Hello Readers, Thanks for visiting. Southie Girl is my latest novel. As always, my books are easy to read, with quirky, unpredictable characters. You'll find Southie Girl, Brooke Sullivan, to be a complex young woman who weaves a web of lies and deceit, all to accomplish one goal. Southie Girl will keep you guessing to the very end.If you haven't checked out my other novels, please enjoy Pull of the Moon, set on Cape Cod in the eighteen hundreds. A young lad, impoverished and desperate, agrees to marry a reclusive young woman. Her father demands the marriage is in name only, but you can imagine how that goes!Her Family's Secrets has been a big hit. Also set on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, a young woman leaves her failing marriage when she inherits an old homestead from relatives she didn't know she had. She learns more about her sketchy ancestors when she finds the diaries of her great-great grandmother.I've written six novels since 2017, beginning with Kitchen Canary, an Irish historical fiction novel. I'd just retired and been widowed, and writing became my escape. I followed Kitchen Canary one year later, publishing Through the Open Door, a sequel. I discovered my talent for writing fiction after I joined a writers' group while spending a winter in Florida. When I returned home to Massachusetts, I stayed in touch with one of the members, and we formed an alliance, helping edit each other's work. Predator in the House was my third novel. It's different than my two historical fiction novels. I wrote it to fulfill a commitment I made to myself years ago, when, through my work in healthcare, I learned of the scourge of child sex trafficking. At that time, I vowed to help in some way. I didn't write a grim book about an abused, trafficked child because I felt it would be too hard for most people to read. Instead I created a story of a dysfunctional married couple who are bonded only by their determination to kill sex offenders. Predator in the House has many laugh out loud moments as it follows the antics of Karl and Shirley Shea. It is through their experiences the reader learns the signs of child sex trafficking. Predator in the House is also a suspenseful crime mystery, keeping the reader guessing until the very end. Writing a book is never a solitary endeavor, at least for me. For every book, I depended on other writers to read, critique, and offer ideas to make the story come to life. Other authors pushed me to dig deep, think critically, and not stop until the work was as near perfect as I knew how to get it. And when I thought I had it, my beta readers provided new insight and ideas. I highly recommend writers groups to develop your story, the big picture, and beta readers to help you hone the finer details.Like most writers, I'd rather be writing than marketing, but truly, the experience of meeting people at book fairs and festivals, speaking at libraries, and attending book club meetings in person and through Zoom has been a lot of fun. Readers love to hear about my individual writing process, which includes extensive research and note taking. Unfortunately, I can be a bit scattered and often write notes on the back of old envelopes or store receipts. It's very time consuming trying to sort through scraps of paper all the time, so I have now disciplined myself to use a notebook, sometimes. Today, in 2024, I'm living on Cape Cod, remarried, and enjoying life. Thanks for stopping by. I am most grateful to readers and gratified when one tells me my books got them reading again. Please remember to post a review on Amazon.Best Regards,Joanne ParsonsRead more about this authorRead less about this author