There's Something in a Name!

Every author knows there's something in a name.  We agonize over what to name a character.  Looking for the right name to convey something we want to say about the character…something that fits them.  I was thinking about names for a new book and I wondered what a name like Holly said about me.  And hopefully it speaks of the holiday glee!  But here's the thing, my mother named my Holly not because my birthday was near the holidays (it's not…it's in August), but because she didn't think anyone could find a nickname for Holly.  And that is why I've gone by Hall most of my life! So maybe it speaks a bit about me bucking expectation and trying to chart my own path…I think I like that as well.

And as I thought about my name, I realized that despite the fact I was born in August, my name connection to the holidays shows in my work.  Turns out I've written a lot of holiday books. I have two new Christmas books out this year, and a number of backlist Christmas (and one Thanksgiving) books available as eBooks.  I think a lot of my heroines buck expectations and chart their own paths as well.  From Quincy, a maid who discovers that she's not only good at solving mysteries, but she also has a talent for writing, to Maeve, who came from humble beginnings and despite that has lived her life believing one person can make a difference.

Yes, there's something in a name.  And here are a few of my holiday books that are either new releases, or older books that are still available for eReaders.

New Releases in December:

Quincy's Back for Christmas in a in 

Spruced Up: A Maid in LA Holiday Novella.

Quincy Mac has faced a murder and an art thief. She's dealt with three teenaged boys on her own. She's even braved a brand new romance. But nothing she'd done in the past has prepared Quincy for this...she's heading home for Christmas! She's planning a quiet week with her family, but finds herself with another mystery to solve! 

Join Quincy as she celebrates with her family and solves a mystery in a way that's in keeping with the Christmas season!

Review:
"I fell in love with Quincy Mac when I learned she was once almost the spokeswoman for Dazzling Smile toothpaste.  I have a fondness for great stories, for toothpaste...and for teeth."  ~Hermey, Dentist to the North Pole

Available for Kindle

A Valley Ridge Christmas

...the name says it all.  It's stand alone, but if you've read the previous Valley Ridge Wedding trilogy, you'll meet up with old friends in this Christmas story.  Take one Pollyanna-ish librarian who lives by the mantra, I can't save the world, but I can try, and one Scrooge-ish man who is not thrilled by the idea of a white Christmas, add in a homeless family and you a new holiday story!

Reviews:

"A generous heroine who shares everything but herself and a smart but wary hero who needs to make peace with his past find friendship, love, and belonging in this sweet confection that channels It's a Wonderful Life and has links to Jacobs's earlier Valley Ridge books."
~Library Journal, 10-15-14

"...quick witted dialogue and spark." ~RT Bookreviews

Available in December at your local bookstore, for Kindle and Nook.  It's also available as part of a special 3 eBook bundle on Kindle and Nook.

   Other Holiday books:

Take meddling Nana Vancy who wants to play matchmaker along with her two best friends, known as The Silver Bells (Isabel and Annabelle) and set a romance two the tune ofThe 12 Days of Christmas and you have a fun Christmas romance!  Kindle and B&N.

Last year's holiday short story (also featuring Nana Vancy) is finally available for Nook!  Nana Vancy thinks she's out of the matchmaking business...at least for people.  She's better with pets.  But her Hungarian magic still has some kick.  Kindle and Nook



For Thanksgiving, Once Upon a Thanksgiving.  This was the first in my American Romance American Dad series.  Kindle and Nook.  The second American Dad book was Once Upon a Christmas.  Kindle and Nook.

Three moms miss the first PTA meeting of the year and get stuck on the worst committee…where they find friendship and maybe love!

Unexpected Gifts.  A woman who teaches teen parents finds her own personal journey echoing her girls' when she finds herself unexpectedly pregnant and jilted by the baby's dad.  Then just as unexpectedly a special man enters her life. Kindle and Nook

Laura Watson suffered the most unimaginable pain.  She meets a man who's also gone through a horrible loss of his own.  Can these two damage people find the strength to love again?  Kindle and Nook.

Unexpected Gifts :: Anne McAllister

I told someone the other day that I wasn't making new year's resolutions because I knew what the right things to do were.

