Author starts new chapter in career 'Grace'-fully

However, it wasn't until her mid-30s that she got serious about writing and authored a series of nonfiction relationship humor books, including "How to Screw Up Your Marriage: Do-Over Tips for First-Time Failures" and "How to Screw Up Your Kids: Blended Families, Blender Style."

"I'd gotten really interested in creative writing, but I was doing it in the nonfiction realm," Hutchins said.

That changed on Nov. 1, 2012, when her first fiction book, a romantic women's mystery called "Saving Grace," was published. The novel is about an employment attorney who "runs away" to the Virgin Islands to escape a humiliating loss of a high-profile court case, as well as a slew of personal problems. "Saving Grace" won first-place honors for the romance category in the Writers’ League of Texas 2010 Contest and was named the top ghost story in 2012 by the Houston Writers Guild.

"The protagonist is a little bit of a train wreck," Hutchins said. "She gets to the islands and discovers that she's brought herself with her and has just as many problems there as she does in the States."

Hutchins owned a house in the Virgin Islands, where she lived for nearly 10 years. She drew on her extensive first-hand knowledge of the islands when writing "Saving Grace."

"It's a fun book," Hutchins said. "It's like a vacation in a book. It immerses you in the Caribbean at the same time that you're experiencing the growth of a woman who is just as dangerous to herself as the bad guys are."

"Saving Grace" is just the first installment of the "Katie and Annalise" series. The second book in the series, called "Leaving Annalise," will be released in October 2013.

When she's not working her "day job" as an employment attorney and human resource consultant, or writing her next book, Hutchins says she loves to spend time outside. She and her husband are also cycling and triathlon enthusiasts.

"Most of what I do keeps me cooped up inside on a computer, but I'm an outdoorsy type of person when I'm not writing," Hutchins said.

For more information on Pamela Fagan Hutchins, visit www.pamelahutchins.com. You can also connect with Hutchins on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and Pinterest.

ABOUT Pamela Fagan Hutchins
AGE: 45
OCCUPATION: Author, employment attorney and HR consultant
COMMUNITY CONNECTION: Meyerland resident
FAST FACT: Hutchins says her favorite book that she's written, "Going for Kona," will be released in 2014

Megan Mattingly-Arthur is a freelance writer. She can be reached at neighborhoods@chron.com.