Word of the Year...2017

Yes, I gave up  New Year's resolutions. They seem doomed.  How many people follow through for the whole year?  Not many. 

For a while, I tried to make resolutions I knew I could keep.  But that seemed like a cheat.  More than a decade ago, I settled on the idea of choosing one word and centering my year around it. That was something I could succeed at. Words like Glee (LOL I know you're shocked), Time, Optimism, Stretch, Stop, Moment, Love, Awareness...  

Most of my words represent a trait I want to grow over the coming new year.  I put my word on a PostIt by my desk and every time I sit down that year, I'm reminded.  

Picking my word requires some pondering and mulling.  But I'm happy to announce I've found my word for 2017.  It felt as if 2016 was fraught with anger, division and sadness.  The country—the world—seemed divided by US and THEM.  So in 2017, I hope we all find ourselves thinking in terms of WE.

So the word I choose is Hope.

Yes, I know, I can't control the world.  I can't control the country.  I'm going to start with me.  I'm going to Hope and try to live my year with glee and kindness.  I'm going to Hope to see the WE in everyone.  I'm going to Hope that the glee is contagious. I'm going to Hope that it spreads beyond me.  I'm going to Hope that the world becomes a kinder more tolerant place.  HOPE—it might seem like a passive word, but I'm going to turn my Hope into something active.  I'm going to turn my Hope into a movement.

I HOPE you find a word and that you not only make 2017 a happy new year, but a year of personal growth!

Holly

PS I picked my word and wrote this blog before I went to see Star Wars Rogue One where they said, "Rebellions are built on hope."  That fit in nicely with my idea of turning Hope from a passive word to an active one.  I'm planning to build my year rebelling against all the negatives in the world and I'm hoping and working for positive ones! 

Me and Jim...

Before I was a writer, I was a reader...heck, I still am a reader.  And as such, I've read James Patterson! (Seriously, you'd have to live under a rock not to have read a James Patterson book!)  I'll confess, I loved when he showed up on Castle (one of my favorite and much-missed shows).  So please imagine my surprise when I found out that James Patterson and I had a relationship...of sorts.








It started with his book, Burn.  He named a character Holly Jacobs.  Awww.  I was thrilled.  Okay, so I'm not sure he's read Holly Jacobs, but let's pretend he has! LOL

So I named a character James Patterson in These Three Words.  I just want to be clear, my James isn't the James...my James is a completely fictional character. And I'll confess, I utterly fell in love with my James who was waiting for his Anne.  His love was palpable and the scene always brought me to tears as I wrote it, and it has every time I've reread it.

But back to the James, not my James....  You see, after all our book flirting, James and I started hanging out on bestseller lists occasionally...

Yeah, I know.  How cool is that??  

Well, today takes the cake...James (the James, not my James) and I are on a bestseller list in Turkey!  Yes, we're now traveling overseas together now!  I think that's definitely a new step in our relationship! LOL

Unutma Beni

Next thing you know, he'll say, "Call me Jim" and we'll be hanging out together like he did with Castle.  We'll play poker (okay, so I don't play poker...maybe rummy??), drinking and talking about books.  Until then, we'll always have Turkey, Jim!

Holly

What I write...

I'll confess, on the surface, when I say, I write Women's Fiction/Romances, Sweet Romance, Romantic Comedy, Cozy Mystery, and Short Stories, it might sound like I write all over the place.  But to be honest, every book I write has more in common than not.

I was at a conference a few years ago and someone asked, "What is at the heart of all your books?"  And for me, it's family.  Sometimes it's a family by blood.  Sometimes it's people who come together and create a family, and sometimes it's people searching for their family...for where they belong.

You see...the same, but different.

Since people have asked, I thought I'd break down some of my more recent stories into a few categories.  Romance Plus. Romantic Comedy.  Homespun Stories. Cozy Mysteries. Short Stories.  

I hope you'll give all the categories a try, but if you find you have a favorite type, hopefully this will help you find new reads!

Holly

~~~~~~~~~~

Romance+

Romance+

Just One Thing

Carry Her Heart

These Three Words

Hold Her Heart

Same Time Next Summer

~~~~~~~~~~

Homespun Romance

Cupid Falls

Christmas in Cupid Falls
A Simple Heart

Perry Square

Do You Hear What I Hear?
A Day Late and a Bride Short
Dad Today, Groom Tomorrow
Be My Baby
Once Upon a Princess
Once Upon a Prince
Once Upon a King
Here With Me

Whedon PA

Unexpected Gifts
A One--of-Kind Family
Homecoming Day
A Father's Name

Everything But...

