A Holiday Motto

I love the holidays! I love that so many people seem willing to not only find the glee that's all around them, but actively try to give glee to others as well!

So when I set out to write a story for Maeve, who was a solitary secondary character in my A Valley Ridge Wedding trilogy (You Are Invited, April Showers and A Walk Down the Aisle), I knew that it had to be special, and that I wanted to find a very special way for her to find her glee by giving it in A Valley Ridge Christmas!

I'd already established she had a giving heart…she reopened the community's small library almost single handedly.  So when a homeless family shows up literally on her doorstep she jumps right in.  What I love about Maeve is she lives her life by the words, "I can't save the world, but I can try."  That willingness to jump in…well, I knew she needed a very special man.  Oh, I wrapped him in a bit of a Scrooge-ish exterior.  He lives life by the motto…everyone's got an angle.  I loved pitting an optimist against a pessimist.

Now that I know that Maeve's got the right man, I'm busy getting ready for the holidays here.  I made my first batch of cutout cookies earlier this week…and they're almost gone.  There's a certain Cookie Monster who's taking finals and she says they help.  So, I'll be making more cookies and I still have some hard candy to make!  I make a number of flavors, but the kids' favorite is one we call Death by Cinnamon.  They're pretty sure that any candy

that makes your eyes water is good!

I hope your holiday prep is going well!  And I'm wishing you a wonderful holiday season.  I hope you're surrounded by friends and family.  And if you have a chance to try out Maeve's personal motto this holiday season, I hope you give it a try!

Holly


PS My other Christmas release, Spruced Up: A Maid in LA Holiday Novella is on sale for 99 cents for Kindle until December 15th!

May-December Friendships

Yesterday was Mother's Day.  I saw, or heard from, all of my kids.  And as always, I marveled that I am so lucky to have these four amazing people in my life!  Oh, it's not that they don't drive me a bit crazy on occasion, but they are some of my very favorite people on earth (along with my husband).  Being a mother has been one of my most treasured jobs.

Yesterday I wrote a blog for Mother's Day about my grandmother and a very special teapot.  She was a strong woman, a 'feisty' woman who loved so fiercely.  Add to that my own mother and my mother-in-law, two women who taught me so much...well, I think that's why the idea of family is the the focus of so many of my stories.  It's because I've been blessed to be surrounded by a family I not only adore, but truly like!

You Are Invited...

This month, the second book in my A Valley Ridge Wedding trilogy, April Showers, was released.  The first book, You Are Invited..., dealt with a woman who inherits three children. This second book  in addition to the romance between Lily and Sebastian focuses on a May-December friendship between  Lily, and the hero's grandfather, Hank.

April Showers

There's something special about May-December friendships.  The generations who came before us offer so much wisdom, so many insights.  I've been lucky to have people like Hank in my life!

Yesterday was a day for family.  It was great to have my children celebrate Mother's Day with me yesterday.  It was nice to be able to honor a women who helped shape me in my blog, and to go visit my mom.  I also took time to remember all the people who helped shape the woman I've become.  My grandmother's best friend, Jean, who's read all my books and supported me in so many ways.  Marge, an older friend who helped me shape Lily and Hank's May/December friendship.  And Papa John, a man who wasn't related to me, but was my grandfather in every way that counts.

A Walk Down the Aisle

Do you have older people in your life, related or not, who helped shape the person you've become?

Holly