It took a Los Alamitos single mother more than 15 years to write her first book, but she has indeed published her first novel, “Somewhere Between Dandelions.”
Trisha Larson Harmon, a talented new author, is set to release her debut Young Adult novel, “Somewhere Between Dandelions,” a captivating blend of genres in an emotional coming-of-age story.
According to Harmon, the novel follows high school senior Claire Goodnight, who discovers she can see the ghost of her almost-boyfriend, Finn. As Claire navigates the complexities of first love, loss, grief, alcoholism, forgiveness, and healing, she uncovers unexpected connections between her own family and Finn’s, says Harmon.
With a touch of the supernatural, Harmon weaves a tale that is both heart-wrenching and hopeful, she said.
In an interview with ENE, Harmon said writing was always her dream, even as real life slowed things down.
“After I graduated with my degrees. I worked at Barnes and Noble for nine years,” said Harmon, noting she was able to learn about bookstores, stocking, pricing, etc.
“Now, I currently work at an industrial supply company in Santa Fe Springs. So, it’s kind of a customer service type position. I’m a single mom and you know, I had to pay the bills and stuff,” said Harmon.
When COVID slowed the world to a stop, Harmon saw an opening.
So, ultimately, when COVID happened, they let us work from home. So I had extra time on my hands and I ended up hiring myself a writing coach to hold me accountable because I had already written the book, you know, for the most part, but I wanted to finish it up, and get edits cleaned up, said Harmon.
“It actually took me a total of 15 years, from start to finish, to get it out into the world,” the first-time novelist said.
“So that’s why I say it was kind of a long time coming,” she added.
Harmon said she finally self-published the novel after sending dozens of queries to agents. “I did try to query for agents for a while and I just kind of got over the process. I only sent out, like, about 40 emails and I said to myself, I want this out there in the world so I just did it myself.”
So far, readers seem to really like it.
Readers have praised Harmon’s ability to create realistic characters and a compelling narrative that resonates with emotions. The novel has received glowing reviews from Kirkus Reviews, as well as, several 5-Star Readers’ Favorite reviews, she said.
“Somewhere Between Dandelions” is now available in eBook, paperback, and audio formats on Amazon, as well as in paperback from other book retailers.
Harmon, originally from Redlands, CA, holds a BA from UC Riverside and a Master of Fine Arts from Cal State University, Long Beach in creative writing. She is the founder of Possibility Publishing and currently resides in Los Alamitos with her children.
Trisha is inviting readers for a book signing on June 8 at 2 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble in Huntington Beach. For more information, please contact Trisha at Hello@trishaharmon.com.
