HARD HEADED WOMAN
by Howard Gimple
February 2 – 27, 2026 Virtual Book Tour
Synopsis:
No one but Hannah Johansson believes her father was murdered. Not even her mother. The doctors say he had a stroke, but Hannah knows he was poisoned. She just doesn’t know who did it or why. One thing she does know is that the answers can be found at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, a pristine 9,000 acre nature preserve where her father was superintendent.
When she goes back to the Refuge, instead of answers, all she finds are more questions. Ominous questions. Where are all the birds? Why is there a heavily armed guard at the gate? What’s in the mysterious bundles being dropped off there in the middle of the night? When the police won’t investigate, Hannah is determined to find the answers herself, and she won’t quit until she learns the truth. Not even after she is shot at, thrown in jail, and beaten up by a 300-pound lesbian biker.
Praise for Hard Headed Woman:
“A gamesome detective story, dramatically absorbing and intelligently wrought.”
~ Kirkus Reviews
“Hard Headed Woman is a refreshingly original story, free of many of the tropes often associated with mystery novels. That alone makes it deliciously difficult for the reader to guess who did what, and that makes this story one of the better mysteries we’ve read recently.”
~ The Mystery Review Crew
“The writing was exquisite, with vivid descriptions of all the events. It was a gripping read, especially with all the changes happening in the wildlife refuge. I found the story thoroughly enjoyable and was engrossed until the final page. The conclusion was a major surprise, and I did not expect it at all.”
~ Readers’ Favorite
Inside the Author of Hard Headed Woman:
I’m so excited to share that Howard Gimple, author of Hard Headed Woman visited with me recently. Here are some highlights from our conversation.
What inspired you to write your first book?
The maxim that most aspiring writers learn is ‘Write what you know.’ I spent more than twenty years working at various ad agencies in New York, and my experiences there yielded a lot of stories, some funny, some interesting, some totally outlandish. I’ve always been a fan of mysteries, so when I decided to try to write a novel, a mystery set in the world of the New York advertising scene seemed like a good start. That book was Get Gribnitz, which went on to become a finalist for the Silver Falchion Award for Best Comedy Mystery.
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Sometimes, characters I write take on a life of their own. Over the course of the story, they do and say things that surprise me, like when an actor goes off script and ad-libs. That character in Hard Headed Woman was an EMT named Salazar. Even though she was only in one scene with several other characters, she dominated the scene and the situation. She was smart, feisty, and funny. If I were writing Hard Headed Woman again from scratch, I would give Salazar a much bigger role.
Who has impacted your life the most and in what way?
My grandfather inspired me with his tenacity, optimism, resilience, and work ethic. Coming to America at age 17 with zero money and about five words of English, he built a life for himself, my grandmother, and my mother. Afflicted at an early age with ulcerative colitis, he still worked 16-hour days, six or seven days a week. He started and failed at several businesses and finally wound up managing hundreds of people for a major company. In my personal and professional life, through many setbacks and disappointments, he was my inspiration to never give up or give in. Though he’s been gone for many years, I still think about him all the time.
What event in your life do you remember first when asked for a humorous story?
One of my former ad agency creative directors was a little overweight. She and I always got along well and joked around a lot. One time, though, at a meeting, I inadvertently implied that she was fat. It was one of those times when, as soon as the words came out of your mouth, you tried to pull them back in. Her face contorted in anger, and I could see myself back on the unemployment line. Then I had an idea that would either get me off the hook or get me immediately fired. I started gyrating in my chair and barking like a dog. In between barks and gyrations, I apologized for what I said and explained that I had a sudden onset of Tourette’s Syndrome. This was the moment of truth. The two seconds that she took to react seemed like two hours. Then she started laughing and said, “Howard, you’re a nut.”
That portrait of Howard’s grandfather really stayed with me; it adds such a powerful layer of grit and heart beneath all the ad‑agency hijinks and mystery mayhem. It was a pleasure hosting Howard and getting a peek at the people and stories that shaped Hard Headed Woman. If you enjoy amateur sleuths, family secrets, and a touch of dark humor, you’ll want to add this one to your TBR and then come back and tell me what you thought of Hannah’s journey.
