Tammy Lash never set out to be a novelist. But storytelling was in her blood — passed down in the form of cliffhanger Bible lessons from her mother, a masterful children’s church teacher who, unknowingly, was teaching young Tammy the architecture of a compelling chapter.
“She would leave the kids hanging each week so they’d come back,” Lash said. “Little did she know, she was teaching me how to write chapter books.”
Now living in the Upper Peninsula, surrounded by the raw power of Lake Superior and the tranquility of the Hiawatha National Forest, Lash has become an accomplished author of inspirational historical fiction.
Her debut novel, “White Wolf and the Ash Princess,” and its sequel, “Letters from the Dragon’s Son,” blend immersive world building with raw, redemptive themes. With an Amazon rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars, Lash’s books have resonated with readers seeking stories rooted in healing, faith and forgiveness.
Lash’s writing journey was deeply personal from the start. After a discouraging experience in a college art class, she pivoted from drawing to storytelling, finding early creative footing while teaching in children’s church.
Years later, with the help of the homeschool writing program One Year Adventure Novel, she built the foundation for her first manuscript — one chapter at a time.
“It took the fear out of it,” she said. “It showed me I could do it. Chapter by chapter, step by step.”
But crafting “White Wolf” was never just about completing a novel. It became a conduit for emotional healing after surviving childhood abuse.
“Therapy was great, but ‘White Wolf’ was even better therapy,” Lash said. “I put myself into the characters and told my story through a fictional lens. If I felt something while writing, I hoped readers would feel something too.”
According to Savannah Jezowski, Lash’s first beta reader and later the editor for the second edition, the emotional depth was immediately evident.
“Tammy Lash’s writing style is raw and visceral,” Jezowski said. “She attacks ideas, themes and character struggles that many authors — particularly Christian authors — avoid. And she not only writes them, but she writes them with respect, compassion and keen emotional intelligence.”
Jezowski, who discovered “White Wolf” years before she ever met Lash, said the story stayed with her long after the first read. Eventually, the two connected, forging a deep creative partnership.
“It felt like a message — something that mattered,” she said.
Fellow author and friend AnneMarie Pavese echoed the sentiment.
“It didn’t feel like a generic character written to sell a book,” she said. “It felt like you were reading a letter from Tammy, wrapped in a blanket of fiction.”
Pavese, who helped proofread the manuscript over various editions, said the story’s authenticity and vulnerability stood out.
“She had to confront real things about herself in order to write it,” she said. “That’s brave.”
Lash’s books are infused with Christian faith and historical detail, often weaving in elements of Native American culture. After moving to the U.P. in 2018, she found fresh inspiration in the local history and landscape.
“The Hiawatha and Lake Superior are pivotal to my process,” she said. “There’s so much power in the water, so much peace in the forest. They helped me pour even more of myself into ‘Letters from the Dragon’s Son.’” That second novel, which Lash says contains “every ounce” of her emotional and spiritual energy, hasn’t garnered the same level of attention as ‘White Wolf’ — a fact she accepts with grace.
“I poured everything into ‘Letters,’ but whoever reads it, reads it,” she said. “The Lord’s got control.”
During the writing of “Letters from the Dragon’s Son,” Lash faced a debilitating eye condition that threatened to halt her creative process entirely.
“It was a truly inspiring experience to watch Tammy learn not only how to be patient with and kind to herself as she navigated this physical condition but also how to encourage herself in her writing,” Jezowski said. “Small moments of writing are still progress. Reaching small goals is still a worthy achievement.”
That perseverance — through pain, uncertainty and fear — became another layer in her story of creative resilience.
Her writing process is as introspective as the stories themselves. Lash listens to soundtracks, daydreams scenes while running or walking and chips away at chapters like clay sculptures.
Though she once tried the “write now, fix later” method, she ultimately found her rhythm by finishing and refining one chapter at a time.
“I can’t leave it until it says what I want it to say,” she said. “It’s a lot of tweaking, shaping — just living in it.”
Themes of forgiveness, faith and transformation are central to her stories.
“I don’t want to be preachy,” she said. “But I want to show readers what redemption looks like. My characters go through fiery trials because that’s when growth happens.”
That honesty hasn’t just affected her audience — it’s connected her with them in profound ways.
“After ‘White Wolf’ was published, I met so many teenage girls who were hurting,” Lash said. “I’ve stayed in touch with some of them. Seeing them grow, heal, get married — that’s been the most rewarding part of this journey.”
Jezowski has seen the evolution of “White Wolf” firsthand and says Lash’s growth as an author has mirrored the transformation of her characters.
“She’s never stopped refining her work,” Jezowski said. “It came a long way — and it came with love.”
Lash is now working on her third novel, “Something Old in the Snow,” a contemporary story set in Munising that takes a daring turn into Christian mystery and horror.
“It’s a new genre for me,” she said. “It’s scary and exciting, but I’m trusting the process.”
Through every phase of her journey — from devotional writer to novelist, from mother to grandmother — Lash has remained grounded in her mission to inspire and uplift. Her mother’s legacy of service lives on not only in Tammy, herself, but also in the characters she crafts.
“She was asking if we wanted sandwiches while she was dying,” Lash remembered. “That’s the kind of servant’s heart I hope to reflect in my stories.”
And reflect it she does — not just in her fiction, but in her daily life. Lash is the kind of person who quietly shows up: bringing meals to a friend in need, checking in on someone going through a hard time or offering a listening ear without asking for anything in return.
Like her mother, she leads with service — not because it’s expected, but because it’s second nature.
These days, she keeps writing, keeps showing up, keeps pouring truth into stories that aren’t always easy to tell. She’s not chasing trends or awards. She’s telling the stories that ask to be told — one chapter at a time.
To learn more about Lash and her work, visit her Facebook page at @TammyLashAuthor or her author site at tammylash.wordpress. com.
Her books are available locally at the Munising School Public Library and Falling Rock Café and Bookstore. You can also find them online at Amazon.
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Therapy was great, but ‘White Wolf’ was even better
therapy.”
