Lehi People
Local author, Tiana Smith, introduces new rom-com novel
“My second-grade teacher Mrs. McCullough said I was a good writer,” said Tiana Smith. “From that day on, I knew that was what I wanted to be.”
Smith’s latest book, “The Spy and I,” is set to be published in February and is now available for preorder from Amazon and other booksellers. “If you like movies like ‘Knight and Day’ or ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith,’ this is your kind of novel,” continued Smith.
In a nutshell, the book is about a computer hacker, the heroine, who is mistaken for her super-spy sister and must work together with an attractive and mysterious spy, the hero, to save the day—and thus, the intrigue begins.
This is the first in what Smith anticipates will be a series of books that can be read as stand-alone novels or continued as a series. She has just submitted the second book of the series for editing. Her entry into the world of novels began in 2019 when she submitted a manuscript to Swoon Reads, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing.
“It wasn’t a standard approach,” said Smith. “I submitted the book online and readers would then read it and vote. After the votes were in, I was offered a deal by the publishing company. It was kind of like American Idol for publishing.”
The title of her first book is “Match Me If you Can.” Smith followed her first novel with “How to Speak Boy.” After the publication of her first two books, Smith’s agent secured a contract with Penguin Random House for her first adult novel, The Spy and I.
Smith grew up in Bozeman, Montana, and was part of a musical family.
“I played the viola in a local symphonic orchestra. I was always artistically inclined, and I liked to read books and listen to music,” said Smith.
Computers were always an interest in her life, too. She currently spends her spare time doing web and graphic design and does nail art for family and friends.
Smith graduated from Westminster College with dual majors in Honors and English. She expressed gratitude for the opportunity to use her gifts in a way to allow her to be a stay-at-home mother to her 12-year old son, and she is married to Brad Smith.
“I thought he wasn’t interested in me because he didn’t answer some of the things I’d said on our first date.” Later, she discovered he was hard of hearing and hadn’t heard her talking to him. “I modeled one of my characters after him in my spy series, because that doesn’t get represented often,” she said.
The Smiths live in Lehi and love their life here. “We lived in Salt Lake City when we were first married, but moved farther south because it was cheaper here,” she laughed. She is involved with her son and his education and loves her association with friends and neighbors. There is no doubt her success as an author will continue as she explores the world of computers, action and romance.
