About Virginia Hume
I've come to fiction writing after a long series of professional adventures, but rather than bore you with my C.V., a little game: Guess which of the following jobs I have not held in in my career:
a) “Children’s Hostess” at a Vermont summer resort
b) Actress in a film* that appeared on ShowtimeTM
c) Spokeswoman for a national political party
d) Co-editor of an underground newspaper**
e) Dog groomer
f) Speechwriter for publisher of a major daily newspaper
g) Podcast co-host
h) Creator of a “Great Beach Books” website
i) Cocktail waitress***
j) Freelance portrait photographer
k) College essay consultant
And the answer is … e) dog groomer. (As anyone who has actually seen my dog could tell you).
Suffice it to say: I spent the first few years of my career in marketing before I was bitten by the political bug, after which I spent a couple of decades in politics and public affairs communications. They say truth is stranger than fiction. At some point, I decided politics had gotten a little too strange, and I turned to fiction.
My debut novel, Haven Point (St. Martin’s Press) was published on June 8, 2021, and my sophomore novel, Liberty Island, also from St. Martin's, will be in stores on May 5, 2026. I graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor’s Degree in History. My husband and I live in Chevy Chase, Maryland with the aforementioned undergroomed Bichon, Chester.
*Below the Beltway, written and produced by Jim Wareck. I played “Minion One.” (Not that kind of minion. I was a minion at a lobbying firm). I said the following line: “Secretary Peters is on Line One!” I have an IMDB page and everything.
**When in high school at Holton-Arms, two friends and I wrote and edited the “Holton Armpit.” While “underground newspaper” evokes images of scathing editorials about problems with school administration and the like, the Armpit was a bit more of a gossip rag. (Think grocery store checkout line.)
***Actual quote from bartender: “Thank God you’re good at apologizing, because you might be the worst cocktail waitress ever.”