Everything But a Groom
Everything But a Bride
Everything But a Wedding
Everything But a Christmas Eve
Everything But a Mother
Everything But a Dog

Valley Ridge

You are Invited...
April Showers
A Walk Down the Aisle
A Valley Ridge Christmas

~~~~~~~~~~

Cozy Mysteries

Maid in LA series:
Steamed
Dusted
Spruced Up
Swept Up

Coming soon...
Can't Find NoBODY
If you love Quincy Mac,
You're going to love Markie Walkowicz!

~~~~~~~~~~

Romantic Comedy

I Waxed My Legs for This?

Dear Fairy Godmothers:
Mad about Max
Magic for Joy
Miracles for Nick
Fairly Human

WLVH Radio Series...

Pickup Lines

Lovehandles

Night Calls

Laugh Lines

~~~~~~~~~~

Short Stories

Short Stories...
My 1st six shorts in one volume!

Able to Love Again

My Day of Beauty.

Holly's Shadow

I needed some beauty in my life today, so I went downtown.  I've been posting pictures of some of the beauty Erie has to offer on social media.  I think the world could use more beauty and glee right now.  I went to the Erie Art Museum.  And as I was taking a picture, I realized I could see my shadows and reflections in them.  I started to position myself differently, then stopped.  

Art is about finding something of yourself in someone else's vision.  And I realized that my shadows and reflections were literally putting something of myself into someone else's art.  

It really changed the way I looked everything.  And I realized it was something I needed to remember...we are all a part of each other.  We're part of each other's vision of the world!

Dietrich Wegner's Studies in Solitude...and my reflection as well as  the reflections of some of his other prints.
When I write a new book, you can see reflections of me and my beliefs in it.  You can also see reflections of my other books.

Dietrich Wegner's Studies in Solitude.  There's something almost magic about walking around a museum in silence and finding shadows of yourself in other people's art...and hearing yourself in the silence.

Jose Picayo's Polaroids...I can see my reflections quite literally in the face of a stranger.

Jose Picayo's Polaroids...We all have our shadows following us around. That doesn't mean there's not beauty.

Jose Picayo's Polaroids...I think there's a certain beauty in something that's a little beat up and well loved.

I have always tried to add beauty and love to the world.  Today's journey through the museum has thinking about how to do that in new, unique ways!

Holly

Just One Thing...down a country road!

I set Just One Thing out near our cottage. Today, as we drove to camp, down in a hollow where I pictured this scene, we saw deer. I managed to get a pic. It was life imitating art!

Here's the scent from Just One Thing...

I stood as still as I could and waited. Then they came out. 

A doe and three fawns. I knew that deer had twins frequently, but I’d never heard of triplets. But there they were. So close I could have tossed a pebble and hit them. 

I wasn’t sure if the wind was blowing just right and they didn’t catch a whiff of my scent, or if they knew I’d never hurt them. But whichever it was, the four of them daintily leapt over the ditch and walked across the road. 

And I stood and marveled. 

Sometimes, you find yourself inadvertently in the dark. But I’d discovered that if you stopped fighting against it and just stood still, sometimes something marvelous comes along.

Beauty is everywhere.  I think there's a chance there's a it's frequently down country roads!

Holly

Giving Glee

I am not rich...but I try to give.  

Hold Her Heart

Sometimes I give a gift of time.  Frankly, I have less of that than I'd like, but I share what and where I can.  Like Pip in Carry Her Heart, I was the kindergarten story lady for years.  I love reading to kids.  Hey, I even sang.  They never mind that I am definitely not Broadway ready.  Raffi songs were a particular kindergarten favorite.  (And in case there are any other Raffi fans out there, he's touring in the US. I know this because a particular fan—an adult now with kids of her own— has tickets and is Broadway excited about it!)

I've volunteered in other ways...PTAs, school boards, nursing homes...

A Valley Ridge Christmas

But every year, in addition to my time I give to local organizations as well.  I have three areas I concentrate my giving on.  Hunger.  Education.  Community Enrichment.  You all know I love cooking (Cooks & Books).  Part of my love of cooking stems from the fact I like feeding people.  So the charities and organizations I give to all do that.  Places that feed people literally, but also places that feed people's minds and souls.  

As the year is drawing to a close (just a little more than couple months left...how did that happen?) I'm reviewing my list.  Like characters I've written about, I realize I can't change the world or change all the world's hurts, but I will do my best to change my corner of it where I can.  

I hope you take a look around and find places near you where you can spread some glee as well!

