REVIEW:

Hello my friends! Come on in, grab a cuppa and sit a spell.

Harbor Reflections by Tammy L. Grace is book five in her Stillwater Inn series. Every book in this series is so heartfelt and her characters are troubled and easy to love because you can feel their pain. I have loved all of Tammy’s series and books, but I have to say that this series is a standout! I don’t believe I’ve ever read a series as good as this one that hits all the right notes.

First of all let me tell you a little tiny bit about the series. Book one is about the matriarch and her wish to pass the Stillwater Inn to the ones she loves and who need each other, but don’t know it yet. Each of the following books is about each of the six heirs. This one is about Nolen Gallagher. Every book I’ve read so far makes me think this is my favorite heir so far. I don’t want it to end because I know the next book will bring another heir. 

Nolan is the strong silent type. He keeps his distance from the other heirs and carries on with is part of restoring the Inn they all have a piece of. Nolan has carried a secret heartache with him for many years and it is going to take a lot to get him to share and come to terms with his past. He is such a great guy.

If you love a series that is heartfelt and yet fun to read with a little bit of a mystery thrown in, then this series is for you. It has all the feels! It has love, angst, pride, accomplishment, DIY, you name it. I believe it has something for everyone. I love these characters. If you are a fan of the Hometown Harbor series, you will also meet some of your favorite characters from those books too! How fun is that?

I love this series and will be very sorry to see it end. If you don’t have any plans for the upcoming holiday, here you go! You can start reading now and be caught up by the time book number six rolls out. You won’t regret it. Tammy L. Grace is a wonderful author and her Stillwater Inn is a great place to spend the long weekend. 

Until next time, Happy Reading!

P.S. Don’t forget to support the authors you read by leaving a review. Even a few words help to get their books into more hands.

P.P.S. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I was not required to write a review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

SYNOPSIS:

“Heartbreak and healing collide in the Stillwater Inn Series—an emotional family drama that breaks your heart, mends it again, and stays with you long after the last page.”—Kay Bratt, Multi-Million Copy Bestselling Author

Master carpenter. Master at hiding. One truth could finally set him free.

Nolan Gallagher prefers the quiet company of his tools and his golden retriever, Tucker. A master woodworker and carpenter, he honors his mother’s memory through meticulous craftsmanship, restoring the Stillwater Inn’s intricate woodwork one careful piece at a time. The year-long obligation forces this lifelong loner into the company of five others, but Nolan keeps his distance. His regrets stay locked away like the secret he’s carried for over two decades.

When he meets a kind island native and longtime family friend who sees past his silence, Nolan feels the pull of connection. She offers the warmth he’s long avoided and the possibility of a second chance. He fears sharing his hidden truth might shatter the fragile bonds forming between them.

With Tucker at his side and the inn’s restoration revealing more than old beams, Nolan must choose—cling to isolation or finally let his walls fall, risking vulnerability for the healing and love he never believed he deserved.

Dive deeper into the island you love with Harbor Reflections, the fifth book in the Stillwater Inn series—an emotional story of quiet strength, long-held secrets, and the transformative power of found family and a second chance at life.

Read more from USA Today bestselling author Tammy L. Grace

HOMETOWN HARBOR SERIES

Hometown Harbor: The Beginning (Prequel Novella)
Finding Home
Home Blooms
Promise of Home
Pieces of Home
Finally Home
Forever Home
Follow Me Home
Long Way Home
Come Home for Christmas
Feels Like Home
Whispers of Home

STILLWATER INN SERIES
Harbor Dreams
Harbor Echoes
Harbor Winds
Harbor Lights
Harbor Reflections
Harbor Shores
Harbor Hearts

COOPER HARRINGTON DETECTIVE NOVELS

Killer Music
Deadly Connection
Dead Wrong
Cold Killer
Deadly Deception
Deadly Pursuit

