It's the end of February...wow! One sixth of the year is over. I hope these first months have been wondeful, and that things only get better!

Here's my treat for you...a few weeks late fo Valentine's but still, it seems appropriate to post it in February. A few years ago, I was asked to do a story for eHarlequin.com. They gave me (and four other writers) a opening paragraph and asked us to write a short story around it. Mine, Kissing Cupid, is posted on Harlequin's UK site. Here's the link, and hope you enjoy!

Holly

I've so appreciated all your letters, and the chance to "meet" the pets that give your lives such joy! Tomorrow's the last day for pet stories. I'll be drawing on the 1st of March for our winner. Thanks again everyone! This has been a fun contest...and such a fun way to launch my latest book, Laugh Lines. I hope you all will ask your library to order a copy...and check in on the 1st to see who our winner is!

Holly


My favorite pet is Bathsheba, my cat. We had to work so hard to save her when she was born. To get her to eat we had to blend pasta in a blender for her. THen we started mixing it with dry cat food and finally got her to eating cat food. Now she lays on me all the time and has refused to go outside like all the other cats. She is so beautiful. ~Jane

Thanks to someone else being very unkind and unthoughtful we have a wonderful cat.
Last Spring someone dropped off a cat at our home in the country.
He was half grown, housebroke and a beautiful Siamese.
He of course has taken over our hearts and our home. ~Christy

My favorite pet was a amozon parot named Chico. He had a few words he would say such as Chico is a pretty bird, he also expected a plate of food at meal time. ~Gail

Recently, a number of you have asked about my fairy books. First off, thanks for remembering them, or discovering them! I wrote them for ImaJinn Books, and they've since gone into an e-version at Fictionwise.

Let's see, I've brought royalty to Erie, PA in my Perry Square Royal Invasion trilogy, so why not fairy godmothers? LOL You've probably figured out by now that I think Erie's got it all! LOL

You can read an excerpt from each of the books at both Fictionwise, and ImaJinn. You can also find out more about the books on my website. Mad About Max, Magic For Joy, Miracles for Nick, Fairly Human .

Oh, and yes, Janice asked, this was before I started using the pen name, Holly Jacobs. If you'll note the H and R in Fuhrmann, plus that double N at the end...well, let's just say I did a signing once where they put no vowels in my last name. I decided it might be better to try something else! LOL ~Holly

Alrighty then...Laugh Lines is officially available online! And in honor of its release, I thought I'd introduce you to a friend. In Laugh Lines, Dani tries her hand at stand-up comedy. She finds she has a flair for it. I do a lot of public speaking, and I'll confess, I know the rush of totally owning an audience. Finding that rhythm of your talk, knowing when to add that little something that will make the audience laugh. It's intoxicating. Dani finds that same rush. As much as I suspect my rush is similar, I don't actually do stand-up. But I'd like to introduce you to Charlotte Maclay, who in addition to her writing, does do stand-up. Here she is...


I’m Charlotte Maclay and I am a ham!

Give me a microphone and an audience, and I’m doing the Snoopy dance. (Well, not literally, I might hurt myself, but you get what I mean.)

I have been speaking to audiences of all sizes and shapes since first grade. While 90% of the world is terrified by the thought of getting up in front of an audience to speak, I’m pushing everybody out of the way so I can get to the mike first.

Which makes it weird that I waited so late in life to become a stand-up comedienne. I mean, I can’t even stay awake late enough to watch Jay Leno much less perform at that hour.
However, I do perform fairly regularly for senior citizen groups, alumni organizations, women’s clubs and the like.

One of my most memorable gigs was at a retirement home where the average age of the audience was 92 ½. Those present who were not senile, deaf or napping in their chairs really enjoyed my routine.

The toughest gig for me is a stage performance where the audience is in the dark and I’m standing in a spotlight. I can’t see a soul. There’s no way to make eye contact. If I don’t get a laugh when I should, I can’t tell if the joke bombed or the audience decided to go out for a drink—and they’re not planning to come back.

Nowadays, I enjoy combining the story of my writing romance novels with my stand-up routine. The goal of my presentations and of my books is to leave my audience and my readers smiling.

Drop by my Web site www.CharlotteMaclay.com Click on the Lite Side and you’ll find jokes written by students in my recent online class, The Art of Writing Jokes. I think they’ll leave you smiling, too.

Charlotte Maclay
Make No Promises
Leisure Love Spell
Available now

Thanks, Char! Please, take a minute to go visit Char's site!

I'll confess, I so admire my character Dani, went chasing after her dreams! Especially a dream that involves really putting yourself on the line like that, standing center stage, under the spotlight! So what would you secretly want to try?

I hope you all will ask your libraries about ordering Laugh Lines. Thanks as always for your support!!

