Some people make new year's resolutions. I used to. But they seemed to be forgotten almost as soon as they're made. So years ago, I started picking a word of the year. Watch the video to find out what this year's word is!
Happy, Happy New Year to all of you!
Holly
And check out 2018's releases!! (And keep an eye out for 2019's! There are a bunch!):
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! It was crazy here. But Life can Perfectly Imperfect. That's part of the fun. Writing about those imperfections was one of my favorite parts of writing. Family can be messy, but that's part of it's beauty!
Check out Between the Words! And Merry Christmas!
Holly
I missed you all! We went on a Disney Cruise this time and tried out their Vero Beach Resort. Eleven members of the family all together. Lots of holiday family time! I loved it!
That's Himself and me on Disney's island, Castaway Cay. We had a cold start to our trip, but by island day it was warm, but not too hot!
It was our first time at Vero Beach. It's a lovely resort. I had some great beach walks!
I think it was great for all of us to unplug our cellphones for the week. We chatted and laughed without phone/text interruptions. But more than that, I think it's good to unplug from real-life for a few days.
But now I'm back. The laundry's done, the live Christmas tree is put up and I'm going to go through a week's worth of snail-mail and mail-mail soon!
I saw posts with book title headers...thanks in advance for picking them up! I'll answer you all asap! Hoping you had a good week. I'm getting ready to settle down into my real-life. And maybe it's the measure of a good life that as much as I enjoy vacation, I'm always VERY happy to come home!
Hoping you all unplug a bit this holiday season and enjoy your family and home!
This coming February, Lucy Arnaz and Richard Klein will be reprising their roles in They're Playing Our Song for one night in a concert in NYC...and guess who has tickets? Yep, me!! I'm so excited. I grew up with this musical. You see, my mom went to New York and saw the original show. She bought the album (now known as vinyl by my kids) and brought it home. I fell in love with the songs on their own merit, but also because my mom loved it so much.
When I was writing These Three Words, the hero is a man of few words. One song from the show played over and over again in my head as wrote his scenes. Fill in the Words. It was his theme song. So when I go to that show (!!!!) I'll be thinking of my mother and about the hero of These Three Words. Of all the books I wrote, this one was her favorite. I think it was the music connection. I hope it reminded her of her first trip to NYC.
Smells. Foods. Music. They all can take us back into the past. They can take us tumbling into our memories. I mentioned last week that Pillsbury's Cranberry Bread will always make me remember my grandmother...she made it every holiday. The smell of hyacinths always make me think of my surrogate grandfather. But for me, music is my strongest trigger. Lawrence Welk makes me remember weekends at my grandmother. They're Playing Our Song and Steve and Eydie's That Holiday Feeling will always say Christmas to me and remind me of my mom.
Memories. Our past influences our present and that influences our future. That truly was the theme of These Three Words. Two people who lost each other until their memories pull them back together. My tagline for the book is Sometimes the Greatest Love isn't Discovered it's Rediscovered. Memories. They can change our present and our future. And for me, they can help me write a story that I hope resonates with readers.
I've been talking about my new book, Between the Words, but this week, I'm talking about my PTA Mom Collection. I loved writing about three single moms finding love at holidays and I'm thrilled they're all in one collection (with a bonus story).I'll confess, In Once Upon a Thanksgiving, I loved that Samantha actively worked at being optimistic and happy. With kids, a job and an unexpected PTA Committee job (the Thanksgiving pageant), she's got a lot on her plate. But she realizes she's a work in progress and just gets down to work on all of it...and in learning to be happy. That message resonates with me. Glee is a state of mind...one we all can work on cultivating. I will admit that I love Thanksgiving because it's a holiday that centers on family and on counting our blessings. We have a tradition here of going around the table and saying what we're thankful for. Some of the thankful-items are silly on purpose, but no matter how silly they are, it's a great reminder that we're lucky. Yes, I talk about glee a lot and I think that awareness of how lucky I am makes it easier to find glee tucked up in most of my life. I think that's why I love this holiday so much. I might have to do a lot of cooking (making the brine today then tomorrow cooking in earnest), but there's something to be said about a day that's spent counting our blessings and reminding ourselves why we're lucky! A day of glee! So as you all start to bustle around the kitchen prepping for the big day, I hope you take a minute to find your glee!! Holly
