“I met Thomas Shess many years ago through my husband Russel. A successful illustrator for many years,, Russel had worked for Tom when he was still editing magazines, probably San Diego Magazine, or San Diego Home/Garden Magazine, or both. I have been an early reader of Tom’s writing for around ten years, offering advice that he seldom heeds, and pointing out typos he always corrects. Tom has kindly published my book reviews and some recent travel columns in his eclectic blog, Pillar to Post.

Shess worked at the San Francisco Examiner back in the day, before relocating to sunnier climes in San Diego. He lives in a coffee-table book worthy North Park Arts and Crafts bungalow with his lovely wife Phyllis, a retired judge. He founded the North Park News, before “retiring” to write novels and curate the daily blog, which covers the waterfront, from politics to coffee, and gets thousands of weekly views.

Tom’s latest book, Tough Love: Modern Noir Romances is both an homage to, and a fine example of, the noir genre. In Tough Love and his first book, Cantina Psalms, Tom personally introduces you to a host of one-of-a-kind characters drawn from reporting gigs at the daily Examiner and San Francisco Magazine.

You will meet cops, politicians, reporters, lawyers, criminals, rich men, richer women, bartenders, priests, and illicit lovers who have already made the mistake they are about to deny making. But Tough Love possesses something many noir imitators lack affection for these human beings trapped inside the machinery of life. And the stories he writes are usually set in one of my two favorite places in the world: San Francisco and San Diego. If you like these cities and gritty stories, check out Tough Love!”

JENNIFER SILVA REDMOND, LEADING WEST COAST, WRITER, PUBLISHER AND COLUMNIST: “EDITOR ON BOARD” WITH SUBSTACK

“Tough Love is Thomas Shess at full stride, and fair warning—he does not play it safe. These stories roam from San Francisco to Paris to Barcelona with a confidence that feels earned, not borrowed. Shess has a knack for dropping you into a room—a bar, a bed, a quiet corner of regret—and making you feel like you’ve been there too long already.

His characters don’t ask for your attention; they take it. They are flawed, seductive, reckless, and often one bad decision away from disaster. The dialogue crackles, the situations turn on a dime, and beneath it all runs a current of longing that gives the collection its weight.

What sets Tough Love apart is Shess’s voice—wry, knowing, and just a little dangerous. He writes like a man who understands both the thrill and the cost of desire. These are not tidy stories, nor should they be. They linger, they unsettle, and, at their best, they hit with the quiet force of recognition.

A sharp, stylish collection that reminds you love and trouble have always been close companions.”

— CHRIS BARNETT, SAN FRANCISCO NEWSPAPER & MAGAZINE JOURNALIST.