One of them is to clean my office. As I'm between books -- sort of -- now seems like a good time.

What also makes it a good time is that my husband, bless his little neat-freak heart, bought me shelving for Christmas.

Now, I ask you, is that a man who knows his wife -- or what?

Well, certainly he knows what I need, even if it might not have been precisely at the top of my Christmas wish list.

Still, the minute I opened the gargantuan box, I knew it was a perfect gift. What's more, he assembled them the day after Christmas (it was all I could do to convince him he didn't need to do it Christmas morning!). He even stacked all my file boxes on them.

And he went back to Lowe's to buy a sixth shelf when it was clear that one eight foot unit of five shelves wasn't going to do the trick. True love, yes?

And now -- with six shelves -- I must say that nearly three weeks later, things are clearing up.

The interesting geological formations that come from books growing weekly in stalagmites here and there have been leveled and boxed.

The dust bunnies under the trundle bed/sofa have been vanquished. You can sit on it again. Someone could even sleep on it if they so desired.

The books have been shelved. The DVDs have been sorted and put away. The stacks of paper have been, well, re-stacked (let's not ask for perfection here). And some of them have been scanned by my sheet-feed scanner, which I bought myself last year and which ranks right up there with the shelving as an Extremely Useful Piece of Equipment.

I actually uncovered the printer the other day. In an effort not to make things worse by printing yet more paper, I'd conveniently buried it beneath my tax information. Those files have now been sorted and put away.

Let's face it, a paperless office I will never have. But, besides the printer and the surface of the bed/sofa, I uncovered a bit of carpet last week. There's actually a floor here somewhere!

I'm so pleased.

In fact, I'm thinking that my unexpected shelving unit was likely one of the best presents I've ever been given. It's made my life easier, less fraught, more manageable. It may be chrome and cold, but it's been warming my heart since Christmas morning.

What about you? What's the most unexpected present you've ever received? Did it make you as happy as my shelving unit has made me?

Leave your answer in the comments here and my golden retrievers, Micah and Mitch, will pick one to receive a copy of my most recent book, One Night Mistress . . . Convenient Wife.

They are practicing their "picking winners" technique because, beginning in February, I'm giving away a book a day to celebrate the 25th anniversary of my first book, Starstruck.

If you want to practice, too, drop by and leave a comment on my blog to enter the drawing.

Blogging for Holly Jacobs

Hi! I know Holly Jacobs is supposed to blog here today, but she spent the weekend at the New Jersey conference and is recovering, so I offered to come here on my morning school break to blog for her.

So, let me introduce myself. I'm Eli Cartwright. Eli is short for Elinore, not the guy's name, long-E 'lee.' I'm the heroine in Holly's November book, UNEXPECTED GIFTS. Now, she won't tell me exactly what happens in the book, so I can't give you many clues about the story, but I can tell you about me.

I'm in my early forties and I teach at the high school and run the teen parenting program in Whedon, PA. Whedon, PA is a fictional town, just like I'm a fictional character. (Yes, I know I'm fictional...Holly might not tell me what happens, but she has been honest about my fictional status, though frankly, I feel real!) Now, anyone who reads Holly's books knows she sets a lot of them in her hometown, Erie, but Holly has volunteered for years in Erie's teen parenting program, so she opted to create a program for me in a fictional town located just outside Erie.

So, back to me. I'm a teacher. I date a nice man named Arthur. He's older than me and dreams about retiring and writing the next great American novel. I have a great house, just bought my dream car--a Mini Cooper! I have a great friend, Tucker. She was the first teen parent I ever worked with. There was no program here in Whedon, so I inadvertently created one! It's challenging work, but very fulfilling.

Holly's going to come in and post my book cover...I'm not allowed to see it. She says it will give me a big clue about what's going to happen. And since she's been watching Flash Forward, she using that as proof that knowing your future isn't a good thing.

So, what about you? If you had a chance to know the future, would you chance taking a look?

Eli

PS Holly gave me my own Facebook page...if you'd like to be a friend, I'd love it! http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000269350966