KELLY HARMS

Penning the types of books she likes to read, Kelly Harms nails the North Woods’ romantic charm in her first two books, part of an ongoing and spellbinding series centered around fictional small towns.

What drew readers to your first two books “The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane” and “The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay”?

Wish fulfillment. Lily in “Matchmakers” has a husband she never knew about, and he turns out to be a sexy lumberjack with a heart of gold. In “Shipwreck Lane,” it’s not hard to understand why one would want to explore the idea of winning the perfect house on the coast of Maine. And just wait until you see how fortune favors—and trips up—the characters of book three.

Your fave authors are… ?

I have become a one-woman cheer section for the works of Milwaukee-area author Amy E. Reichert and fellow Tall Poppy author Kate Moretti [of Pennsylvania] who writes authentically thrilling psychological mysteries. My other leading lights are authors like Ann Patchett and Luanne Rice, who have a large body of work, because I am learning how much harder each book gets as you go along.

Who are the Tall Poppies?

A national community of women writers working together as a philanthropy collective and promotional team dedicated to cultivating the long-range success of female authors in an often male-dominated vocation. [Initially envisioned as a marketing cooperative, Tall Poppies was founded by author and BRAVA contributor Ann Garvin. ]

Which is harder: being a mother or writing a book?

I’ve heard people compare writing books to birthing children, and in one respect there’s truth there: After you turn it over to the world, the book takes on a life of its own. But motherhood is also the work of superheroes, and since I’m a mere human, I’ve grown so much more and worked so much harder doing my best for my son than I could ever imagine doing for a novel. Let’s just say I am glad I do both. kellyharms.com.