Meet Tammy Maas

What’s your favorite color?

My favorite color is red but I like black and white too. However there seems to be a debate regarding black and white as some people claim they are not colors. 

What type of vehicle do you drive?

I drive a 2007 Pontiac Torrent. 

Describe yourself to me.

I am opinionated, happy, funny, fun, creative and content.

How would your mate describe you?

He would say that I’m the queen of exaggeration and procrastination, a good mom and not half bad at cooking.

What really moves you, or touches you to the soul?

My kids really touch my soul. Just watching them grow and learn is such a joy. At one point in my life I didn’t want kids and was married for 17 years before changing my mind. I think I really would have missed out in life if I didn’t have children.

What's the one thing you have always wanted to do but couldn't?

I would like to win the lottery.

What would happen if you did do it?

Just knowing my kids would be set for life would make it all worthwhile. I would put stipulations in effect though before they received a penny. Finishing college would be the first thing. There is more to life than just money; I would want them to figure out what makes them happy. Once they know what makes them happy they could then pursue careers in that field. Not having to worry about money would just make life a little easier.

Describe your ideal mate.

I just happen to be married to the ideal mate. He is beautiful both inside and out. He encourages me and pushes me to reach goals I have set for myself. He tells me multiple times every day that he loves me. He is understanding, funny, talented, a wonderful listener and a great father to our children. We are so connected that we can’t even fight with each other. Occasionally one of us will be upset about something and attempts are made at finger pointing and name calling. These conversations always end up with laughter as we just can’t do it. It’s much easier to hear the other person out and then work out a solution. 

What are you most afraid of?

I would have to say death is the one thing I am most afraid of. It’s so final, no revisions, no do-overs, it just ends. It makes me sad to even think about it. I have a really difficult time going to wakes; I dread them to the point of making myself sick. I don’t like good-byes for the living or the dead. 

What's the most important thing in your life?

My family is the most important thing in my life. For a short time we lived 12 hours away from our families. We gave our daughter a choice for vacation: Disney World or Iowa. She chose Iowa because she missed her Grandma’s. We knew instantly that we needed to move back home. Within a year we completed that goal and have never been happier.

What do you consider your special talent?

My special talent is writing. In third grade I won a writing contest for a story about St. Patrick’s Day. (What a coincidence!) The story was about some kid breaking into the school and someone chasing him around. At the end as the boy was trying to climb out of the window, someone started pulling his leg, just like I’m pulling yours now! I think I won a papier-mâché blarney stone or something. When I saw the smiles on the faces of my teachers and class mates that day I was very proud and amazed that “words” could get such reactions out of people. I’ve been in love with writing ever since. 

How did you meet the hero/heroine?

I met my husband in high school in advanced speech class. 

Was it love at first sight or did it develop slowly?

I would have to say it was love at first sight. He sat behind me in class and from the first day we met we were inseparable. When he was senior I was a sophomore. He presented his class ring to me at a Hardee’s Restaurant one day during lunch. The next day he had to ask for it back because his mom was livid that he gave it to me! We have been married for 23 years now. 

What did you like/dislike about him/her when you first met?

I hung out with a rough crowd while he was a “brain” and hung with the nerds. I loved everything about him including how smart he was but I could have done without some of his friends. He also is a “dweller” and tends to overthink certain situations when he should just move on. That part of him has never changed.

If you were granted three wishes, what would you ask for?

We have a rule in my house; if you blow out the candles on a birthday cake or throw money into a wishing well, your wishes will not come true if you tell other people about your wishes. So you are making me go against everything I believe in here : ) World peace, a potion that would allow people to remain forever young and three more wishes! Oh, asking for another wish is not allowed you say? Then my third wish would be for enough money to be able to travel the world to show my children other cultures while they are still young enough to be entranced and inspired by the ways of the world.

Tammy Maas is a writer who moonlights as a domestic Goddess. Her debut Novella, A Complicated Life in a Small Town, is slated for publication on 2-27-2012. Tammy ghost writes for several online clients. She was published by Oatmeal Studios, and was a writer/photographer for Houston County News. Check out her blog at: http://animaasity.weebly.com.

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The road to hell really is paved with good intentions. Bitter that she was robbed of her childhood, at age eighteen, Lydia Lawson severed all communication ties with her alcoholic parents. Her father commits suicide one year after she leaves home. Twenty-three years later she receives word that her mother is dead and that she has inherited more than just the family home. Lily, a twenty-one-year-old, morbidly obese half-sister with Prader-Willi Syndrome, is found in the basement, too big to move out of the home. Lydia sets out on a life-changing journey trying to help Lily, trying to find Lily s father and trying to find herself. In the interim, she falls in love with Tommy Porter who remains with her right up to the climatic, mind-blowing reveal at the end.