Fame & Fortune: Author Tami Hoag Thriller writer loves to horse around with her money
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Bankrate: You got to where you could knock them out pretty fast, right?

Hoag: I once wrote a book in a month. I didn't even really start out to do that, the story just sort of told itself. But they're very short books; they're only about 65,000 words. It shouldn't take so terribly long to do them, and if you want to make a living doing that, you want to get your name out there over and over to build your reader base.

Bankrate: What was your first best-seller?

Hoag: My first New York Times best-seller was the paperback of "Night Sins," and then "Guilty as Sin" came out immediately following that and made The New York Times best-seller list.

Bankrate: Did that change your life?

Hoag: Yeah, it did, in a good way, sure. At that level, then people start recognizing you. I got invited to read at the Barbara Bush Foundation literacy fundraiser in Houston in front of 1,500 people, and that wouldn't have happened if that New York Times best-seller tag hadn't been attached to my name. And of course I had more cache to take into contract negotiations and the money gets bigger.

Bankrate: Were you prepared for the money? Did you have a plan for what to do with it?

Hoag: I did. I was prepared for all of that part because I grew up in a very Midwestern family and in a very Midwestern place and was very grounded in finances. I didn't get a bunch of money and go wild and buy a cigarette boat and a million gold necklaces and some huge mansion. That's not who I am really. I was very aware that yeah, I've got this money now, but you don't know what will happen in the future, and you have to invest it and be smart with it.

Bankrate: Did you invest it yourself?

Hoag: I had a financial person. I was still married at the time, and my husband was more involved with that. I was just writing and writing and writing; I hardly came out of the office for a few years there.

Bankrate: Surely you horsed around with some of it?

Hoag: (Laughs) Oh, of course, my horses. For sure. This is a very expensive sport, and there's always something new or I want a new horse or need a new saddle or whatever. There are people who do it on a shoestring, but not at the level that I do it. It's really difficult. People have to kind of scrimp and save and plan which shows they can afford to go to. For instance, these shows down here are very expensive shows; these are international-level shows. The entry fees are high, the stabling and all that can add up to hundreds and hundreds of dollars, depending on the show and the level of competition. They are crazy expensive, but if you're a horse person you just figure that's how it is, and I just have to make whatever other sacrifices to do that,  because I'm not going to give up having horses.