Holly

More pets (the contest ends next week, so do send in your pet stories!):

My favorite pet is a little all grey cat who my son and I adopted from the Humane society.
What did it for us is that the poor little thing was hitting his head on the cage at the HS because he wanted to be petted so bad.
So we opened the cage and he just started purring and purring Matthew asked what’s his name Mom? I said Storm.
He said we have to get him.
I said I’ll call Dad.
Storm or Stormy looks like a Russian Blue he is all grey with green eyes.
He is real sweetie ~Beth

My favourite pet is our little 2 year old yorkshire terrier named precious.he is a real little darling. He is a member of our family and has all of us well trained to perform certain tasks for him. ~Linda


I lost my favorite pet last year. Skeeter was a wired-haired dachshund and my constant companion for 18 years. I really miss her. ~Kathy
Kathy, I'm so sorry for your loss. I know how bad it can hurt. We lost our Mastiff last year and still miss him. Sending hugs!

My favorite pet was a dear sweet Maltese named Angel. I had visited the local Humane Society and told them I was looking for a small lap dog. They said they would call me when they received one. When I received the call I rushed to the Humane Society. There was this precious little neglected Maltese. They told me the owner brought her because they were moving and couldn't take her. That was the best thing that could have happened to her. She immediately stole my heart and became a member of our family. She was around 5 years old, matted pink tinged hair, what looked like black coffee grinds in her ears and bad green teeth with horrible breath. I headed straight to the vet's office to get her shots and have her spayed and get her teeth cleaned. When they spayed her they found a bad infection in her uterus. They said I saved her life by bringing her in to be spayed. Then the next trip was to the groomers. She was a different baby when I picked her up. She was white, fluffy and! full of love. I was confused at why she didn't come when I called her name "Angel". I tried different names thinking maybe that wasn't really her name. I still had no luck. On day she was asleep next to clothes hamper in the hallway. I accidentally dropped the wooden lid with a loud bang. I noticed she didn't flinch. I dropped it again. Still no movement. Then I realized why she didn't come when I called her name. She was also deaf. It made me so mad to think of how the previous owners neglected and abused her. We think someone who wore a baseball cap abused her. The first time my husband came through the house with his ball cap on she ran up to him barking, growling and nipping at his leg. She reacted this way whenever anyone had a ball cap on. When they would take the hat off she would change back to the sweet loving baby she normally was. She lived to be 14 years old and was such a blessing to our family. Everyone that came over fell in love with her and wanted to take her home. We had to put her asleep 8 years ago and we still miss her so much.
~Crystal

My favorite pets are my two marmalade kittens - two identical sisters. I called them Fatso (she's twice the size of her sister) and Red. Fatso is very pushy, always climbing on top of you, begging scraps of food and attention. Red is very lady-like. She would stick around, making sure she is noticed but very dignified. Red is also very independent. She is the proverbial cat who walks alone. Fatso, when petted to her heart's content, scrunches to a little ball on the nearest available surface and can snooze for hours. I love them both to pieces. ;-) ~stasy

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I hope it’s a lovely day that you get to share with someone special! My youngest has a basketball game tonight (weather permitting), so no romantic dinner here, but we went out last week for an early celebration.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, a new Holly Jacobs’ romance....

LAUGH LINESby Holly Jacobs
ISBN 0-8034-9814-4
Avalon Books, 2/07

Welcome back to Erie, PA! In LAUGH LINES, the disc jockeys from WLVH radio station are MCing at a local comedy club, Chuckles. And they prove that WLVH, where love is more than just a song, still has the magic touch...it follows them into the club and...
Dani Sinclair has moved home to Erie to be closer to her family and to tackle a new job as CEO at a Hamlin Texts. That first day, while trying to escape a killer-bug (running from a plain bug sounds stupid, but if you say killer-bug it makes sense) she literally bumps into Luke Miller, the owner of Chuckles, a comedy club. At Chuckles, Dani finds she’s got a talent for stand-up...and she’s standing a lot, except when she falls for Luke! Unfortunately their road to love is peppered with a few rotten tomatoes and prat falls, but like all true comics (and romantics) they keep trying until they get it right!

You can read an EXCERPT here.

By now, you all know the drill...this is an Avalon release, and the publisher’s main market is libraries. The books are hardback, library bound, so they’re pricey. If you ask your library to order it, you’re helping me out, Avalon out...and you get to read it! Win-win-win! LOL (Well, I hope you getting to read it is a win !)**********************************************************************

Also, last summer’s HERE WITH ME, was reprinted in a hardback, large print version. Again, very pricey, so if you’re calling your library to request Laugh Lines, maybe you could request this one as well? Here’s the info:HERE WITH METhorndike (Hardback/large print reprint), 1/17/07 ISBN:0786292253 ************************************************************************

CONTESTThere’s still time to enter the new contest. I’m giving away a copy of last year’s NIGHT CALLS, an Avalon release. It had an Old English Mastiff in it, based on ours, who passed away last January.

