Tami Hoag Books In Order

Publication Order of Broussard and Fourcade Books

Publication Order of Rainbow Chasers Books

Publication Order of Kovac and Liska Books

Publication Order of Elena Estes Books

Publication Order of Deer Lake Books

Publication Order of Oak Knoll Books

Publication Order of Doucet Books

Publication Order of Quaid Horses Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

About Tami Hoag:

Tami Mikkelson, more popularly known as Tami Hoag, is an American author. She was born on January 20, 1959 in Cresco, Iowa. She is known for her best-selling thriller and romance novels. She has been included in thirteen consecutive New York bestselling lists and has more than 22 million books in circulation to date.

Personal Life

Hoag’s father was an insurance agent and she was born in a fairly typical family. Although born in Iowa, Hoag grew up in Harmony, Minnesota, a little town in southeastern Minnesota with the population of about 1000, and according to Hoag, has no stoplight. Because of this, many of the settings of her novels feature Minnesota and its culture, or in some way reminiscent of her hometown.

She was raised in an environment where everyone is ten years or more older than her, and her home being not that close to the urban centers, she was accustomed to being with herself. Because of being considered the ‘baby’, the isolation proved to be useful for Hoag since it conditioned her to making stories to entertain herself.

She says, “I played a lot in my imagination,” she recalls. It was the ideal start for a writer. It certainly helped, not least because if you are a child in an adult world you observe adult behavior. Children are very clever at that.” It also made her accustomed to independent living, which is reflected by her self-reliant and independent female characters, a trademark which garnered much praise from both her readers and critics.

In 1977, she married Daniel Hoag, her high school partner. Hoag however, was not able to go to college and finish her studies because of lack of access to nearby tertiary education institutions. Personal differences led to their relationship ending in divorce.

However, despite the divorce and its accompanying stress, and despite the fact that she doesn’t have a college degree, Hoag perservered in order to pursue her passion for writing. She took odd jobs, such as being a photographer’s assistant, circulation staff in the local newspaper, training show horses and becoming a sales agent for designer bathroom accessories.

Hoag’s career in writing eventually took a right turn and she was recognized by award-giving bodies for her work. She was invited to read some of her work at one of then-First Lady Barbara Bush’s literary nights, a privilege which only a few writers have been lucky enough to be considered. She also had lunch with former President George H.W. Bush and Mrs. Bush at the White House in a special literary night.

Writing Career

In 1988, Hoag decided to enter the romance writing industry as a writer for Bantam Books Lovewept Line. Her very first book, The Trouble With J.J. was published for Bantam’s category romances. The book was a moderate success, and after a few publications, namely McKnight in Shining Armor and Mismatch (1989), she decided to pursue writing full-time and quit her other jobs.

She then proceeded to take a break in writing category fiction and decided to write stand-alone novels. She wrote Sarah’s Sin (1991), Heart of Dixie (1991) and Still Waters (1992). By 1992, she returned to writing category romanced for the Bantam Loveswept Line, publishing Sarah’s Sin (1992), Heart of Dixie (1991), Taken by Storm {1992) and Last White Knight (1992), her last contribution to the Bantam Loveswept series. She also concluded the plotline of her first novel (The Trouble with J.J.) with Magic, published 1990, finalizing what eventually is to be called the “Henessy Series.”

Hoag moved on to create series after series, first being the “Doucet Series,” all of which are written in Hoag’s definitive romantic writing style. The Restless Heart (Loveswept #458) was published in 1991, followed by Lucky’s Lady (1992), Cry Wolf (1993), and A Thin Dark Line(1997). She proceeded to create a trilogy, the “Quaid Horses” trilogy, a loosely-connected series of novels which run on the same romantic theme.

The series is comprised of novels Rumor Has It (1989), Man of Her Dreams (1989) and Tempestuous, released on 1990. Another series, the “Rainbow Chasers” series, was started with the novel Heart of Gold (1990), Keeping Company (1990), Reilly’s Return (1990) with the inclusion of Magic, one of Hoag’s first novels. The “Deer Lake” series was also jumpstarted in 1995 with Night Sins followed by Guilty as Sin, released in 1996.

Bantam reissued most of her romantic novels to accommodate her new style of writing which will eventually be realized in her further works.

Shift from Romance to Suspense-Thrillers

While Hoag continued to write romance novels, either as continuation of her ongoing series or as solo novels, Hoag expressed interest in shifting to the suspense-thriller genre. Suspense and mystery elements began to become crucial in her later novels, namely, Dark Paradise (1994), Cry Wolf (1993), A Thin Dark Line (1997) and a couple of other novels.

As to her gradual change of focus, she notes, “It was a gradual progression in my work. I started adding bits of suspense to the romance back when I was doing little short romance books and as I grew as a writer and wanted to do bigger, more complex deeper stories that was the direction that was natural for me to go was to suspense.”

On 1995, she released her first suspense novel, Night Sins which was part of the Deer Lake series. Night Sins and the series itself became a huge success, prompting Bamtam to re-issue the novel in hardcover. Hoag’s reputation as a writer, particularly as a suspense-thriller novelist, quickly grew.

This also led her to edit her previous works to add suspense elements in them and create consistency with her ongoing series. Night Sins was made into a TV miniseries Valerie Bertinelliand Harry Hamlin. The series was a huge boost to her career, and as Hoag herself has described it, “everything just exploded,” including the sales of her previous works and her subsequent releases.

In light of her success, she released to new series, the first being the “Oak Knoll” series which include the novels Deeper than the Dead (2009), Secrets to the Grave (2010), and Down the Darkest Road (2011), and the “Elena Estes” series, with the books Dark Horse (2002) and The Alibi Man(2007).

All achieved commercial success. She followed it up with the “Kovac/ Liska” series, which featured Hoag delving heavily into more mature territories. The novels Ashes to Ashes (1999) and Dust to Dust (2000) both feature elements of violence, resumed in the subsequent titles Prior Bad Acts (2006) also known as Dead Sky. 

6 Responses to “Tami Hoag”

1. Victor robinson: 1 year ago

   I am very late in getting to appreciate the fabulous writing talent of Tami Hoag, Having just read ashes to ashes. The benchmark in writing up till now I thought was Ken Follet. Tami, I think,is now the equal.

   Reply
2. Sesh: 1 year ago

   Love all her thrillers! Hate to think there’s no more. Would definitely be a waste of talent if that’s the case.

   Reply
3. Betty Jaeger: 2 years ago

   I sure hope she hasn’t quit writing and will be coming out with a new book soon. Miss her style of writing. Her books leave you on the edge of your seat till the end.

   Reply
4. Janice Carole Damewood: 2 years ago

   Looks like Tami Hoag has completely quit writing. What
   a same, such a waste of writing talent. I have read
   all the books she has written. Loved them all.

   Reply
5. Linda Andres: 2 years ago

   What is Hoag’s book following one of her very best, THE BOY?

   Reply
   • Graeme: 2 years ago

     Nothing since then. I believe there was a third book initially planned for that series called Bad Liar but it was never released.

     Reply