Bundle Up!

We had our first snow the other day. I didn't take a photo. It was slushy and not very pretty and disappeared right away, but it was a reminder that winter is a-coming. When I went for my daily walk, I wore a proper jacket with a scarf and gloves and a toque. (In Canada we call these toques.)

This is my husband, who ran outside last winter to do a couple of quick chores and grabbed the first one that came to hand. Wouldn't you know that my sister and brother-in-law arrived at precisely that moment to catch him not only wearing the goofiest toque in Canada, but wearing it backwards.

Here I am wearing the one I usually wear for my walks, unless it's super cold. This photo is also from last winter, when my daughter was home from uni and we took a walk down to the beach.

It's not all cold days here in the Canadian winter.

In fact, I grew up near Vancouver, which is Pacific Northwest rain for most of the winter (year.) At least it was while I was growing up! All bets seem to be off, these days.

When we moved into the interior of BC, and had snow that accumulated all winter, I finally felt like a real Canadian. The truth is, however, our winters are very mild compared to the rest of the country. We're hideously spoiled. Shhh.

But we wouldn't appreciate fine weather without the blustery stuff, would we? So even though the last few days have been damp and gloomy (we needed the rain!) I'm embracing it. Besides, is there any better weather for curling up with a book?

Given that reading days are upon us, I wanted to let you know about these fabulous deals on boxed sets.  How better to stock up for the rain and snow and no-place-to-go season?

My anthology, A Year Of Love In Marietta, is 99c until Nov 22. This is a bundle of my four Montana Born novellas (Hometown Hero, Blame The Mistletoe, The Bachelor's Baby & His Blushing Bride.) I wrote some bonus scenes just for this collection, so if you've read some (or all) of these, you'll definitely want to grab this while it's 99c!

The Montana Homecoming boxed set is also 99c through November. This is a fabulous collection of sweet and sexy stories about coming home. This was my first series with Montana Born so it really is a kind of homecoming for me to see it released. This was my first group of Tule author friends! Hi gals!

Finally, the Montana Born Christmas boxed set is 1.99 as I write this, but will be going up soon so act fast. You cannot go wrong with this USA Today Bestselling bundle!

You can find all of these on all the major digital platforms (Amazon, Nook, Kobo, iBooks, GooglePlay, Smashwords.) I guarantee they'll keep you warm this winter!

Reflecting and Looking Foward

I'll come right out of the closet and admit I'm a bit of a solstice worshipper.

This isn't meant to take away from Christmas in any way. I simply find the shorter days of winter depressing and derive great comfort in knowing the sun is returning and the days are beginning to lengthen. By the same token, I get a bit blue at summer solstice, when the longest day happens and the sun retreats. Maybe I should identify as a sun worshiper.

In any case, whether you are like me or if you just like the clean slate of a fresh calendar for a new year, you probably do a bit of reflecting and projecting this time of year. I certainly do.

I like to take stock in December, writing down some of my accomplishments for the year and recording things that I am grateful for. It's easy to forget to take time to evaluate yourself and your life, so the solstice is a nice reminder for me. The astrologers look at New Moons as a great time to cast intentions so I think the solstice must be a good time for new beginnings, too, don't you think?

Years ago, I took a fabulous online course from the incredibly fabulous Lucy Monroe. The aim of her course was career planning, but the goal setting piece was life changing for me. Basically, she had you list out broad goals, then break them down into do-able pieces. It's Project Management 101, but at the time I'd never encountered anything like it. She changed my entire approach to goal setting.

At the same time, one of my Life Goals has always been to find and maintain balance. I love writing. It's hard for me to step away from it, especially now when I'm seeing some success and want to keep feeding my fan base with new books. Sometimes, I bite off more than I can chew.

Exhibit A: Books published Oct 2012-November 2014

Other times, real life happens and I wind up chasing a deadline. It's super easy for me to lock myself in my attic office and not speak to my family for ten to twelve hours. That's bad, right? I'm just checking, because I'm pretty sure it is, but I still get away with it more often than I should.

