Back to School!

Orientation

I'm going back to school this fall. My first official school event was orientation. About a dozen adult students and grad students gathered and listened to the Adult Ed people talk about schedules, dates, parking...  Travis headed the team.  He asked who was nervous...no one raised their hands, but I glanced around the room and a few people did seem to fall into that category.  He talked about making sure you got the best grades you could in every class.  Scholarships and Grad programs rely on it.  I've got to confess, I wasn't nervous.  You see, I'm in this weird position.  Most of the adult/grad students are working toward a specific degree with a specific goal in mind.  I have no goal.  I'm going back to school for fun and for personal growth.  And while I'd like to get good grades, I will confess, I'm sort of ambivalent about the idea of someone else judging what I learned and accomplished in a class. I've spent my entire adult life taking classes and learning new things.  From my work advising lactating moms, to learning sign language, to beer classes, herb classes, composting class, water conservation class, basketweaving classes...and oh yeah, writing workshops.  You've seen some of my eclectic learning reflected in my books.  I covered composting in Her Second-Chance Family, sign language in Do You Hear What I Hear?...

But here's the thing, none of those learning experiences came with grades. My kids have assured me that years of working at home in a fictional world has ruined me for the real world.  I'm my own boss. I create my work environment every day.  I create my coworkers...otherwise known as my characters.  I choose my projects, set my schedules and basically learn what I need (want) to learn for fun.  And I'll confess, even though I will be graded on this first ceramics class, I'm going in with that same sense of learning for the joy of it...for the glee of it if you will.

I plan to blog the experience, so keep an eye out for my first day of class...it's almost here!

Holly

You can also keep your eye out for my newest releases:

2017 Beach Reads

Can't Find NoBODY

Confessions of a Party Crasher

The Book

Not Precisely Pregnant

In time for Valentine's!

Not Precisely Pregnant is this month's release! I pitched this romantic comedy to my editor as Shrek meets Pollyanna!  It features two reporters...one who covers hard hitting news stories and one whose reports use the tagline Nice News Matters. To be honest, I do love nice news and think the world could use more of it! Here's the blurb: Nice News matters to reporter Paige Montgomery, aka Pollyanna Paige, reports on news that makes you smile. When she finds herself (not precisely) pregnant and in trouble, she’s rescued by an unlikely savior...cynical newsman, Riley Calhoon. Paige is intrigued with this unprecedented heroic streak, but Riley prefers to keep that particular scoop to himself. Riley might doubt Paige’s reporter’s instincts, but she’s following his story with a tenacity that even he can admire. The problem is, whenever she’s around he finds himself being assaulted by hockey pucks, killer cats and even a run-away trucks. He either has a chronic case of heartburn… or maybe it’s love? Reviews: "...guaranteed to provide plenty of entertainment, and more laughs than should be legal." ~Kelley A. Hartsell, Love Romances Reviews "Holly Jacobs returns with NOT PRECISELY PREGNANT, a wry, warm-hearted screwball comedy featuring an appealing pair of lovers...and an attack cat." ~Romantic Times "Ms. Jacobs has done it again!...Her books are lighthearted joy to read..." ~Carol Carter, Reviewer "In "Not Precisely Pregnant", Holly Jacobs spins a marvelously funny tale about love, ratings, sex and stubbornness." ~Women on Writing "I picked up this book with the intention of reading the first couple of pages to see what it was about. I didn't have time right then to read it. Well, it got read sooner than I thought! Ms. Jacobs grabbed my attention and kept me reading. " ~Lydia Funneman, Writers Unlimited

