My first crush...

My husband (aka Himself) knows how to woo me.  For years I've said my favorite present from him was a pair of a steel-toed boots. (He'd seen me splitting wood and flipping a piece that landed on my toes which made them sweet.)  But yesterday's gift might win.  An entire collection of leather-bound, acid-free paper Robert Heinlein's book.  Oh, be still my heart.

My first real crush was on Heinlein's character, Lazarus Long.  So that's where I went first. I opened Methuselah's Children.  Oh, wow.  Reading a beautifully bound version is a different experience than reading my beat up paperback.  It was lovely!  Adding to the experience was seeing Himself occasionally glance over at me happily reading and smile indulgently.  

It might seem strange to non-book people to have a first crush be a fictional character, but readers get it.  I have a crush on all the heroes I write.  And I want to be best friends with all the heroines.  If I didn't like them that much, then writing the book wouldn't work.  I've been writing Romance+ stories...books that are more than a romance, they're a story of a woman's journey that includes a romance, but romantic love isn't the reason for her journey, nor is it the only destination.  My Words of the Heart series is first person in the heroine's point-of-view.  So I get to know those heroes through the heroine's eyes.  But at the end of Carry Her Heart, Ned gets a small word in edge wise...and every time I read it, even though I wrote it, I tear up.  He comes back in Hold Her Heart and opens the book...and again, he gets me every time.  As I sat reading Lazarus last night, I looked at my husband and understood why Ned's small POV's get me...it's because he gets his heroine, Pip.  He understands her and loves her in spite of her quirks.

Himself gets me like that and proof is in a pair of steel-toed boots and a set of Heinlein books.

Holly

PS The first two books in Words of the Heart are on sale.  Come meet Ned for yourself.

Carry Her Heart

Hold Her Heart

These Three Words

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

Grownup Clothes

So, I'm heading to New Jersey Romance Writers conference this weekend and realized yesterday, I have to pack.  Yes, I realized that fact as I sat in holey jeans, a t-shirt and a buffalo plaid flannel shirt.  Let's just say it...I don't do grownup clothes very often.  Hardly ever, truth be told.

I walked to my grownup clothes closet and stared at it.  And then I hit on a plan...
You see, I'm going to New Jersey because I've getting a Hall of Fame Award (you can read about it here).  And two of my books are finalists in the Golden Leaf Awards.

And all the books that are part of that Hall of Fame Award and in the Golden Leaf Award are set here in Erie, PA.  (What, you mean Erie isn't your first thought when you think of romantic cities?? Maybe it should be! LOL) So, if I wore some of my very cool Erie t-shirts (thanks Erie Apparel) I wouldn't be avoiding grownup clothes, I'd be marketing my books.  Yes, that's right, those t-shirts are branding.  And branding is smart and business savvy.  

So, if you see me in New Jersey wearing my t-shirts (and non-holey jeans and a nice cardie) don't think, boy that writer seems less than grownup dressed.  Think, wow, that writer is very market savvy.  She's a branding dynamo.

Uh, did you buy that??

New Jersey here I come!!  And if you're looking for a romantic city...maybe you should be thinking Erie??  You can visit Visit Erie to find out a bit of what we have to offer...or you can pick up a Holly Jacobs' book. (Oh, I think that was more marketing savviness right there!)

Holly

Visit Erie

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

Cooks and Books—Making Christmas Candy w/ author, Holly Jacobs

I have a few things I talk about a lot on social media...books, cooking, gardening, and let's not forget glee!

Someone told me that I have way too much fun with life...I think there's a chance they're right.  LOL  We've made hard candy for the holidays for year.  It's absurdly simple, but a bit intimidating.  So I made a video.  I'm not sure what Julia Child would say, but I think this spells out the recipe.

I hope it helps while you're prepping for the holidays!

Wishing you a beautiful one that's filled with family, friends, good books...and a lot of glee!  Oh, and candy.  Wishing you some candy, too! 

Holly

PS My HollyDay read, Christmas in Cupid Falls, is on sale today!

The PUParazzi are HOUNDing us...

My dogs, Ethel Merman and Ella Fitzgerald, have been a bit full of themselves the last few months.  Okay, so longer than that.  They were the inspiration for Curie and Clara in Everything But a Dog.  And when I was asked about covers, I sent the picture on the left along and the cover artist came up with the cover on the right.

Everything But a Dog

Every since they became cover models, they've been convinced they're celebrities.

I thought I finally made them realize they're just dogs, when there was a piece in USAToday's Happily Ever After Blog, a couple weeks ago.  They felt that proved that the PUParazzi were indeed hounding them.

According to my daughter, the dogs and I might be having a bit too much fun with their second brush with fame!!

Holly

PS.  Watch for my next novella, 13 Weeks, on October 26 and my next novel, These Three Words, November 24!