Real Life in Fiction

I have an avant-garde past...it influences a lot of what I write.

I worked with breastfeeding moms for years. My first speaking gigs were talking about breastfeeding to medical people and colleges. My most memorable talk was a university psych class at 8am on a Monday morning. I doubted the kids would be really excited about asking questions (I so prefer doing talks with audience participation) so I asked them to write their questions/comments on index cards (Hey Susan, I used index cards!). One of their first questions I read was, "Does the size of the breast matter?" I should mention I talk with my hands. So I did a little palm-up hand motion, as if weighing breasts without thinking about what I was doing. I should also mention that the front row consisted of huge, football-looking guys. As I realized what I'd done, I started to laugh and the football team cracked up. Pretty soon the entire class was laughing with us. The rest of the talk went very smoothly. LOL I added a breastfeeding baby to Bosom Buddies. It was one of my earliest sales and started with an absurd breastfeeding situation. I really thought I'd gone over the top and considered cutting it, but in the end I left it in. I'm glad I did because the editor called after reading it and said, "I just died laughing. I'm buying the book, but let me finish reading it before we talk." If I wrote the book today, I'd have written it differently, but I still love this early example of my work. I love that early works are still out there for readers to find, but I hope they all go on to read more current books. My writing has grown. And truly, if it hasn't, I should find another job.

Speaking of jobs, I volunteered at my kids' grade school for years. I was on the school board (school board president one year), worked with PTA and for a number of years I planned and ran the kids' games at our annual Feather Party.  Those experiences influenced my PTA Mom Trilogy. I really loved getting to focus on the balancing act all parents have to do. There's a bonus story in the bundle because truly, I loved those years on PTA and I loved giving PTA moms a shout-out in the stories! It was fun to go back to Erie Elementary.

Speaking of Erie schools, for years I worked with the Erie School District's teen parenting program. Once a year I went in to talk to the kids in the program. There were three of us who were core speakers, with others joining us on occasion. Deb talked about programs available to the girls. Craig talked with a male perspective. I talked about parenting. The teachers who worked in the program at the different district high schools were amazing. This volunteer gig is definitely part of the first book in my Hometown Hearts series, Crib Notes. The book is about a teacher who runs...a teen parenting program, of course. She finds herself pregnant and dumped. So while she is an adult, her journey echoes the journeys of the girls she's worked with for years. And it turns out no matter how old or young you are, there are a lot of similarities in being unexpectedly pregnant and on your own. A lot.

The second book in the Hometown Hearts series, A Special Kind of Different (out in March and available for preorder) has a very special character. Here's my Dear Reader letter that tells how a neighbor inspired that :

Dear Reader,
 
My family had a very special neighbor, Tiffany. My kids and their friends accepted her without question. She didn't verbalize much, but she always had a smile and an utter fascination with watches. One day my kids and their friends came running to the house to get me because a group of strangers were picking on Tiff. We went outside and with a few mom-threats on my part, they left. In that moment, the kids showed not just compassion, but they showed that they knew that different isn't something to be afraid of or mocked...it's special. I was so very proud of all of them!
 
In this second book in my Hometown Hearts series. I introduce the Sunrise Foundation, whose goal is to help exceptional people lead exceptional lives. Instead of locating the story in Erie, I used the fictional neighboring town of Whedon—the setting forCrib Notes—because Erie already has an organization that helps our special residents,The Gertrude A. Barber National Institute.They do such wonderful work.
 In this story, Anna and Liam both believe that they know what's best for Liam's brother, Colm. In the end it's Colm who teaches them an important life lesson--that you need to stand up for what you want and love!
A Special Kind of Different is a book that's...well, special for me as the writer, and hopefully for you as the reader!

One last story...

My biological father left when I was a toddler. I never met him until I was in my thirties.  That idea of a parent giving up a child came up in Carry Her Heart. I wrote the story from the mother-who-gave-up-the-baby's perspective. And then followed up with the story of that daughter finding her biological mother in Hold Her Heart.  No, not my story really, but stories that echo my stories. (They're on sale this week on Amazon.)