Other News: Honor Roll: I'm so excited to announce that I'm on Romance Writers of America's Honor Roll now!!  And I want to thank you all...I'm there because of all your support and all the books you've bought,  Thank you! Subscriber Only Giveaway:  I'm so glad that everyone enjoyed the giveaway last month!!  I wanted to do something for all my subscribers this month, not just a lucky few.  So, I've put up a short story that only you can read for free before it goes up for the general public.  It all started with a book.  I went to a house sale and found a copy of Gene Stratton-Porter's The Harvester.  I've always loved her books and had never read this one.  Imagine my excitement!!  I picked it up, took it home and found...   I know...sad, wasn't it?  But, this maimed book did inspire a story.  Newsletter subscribers read it for free last week. It will be up this week for readers on Kindle, Kobo and Nook. So what's up next?  Confessions of a Party Crasher.  It's an older book that Harlequin bought for a line that was in its death throes before Party Crasher ever went on sale.  So it made it to very few bookstores, which means it's probably new to you.  So let's call it a new old book! LOL  More on that soon! Hope you're having a great start of the year!  And hoping 2017 is one of your best years yet! Have a wonderful Valentine's!! Holly

Recent Releases:

Can't Find NoBODY

Happy New Years everyone...well, happy new year +11 days!!  I hope you had a lovely holiday, surrounded by family, friends, love and of course Glee!! I've got a new (old) release for a new year!!  Can't find NoBODY!!  It was originally published as Found and Lost. I am so happy that this ebook version is going back to my title.  I mean, a disappearing dead body romance...could there be any better title than Can't Find NObody???  Nope.  I wrote this book for Harlequin's Flipside line...but the line was on its way out by the time the book came out, so this might be an older book, but there's a good chance it'll be new to you!  Here's more about it... ~~~ Fans of Holly Jacobs' bestselling Maid in LA Mysteries are in for another zany who-dunnit. This time there's a disappearing (and reappearing) dead body. As she hurries out the door on Monday morning, Markie Walkowicz trips over a body. A very dead body. She calls 911 from her closet, because what sane woman would stay on the porch with a dead body and a potential murderer hanging around? To make a bad Monday worse, the cop who shows up is Detective Zac Marshall--her longtime (former) friend. He announces there's nobody...uh, no body on her porch. Over the next few days that body in its orange and green plaid suit keeps turning up—but never sticks around long enough for Zac to see it. Will he have to hang around full-time before he believes her? Markie eventually admits that having Zac hang around isn't that bad. Even if she can't find no body, maybe she has found her somebody. Read Can't Find NoBODY Reviews: "Holly Jacobs' latest . . . is a delight. A darkly comic whodunit, it's her best book yet."  ~RT BOOKclub "Ms. Jacobs delivers a sweet love storyfilled with humor to enchant her readers . . . prepare to be thoroughly entertained."  ~Love Romances "Holly Jacobs is the master of humorous writing."  ~Writers Unlimited Reviewer "Holly Jacobs hits the laugh track again with this fabulously funny tale of love and mystery."  ~Romance Junkies ". . . an exceptionally humorous and delightful tale."  ~CataRomance Reviews

Here's my new cover for my second release in 2017  Not Precisely Pregnant.  I pitched this romantic comedy to my editor as Shrek meets Pollyanna!  It features two reporters...one who covers hard hitting news stories and one who reports using the tagline Nice News Matters. To be honest, I do love nice news and think the world could use more of it!  It's out February 7th!  But you can preorder it now!!

My books World Travels: Carry Her Heart went going to Turkey. Dad Today, Groom Tomorrow went to Spain. Once Upon a King went to Portugal. A Valley Ridge Christmas went to France...for a second time. Ready, Willing and Abel? & Raising Cain are going to Spain. I love taking Erie, PA all over the world! I've got to confess, I love the idea that readers in other countries are reading about Erie!

As always, thank you everyone for all your support!  2016 has been an amazing year!  September's Hold Her Heart has been on the bestseller list and the first book in the Words of the Heart series, Carry Her Heart, is a bestseller in Turkey.  And Just One Thing passed 100,000 books sold!  And I know that every one of those successes is because of you! So again, thank you! I've signed on for blogging here for another year!  You can catch my posts on the 13th of every month! Holly PS.  The dead body in Can't Find NoBODY appears...then disappears. I set the book in Philadelphia not Erie. Why? Both get cold, but Philly doesn't get the snow we do. And everyone knows, if you're dragging a body, frozen earth is so much better at preventing drag marks than snow is! Can't Find NoBODY