Thursday, October 29, 2015

13 Weeks

I love the heroine in my new novella, 13 Weeks.  Doran is a traveling nurse who specializes in palliative care.  I've had two loved ones use Hospice care in their last days, and I can tell you from experience that all the nurses, aides and volunteers who work within the program are very special people.  I once called in the wee hours once because my loved one was in pain and the meds I had on hand weren't cutting it.  Someone was at my door an hour later, stronger medication in hand.

But it was more than the medical support.  The amazing people who worked for the program held hands as much as they gave medications.  They listened...not just to the patient, but to the whole family.  They met my family at our most vulnerable time and helped us through it even as they helped our loved ones.

It seemed natural to write a heroine who had that kind of strength...that kind of heart.

I've wrote about those losses before in the award winning The House on Briar Hill Road.  Yes, the story is fiction, just as 13 Weeks is, but at their heart, both dealt with my own personal experiences of loss.

Though 13 Weeks deals with a difficult time, I think the ultimate message is a hopeful one.  It's about finding where you belong.  More than that, it's about recognizing home when you see it.

I hope you pick up the novella.  This time next month my next full-length novel, These Three Words is out!  If you've followed my books, you know I love to write series.  And though TTW's isn't part of a series, if you pay attention you just might find a character you'll recognize.

Holly

These Three Words