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BOOKS ON THE MOVE
More and more foreign readers are signing up for the newsletter...thanks! Here are some translations that are available now...Once Upon a Prince has a Czech and Polish translation 2/07. Do You Hear What I Hear? was a part of a French Anthology in December '06. Once Upon a Princess published in Germany 11/06 and in Poland January '07. Here With Me published in Spain 11/06 and as a Thorndike Largeprint Edition in January '07 . Once Upon a Princess has a Czech translation in January '07!

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UPCOMING RELEASES:

Once Upon a Princess is going to be available in the US and Canada in a Spanish translation...
El Juego De La Princesa: (The Princess Game) Harlequin Jazmin (Spanish), 6/07

And my first Harlequin Everlasting is just around the bend in October. This one is so very special...find out why on my website.The House on Briar Hill RoadHarlequin Everlasting Love, 10/07ISBN #978-0-373-65419-2

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Wow, after a very mild December, winter found Erie, PA in January...and keeps right on finding us. We’ve got snow and it’s freezing cold! I’m so looking forward to spring. But for now, I’ve got a fire going, I’m sitting on my couch, with Ethel Merrman, our new dog, and working...life’s not so bad, despite the snow!

As always, thanks for your continued support. You all helped make December’s Dashing Through the Mall, a great seller! I so appreciate it!

(PS for everyone in Erie, check out today’s paper! If you’re not in Erie...there’s an article about me on the front page! You can check it out at http://www.goerie.com/ if you’d like!)

Happy Valentine’s!

Holly

Another celebrity cat. First Kate Walker's, now meet Cathie Linz's (see the previous post about her current releases)!

"The photo is of Whiskers, who is an official cover model -- he was on the cover of Dec 2006 RT!

This is his follow up photo for Valentine's Day (notice the teddy bear and heart in the background). Whiskers is five years old, and he's a rescue shelter cat that I got as a kitten. More photos are on my website (a cute one on top of my newsletter section shows him and his brother Rascal as kittens). Did I mention that Whiskers faithfully sat at my feet while I completed my new book BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY (coming out in October). The fact that the hot air duct was there and it was cold had nothing to do with his feline loyalty .

This is Whiskers brother Rascals (who lives up to his name every minute of every day!) "

You can visit Cathie and see more pics at http://www.cathielinz.com/.

Happy Valentine's!

Holly

Happy Valentine's! Well, almost. I hope tomorrow's a lovely day for all of you. No romantic dates here. Our youngest has a basketball game. But, to be honest, I just enjoy hanging with my dh, so a bball game is as good a place as any.

For this week's blog, I thought what better time to discuss what I've been reading than Valentine's, especially when I've been reading so many of my friends' books lately!

Cheryl has been a great friend and mentor since I first started writing. I've always so loved her stories. The Lawman's Bride (Harlequin Historical Series) by Cheryl St.John was no exception.

Sophie is running from her past...straight into Clay's arm. Problem is, she's a criminal, he's the law. But maybe there's more to the story...and maybe all it will take is love to figure it out.
Cheryl St. John always tells gripping stories of the heart...and The Lawman's Bride is no exception. As a matter of fact, it's exceptional!
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Okay, here's something you might not have known about Cathy...her husband is my cosmic twin. Well, at least that's what she claims. It seems whenever the two of us are together, trouble ensues and she seems to feel we're both to blame, but truly, it's all his fault! LOL

Fully Engaged (Silhouette Intimate Moments) by Catherine Mann
Rick and Nola had a magic weekend together...then she left. Now she's back, and Rick's playing bodyguard. Protecting Nola makes him realize he can't let her go again.
Mann is an author who knows how to blend a fast-paced intrigue with true and heart-racing passion. A must read!

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There's a minature castle on my office shelf, and every time I look at it, I think of a good friend, Kate. I met her for the first time at a conference, but had been lucky to have known her for a long while before then online. At our lunch, her husband and I both used the word Lovely more than once, and since then, they've been my "lovely" friends. If you go back a few weeks on the blog, you can read about her cat, the world famous Sid!

The Italian's Forced Bride (Harlequin Presents) by Kate Walker
Alice has fallen in love, but realizes that Dom will never return her feelings, so she returns home to England...and discovers she's pregnant. Alice knows that he has to know the truth, but she's not really prepared for Dom's reation. A truly, "lovely" story of a love that was meant to be!

