Happy Monday, readers! I’ve got a treat for you today, especially if you love reading new adult romance. Hannah Goodman is an author I met this year and I knew once we started chatting, I had to have her on Book Heaven for an author interview. So, grab your favorite beverage and join us. Hannah, take it away…
What book do you wish you could have written?
The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer
Just as your books inspire authors, what authors have inspired you?
Judy Blume’s career has inspired me since childhood. Yes, I read each of her books cover to cover many times, but what I truly admire about her as an author is that she never let genre define her. She wrote good stories and then they were categorized into children’s, middle grade, YA, and adult. She stretched into areas of sexuality, race, and religion at a time when doing so as a female author was not common. She’s truly my favorite! Plus she responded to a tweet I once sent her a few years ago, and it meant everything to me!
Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?
I do read all of the reviews and only respond to the good ones. My philosophy about this is that as a reader, if you truly don’t like a book, stop reading it. I’m a reader and that’s what I do. If I don’t like a movie or TV show or song on the radio, I turn it off. Art is subjective. Bad reviews do not help the author because they rarely offer constructive criticism. I had a one-star review that said, “This book had, not only one—but four, main characters with deranged morals”. Because they have sex? Because they drink alcohol? Ok, but those are things characters and people do and not everyone has the same moral code about those activities. This reviewer is not The Moral Authority. Also, she hated it so much that she read it cover to cover, so what’s that about? Sigh. Just another day as an author!
Is this your first book? How many books have you written prior (if any?)
This is my 5th novel. The first three were self-published, and the fourth was published by another publisher, Black Rose Writing, in 2018. The first 4 were all part of a YA romance series, and I actually have a 5th one written for that series but not published. I republished the first three with Black Rose Writing in a box-set, and then when I parted ways with them, the rights reverted to me so I re-published everything through Amazon. Readers can go here to purchase if they are interested.
What are you working on now? What is your next project?
I always have about 3 things going at once. Right now I have a YA romance out on submission to publishers. I have several WIPS that all need editing and I don’t know which one I want to work on first. Lastly, I am working on a self-help/memoir which is related more to my day job as a psychotherapist.
What is your biggest failure?
I started out in 2004 with such high hopes as an author. I had won first place in The Writer’s Digest Self Published Book awards, Children’s/YA division, which garnered the interest of several publishers, one of which I signed with. I really thought I might become the next Judy Blume. I did not. Although that is the biggest failure, I have been able to get pretty far in an industry that isn’t really kind to or easy for unfamous and unconnected folks. And, that failure allowed me to focus on my second dream, which was to become a psychotherapist. My biggest failure led to my greatest accomplishment! Plus, the pressure to be an author for a living is too great so now that I don’t have that, it’s a lot more fun!
What is your biggest fear?
It used to be failure but now it’s death. I mean nothing is worse than death, right?
If you had a superpower, what would it be?
To bring back family members from the dead.
If you were a super hero, what would your name be? What costume would you wear?
My name would be “Anxiety Warrior”, and my costume would be a sparkly, gold pant suit.
What secret talents do you have?
It's not entirely a secret, but I don’t exactly broadcast that I do tarot card readings.
Thank you, Hannah, for the insightful interview. I enjoyed getting to know you better. Readers, scroll down to read more about Hannah’s recent release.
Title
I Love That Girl
Author
Hannah R. Goodman
Genre
New Adult Romance
Publisher
The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb
Once called the four-headed monster in high school, only to be decapitated by the disaster of coupling up, four childhood friends thought their wounds were healed now that they are in college, but reuniting for two weeks in paradise results in possible decapitation once again by way of: a rejected proposal, a birth control fail, an almost ménage a quartet, and a secret (and-thought-to-be-impossible) hook-up.
Excerpt
I emerge from the jetway with anticipation and
excitement fizzing through my body. Scanning the
throng of people at the gate, I see Ethan before he sees
me, and everything except this moment and that boy
dissolves.
Sunglasses nestled into his thick black hair. A
green tee shirt, the color of his eyes, clings to his chest.
Arms tanned and more toned than I remember, muscles
long and lean. He grips a bouquet of roses in one hand.
His handsome profile familiar and strange as he
searches for me. The voices and movement of the
people in the crowd increase a little as I slow my stride
and wait for him to see me.
A bent-over older woman with a cane crawls past
me ever-so-slowly, blocking him from sight. I tie my
sweater around my waist. I want him to see his favorite
outfit: cream-colored lacy top, skinny jeans, and wedge
shoes with my freshly painted Lacey Love Lilac-
colored toes. I touch my hair, which is tousled and
messy in a bun, then take a small tube of watermelon
pink lip gloss out and smear a little across my mouth as
the cane lady finishes her journey.
