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Trade-Offs
Crossfire follows a high-powered executive who is struggling to juggle corporate pressure, family expectations, and the uneasy beginnings of an environmental partnership that pushes her boundaries. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I am fascinated by the impact of each choice we make in life, and each benefit requires a sacrifice, no matter how small. I wanted to use the green energy debate to show how small decisions really add up over time. For the series inspiration, I think we have so many books focused on coming-of-age stories, decisions that define the original trajectory of a life in early adulthood, but few dealing with middle age, which is where I wanted to focus. This first book series looks at a woman in the middle of her life, reflecting back on all those trade-offs she’s made—like choosing career over family, or balancing what she believes about the environment with what’s actually practical. I was most inspired by the idea that all these choices we think are separate actually connect and end up shaping where we land in life, but one or two different decisions can change everything at any point.
There was a lot of time spent crafting the character traits in this novel. What was the most important factor for you to get right in your characters?
It was important that Moirin, the main character, remained deeply committed to her convictions while being unyieldingly tough and independent in the workplace, yet vulnerable and yearning in her personal life.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
This series explores the experiences of women in midlife, and a common theme is the impact of life choices, such as prioritizing work over having a family or vice versa. I wanted to explore this with the extra layer of the moral, ethical, and financial choices made on behalf of a corporation. Every choice each of us makes impacts not only what we expect, but often has implications we could have never imagined. The results end up being our legacy in life, and the ultimate choices Moirin made.
What will the next book in that series be about, and when will it be published?
The next book in the series follows Jo Sanderson, Moirin’s best friend, who is dealing with the midlife financial challenges of a widow who loses her job, but a deeper struggle is at play with overcoming decades of loss and grief. As a result of her history, she developed a people-pleasing personality, constantly seeking to support the dreams of others, even those deceased, at the sacrifice of her own. It’s another story of growth that has a lot of cowboy and Wyoming outdoor influences. It will be available by mid-year 2026.
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Everyone around her marked the passage of time through celebrations of weddings, anniversaries and graduations, measuring life success through joy in family portraits. Everyone else had a life with husbands and wives, children, grandchildren. Moirin has a cat named Orson.
After decades spent building her grandfather’s Denver-based energy company into an international corporation, she’s poised to be the next CEO, when the Board of Directors announced a rigorous vetting process, ostensibly to avoid nepotism. It should have been a formality, but the challenges of an environmental impact study, resolving a string of increasingly suspicious management issues, and a vindictive business associate aren’t helping her pass their scrutiny.
When she meets a state brand inspector and team roping cowboy, his pragmatic outlook and life philosophy challenge her ideas about environment, life, and legacy. On the verge of achieving everything she’d worked for, Moirin Garrett wonders – had she made the right choices in life? At this stage, was it too late to change her legacy?
Crossfire
Crossfire follows Moirin Garrett, a high-powered executive juggling corporate pressure, family expectations, and the uneasy beginnings of an environmental partnership that forces her into the political, personal, and ethical “crossfire” she’s spent a career avoiding. From the first chapters, the story grounds us in her world of boardrooms, complicated family brunches, and the shimmering social circles where everyone wants something from her. As the plot widens, the book becomes a layered look at ambition, reinvention, and the messy overlaps between public responsibility and private longing.
Reading this in first person, I found myself rooting for Moirin even when she frustrated me. She’s sharp, driven, polished on the outside, and quietly unraveling beneath the surface. The writing makes room for that contradiction. The scenes move with a steady rhythm, sometimes clipped and tense, sometimes opening up into softer, more reflective moments that show how lonely success can feel. I liked how Herman lets small details do the emotional lifting: the staleness of office coffee, the weight of a family legacy, the flicker of discomfort when Moirin realizes she’s being sized up not just as an executive but as a woman in a room full of men with agendas.
What stood out most was the author’s choice to frame the story’s tension around both career stakes and personal awakening. The environmental study storyline sets up a believable moral tangle, especially as shady players circle around Moirin’s work. At the same time, the book gives her space to question what she actually wants beyond the next professional milestone. Moments with her friends feel warm and real, and her slow steps toward vulnerability make the corporate drama feel more human, not just high-stakes business maneuvering. The writing stays simple, grounded, and clear, letting the emotional beats land without theatrics.
The book feels like a story about a woman stepping out of a life she mastered and into one she’s still learning how to want. It’s women’s fiction with corporate intrigue woven in, built for readers who enjoy character-driven arcs, workplace complexity, and the slow burn of personal transformation. If you like stories about strong women navigating reinvention in midlife, or if you enjoy fiction set at the intersection of power, family, and identity, Crossfire will hit the mark.
Pages: 365 | ASIN : B0FTDX5MML
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