Friends' Friday #3

Wow, we've hit week three of my Friends' Fridays.  I hope you're enjoying them.  In case you're new to Friends' Friday, I put a bunch of friends' names in a hat, and picked out groups of five.  So here's your third batch.  Here are links in case you missed week one and two.  I hope you find some new-to-you writers!






I met Isabel Sharpe when I sold to Harlequin Duets.  She sent me a lovely note and has been a friend ever since!  She's got a huge heart...it's no wonder she writes romance!  Whenever I'm looking for foodie info, she's my go-to resource.  I'm a good basic cook, but she's simply amazing!












Samantha Hunter has been an online friend for a while now.  She hangs out in Harlequin's online community and we got to know each other there, but soon became even better friends.  We've hung out in person at a conference, and once when Susan Gable (another Erie writer) and I roadtripped to Syracuse to speak.  The three of us went out to lunch together and my memory of the day is...laughter.  Lots of laughter.  I love talking gardening and renovation with Sam! And one day soon, she's coming to Erie to do some antiquing with me!








I know I've been talking about fiction books here, and Susan Gable writes fabulous, heartrending romance, but she's got a new book out for writers.  It's definitely a must-have for your library.  I met Susan shortly after I sold to Harlequin.  You see, I decided to go to RWA's conference and hitched a ride with Susan to Washington DC.  That one roadtrip solidified our friendship.  We've taken a bunch of trips since and roomed together a lot...she's a wonderful friend!

Catherine Mann decided there's a chance her husband and I are psychic siblings. She seems to feel
when we're together we get in trouble.  I have no idea where she gets that idea???!!!  You all know me, I never get into mischief!  Here's the thing, I would love if I really were related to the Mann Clan...they are one of the sweetest families around.  I'm so glad I get to be a shirttail psychic relative.









When I pulled Charlotte Carter's name from the hat, I had tears in my eyes.  Char passed away recently and the romance community joined with her friends and family in mourning her loss.  Char was a woman who loved her family...and that love showed through in everything she did.  She wrote wonderful stories.  Hey, she even did stand-up.  She was...well, she was simply amazing.  And I'm so honored that she was a friend.  She has a book out now.  I hope you check it out.

Keep an eye out next week for my next Friends' Friday post!  Hope you have a great week in the meantime!

Holly

Friends' Friday #2

All my friends know about my Monday Glee, so I thought I'd round out the week by talking about friends' books.  Now, I have a lot of friends, and they write a lot of books, so I can fill up a few Fridays here.  I put everyone's names in a hat, and picked out groups of five.  So here's your second batch.  Some I'm sure you've already read, and maybe a few are new-to-you!  That's good...I love introducing my friends to each other!  Plus, it's beach season and everyone needs a good beach read!  This week's draws range from steamy to sweet!  There's something for everyone!





Pam Hanson and I became friends because...she liked my singing.  Of course, she only heard me singing through a wall at a hotel.  It's good to note that my singing is so much better when heard through a wall!  That friendship was cemented when Harlequin asked us to work on the 100th Duet together.  We had so much fun with it!

Dee J. Adams has been a friend for a long time.  I was there cheering when she sold her first book.  I'll confess, having a friend who lives in L.A. was such a help when I started writing Steamed.  I bugged her with all kinds of questions.  And like I said in the book...any inaccuracies are my fault, not hers!













I was a fan of JoAnn Ross, for years and I was lucky when I first started writing that she supported me and my writing in so many ways!  A few years ago, I got to hang with her in Port Clinton, Ohio.  That's one of the problems with having writing friends that live all over...you don't get to see them half enough in person!  But thank goodness for the internet.  The world's become so much smaller!






Cheryl St. John is another one of those very generous writer friends who took a brand new writer under her wing.  I can't tell you how much that support meant to me, and I learned so much from her.  For years we were online friends, but when I finally met her at a conference, it was like we'd always known each other in person.  She's a great lady!







Kate Walker is my "lovely" friend.  So is her husband.  Oh, many of her readers know him as The Babe Magnet, but to me, he's simply my lovely friend.  The theme of this week's picks seems to be friends I don't get to see half enough in person.  Well, Kate is definitely one of those.  She lives in England.  There's a nice model castle on my office shelf that she gave me.  It's near her home. We have a date to go visit it in person sometime soon!

 I hope you're enjoying my friends' works!  Watch out next week...five more authors on the way!

Holly

Friends' Friday #1

Well, we have Monday Glee, so I thought I'd round out the week by talking about my friends' books—Friends' Friday.  Now, I have a lot of friends, and they write a lot of books, so I can fill up a few Fridays here.  I put everyone's names in a hat, and picked out groups of five, so it's a random list.  Now, without delay, here's your first batch.  Some I'm sure you've read, and maybe a few are new-to-you!  That's good...I love introducing my friends around!

Darlene Gardner is a SuperAuthor, and she's also the author of a new YA series.  I've read the first one and I'm chomping at the bit to read the rest!













Jenn McKinlay wrote with me at Duets, and she's now a NY Times bestselling mystery author.  Uh,
but be careful reading her stuff...her cupcake series had my stomach growling even as I tried to figure out whodunnit!  I can't wait to start her new series!








Regan Black has been a friend for years.  It all started at a conference where we kept bumping into
each other.  We teased each other about stalking, but in truth what started there was a friendship.










Joanne Rock doesn't write just romance anymore...she's writing YA with Karen Rock as JK Rock.  Definitely one to check out!  I met Joanne at a conference and she's been a friend every since!









Now, people tell me I'm prolific, but next to my friend, Delores Fossen, I feel like a slacker.  She started writing comedy with me at Harlequin, and now she writes for Intrigue.


I hope you enjoy this new feature.  It's going to be a fairly regular one...I have a lot of friends who happen to be fantastic writers!

Holly

How people talking in your head can sometimes be a good thing!

Steamed: A Maid in LA  Mystery

Every now and again, a character is born and it doesn't matter if you have time to write their story.  It doesn't matter if you have a publisher in mind.  It simply doesn't matter.  That character pesters you and nudges you until you finally give in and write their story.

Quincy Mac was that kind of character for me.

I tried to explain that I had contracts and due dates—she didn't care.  I tried to explain that I write romance—she said, "Okay, so give me a romance."  I tried to explain that I don't know anything about the mystery genre—she said, "So just write my story. Don't worry about the genre "rules," just write my story."

So, I did.

Steamed isn't really a romance.  It isn't really a mystery.  It's Quincy's story.  Who is Quincy?  She's a mother first and foremost.  She came to LA from Erie, PA (where else? LOL) with dreams of fortune and fame.  Instead she got married and had three sons, all one year apart.  Then she got divorced and she started a cleaning service with her best friend, Tiny.  Yes, being a maid might not be as glamorous as an award winning actress, but Quincy's built a wonderful life.  

Until... (Come on, you know there had to be an until!)
 the day she accidentally cleans a murder scene and a particularly hunky cop questions her.  Now, most people, even if they accidentally cleaned not only the murder scene, but the murder weapon, would sit back and let the cops figure out who the real murderer is.  But not Quincy. You see, she has an uncle who was wrongly accused of a crime and he spent two years in jail before the cops figured out he was innocent.

Quincy can't go to jail.  She has three boys to raise. She's going to be maid-of-honor in her best friend's wedding. And she's absolutely sure she's not someone who's meant to have a tattoo.  

So, she's on the scene.

I wrote her story on weekends around other contract and I'm thrilled to finally send her out in the world.  I hope you'll check out her story!  It's available on Amazon right now, and will hopefully be out sometime soon on other eBook platforms!

Holly

PS It's free today!