GLASS BEACH COTTAGE SERIES

Beach Haven
Moonlight Beach
Beach Dreams

SISTERS OF THE HEART SERIES
Greetings from Lavender Valley
Pathway to Lavender Valley
Sanctuary at Lavender Valley
Blossoms at Lavender Valley
Comfort in Lavender Valley
Reunion in Lavender Valley

CHRISTMAS BOOKS

A Season for Hope (Christmas in Silver Falls)
The Magic of the Season (Christmas in Silver Falls)
Christmas in Snow Valley (Hometown Christmas Series)
One Unforgettable Christmas (Hometown Christmas Series)
Christmas Sisters (FREE PREQUEL to Soul Sisters at Cedar Mountain Lodge)
Christmas Wishes (Soul Sisters at Cedar Mountain Lodge)
Christmas Surprises (Soul Sisters at Cedar Mountain Lodge)
Christmas Shelter (Soul Sisters at Cedar Mountain Lodge)
Christmas Hearts (Soul Sisters at Cedar Mountain Lodge)

OTHER TITLES
The Wishing Tree
Wish Again
Overdue Wishes
One More Wish
Pick of the Litter
Hearts Unleashed
Welcome Aboard
Uncharted Waters

WRITING AS CASEY WILSON
A Dog’s Hope
A Dog’s Chance

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tammy L. Grace is a USA Today bestselling author of women’s fictions, family sagas, mysteries, and Christmas stories. She’s known for writing perfect escapes, unforgettable characters, and binge-worthy stories. Readers often say her characters feel like old friends and love the dogs she weaves into all her books. She brings readers entertaining stories that take them on an emotional journey, filled with complex relationships of friendship and family in her women’s fiction novels. Mystery readers delight in her fast-paced whodunits and fans of Christmas love her small town holiday stories filled with family, friendship, and furry characters.

Tammy also writes under the pen name Casey Wilson and has released two emotional and heartwarming stories about the bond we have with our beloved canine companions.

When Tammy isn’t working on ideas for a novel, she’s spending time with family and friends or supporting her addiction to books, tea, and chocolate. She and her husband make their home in Nevada and have one grown son and a spoiled golden retriever.

Tammy invites you to subscribe to her newsletter at http://www.tammylgrace.com/newsletter and she’ll send you a free interview with all the dogs in her Hometown Harbor Series as a thank you gift. Find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tammylgrace.books and be sure and click the follow button here on Amazon.

INTRODUCTION:

I’m so excited to bring you the first two books in The Art of Rivers series. The Mystic is book one and The Sunflower is book two and just released for our reading pleasure. One of my favorite genres is Historical Fiction and I can’t wait to sit down and immerse myself in these books. For us lovers of series, there is a book three in the works!

THE MYSTIC:

“An enticing deep dive into the mind of the main character as she grapples with her role in a terrible accident.” –Drew Becker, author of The Joyful Brand

It’s the 1950s in Massachusetts when Beth Robbins’ world is shattered by her husband’s hit-and-run accident compounded by his mysterious disappearance. The police investigating the accident include Graham Jackson, the only Black officer on the force, and a man Beth feels strangely drawn to. As Beth navigates a complex web of secrets, racial tensions, and moral dilemmas, she must face the truth about her husband’s actions while forging her own path forward, perhaps toward fulfilling her dream of becoming an artist.

With twists and turns centered around the search for Jack Robbins, The Mystic offers an unforgettable exploration of remorse, responsibility, and the power of human connection. Let the river sweep you away into a gripping tale of mystery, relationships, and the transformative nature of truth.

THE SUNFLOWER:

In the heart of 1960s Mississippi, where every act of courage risks everything, a Black police officer and his White wife dare to love—and to hope—in the shadow of segregation. “The Sunflower” by Dawn Reno Langley follows Graham Jackson and Beth as they navigate a world hostile to their union, facing threats from the Ku Klux Klan, community scorn, and the looming danger that follows every step. When Beth discovers she is pregnant, their fears intensify, yet so does their determination to build a better life for their child.