I could go on. There's some element of me, my life, my questions about life in each of my books. None of my experiences are really autobiographical in my fiction. They're a starting point. A place to build off of. I twist my facts and turn them into something totally different and unique. I build characters who do things and see things differently than I do or would. They're uniquely themselves. Real people and real stories in a very fictional way. LOL

I hope you try out any new-to-you stories!

And a special thanks so everyone who picked up Crib Notes last week! After you've read it, I would really appreciate it if you left a review at your favorite online site!

Holly

PS Links to my new releases and books on sale!

Crib Notes:

Amazon

iBooks

Nook

Kobo

A Special Kind of Different:

Amazon

iBooks

Nook

Kobo

The rest of the Hometown Hearts series will be coming soon.
Homecoming and Suddenly a Father will be out in June and September of 2020 and
Something Borrowed, Something Blue and Something Perfect in 2021!

ON SALE THIS WEEK at Amazon:

Hold Her Heart
Just One Thing
First Everything But trilogy


PPS Today's Newest Episode of Trippin' with Holly and Susan...we're talking about our Words of the Year!

Gifts

I know many things about myself.
I love my family and Himself.
I treasure my friends.
I have Medusa hair.
I do not truly wake up until I have hot, strong black coffee in my hand.
I love to read, play with ceramics, learn new things...
I feel most at home out in the middle of the woods at the cottage.
I am a busy sort of person.
I am not a patient patient...

Oh, that last one.
I've been having some ongoing issues since summer with my bad leg. It has put a bit of a hitch in my giddiup this summer and fall. Well, last week, they took out my decades-old hardware and we're hoping this last surgery is the LAST surgery. Yes, my bionic leg is screw and plateless. It's a regular old leg. And I'm on crutches for a bit while those screw holes in the femur heal.

Uh, remember that not patient patient Holly fact? It's coming into play. But I'm being very well behaved even if I'm not patient. I'm resting a lot and slowly rebuilding my strength. All my wood-splitting means my arms aren't doing too bad with the crutches. So I'm moving more slowly than usual, but I'm moving.

I'm setting small goals for myself. For instance, yesterday I made the bed and made the morning coffee. Poor Himself did pretty much of the rest of my daily routine, but darn that bed looked nice and the coffee was just the way I like it, hot, strong black coffee. Today, I've already made the coffee, I'm making that darn bed, and I'm going to find one more new thing to throw in the mix. Maybe unload a dishwasher. Anyway, that's how I'm going to measure my recovery...one new (regular) thing at a time.

My ultimate goal is to be back in the studio by the end of January. I've always been someone who likes to work with goals. I try to have realistic goals. It's almost time to pick my word for 2020. And I'm not going to wait until the new year to pick it. I'm going to pick it now. Patience.

I've always found it easier to be patient with others than patient with myself. There's so much in the world I want to learn and do. So many new things to explore. That hitch in my giddiup is slowing it all up. But slow doesn't mean stopped. So I'm being patient. Or at least trying to.

Here's the thing, goals are great. They give us something to move towards. But I think we have to be kind to ourselves and be patient with ourselves. Sometimes life happens. And our goals have to change. I might not be hosting my big Christmas Eve bash this year (thanks to my marvelous sister-in-law for taking that on), but darn the bed is made. LOL And I've read 600 pages in that 1,000 page book my son has been telling me to read (Brandon Sanderson is an amazing author) and I truly binge-watched The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel's new season. Yeah, most of the time I don't have the time to binge watch. My leg has derailed my plans, but it's also given me time to do things I wouldn't normally have time to do. Every obstacle comes with gifts in its hands!

So Ella and I are going to sit on this couch under my buffalo plaid blanket and read the paper today. (Well, she doesn't do much of the reading.) Then I'm going to make that darned bed and find a way to do one more thing from my normal routine today.

