I have an avant-garde past...it influences a lot of what I write.
I worked with breastfeeding moms for years. My first speaking gigs were talking about breastfeeding to medical people and colleges. My most memorable talk was a university psych class at 8am on a Monday morning. I doubted the kids would be really excited about asking questions (
I so prefer doing talks with audience participation) so I asked them to write their questions/comments on index cards (
Hey Susan, I used index cards!). One of their first questions I read was, "Does the size of the breast matter?" I should mention I talk with my hands. So I did a little palm-up hand motion, as if weighing breasts without thinking about what I was doing. I should also mention that the front row consisted of huge, football-looking guys. As I realized what I'd done, I started to laugh and the football team cracked up. Pretty soon the entire class was laughing with us. The rest of the talk went very smoothly. LOL I added a breastfeeding baby to
Bosom Buddies. It was one of my earliest sales and started with an absurd breastfeeding situation. I really thought I'd gone over the top and considered cutting it, but in the end I left it in. I'm glad I did because the editor called after reading it and said, "I just died laughing. I'm buying the book, but let me finish reading it before we talk." If I wrote the book today, I'd have written it differently, but I still love this early example of my work. I love that early works are still out there for readers to find, but I hope they all go on to read more current books. My writing has grown. And truly, if it hasn't, I should find another job.
Speaking of jobs, I volunteered at my kids' grade school for years. I was on the school board (
school board president one year), worked with PTA and for a number of years I planned and ran the kids' games at our annual Feather Party. Those experiences influenced my
PTA Mom Trilogy. I really loved getting to focus on the balancing act all parents have to do. There's a bonus story in the bundle because truly, I loved those years on PTA and I loved giving PTA moms a shout-out in the stories! It was fun to go back to Erie Elementary.
Speaking of Erie schools, for years I worked with the Erie School District's teen parenting program. Once a year I went in to talk to the kids in the program. There were three of us who were core speakers, with others joining us on occasion. Deb talked about programs available to the girls. Craig talked with a male perspective. I talked about parenting. The teachers who worked in the program at the different district high schools were amazing. This volunteer gig is definitely part of the first book in my Hometown Hearts series,
Crib Notes. The book is about a teacher who runs...a teen parenting program, of course. She finds herself pregnant and dumped. So while she is an adult, her journey echoes the journeys of the girls she's worked with for years. And it turns out no matter how old or young you are, there are a lot of similarities in being unexpectedly pregnant and on your own. A lot.
The second book in the Hometown Hearts series,
A Special Kind of Different (
out in March and available for preorder) has a very special character. Here's my Dear Reader letter that tells how a neighbor inspired that :
Dear Reader,
My family had a very special neighbor, Tiffany. My kids and their friends accepted her without question. She didn't verbalize much, but she always had a smile and an utter fascination with watches. One day my kids and their friends came running to the house to get me because a group of strangers were picking on Tiff. We went outside and with a few mom-threats on my part, they left. In that moment, the kids showed not just compassion, but they showed that they knew that different isn't something to be afraid of or mocked...it's special. I was so very proud of all of them!
In this second book in my Hometown Hearts series. I introduce the Sunrise Foundation, whose goal is to help exceptional people lead exceptional lives. Instead of locating the story in Erie, I used the fictional neighboring town of Whedon—the setting forCrib Notes—because Erie already has an organization that helps our special residents,The Gertrude A. Barber National Institute.They do such wonderful work.
In this story, Anna and Liam both believe that they know what's best for Liam's brother, Colm. In the end it's Colm who teaches them an important life lesson--that you need to stand up for what you want and love!
A Special Kind of Different is a book that's...well, special for me as the writer, and hopefully for you as the reader!
One last story...
My biological father left when I was a toddler. I never met him until I was in my thirties. That idea of a parent giving up a child came up in
Carry Her Heart. I wrote the story from the mother-who-gave-up-the-baby's perspective. And then followed up with the story of that daughter finding her biological mother in
Hold Her Heart. No, not my story really, but stories that echo my stories. (
They're on sale this week on Amazon.)
I could go on. There's some element of me, my life, my questions about life in each of my books. None of my experiences are really autobiographical in my fiction. They're a starting point. A place to build off of. I twist my facts and turn them into something totally different and unique. I build characters who do things and see things differently than I do or would. They're uniquely themselves. Real people and real stories in a very fictional way. LOL
I hope you try out any new-to-you stories!
And a special thanks so everyone who picked up
Crib Notes last week! After you've read it, I would really appreciate it if you left a review at your favorite online site!
Holly
Crib Notes:
A Special Kind of Different:
The rest of the Hometown Hearts series will be coming soon.
Homecoming and Suddenly a Father will be out in June and September of 2020 and
Something Borrowed, Something Blue and Something Perfect in 2021!
ON SALE THIS WEEK at Amazon:
Hold Her HeartJust One ThingFirst Everything But trilogy
Special Kind of Different, Hometown Hearts #2
For those who've been following my pottery studio saga, it's done!! Well, the builder's part is done. As soon as I'm off these crutches, my part begins! Shelves, a wheel, a kiln... Yeah, there's a lot still to do, but the shell is there!