The rise and fall of more voices and the gliding
sounds of rolling bags and the smell of coffee, fast
food, and airplane fill the space between us while he
scans and searches right over my head.
Then.
His eyes land on me. He erupts into a gorgeous
grin.
“Nori!”
“Ethan!”
The wedge shoes make me wobble as I run, but I
don’t have to go far because Ethan’s arms swoop me
up, spin me around, and pull me against his body. His
lips are all over mine. “Mmmmmm. Watermelon.”
I giggle and then his mouth dips into my neck. I
make a little noise. He kisses my hair then puts me
down and it’s like light is beaming from every part of
my body to his.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
We giggle. He takes my bags, and I grin at him,
heating up inside and out. I hear someone whistle and
another few people clap.
Hands entwined and lips aching from kissing and
grinning so hard, we walk through the gate.
“Three months.” He swings my hand.
“I know.”
He pulls me against his side and winds an arm
around my waist. I have to tilt my chin a little less than
normal in these shoes, which makes my five foot five
more like five foot seven to his six feet. We kiss again
with our mouths open and tongues pressing. I curl my
fingers in his hair, and he does the same around my
waist. I almost lift a leg in the air.
Yes, it’s that good with Ethan. Dreamy-romance-
novel-that-I-love-but-hate-to-admit-I-read good.
“Is it bad that all I want to do is get you to the
condo and take your clothes off?” he whispers in my
ear, which makes everything on that side of my body
tingle.
“No, it’s all I thought about on the plane.” I inch
closer. “And I hope you want to do more than take off
my clothes.”
Clasping hands, we hurry to the parking lot. Ethan
navigates through the endless walkway of gates and
continually growing crowds of people. My feet don’t
touch the ground, floating and flying, a blur of noise
around us. We don’t say much, lots of squeezing hands
and other parts. One-word answers and questions.
Sidelong glances at each other. I don’t ever remember
feeling so high around him before. The last time we had
a reunion of this sort it was nerve-racking, and this time
it is the equal intensity but opposite circumstances.
We get to the parking lot, and he pulls me to him
right in front of his car and kisses me, his hands
cupping my butt, and I feel him through his shorts. I
slide my hands under that tight tee shirt. His skin is
warm, and we come up for air as I rub his chest.
“Get in the car,” he whispers and then sticks his
tongue in my ear.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub)
Amazon (ebook) - https://amzn.to/4fkJSTZ
Amazon (Paperback)- https://amzn.to/3WnGNvd
The Wild Rose Press - https://wildrosepress.com/product/i-love-that-girl/
Author Biography
Psychotherapist by day and writer by night, Hannah R. Goodman prefers tea over coffee, cats over dogs, and staying in over going out (especially if that means watching reality dating shows!). Her accomplishments include earning extra letters after her name—MFA, MEd, CGS, LMHC. Her most recent achievement is the publication of I Love That Girl, a New Adult romance novel, by The Wild Rose Press on January 1, 2025. One Goodreads reviewer says I Love That Girl is "simultaneously joyous, sexy, and uncertain" and is "the perfect book for any season of life."
In 2018, Black Rose Writing published her contemporary YA romance novel Till It Stops Beating, which was praised by Literary Titan for "tackling a difficult issue like anxiety and making a story that was funny and sweet without making light of the issue." Though released as a stand-alone book, Till It Stops Beating is the final book in The Maddie Chronicles series. The first three books in the series are currently available in an ebook or paperback boxed set entitled The Maddie Chronicles.
The Maddie Chronicles began with her first book, My Sister's Wedding, which won first place in the 2004 Writer's Digest Self-Published Books Awards Children's/Teen Division. She published the follow-up, My Summer Vacation, in May 2006, which went on to win a bronze IPPY in 2007. The third Maddie book, Fear of Falling, was released in the fall of 2009 and was praised by teachers and readers for tackling subjects like homophobia and coming out.
Hannah has also been published by several online publications, including MindBodyGreen, OC87 Recovery Diaries, and Zencare.co, The Mighty, and Scary Mommy. She currently writes about writing, publishing, and mental health on her Substack called Writing My Way Through It.
Social Media Links
Twitter: @hannahrgoodman
IG: hannahrgoodman75
Threads: hannahrgoodman75
Substack: https://substack.com/@hannahrgoodman
Website: Hannahrgoodman.com
Blue Sky @hannahrgoodman.bsky.social
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/hannahrgoodman