And by the end of January, I'm going back to the studio. In the meantime, I'm going to look for all the gifts this particular obstacle has in its hands! And I'm going to patiently celebrate and embrace each of those gifts! And while we're talking about gifts, let me take a moment to wish you all a wonderful holiday season! Talk to you in 2020!

Holly

PS. I have two Christmas books on sale, and the first two Hometown Hearts books are available for preorder!! I hope you'll check them both out. And check our the Dear Reader Letter on A Special Kind of Different's Amazon page. Celebrating our differences gives me glee!!

Christmas in Cupid Falls

Everything But a Christmas Eve

Crib Notes HH #1

Amazon, iBook, Nook, Kobo

A Special Kind of Different HH#2

Heartbreaker Cover Reveal

by Joanne Rock

Last month at Tote Bags n Blogs, I got to reveal my February cover for Rule Breaker. This month, I have another new cover to share! This one is for my March Dynasties: Mesa Falls release, Heartbreaker. Isn't it gorgeous?! I love it, and I'm thrilled that it reflects the story so well.

Available March 2020

From passion to betrayal and back again…

He knows she’s coming for him…And he’s ready to turn the tables!

When tabloid columnist Elena Rollins shows up uninvited to a private, star-studded party at Mesa Falls, Gage Striker sees red. Though it’s been six years since their abrupt breakup, the scars—and attraction—are still fresh. Certain his ex has a score to settle, the playboy banker vows to protect his ranch’s scandalous secrets. Protecting his heart is a different story.

You can preorder here: books2read.com/u/4AxrlJ

 

Dynasties: Mesa Falls

If you're interested in the series, it begins with my November title, The Rebel, continues in December with The Rival, and then February's Rule Breaker and March's Heartbreaker. Mesa Falls will also have a free online read from Harlequin in the New Year. So far, both The Rebel and The Rival have been Harlequin Junkie Recommended Reads, so I'm excited about that! Sexy, scandalous, and full of secrets, the Mesa Falls books have the prime-time soap opera feel with characters to root for and surprise villains.

Stay up to date on my books by signing up for my newsletter or joining my Facebook Reader Group, The Rockettes.

**To win a copy of The Rebel, book one in this series, just share with me when you plan to start your holiday decorating! Winner chosen at random the first week of December. Thanks so much for reading!

A Change of Plans

I was going to make a quick video yesterday about my summer of love and laughter. The first two books, The Makeover and How to Catch a Groom are already out, and How to Hunt a Husband comes out in August. That was my plan, but after a trip to the doctor's office, I turned the video into a PSA...of course, I did mention the books, too! LOL


Holly

Over the last year, I've spent a lot time on my blog, talking about  My Novel Freshman Experience. Yes, I've gone back to school and talk about learning new things (so far just about ceramics, but maybe someday soon I'll take another type of class LOL).  But here's the big thing I hope to share...learning something new doesn't

require going back to school.  This weekend Himself (my husband's online name) and I started stoning behind the woodstove at The Cottage.  That is something very new.  We've laid tile before, but this is a different process altogether.  We're hoping to finish it over the course of a few visits.

It's not just people who learn new skills.  Since we lost Ethel Merman, Ella Fitzgerald has had to learn to be an only dog.  She's been more than a little lost.  But she's getting better.  We've been trying to convince her she's a camp dog.  She's pretty sure she's not, but we're still trying.  After we finished our stoning this weekend, we headed out to the truck. I didn't bother to put Ella on her lead...she's always happy to leave camp and head back to the house.  But this time...she took off.  She found her inner-wolf and led us on a merry chase.  Well, merry on her part.  She is very fast for a small sausage dog.  

But in the end, we lured her back to the truck with a treat.  She learned that camp can be fun.  We learned that she is a dog who will continued using her lead...even if it's just a short walk to the truck.  (This picture was taken after her wild wolf run...she doesn't looked the least bit sorry, does she?)





I'm still loving ceramics, but it's led me to painting as well.  I'm enjoying that as well.  That's the thing with learning...one thing leads to another.  I'm hoping Ella's done learning about her inner-wolf, but I know I'm not done learning about pottery and painting and stoning and...  Well, I'm not done with any of it.  Wishing you something new to learn about soon!