As Beth finds solace and purpose in teaching art to a gifted student, and Graham is called upon by Senator Kennedy himself to help shape the course of history, the couple is drawn deeper into the struggle for justice. Tragedy, loss, and unexpected kinship force them to make a heartrending decision: escape the only home they’ve known for the promise of a safer future.

In this poignant and gripping novel, Langley paints a portrait of resilience and hope, reminding us that love—in all its forms—can bloom even in the most inhospitable soil.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

You published your first article at nine years old, about the Cuban Missile Crisis. What made a child want to write about the fate of the world?

My parents encouraged open communication about what was happening in the world around us. We always had great dinner conversations, even when I was very young. I remember being curious about what was happening with the Cuban Missile Crisis, because my school taught us how to remain safe during that time. We had drills in grammar school on a daily basis that sent us down to the basement where we would line up by classroom until the bell rang to send us back to our rooms. I felt safe in that cement bunker, but I wanted to know what we were hiding from. My mother told me about nuclear war and how she coped with it when my father was fighting in World War II and Korea, and that is what inspired the article.

You have written everything from children’s books to novels about gender identity, from antiques guides to a book about the goddess in all of us. Is there a thread connecting it all, and can you put it into words?

To be honest, everything I’ve written has been about me exploring something I’m interested in. The first children’s books I wrote (The Jenny Books) were for my daughter, and she really loved that I had written stories with a character who had her name—but the stories were part of my own story and spawned from my childhood. 

My antiques books started when I was writing articles for antiques and collectibles newspapers and magazines. I was an antiques dealer, so I researched everything I sold, and I wrote articles about those items. When I created a two-page spread about Black American collectibles, an editor at Crown Publishers contacted me about expanding what I’d written into a whole book. After that, I kept writing for newspapers and magazines, and having written one book, I queried editors about additional ones. I was very lucky to find an editor who liked my work, and we collaborated for many years and many books after that.

I’ve always wanted to write novels, and my first one (All That Glitters) was born when my editor and I were relaxing in a hot tub at her cottage in Maine. She helped me get an agent, and pretty soon, ATG found a home. After that, I continued to write novels, and I produced four more. Analyzing the Prescotts was actually the result of my PhD dissertation, which centered on transgender authors.

You Are Divine came from the love I have for feminist studies and my yoga background. I’ve always felt strongly about the world we women create, and I’ve read widely about goddesses and strong women. To put together those “loves” was a work of the heart for me.

Your novel Analyzing the Prescotts follows a family torn apart when the father chooses to live as a woman. How do you prepare yourself to write about something that sensitive, and why do stories like that matter right now?

I studied transgender authors and their voice pre- and post-transition during my doctoral program, and my writer’s mind automatically wanted to create a story about what happens to families who live through such a drastic change in the family makeup. My research in my PhD years helped me truly understand what it means to transition from one gender to the other, and I hope it’s obvious that I have compassion for what it means to each member of the family as the father transitions to her female self. 

Preparation to write about sensitive topics changes as the topic changes. I try to do as much research about the topic as possible, and I immerse myself in what human beings might be experiencing and feeling. Compassion is extremely important when one is writing about topics that are not always understood by the general public. I feel that my job as a writer is to open up the discussion people should have about those topics. It’s not always easy to present a difficult subject in a way that might allow readers to understand. 

Stories like the Prescotts, and the interracial relationship I write about in The Art of Rivers series, are not always accessible to all readers, and I like to think that readers want to explore difficult stories like transgender issues and civil rights in the fiction arena, because it’s easier to understand those topics in a story rather than, say, a documentary. The fiction format brings people closer to the characters because they’re “not real,” and readers can relate when there isn’t the challenge of facing a real person.

You are a Fulbright scholar, hold a PhD and an MFA, and have worked with university programs in Pakistan. How has that academic journey shaped you as a storyteller rather than constrained you?

The academic journey actually happened long after my writing journey began. I appreciated education during my formative years and got great grades, but after I graduated from high school, I felt like my education had ended, and that was a big disappointment for me. 