Book Details:
Genre: Mystromedy (a mystery comedy)
Published by: MYSTROMEDY BOOKS
Publication Date: June 22, 2024
Number of Pages: 416
ISBN: 979-8990761513
Book Links: Amazon | KindleUnlimited | Goodreads | BookBub
Read an excerpt:
Hannah Johansson stood at the lectern in front of 300 people staring at her, waiting for her to say something heartfelt and meaningful. She looked around the room. A room that was unfamiliar to her even though she’d been in it thousands of times. But that was when it was the multipurpose room at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. She played in the large barn-like structure as a child with her dolls and toys and electric trains. She practiced her jumpshot here when her father put up a hoop after she made her junior high team. And when she was a little older, it was where she came when she needed to be alone with her thoughts and her guitar.
But the room that Hannah knew was gone. It was now the Axel Johansson Memorial Auditorium, renamed to honor her father’s memory.
Every seat was filled. The first two rows were reserved for relatives and VIPs. Hannah’s aunt Gilda and cousins Catherine and Phillip were sitting in the middle of the front row, flanked by officials from the Mayor’s Office, the New York City Parks Department, the National Parks Service and local assemblymen and state senators. The second row held representatives from a half-dozen environmental organizations including the Sierra Club, the National Audubon Society and the World Wildlife Fund.
The rest of the packed hall was crammed with children from neighborhood schools, birdwatching enthusiasts from all over the city and beyond, and men and women of all ages and ethnicities who loved the beauty and tranquility of the Refuge and wanted to show their appreciation and gratitude for the man who created and nurtured it.
Michael Leigh, the president of the east coast chapter of the National Environmental Conservancy and the organizer of the event, had just finished the last of a dozen tributes to her father, the man who transformed a rat infested, garbage strewn swamp into one of New York City’s environmental treasures.
Before Leigh left the stage he said, “Our final speaker, Superintendent Johansson’s daughter Hannah, would like to say a few words.”
On one side of the podium an easel held a portrait of her father in his khaki superintendent’s uniform, surrounded by a snowy egret, a great blue heron and a glossy ibis, painted by the celebrated wildlife artist Arthur Singer. On the other side was a wrought iron plant stand, but in place of a plant it held a hand-enameled aluminum urn containing her father’s ashes.
Tiny pearls of sweat formed on Hannah’s forehead. She gripped the lectern for support.
“Thank you all for coming,” she said, fighting to maintain composure. “I know my father meant a lot to you. He meant everything to me. He was my hero. My mentor. My best friend. I loved him more than I could ever possibly say.”
Her face contorted. Her eyes welled up.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I killed him,” she wailed.
***
Excerpt from Hard Headed Woman by Howard Gimple. Copyright 2024 by Howard Gimple. Reproduced with permission from Howard Gimple. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Howard Gimple was a writer at Newsday, the editor of a newsletter for the New York Giants football team, and a copywriter and creative director for several New York ad agencies. He has written English dialogue for the American releases of Japanese anime cartoons, reviewed books for the Long Island History Journal, and written movie scripts for a pay-per-view television network.
Howard was Chief Creative Officer at TajMania Entertainment, a film and TV production company dedicated to creating socially conscious programming. He wrote the award-winning documentary, ‘The Garbageman,’ about a waste management executive who helped save the lives of more than 50,000 children with congenital heart disease. He was a writer and sports editor for the Stony Brook University alumni magazine. He also taught two seminars at the university, ‘Rock & Relevance,’ about the political influence of 60’s rock & roll and ‘Filthy Shakespeare, ‘ exploring the dramatic use of sexual puns and innuendos in the Bard’s plays and poems.
He grew up in Brooklyn, lived in Manhattan and Long Island, and now lives in Glendora, California, with his wife and goldendoodle.
Catch Up With Howard Gimple:
howardgimple.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads
BookBub – @howardgimple
Facebook – @authorhowardgimple
Tour Participants:
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Giveaway: Murder, Mayhem, and a Hard Headed Heroine
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That was an amazing story about your grandfather. Thanks so much for sharing.