confront the anguish she is desperate to escape. While torn between love and friendship, she must face her fears and choose between the life she's known and a chance for a family and home she's been longing for all her life.

Buy the Book from Amazon

Born and raised in Nevada, Tammy L. Grace loved reading at a young age. With the help of her middle school teacher, she discovered the joy of writing. After spending a career in local and state government service, she retired and finally has the time to dedicate to writing.
When Tammy isn't working on ideas for a novel, she's spending time with family and friends or supporting her addiction to books and chocolate. She and her husband have one grown son and a spoiled golden retriever.
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