Holly

Holly Jacobs, Golden Leaf Hall of Fame Award

I just got back from New Jersey...and this happened!!

Holly

Holly Jacobs, Ask the Author...Hold Her Heart

It's time for another Ask the Author...I'm talking about my Words of the Heart series and my newest release, Hold Her Heart. And holey jeans. Yes, my own wardrobe inspires my character's wardrobe.

Holly

Holly Jacobs' September Newsletter!!

Happy Fall...well, almost fall!  I love this time of year!  Everything smells crisper and it's cooler! It's almost time for apple cider and pumpkins...  Oh, yes, I love fall! It's the perfect season for my newest release, Hold Her Heart.  You met Pip and Ned in my award winning, Carry Her Heart last year.  And you caught a glimpse of Siobhan in last November's These Three Words.  This is Siobhan's story...and a continuation of Ned and Pip's to some extent. A heartwarming follow up to Carry Her Heart by bestselling author Holly Jacobs The infant daughter Piper Chesterfield gave up for adoption so many years ago has grown into an accomplished young woman. When Piper's husband shows up on Siobhan Ahearn's doorstep, he makes a request on behalf of the birth mother Siobhan has never met. As Piper battles a life-threatening illness, both mother and daughter struggle to make up for the years apart. Reading Piper's journals and books, Siobhan finds herself overwhelmed by the prospect of suddenly absorbing a lifetime of another mother's love. Logan Greer has benefited from Piper's mothering influence from when he was young, and he's uniquely qualified to help Siobhan see all the ways Piper's love for the daughter she gave up inspired the outpouring of compassion she provided to families in need. And his close proximity in the shared guest house doesn't hurt his ability to become a much needed support system either . . .  With the help of this handsome friend-of-the-family, Siobhan must decide if she has enough room in her heart to love the family who raised her, the family who loved her from afar, and the charming man whose plans may not include staying close to family for the foreseeable future. Speaking of These Three Words, it's a Golden Leaf Award finalist along with Her Second-Chance Family!

I'll be doing a few random subscriber drawings in the next few months as well!  If you don't get me newsletter and want to subscribe, click here.  This is just my way of saying thank you for your ongoing support!  Thank you for every book you've bought and read.  Thank you for every review you've written.  Thanks for hanging with me on social media.  Just thanks! Have a great fall!  I'll have one more newsletter before the year ends! Holly

Ask the Author #3, Why fairies?

Once upon a time there was a girl who read a lot of science fiction and fantasy books.  I mean a lot.  A whole lot.  She grew up in Middle Earth, Narnia, Oz and a bunch of other magical worlds.  One day, she finally decided what she wanted to do when she grew up. She wanted to be a writer.  But rather than writing science fiction or fantasy, she wrote romance.  Why?  Because she fell in love with...love.

A few years after she started the greatest job in the history of jobs, (I mean, she got to go to work on her couch and wear holey jeans...and spend her day making up stories) she got an idea for fairies.  I mean, poof.  They were just there one day...like magic.  And it turned out Myrtle, Fern and Blossom were fun...and a bit inept.  But they had good hearts!  The books were published and Holly went on to write a bunch more romantic comedies, and then some romance + stories (women's fiction/romances).  But the fairies weren't done.  A new publisher picked them up and gave them new (much prettier) covers and put them back in the world!

So come visit Erie, PA (I always say it's the best city ever and it has almost everything...even fairies now) and Myrtle, Fern and Blossom in...Mad About Max, Magic for Joy, Miracles for Nick and Fairly Human!

Holly

The Naming of Things

I'm so excited that Hold Her Heart is coming out soon!  I loved writing the Words of the Heart series (there's one more book coming out next year...Between the Words).

In Carry Her Heart, you met Ned and Pip and read excerpts from Pip's journal in it.  You caught a glimpse of them in These Three Words and that book explored the words that matter the most.  In Hold Her Heart, each chapter starts with an excerpt from one of Pip's books.  This one is one of my favorites:

Words have power. They can cut, but they can also heal. 

They can hurt, but they can also uplift. 

But maybe even more than words themselves, names have power. 

If a rock weren’t called a rock, would it be as strong? 

If a cloud weren’t a cloud, what would it be? 

If I weren’t my mother’s daughter, would I still be me? 

—The Naming of Things, by Pip

I've explored the idea of words having power before in my romcom, Everything But... series.  I look at the news these days and see people using words as weapons.  They name things in a way designed to hurt cut.  They use words that are designed to divide people rather than bring them together.