Holly

Speaking of news...check out my new releases:

PTA Moms: the Collection

Polished Off

Holly Jacobs: Books are like Children

Today is the release day for Hold Her Heart.  It's the sequel to my award winning Carry Her Heart.  And I'll confess, I'm first-day-of-school excited. There's a big similarity to having kids and writing books.

Now, if you're a parent, you'll understand first-day-of-school excited.  I have four kids and I love and adore those kids.  But they are not quiet.  Even as they've gotten older, they're still not quiet.  And I'm a writer who writes best in quiet.  I know some people enjoy music or noisy coffee houses while they write.  But I just don't work that way.  I like silence.  My favorite place in the world to write is out at camp.  I love having no sounds other than the birds.  So you can imagine my love of the first day of school.  I'm like this:

It's a mixture of happiness for me, but also there's an element of excitement for my kids because I was that nerd kid who loved going back to school and I always wanted my kids to feel that same excitement.  I loved the sound a brand new text book makes the first time it opens.  It's a creak of the binding that says you are going to learn so much in me.  I loved the way the school smells.  I loved...  I really enjoyed school! LOL

But how is a new release like having a kid? you ask.

Here's the thing...as much as I felt that Staple's Dad's glee on the first day of school, and as much as I remembered my own love of school, there was still a bit of worry over my kids.  I wanted to get a teacher who not only taught, but inspired a love of a subject in my kids.  I wanted them to see old friends, but also make new ones.  I wanted them to be happily received on that first day...and the other 179 days of their school year.  I love my kids so much and I wanted everyone else to feel that love and joy in them.

That's how I feel about having a new book come out.  Like I said, today it's Hold Her Heart.  In Carry Her Heart, I introduced Pip...a woman who gave up a daughter and then built a life around her.  In the These Three Words, you caught a glimpse of Pip's daughter and knew there was more to Pip's story.  Hold Her Heart is that more.  What happens when that mother and daughter meet after a lifetime apart?  More importantly, it forces the characters to ask, What does home look like?

I'll confess, I cried every time I read the opening scene.  And I know it was absurd.  I was writing/wrote the book.  I know there's a happily-ever-after at the end.  Still I cried...I cry.

As I send the book out in the world, I'm hoping that everyone who picks it up feels as strongly as I do about it.  I hope it makes them laugh...and cry.  And if you think about it, that's exactly what kids do...make you laugh and cry, and make you fall in love all over again on a daily basis!

Happy Reading!

Holly

The Truth - and the Duke - Is Out There!

by Anna Campbell

I'm so excited! It's exactly a year since I had a full-length new release and now, after that long wait, WHAT A DUKE DARES has hit the shelves.

This is book three of the Sons of Sin series (previous books are SEVEN NIGHTS IN A ROGUE'S BED and A RAKE'S MIDNIGHT KISS, with the novella DAYS OF RAKES AND ROSES squeezed in between). A character who has intrigued me from the start is Camden Rothermere, Duke of Sedgemoor. Cam is the guy who always keeps his head in a crisis and who always hands out great advice. As a reader, I love seeing Mr. Cool, Calm and Collected tumble into chaos when he falls in love - and that's just what happens to Cam. I can tell you that particular character arc is fun to write too!

Cam's heroine in Duke is his childhood friend Penelope Thorne, a headstrong and passionate woman who leads Cam on a merry dance before they get their happy ending. Pen was fun to write too. I love stories about unrequited love, and Pen's got a really rotten case of the malady for Cam.


Here's the blurb:

A reputation at risk

 

What woman in her right mind would say no to marrying the dashing Duke of Sedgemoor? Miss Penelope Thorne, that's who. She's known Camden Rothermere since they were children - and she also knows she'd bring nothing but scandal to his name.