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Okay, here's a confession, she might be one of the biggest names in romance, but she's still a very sweet, down-to-earth lady. I was in a conference at Atlanta, on an escalator with a huge suitcase. Now, I don't think I've ever mentioned my bad leg here, but I have one, and it had been giving me grief. So, I did this hugely graceful stumble on that escalator. There at the bottom, was Nora Roberts, looking horrified, and ready to spring into action and catch me if I fell. Now, my suitcase in and of itself was a deadly weapon, so she was extremely brave because between the suitcase and me, we could have smooshed her! (And that is how the rumor that I almost killed Nora Roberts started...thanks Susan! LOL) You've got to love when someone you admire is as nice in person as you imagined!

Remember When by Nora Roberts
I 'm pretty sure everyone knows that Nora Roberts and JD Robb are one in the same woman...one of the best writers in modern times! Well, teaming these two sides together in one volume was brilliant! In the first story, Laine Tavish is trying to live down a less than reputable past, when trouble comes and finds her in small town Angel's Gap. It's up to Max Gannon to find out if she has anything to do with the missing jewels. What they find together is something worth more than the jewels. In the second part of the story, Max and Laine's granddaughter has written a book and told the story of the missing jewels, of Max and Laine. Now, death seems to be dogging her heels, and it's up to Eve Dallas to finally put things to right.
A brilliant, engrossing story!

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Cathie and I both write for Silhouette Romance and over the years have become friends. Not only is she a gifted writer, she's a heck of a lovely person!

Bad Girls Don't (Berkley Sensation) by Cathie Linz
Opposites may attract, but when Nathan and Skye come together it's more than attraction, and they're more than opposites. A belly dancer and a cop? Linz pulls of another magical story with a great central couple, quirky and inviting secondary characters and lots of laughter! A don't miss read!

Good Girls Do (Berkley Sensation) by Cathie Linz
Julia wants nothing more than a quiet, ordinary life, but when Luke comes back to town, it doesn't look as if Julia's going to achieve that particular goal. But maybe, getting a little shook up isn't all that bad??!!
Linz sparkles in this story that complete with a whacky small town, tons of laughs...and a great love story!

I hope you all have a lovely Valentine's filled with love, friends...and good books!!

Holly

Pets again!

I'm going to confess, I've enjoyed this contest so much more than the others I've had on the website. It's been great to see a more personal side of all of you. I've loved meeting your pets as well. My Ethel is curled up next to me on the couch as I do this week's blogs. It's been a year since we rescued her from the pound. We suspect she was abused. But over this last year, she's gone from skittish to cuddly.

Okay, another contest, favorite pet, entry:

I have had several unforgettable pets who, to my joy, have lived well beyond their life expectancies. My delight now is my English tortoise haired feline named 'Banshee'. Born a wild barn cat she has embraced the pampered indoor life. She runs to greet me at the door when I return. She 'answers' me when scolded for jumping on the table. (Very sassy!) If I am not feeling well she is at my side. Her cold nose prods mine if I do not rise early enough. She asks for very little. An ear scratch, food, water. Oh yes, please check..the BOX. In return she is a great comfort. ~Peggy

Only a couple more weeks to enter. I'll draw the winner on March 1!

Holly

Oh, my gosh is it cold...right now, in Erie, PA it's a whopping zero. And my yard is buried in a couple feet of snow. I've spent the better part of the weekend helping shovel us out again, and again, and again. How long until spring? LOL

But there are some perks to all this snow. I don't feel guilty about hermiting in my house, working on the laptop on the couch, right in front of the fireplace, underneath my quilt! All that snow means, I'm getting my writing done at a record pace! Hope you all are warm wherever you are!

Oh, and I have two more foreign books out in February...Once Upon a Prince has a Czech and a Polish translation. I love having my books travel (someday I'm hoping to travel as far as they have!)...it gives me geeky glee! Plus, Here With Me is in a new hardcover, large print reprint from Thorndike, available at Amazon or Barnes and Noble online.

Okay, stay warm...find a good book to read. I just got Cheryl St. John's newest book, The Lawman's Bride, and Nancy Warren's Speed Dating calling my name!!

Holly

Only a couple more weeks until Laugh Lines is on the shelf. And the favorite pet contest only has a few more weeks to go. Here are two more favorite pets....

We have this wonderful and adorable dog, Bogie. Bogie has a special personality, friendly and sweet. He is small, part Corgi and German Shepherd mix and is active, interested in people and has to know everything going on. He has become such a part of our family and has endeared himself to friends and neighbors so quickly.

My favorite pet was my cat, Pooh. I got him from a pet shop, not knowing he was too young to be taken away from his mother, I think he was scarred mentally for life! He hated everyone but me and would literally chase people out of the house. He must have had dozens of lives for all the death-defying acts he pulled -- he lived till he was 21 years old! There will never be another cat like him! ~Carol