Traci Hall | All About In the Dog House

I write, among other things, contemporary romance. Real people, in real situations, finding
love in this crazy world.

The fact that we do find one another, and that we manage to have meaningful relationships for
however long the relationship lasts, is amazing. Do I believe in soul mates? Yes. I have
witnessed two people coming together despite the odds and loving one another. It’s a
beautiful thing. I’ve also seen heartbreak, I’ve felt heartbreak…but I’ve also felt love—the fit of
your other half. That joy is what keeps me writing romance in all forms. It is a celebration of
connection.

Backstory for In the Dog House: Emma, orphaned as a young teen when her agoraphobic mother died, goes to live with her great aunt and finds Jackson, who lost both parents in a car accident. This creates the dynamic of two teenagers finding love in sorrow and healing through first romantic love. Jackson is bound by misguided duty and leaves Emma after graduation to fulfill a promise to his dead father, and previous generations of Hardy men. Emma is brokenhearted by Jackson choosing to leave her when he was the first to show her romantic love.

I think that forgiving someone who has broken your heart would be the hardest kind of
relationship to rekindle. There would always be that sense of waiting for the other shoe to
drop. You have to learn to trust again, but you’re tougher the next time around, even if you
don’t mean to be. Fate is a hard teacher.

When Jackson comes back ten years later, Emma is taken by surprise—she has used that time
apart to become her own woman—a psychologist, earning her doctorate; in search of a way to
heal those around her, she has put her dreams of love and a family last. Jackson has put his
military career ahead of all matters of the heart. He’d given his heart to Emma, who held it still,
not that he’d ever told her so.

He’d expected her to move on from Kingston. He’d hardened himself against romance because
when he dreamed of kisses, it was Emma that he dreamed of. When she thinks of the perfect
man, Jackson Hardy is the one. He also holds the power to break her down.

Writing their story was so challenging at times because I wondered myself if they would find a
way past the heartache they’d caused each other, to find a happy ending. They were each
“right”—I could see each side so clearly, and yet I wanted them to find a way to meet in the
middle. Love isn’t fair. Love requires compromise and understanding. Love requires respect.

Sometimes love requires time to grow and reconnect, but it takes a daring couple to risk the
pain they’ve felt before for a chance at the pleasure of true love. I heart Emma and Jackson.

XO, Traci