Hold Her Heart...What makes a family?

Last time I blogged here, I talked about heading to New Jersey...and I made it! I thought I'd share the highlight of my trip with you!  I had such a great time at the conference.  I traveled down with my pal, Susan Gable.  She shot the awards presentation.  You'd think, as a writer, I'd have prepared a speech.  Uh, obviously I didn't.  LOL  But I meant what I said, thank you to the New Jersey Romance Writers group, and to everyone who's picked up one of my books!

My big news...my new release, Hold Her Heart is out!!  

One of my all time favorite reviews is, "With books like this, if you aren't a Holly fan, you're likely a robot." ~S. Stone   It's part of my bestselling Words of the Heart series.  All the books are stand-alone, and yet they all tie together.  

This book, like so many of my books, deals not only with a romance, but with the question...what makes a family?  It's a theme that I write about again and again.  You'd think that the question would eventually be answered to my satisfaction, but here's the thing...families are made in so many ways.  I'm pretty sure I could ask that question for the rest of my writing career and never fully answer it.

I look at my own family. It's diverse and always growing.  And to date, my heart has never run out of room...and I don't anticipate that changing in the future!

I've been calling the books in this series (along with Just One Thing), Romance+ books.  They're definitely romance, but they're more than that.  They're a woman's journey...a journey that includes romance but isn't the reason for her journey.  Yeah, I tried to coin the term Womance (women's fiction + romance) but for some reason that didn't take off!  LOL  Romance+ seems to be doing better!

Some other Hold Her Heart reviews:

I will definitely be adding this to my must re-read list. Five stars doesn't come close, but that's all they give us. Please add this to your collection and enjoy.
By Literature Litehouse on September 14, 2016

Thanks for another beautiful story, Holly. And thanks for how you've woven these stories together. I an looking forward to the next one.

Published 12 days ago by Amazon Customer

This was a great addition to Holly's works of literature. She reminds us of the treasure of family, life and love. Another great read!

Published 25 days ago by Beth Anne

This is a realistic story of a child given up for adoption and she had a normal and happy childhood. Her mother's husband comes searching for her due to his wife's illness.

Published 1 month ago by Hcquarles

Hold Her Heart was an absolutely beautiful and emotional read. I cried my eyes out. Holly Jacobs truly played the emotion card when writing the follow up to Carry Her Heart. 

Published 1 month ago by Carolyn

A few readers read the opening and got worried...so I'll reiterate my promise here: There is a Happily-Ever-After.  Honest.

Other news...I started using Instagram.  Come visit if you have a minute!  

Holly

Midsummer Past-times

Isle of Palms SC

Well, we're into the thick of summer now and in southern NJ where I live I do mean thick -- the heat and humidity can be overwhelming! Temps reach into the 90s and so does the humidity levels. Most of us seek relief in air-conditioned places or pools or the sacred place that we South Jerseyans call 'the shore'. 

(And please do not mistake the REAL Jersey shore for that mess you see on MTV!)

I'm fortunate to live about 45 minutes from some of the best beaches, so day-trips are a favorite past-time -- both when I was a kid and when my kids were little. And some of my favorite vacations were spending a week down there, enjoying the sand and water during the day and then going on the boardwalk at night to play arcade games or miniature golf. 

For me though, I lived in anticipation of true joy -- sitting on the beach with something cold to drink and a book to read. I would slather on the sunscreen, put on the big sunglasses (sadly, now prescription ones! LOL!) and read away. My hubby and I had an agreement that I would get some non-supervisory time on the beach when we went with the boys. 

And the first thing planned and packed was my ample supply of books! 

My boys grew up knowing that if Mom began making a pile of books (and magazines), there was a trip coming. During the heyday of my reading (aka before I began writing romance novels), I would take no fewer than 10 books and 10 magazines for a week-long trip that would include reading time. 

Maui - 2012

 The boys have grown now and we haven't had a shore  vacation in a while, but I was lucky enough to go to Hawaii in 2012 and my goal was a simple one -- to read on a different beach every day of the trip. And I did, since there is beautiful beach after beautiful beach all around the islands. Can you say: ahhhhhhhhhh-loha!?                                                                                                                 So, what kind of summer pasttimes do you look forward to each year? How has your summer been so far this year? What are your plans for the rest of it? No matter what it is, I hope you have time for some reading! 

Speaking of summer activities - I'll be heading off to the Romance Writers of America's Annual Conference in San Antonio TX next week. If you're in the area, I hope you'll come to the Marriott Rivercenter on 7/23 at 5:30pm for the open-to-the-public Book Signing for Literacy party. There will be over 500 romance authors signing and raising money for Literacy projects both locally and nationally. I'll be signing my current book - YIELD TO THE HIGHLANDER! And visit my website or FB page for lots more info about my upcoming books and events! 

Happy Summer everyone!