This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
The idea for IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY started in a parking lot in 2014. I’d been experiencing writer’s block when I walked past a car in the lot with a large antenna on the roof and a license plate displaying a ham radio call sign. I was familiar with the ham lifestyle because my dad was a ham for most of his life. But something about that car awakened something deeply sentimental in me, and when I got home, I jotted down some ideas for a friendship story about a woman in her twenties and a much older male ham, whose character would be loosely based on my dad.
I'm a Boston-area writer with three published novels (Evolved Publishing). In addition to IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY, I've also written LEAVING THE BEACH and LIVING BY EAR. All three of these stories focus on women figuring out who they are and what they want from life.
Reviewed by Jon Michael Miller for Readers' Favorite
“My one goal,” Molly Dolan sums up, “is to find a guy ... who really loves me.” Molly is an ordinary young New England woman in the early 2010s—smart, nice-looking, thoughtful, and exquisitely human, yet ordinary. This novel is an in-depth look into the everyday life of regular people who, like all of us in that category, struggle with extraordinary hopes, dreams, disappointments, and victories. Yeah—LIFE. Molly is well-educated, attractive, funny, and at odds with her world. We meet her people, particularly an elderly fellow who lives across the street and devotes most of his time to his ham radio pals. Then there’s Jeannette, an erotic novel writer, upstairs. And Molly’s man-interests, but especially her desire to be a good person. There’s even a murder mystery in the background. Will Molly find her guy?
I loved It Doesn't Have To Be That Way, and as in most books, behind the plot, the setting, the fictional characters, it’s really the author that we learn about. And Mary Rowen is a jewel. What shines through the writing—besides her literary skill—is her empathy, her compassion, and her deep knowledge of the souls of her characters. Hey, ordinary people, like you and me, who make mistakes and seek redemption, who grapple for understanding and even for happiness in our complex world. This book is not to be missed. But before you start, it might be a good idea to put on your Jim Croce album—the chapter titles are his songs. This book is simply ... well ... fabulous!
