Booking It: What a Thrill
A Naples resident has made a name for herself as an author. Caryn Hacker-Buechel published her book, The General’s Princess (MindStir Media, 2025), holding a launch party for it earlier this year at the newly-opened Books on Third. The book, a romantic military thriller, explores themes of trauma and resilience. Hacker-Buechel spent three decades as a psychotherapist and listened to thousands of people’s stories. She says she got the idea for the plot after meeting someone who worked as a personal trainer for a princess in Saudi Arabia. “I didn’t know there were jobs like that,” Hacker-Buechel says. “That gave me the format and place so that what was in my head could come out.” The fictional book tells of an unemployed personal trainer, Cara Florés Hart, who takes a high-paying job for the royal family in Saudi Arabia. She later finds herself amid a human-trafficking nightmare.
Hacker-Buechel wants people to take an important message away from her book. “Your past actually helps you find your strengths and a sense of resilience, so you can heal and find your best self moving forward,” she explains The author says it took her a decade to write.
“Those were long days,” Hacker-Buechel says. “I was spending six hours a day in my home office writing, or I was on the beach, or I was in coffee shops.” Hacker-Buechel says she plans to spend the rest of 2026 marketing her book. She started doing book clubs. “The first one I did was at the Port Royal Club, which is mentioned in the book,” she notes. The Dock at Crayton Cove is also mentioned in The General’s Princess. The book can be found at several retailers, including Books on Third, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. (carynhackerbuechel.com)-V.S.