Every one of my educational experiences was separated from the next one by at least five years, and to be honest, that was good because it gave me time to digest what I had learned. I’ve always been thirsty for learning new things, and I believe that started the moment I entered my first library. When I realized that books existed on any topic I was curious about, I felt as though I’d opened a treasure trove. The first book I read that spawned my love for travel was Kon Tiki, and it gave me a thirst for discovery that still hasn’t been quenched.

The MFA program at Vermont College made me feel for the first time that I was a writer—and a successful one, at that. I had always felt as though someone would find out, sooner or later, that I had come to this profession too easily. I felt like everyone else was a better writer than I was—true imposter syndrome. But being at VC made me realize that I was finally accepted as a professional writer, and that I could explore the fictional world even more than I already had.

When I came to my PhD program, they asked what I wanted to research, and since I had looked into women writers and their private and public writings during my MFA program, I knew I had to take it up a notch. I realized that I had some prejudice toward transgender folks, and in order to conquer that prejudice, I knew I had to understand trans people. And it did. As a result of that research, I created a story that I believe is one of the best I’ve created.

So, all in all, creativity and education go hand in hand.

You live with an ocean view, you call it “Writing from the Beach,” and you have even opened your guest room to other writers on a donation basis. What does the sea give you that nothing else can?

I no longer live on the coast of North Carolina, but I’ll soon be moving to the coast of Portugal! When I opened my house to other writers in North Carolina, I felt both like I was giving back, as well as spending time with other writers (and there is nothing better than that). The sea gives me a feeling of peace, and it also reminds me that the peace I feel is often offset by the strength and power of the ocean. When I can walk on a beach, my mind is free to explore whatever ideas I have and creativity expands.

You are working on a memoir about the loves of your life, you are a certified yoga instructor, a mosaic artist, and you travel the world with your husband Ian. How do you protect your creativity in the middle of all that living?

I’m no longer married to Ian. 

All of the work that you mentioned actually buoys my creativity. One idea gives birth to another. I find that I can creative when working up a yoga lesson, and my mosaic work is inspired by nature, literature, and art. I don’t feel like I have to protect my creativity while I live, because living is what inspires me creatively.

What do you want the children who one day read your books to understand about who you were and what you fought for?

Oh, this is a great question.

I want future children to know that I was once a child, too, and that my days in libraries and reading as many books as I could were what helped me become a writer. I learned early in my childhood to dream, and the more I dreamt, the more I realized there were people in the world who had different experiences than I did. Once I realized that, I wanted to travel and to meet those people and see those places that I had read about. Offering stories of my own world—or of others I’d learned about—gave me a reason to write and to be as a human being. I do hope that those future children realize that if they care about something, whether it’s a person or an issue, they can fight for/against it, they can write about it/them, and their voices matter.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dawn Reno Langley

Book Two of the Art of Rivers, THE SUNFLOWER, will launch on August 10!

At the tender age of nine, Dawn Reno Langley wrote her first published piece: an essay on the Cuban Missile Crisis. Since then her pen/computer has spewed forth a great number of written works ranging from newspaper articles to novels, poetry to children’s books, memoirs to fantasies. Her pseudonyms include: Dawn Reno, Dawn E. Reno, Dawn Elaine Reno, Dawn Reno Langley, and Diana Lord.

A nomad, she travels the world, caring for other people’s homes and animals. She’s traveled throughout Europe, the Far East, South America, and Africa–and is always looking for new places to visit.

As a teacher, Dawn has touched the lives of students from a 6th grade Montessori class to students in honors-level university courses, and writers in MFA and PhD programs. She counts many of them among her friends.

She blogs about books on Goodreads; talks about writing and the world around her on LinkedIn; and speaks to groups about writing, the social justice issues she stands for, and life as a Buddhist-yogi-writer. Her business, Rewired Creatives, Inc., offers editing, ghostwriting, coaching, and writing retreats.

Next on her plate: launching Love, Leashes & Letting Go — a memoir — in September!