Therefore, some years ago, I began working on a holistic approach to my year end goal setting. I have writing goals, absolutely, but I look at my life in general and try to set goals like: Walk Every Day or Go To The Gym Twice A Week. Non-writing stuff that certainly impacts my writing (positively) but helps me become a more well-rounded person. (Less rounded in the case of the gym!)

So, to that end, I have a list that I came across years ago. It was part of an article on writing that I didn't have the sense to keep. I only hand wrote the list, but it comes from a martial arts class. If I recall correctly, the aim is to practice one of these eight disciplines each week.

1. Flexibility: In my case, this means not only being willing to try different lengths or genres in my writing portfolio, but also being willing to close my computer to drive my son into town or have coffee with a friend. Time was always so precious when I was writing around a day job, I often pushed important things like social contact to the perimeter of my life. I can do better!
2. Strength: Hey. I lift. I really do. Not much, but I do. It was weird at first, but now I love it. But strength also means supporting a friend emotionally, bouncing back from rejections and other career lows, and not only identifying where you are weak (dialogue, confidence, cooking skills, time management) but being willing to work harder to build strength in those areas.
3. Stamina: This is a big one for me. I had nine titles come out this year. On the one hand, very exciting, on the other, completely exhausting. I was courting burn out so, while I advocate pushing yourself in small ways, don't be dumb. On the non-writing front, um, cardio. I have some serious work to do there, but I'm also looking at my house and thinking about how long I can stand certain things that have outlasted their purpose (carpets.) 
4. Skill: Let's talk about parenting for a sec. Do you ever feel like you've finally mastered how to work with your child then they go and change on you, hitting puberty or getting a girlfriend or what-have-you? Parenting is one of those things you practice, throwing more skills in the tool box as you go. On the writing side, I'll be honest. I am always willing to learn more about the promotion piece, but I freak out if someone starts messing with my process. I took a long time to figure out how to write books. I shy from workshops on dialogue and romantic conflict, afraid they'll mess with my mojo. Skill can be anything - golf even. I took lessons for a while and loved it, but I let it go when time got tight. I'll work on time management and consider golf again when I master my calendar.
5. Proper rest: Okay, this is a no-brainer for me. Once I had the forced sleep deprivation that is an infant, I recognized that I am a much better human being if I have slept well and I am a fire-breathing dragon if I have not. I think better on eight hours of sleep and I sleep better when I exercise. It's a vicious cycle.
6. Proper Attitude: I've done a lot of work on positive thinking and how we phrase things when asking favours from the Universe. I'm careful with my 'I' statements. While I'm often self-deprecating, I try to avoid negatives remarks about myself or others. We can always improve on ourselves so I'm going to try to be nicer than I already am. ;o)
7. Proper Nutrition: 'nuff said, right? 
8. Proper Attendance: This means practice. Show up. Be willing to do the work. For me, I also look at it as staying mindful of who I'm with and what I'm doing, whether that's driving, talking to my husband, or cooking. (Do you smell smoke?) 

I'm big on lists and guidelines that help me feel like I'm doing things well. If my goal is to find a better balance in my life, this seems to cover a lot of bases, don't you think? Of course, if I sleep eight hours of each day, that only leaves sixteen hours for the other seven disciplines, but come on. Sleep. I'm still catching up from those newborn years.

Now, I have a friend who actually lights a candle and does a little ritual in preparation for this ceremony. I just spend a few days hand writing my goals into a notebook. I break them down into quarterly, monthly, and weekly, checking back often and bringing forward whatever I haven't done. It's not a science, but it does set me up for success when I can cross something easy off the list like Have Coffee With Ange.

Do you feel the new year is a time of new beginnings? How do you feel about the short days of winter? Do you find your life is out of balance? What steps are you taking to bring it back to something healthier?

I'd love to send a PDF copy of my Christmas book, Blame The Mistletoe, to one lucky commenter. You can also enter my Goodreads giveaways for print anthologies that include Blame The Mistletoe and Hometown Hero. Both giveaways are open until midnight tonight.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Christmas In Montana

by Dani Collins

Giveaway ends December 17, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Montana Homecoming

by Dani Collins

Giveaway ends December 17, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

BIO

Award winning author, Dani Collins writes Harlequin Presents, romantic comedy, medieval fantasy, erotic romance, and now small-town rancher novellas for Tule's Montana Born imprint. Whatever the genre, Dani always delivers sexy alpha heroes, witty, spirited heroines, complex emotions and loads of passion.