Cam can hardly believe Penelope turned down his proposal. But if she wants to run off to the Continent and set the rumor mill ablaze, he can't stop her. Then her brother's dying request sends him to bring home the one woman he thought he'd finally gotten over.

The only way they'll both get back to London without their reputations in tatters is to pretend they're married during the journey. That means kissing like they mean it and even sharing a bed - until it becomes hard to tell where the game ends and true desire begins...

 

Reviews so far have been wonderful. RT Book Reviews gave Duke a Top Pick, 4.5 stars, a Knight in Shining Silver (K.I.S.S.) awad and called it "an extraordinary read." Publishers Weekly commented on the "romantic fireworks" and a starred review in Booklist said, "With its superbly nuanced characters, impeccably crafted historical setting, and graceful writing shot through with scintillating wit, Campbell's latest lusciously sensual, flawlessly written historical Regency, part of the Sons of Sin series (A Rake's Midnight Kiss, 2013), will have romance readers sighing happily with satisfaction."

 

You can read an excerpt here: http://annacampbell.info/dukedares.html

 

Duke is available in print and digital everywhere good books are sold, including: 

 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/What-Duke-Dares-Anna-Campbell/dp/1455557900/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1387328558&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=what+a+duke+dares

 

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-a-duke-dares-anna-campbell/1117543455?ean=9781455557905

 

The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/What-Duke-Dares-Anna-Campbell/9781455557905

 

Booktopia;  http://www.booktopia.com.au/what-a-duke-dares-anna-campbell/prod9780732295141.html

Penelope Thorne, the heroine of WHAT A DUKE DARES, suffers from a major crush on her girlhood hero Camden Rothermere. Did you have a crush when you were growing up? Was it someone real or someone fictional like a movie star or a rock singer?

Equality - Donna Alward

I've been sitting here for a few hours, working away, trying to come up with a topic to write about. There shouldn't be any shortage; I've just come back from RWA Nationals where tons of exciting things happened.

But I didn't want to give another conference report, you know? And then as I was doing the dishes I thought about what the takeaway is from Nationals. We get asked that on our art fact sheets, you know. What's the takeaway?

And as I was thinking about all that I realized what it is that makes Nationals so special. It's not the fangirl moments - though those are great from both sides of the coin. It's not the networking, though that's pretty darn energizing too. It's not even awards or parties...wait. Ok, so maybe the Harlequin Party is the exception, because it's pretty damn fabulous (here I am with my roomate Fiona Harper at the Waldorf Astoria), but even that kind of contributes to the point I'm about to make.

The takeaway is equality.

At Nationals everyone is the same. We all love the romance genre. We all love writing. We all just GET IT. Nothing brings this home like listening to the keynote speakers and it is why I hate to miss them and really try not to. It is so inspiring and humbling to hear someone speak about how they wrote on the QT for more than a decade before finally selling their first book. It's awe inspiring to hear about some people's struggles not only to be published but to get through life - if you haven't read Sherrilyn Kenyon's keynote speech on facebook, go find it. It is encouraging to know that best selling authors suffer the same trials of just WRITING THE DAMN BOOK as we do. And it doesn't matter if you're unpublished, newly published, a midlister or a NY Times Best Selling author. When it all comes down to it, we're all the same. And do you know what that means?

It means anything is possible. If they (meaning the "stars") can do it, why not us? The possibilities are endless. There is hope. And I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of hope, and of promise, and of hard work.  I love that there doesn't have to be limitations.

In the words of Red Green, "We're all in this together."

That's what I bring home from Nationals, and that's what fills my heart and makes me excited to keep doing this job. It's not the awards or signing books or shaking hands with people. It's this feeling of community and positive energy. It's addictive, and it's hard to come back to real life when it's all over.

But real life intrudes just the same - and includes a brand new release day for me. A FAMILY FOR THE RUGGED RANCHER hit store shelves yesterday! And I have to admit this is a special story for me. The hero is dealing with the issue of aging parents and facing his own mortality. He was lovely to write!

Until next time, happy reading!

Donna

www.donnaalward.com