I know my little stories won't change the world, but I hope that through them maybe a few readers stop and think about what words they use.

Words do have power.  They can shape the world around us.  So I plan to keep writing about love and talking about glee! I hope to use words that uplift and heal.  Words that remind people around me that there is love, beauty and glee around every corner...you just have to take a moment to look for it!

Holly

Vacation

I spent a week recently at the beach.  I'll confess, living on the shore of Lake Erie, I get to go to the beach a lot.  It's a perk.  And our beach here has inspired so many of my books.  Including my most recent ebook release, Same Time Next Summer.  I loved the idea of summer friends...who become so much more to each other. Keri Noble's Piece of my Heart really sums up the story for me.  The wistfulness of it all.  Beaches, summer friends...romance.  This book spoke to me as I wrote it.  It was one of the first Romance+ stories I did.  After years of writing comedies and sweet romances, it was a new stretch to look at a different type of story.  A different type of romance.

A summer kind of love!

We had a great week on the beach.  I read, I wrote, I ate a lot and I hung out with some of my favorite people on earth!

Now my vacation is over.  Summer is winding down here.  I heard my first geese of the season the other morning.  For me, that's always a sign that fall is on the horizon!  But I think we have time for a few more beach reads this year!  If not the beach, then a vacation read.

Did you go, or are you going, on vacation?

Holly

A list of Holly Jacobs' series in order!

Here's the thing...I write a lot of books that are tied.  I'm not sure why...I take that back, I do know why.  I love my characters and always want to know what's happened after I write the end.  If I write another book in the series, I can find out along with readers!  I've got a lot of series and lately I've had a lot of readers asking about them...so here's the series and the books in order!

Oh, the fairies!  These were some of my earliest books!  They're being released now.  The first three are out now, and Fairly Human will be out at the end of July!

Mad About Max
Magic for Joy
Miracles for Nick

Words of the Heart...
These are heartwarming, bigger stories.  I was using the tagline Romance+ to describe them!

Carry Her Heart's on sale in July!
These Three Words
Coming soon...
Hold Onto Her Heart





I had so much fun with this series!  I loved writing a middle aged heroine!

Maid in LA Mysteries
Steamed
Dusted
Spruce Up
Swept Up

I've had a lot of requests for a new Quincy book...and I've been mulling! I'll keep you posted!

Nana Vancy accidentally cursed her family to bad weddings...and spends the first three books trying to break the curse!
Everything But a Groom
Everything But a Bride
Everything But a Wedding.





After she's broken the curse she's bored...so she ttries her hand at matchmaking!

Everything But a Christmas Eve
Everything But a Mother
Everything But a Dog!

My dogs would be so annoyed if I didn't mention they were the cover models for Everything But a Dog...they're still waiting for the PUParazzi to hound them!  (Yeah, I know that was bad!)





They talk about Christmas in July. So maybe it wouldn't be so odd to start my Cupid Falls series this month!

Christmas in Cupid Falls
A Simple Heart: A Cupid Falls Novella

(There are a few more Cupid Falls books in the pipeline!)

Oh, I should have mentioned this series after Everything But...
When I heard that Montlake was rereleasing that series and WLVH Radio Series, I wrote a trilogy of short stories to bring them all together!

Nothing But Love
Nothing But Heart
Nothing But Luck




And speaking of WLVH Radio series...
Pickup Lines
Lovehandles
Night Calls
Laugh Lines

And yes, I've heard that readers hate these covers. I liked Pickup Lines and Night Calls (which had a dog based on our dog at the time...a 200 lb Old English Mastiff) but I see your point on the other two.  Hopefully the stories are good enough to distract from the covers!  LOL

This series was one of my first! I set it on Erie, PA's very real Perry Square.  But then I went ahead and fictionalized the square and added new businesses!

Do You Hear What I Hear?
A Day Late and a Bride Short
Dad Today, Groom Tomorrow
Be My Baby
Once Upon a Princess
Once Upon Prince
Once Upon a King
Here With Me

I so loved Valley Ridge!  The first three books were a wedding trilogy.  The fourth was just because I loved it in VR and wasn't ready to say goodbye!
You Are Invited
April Showers
A Walk Down the Aisle
A Valley Ridge Christmas

And last but not least, Whedon PA.  This was a very special family...

Unexpected Gifts
A One-of-a-Kind Family
Homecoming Day
A Father's Name

Hope that helps you read the series in order!

Holly