Stay current with Dani’s new releases by joining her newsletter or visiting her here:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 Purchase on Amazon: US | Canada | UK  

HOMECOMING DAY...and a contest!

Happy Hanukkah, everyone! Today, I'm celebrating the release of my December book, HOMECOMING DAY!

All my books start at exactly the same point. What if... This one specifically started with the question, “What if two people who’d loved completely, lost their loved ones?” I’ve dealt with people who’ve had other good relationship. I’ve dealt with people coming from bad or no relationships. But both the hero and heroine of this book, Seth and Laura, came from happy, loving relationships they assumed would last forever. Both are still dealing with the pain of their loss. The story explores how they help each other heal...and how they find a way to love again. Most of my books have some theme, motto or high concept. One sentence that keeps me on track as I write it. For Homecoming Day my sentence was, “Life gives second chances...sometimes so does love.”

This book takes readers back to Whedon, Pennsylvania and the Keller family. Unexpected Gifts and A One-of-a-Kind Family were also set in Whedon, and next year’s (9/11) A Father’s Name (a working title that’s subject to change) is also set there. I love revisiting towns and characters from previous books. Readers of the earlier books had asked for Seth’s story, and I was thrilled I got to tell it in Homecoming Day. The other character from those earlier books that seemed to strike a chord with readers was Eli’s (Unexpected Gifts) friend, Tucker. Her story is A Father’s Name and will be out next September. I hope everyone who asked for these stories feel I did them justice.

Seth is a cop. SuperRomance included Homecoming Day under their “Count on a Cop” miniseries umbrella. I was thrilled since I count on a cop daily...my husband. I have two brothers who are also police officers. I think it takes a special breed of person to put themselves out on the line, day after day. I’ve had readers ask why my police characters don’t solve mysteries and catch murders. They may someday. But I like showing them as everyday heroes. The kind person who goes out and talks about safety a local schools, like Lt. Chuck did in Once Upon a Valentine’s. And I love that Seth works with the local high schools–that he doesn’t deal with criminals, but he also tries to intervene with kids and steer them toward a better way of doing things. He cares. I think that caring shows through in all my police characters, and I know it definitely is evident in the police officers I know and love. It takes a special breed of person to be a cop...I’m lucky to have people like that in my day-to-day life.

The heroine, Laura, is another special breed of person. She’s a teacher. I also have many family members and friends who are in the teaching profession. Like police officers, I think most teachers are people who care, who want to make a difference. I know that Laura is. Her concern for her student, JT, shows how far she’ll go to try and help a student. I think these two special people who both were suffering from a horrible loss make a perfect couple, and their story, makes the kind of holiday story I love to tell...one filled with hope and love.

I hope you all enjoy it!


My Facebook and eHarlequin friends have followed my basketweaving saga. I promised them a chance to win one, so I’m going to run a contest to celebrate the release of Seth and Laura’s story, HOMECOMING DAY. I had a lot of suggestions on what kind of contest to run. Since Seth and Laura’s story is truly about that feeling of coming home, a feeling so many people identify with this time of year I took your suggestion for the contest. Just share a favorite Christmas memory...something that gives you that warm glow of homecoming and family. That’s all it takes to enter. (Of course, I do hope you’ll purchase a copy of Homecoming Day, too! LOL)

You can send it to me at HollyJacobs1 (at) aol.com. I’ll draw a name on December 15 and the prize is, as requested...one of my baskets. Please remember, I’m a novice basketmaker, so it will arrive full of flaws, but I can guarantee those flaws make it a totally one of a kind basket! LOL

So, Happy Hanukkah, Pre-Merry Christmas! I hope your holiday season is filled with love!

Holly

Read an excerpt at http://www.hollyjacobs.com/HD.html