Take a Journey...

Last week, on International Women's Day, I posted this video and talked about who I am.  I think all of us should spend time thinking about who we are.  It's hard to decide where you want to go if you don't know where you are. 

Welcome to #ThisIsMe...the Holly edition.

           I am a Woman.

I am part of an amazing family.

I am a friend.

I've been bruised, but I have healed.

I am all the books I've ever read...or written.

I believe in something greater than myself.
I am Gleeful.
I am Clay-Happy.
I am a Solitude Loving Camp Lover.
I am a Wood Splitter.
I'm a shower singer.

I am a Baker.

I am a Cook.

I am Weird.
I'm a brewer.

I am a lover of odd science facts (Schrodinger, Pi Day...).
I am a lover of Buffalo Plaid.
I am curious, inventive, self-motivated and introspective.
Despite what people think, at heart I'm an introvert.
I believe in justice.
I try to see people for who they are, not how they're packaged.
I am so much more than all this...

Man, I love the line, "I'm not scared to be seen...I make no apologies.  This is me."

Still, I'm more than those things...I'm all the people who came before me.  And just as I don't think you can decide where you're going until you know where you are...I don't think you can know where you're going until you know where you're from.

I've been working on my family tree off and on for a few years.  On my mom's side, I come from pre-revolution New England.  My father's side has just as deep history, but from down south.  His family came from the mountains in Virginia, down to North Carolina, then back up to West Virginia.  I am a northern girl through and through, and find this deep southern part of my history fascinating.  One of my favorite books last year was Victuals.  I tend to read cookbooks like novels, and this book had a mini novel in amongst the recipes...stories from the mountains my family came from.  I read about sorghum in that book and a lovely friend, Tami, sent me some. I so enjoyed trying it out...it became one of my Cooks and Books videos.  You can watch it here.  

I was doing some research for my family tree and stumbled across a documentary by NC State called Mountain Talk and watched it last week. I was fascinated by the stories about their speech and the music.  This is my heritage.  These are my people.  I think I miss the mountains, even if I've never lived there. 

One of the words that really struck me in the documentary was poke. A shopping bag.  I love that.  And of course, watching the documentary, made me do a bit more research (the trap of every writer...I can get lost in this stuff) and found a fun blog, Blind Pig and an Acorn.  I read an article about pokes there, and am now subscribed.  Yes, I'm falling down the rabbit hole...again.

Before I knew about my heritage, I loved mountain stories.  Do you remember Foxfire Books?  I've got more than a few.  I love to pull one out and read a story about someone's life.

Maybe this is part of why I write.  I get to explore other people's lives and pasts and the pieces of themselves that are there This Is Me definitions.  Because yes, I am part of my wonderful family, a friend, a writer, an amateur potter, a... so many other things.  I am all of them.  But I am my parents' daughter, and their parents' granddaughter...right on down the line. 

I come from a wide rich heritage and that is part of who I am.  And that's what I try to give each character I write.  That kind of history.  Briar Hill Road is a story that deals with more than a couple falling in love...it's about their lifetime of love.  Their ups and downs.  And it's about their history. 
Yes, this is where one documentary led me today!  Down the rabbit hole again.  LOL

I hope you'll join me and take a journey down Briar Hill Road! And maybe give some thought to who you are.  We'd love to have you post your own #ThisIsMe list!

Holly

And while you're thinking about This is Me, here's a mash-up of it with Dear Evan Hansen's You Will Be Found...amazing!

Happy Valentine's!! I've got a gift for you...

Happy Valentine's!  I hope tomorrow is a wonderful day for you.  I've got a houseful here, so it's bound to be chaos...but a good chaos!

 Once Upon a Valentine's is the perfect book to talk about on the day before Valentine's!  This is the third and final book in my PTA Mom series.  If you missed they other two, you can find them here!   This is Carly's story.  She's my accidental arsonist.  Yes, that's a thing.  And when she's partnered with an Erie cop for her community service, Sparks Fly. (I know, I know, that was bad, but I just couldn't help myself!)  

What are people saying?   

"An overcommitted and lovable but prickly heroine and a no-nonsense hero spar brilliantly in this sassy, tender, sometimes hilarious romance set in Jacobs's hometown of Erie, PA. Another winner from the author of Once Upon a Christmas." ~Library Journal  

"After Carly burns a couch -- and the neighbor's shed -- she's court-sentenced to help steamy lawman Chuck teach fire safety classes in the schools. As things heat up with Chuck, Carly struggles to balance her responsibilities: her kids, her last semester of nursing classes and her PTA seat. And when Chuck isn't satisfied with keeping things casual, Carly gets in way over her head! Jacobs reminds readers that not having time to fall in love won't keep it from happening." ~Romantic Times BookClub    

In other news,  I've started my second Ceramics class. Keep an eye out for more My Novel Freshman Experience posts and pictures!  And keep an eye on future newsletters...I have some fun giveaways and plans for the year!  I was in the studio working a few weeks back, carving some clay spoons and had an idea for a short story.  As my Valentine's gift to you all...it's free this week.  (Those are my spoons on the cover.)  You can grab a copy here...SPOONS.

I posted my 'gift' on FB yesterday and a friend said that giving spoons on Valentine's was a tradition.  I found it on Huffington Post...
"One traditional romantic Welsh gift is a love spoon. As early as the 17th century, Welsh men carved intricate wooden spoons as a token of affection for the women they loved. Patterns and symbols were carved into these love spoons, each signifying a different meaning. A few examples include horseshoes, which stand for good luck; wheels, which symbolize support; and keys, which symbolize the keys to a man’s heart." You guessed it...I had geek glee all over the place!  

That's it!  Wishing you a wonderful Valentine's filled with spoons, good romance stories and lots and lots of love!

Holly

PS. Briar Hill Road is out in March.  I'm so in love with this cover!