Hi! I’m Tasha Hackett. I write books and I know stuff.
While at York University completing a B.A. in English and English education with a minor in theatre, I married my best friend. Now, instead of analyzing Shakespeare’s plays, I write with hope and humor to encourage and entertain.
I wrote my first novel, Bluebird on the Prairie, over the course of three years, stopping periodically to have a few more babies. Yearning for rest, yet still “wanting it all” I dug into entrepreneur business strategies and altered the advice to fit homemaking and writing in order to stay afloat. Friends say I am an endless ball of energy, but they forget that I’m usually in bed before nine. Though my schedule isn’t perfect, I run a tight ship. My four children have learned better than to bother me when I’m locked in her tower, knowing I’ll be 100% available when I reemerge. In my free moments, I’m busy developing a course to teach other homemakers the formula I’ve developed.
Recently, I’ve published a unique kindergarten math curriculum that focuses on play and one-on-one teacher/student conversation, and my second novel, Wildflower on the Prairie, will launch this summer, 2023. Although I spend a good deal of time plotting new stories, washing dishes, cooking for six, sewing, and folding laundry, my favorite thing is family. They give me the kind of love people write books about.
Twelve-year-old Tasha totally saw this coming.
Coincidentally, Twelve-year-old me would not be surprised to see my name on the cover of a book. She’d say, “Well, sure! That’s what writers do. They write books. Duh.”
Somewhere between twelve and thirty life happened and the author vision was lost.
But one evening with 34 prom dresses to be altered and the kids asleep for the night, I sat near a pile of red satin, carefully trimming four layers of tulle when my husband asked, “If you wrote a book, what would it be about?”
Only three and a half years later, I completed my first manuscript: Bluebird on the Prairie. I set out to create a historical romance while exploring themes of hope and grief and finding love again.
I almost quit writing.
After finishing my first novel, I made the decision to wait a good, long time before tackling another one. Because motherhood is more important… and being a homemaker is more important… I just couldn’t do it all. It’s true! If I had to choose, I would and I could.
Then my husband said, “I think you should keep writing.”
You guys!!! My heart filled to bursting. This feeling in my chest was an honest-to-goodness physical response. Like an opening in my heart that grew and spread and filled up with all the happiness it could hold. It bubbled up and pushed out a few tears.