Kendra Hoey, a former Dunwoody resident whose professional career has revolved around numbers, is now all about words – thanks to encouragement and guidance from her former neighbor and author Kelly Fletcher.
Hoey and her family lived in Dunwoody for 28 years, and her three children attended Kingsley Elementary, Peachtree Middle and Dunwoody High schools. She had stints with Cox and TBS working in the financial field before joining her husband’s software company as his controller.
“During my career, I never in a million years dreamed of becoming an author, but I always loved books,” she said.
The family moved to the Florida Panhandle in April of 2021, and Hoey retired from the number-crunching business. While casting about for her next chapter in life, remembered Fletcher’s journey , a singer/actor mother of three who made a midlife shift to write romance novels.
“I was so impressed by her ability to decide to become an author and how she went and did it on her own,” Hoey said. “I just felt a little bit jealous of her, and so in awe.”
After settling in Florida, Hoey went to a local author’s book-signing event, and took it as another signal to explore writing her own book.
“Here was another woman who had a successful professional career and decided to become an author,” Hoey said. “I thought, ‘I’m retired and I have time, so why not give it a try?’”
After coming up with a premise for the novel, she sat in front of her computer, and the process began.
“I started typing and honestly, the words just gushed out of me,” Hoey said.
What came to fruition was “The Panhandle Predicament,” a 339-page mystery/romance novel that incorporates many of 30A’s recognizable landmarks and amenities.
The main character, Trina Scotsdale, who is retired, is obsessed with not leaving evidence of her own presence, which makes even simple things in life complex.
Her discovery of a skeleton in Point Washington State Park during a routine dog walk jars Trina’s memories and unearths her passion for crime solving, according to the book’s description.
“Trina relies on her instinct, her 30A community, and her childhood memories of living on the Florida Panhandle to uncover details, all while battling inner demons stirred by digging into her past,” the synopsis continued. “As the identity of the victim develops, Trina finds herself in a Panhandle predicament.”
Hoey said the project became a family affair, with her daughter, Brailey designing the cover art, her sons, Levi and Mason, serving as beta readers and technical advisors, and her husband’s contribution, his handwriting on the front of the book.
The book is self-published, another hurdle that Fletcher helped Hoey navigate.
Buoyed by the encouragement and kudos for her first book, Hoey has begun her second, which will explore the area’s arts community. She will, as with her first book, incorporate landmarks and local businesses into the story as a thank-you for the support she has received from her new city.
“The local community has been so supportive of local entrepreneurs, and I just want to promote them as they have me,” she said.
“The Panhandle Predicament” is available on Amazon in paperback and as an E-book, and in several stores around the 30A community.
