About TJ Hassell
TJ Hassell has enjoyed a life-long interest in writing developed and deepened into her debut novel, The Travel Letters. It is a novel of multiple stories that piece together a beginning, middle and end, told with straightforward emotion and insight. TJ Hassell has released two more novels in this three-series project, A Habit of Keeping Secrets and A Fortunate Turn, all tinged with lessons of life that could only come from living one.
TJ lives with her husband, a mathematician and musician, who plays banjo from every porch and available rocking chair. She is his favorite rhythm guitar player and singer. The two perform at selected venues around Texas, but they enjoy front porch picking the best.
TJ has three children, two daughter-in-laws, one son-in-law and is Momma Jo to three beautiful granddaughters. These people are enough, but, thankfully, there are more from her husband’s children and grandchildren that bring company to their door, swimmers to a spring-fed lake and hikers on their trails.
TJ also enjoys hiking. In fact, it was a thirteen-hour hike in and out of the Grand Canyon that made her think she could write a book. And so, she has with two more to follow.
A life with music …
Music is not the main theme of the novels, but it is mentioned repeatedly throughout and is an important aspect in many of the characters lives. Being a musician of this traditional genre of music, the author’s depiction of pickers and their reverence for the music is well-informed and accurate. It’s a pleasant surprise to locate literary fiction books that references old-time tunes and the people who passed these songs from one generation to the next.
The author and her husband, Stuart Anderson play guitar and banjo and sing vocals as a favored hobby. The duo plays regularly during the summer/fall months at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Arkansas, where they assist in preserving traditional mountain songs and the oral history of music. When suitable, the duo known as Stringfellows also performs the songs mentioned in the novels at book events.
