Word of the Year—2022

 Every year for a very long time, I've chosen a word for the new year. Words like Thankful, Patience, Stretch, Step, Glee, Hope, Time, Chapter, Stop...

The last few years have been a challenge for all of us. Covid...well, sucks. My family has done all we can do to stay safe. This year, we were finally all together for the holiday. Everyone but our youngest member (who's too young for a shot) got their vaccines and boosters. We all tested before we got together to protect the baby. And it was...loud, chaotic and absolutely wonderful. My word for 2021 was Thankful...and I am that. As I looked around at the people around me, I realized what a perfect word I choose for 2021. But as we look toward the next year, I mulled various words to build 2022 around. I kept coming back to one. That's generally my sign that I've found my word.

So here it is...

Drumroll.

RENEW.

Back to Covid... Despite being in the thick of a surge, there are vaccines, boosters and new therapeutics coming online. Though we limited our family celebration to immediate family, I'm pretty sure that we'll be in a position to have a big, extended family celebration this summer. Our second Christmas in July. We can renew our connections.

We started planning an addition to The Cottage...not just renewing it, but finally getting an indoor plumbing. Oh yeah, I'm fancy! We'd hoped to start it in the fall, but the builder got behind, so we're hoping to start in the spring!

My family, my home...and personally. That's always the biggest part of my Word of the Year.

Personally I plan to renew my personal growth. I want to follow my passions. I've always tried to follow a Family-First mantra. That won't change. But realizing that it's okay to say no...that's always been a challenge. One year my word was Balance. I worked at finding a work-life balance and a personal family-me balance. I'm going to renew those attempts. I'm going to find more time in the studio. I'm loving growing in my craft. I've found a passion for folk art. Playing with traditional glazes and forms...and making them my own. Yep, I want more time with that.

And I plan to renew my attempt at furthering my other Words of the Year. 
I want to renew my attempts to be Thankful, to be Patient, to find Glee, to... 
Well, you get the idea.
Renew. 

By now, you all know I'm a walker. I use my morning walks to...well, I'd say meditate, but that sounds too fancy for what I do. I mull. I think about books I'm writing. I think about goals I'm working on. I think about things I want to work on in the studio. And sometimes I don't think about a thing. I simply take in the beauty that surrounds me and live in that moment. Small moments. In Just One Thing, the heroine had a profound moment with a deer as she walked. Last year, Tallulah and I saw one in the woods as we walked. It froze just beyond the first line of trees. We froze as well and for a moment the three of us were quiet and still together. It sounds so small here, but it was so magical. Moments. I'll renew my attempt to find and recognize those moments next year.

So there it is. My word. Renew. I'll spend the year mulling over it and trying to apply it to my year.

How about you? Have you picked out a Word of the Year in the past? Are you going to try it this year?

Whether you do or don't, I wish you all a wonderful new year. Stay safe, look for those magic moments and I hope you renew all the things in your life that are important to you!

Holly

PS. 
I'm so excited that in 2022 I'll be combining my two passions...writing and pottery. Yep, there's a new book coming out. A woman who RENEWS her life, follows her passion, maybe finds a relationship...and definitely finds a dead body. She needs to figure out who dunnit!

You can preorder A View to a Kiln: A Harry's Pottery Mystery, now!

Kindle

iBooks

Kobo

Barnes & Noble

Have you missed any of my Hometown Hearts series? Here's the list:

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1

Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBook

A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2

Kindle, iBook, Kobo, Nook

Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3

Kindle, Kobo, IBooks, Nook

 Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Borrowed: Hometown Hearts #5

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Blue: Hometown Hearts #6 

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Apple Books

Something Perfect: Hometown Hearts #7 

Apple Books, Nook, Kobo, Kindle

Something Unexpected: A Hometown Hearts short story 
Amazon

A Hometown Christmas: Hometown Hearts #8
Kindle 
Nook
AppleBooks
Kobo

Connections

Thankful.

That was my 2021 Word of the Year. It was a good word because there's so much in my life I'm thankful for. Himself and my family always starts my list. I have the most amazing kids who've brought new family members into our lives...people who didn't grow up in my house but who are every bit as much a part of my family and my thankful list as the kids I gave birth to. I'm pretty sure they were always part of our family...we just didn't know it. 

My connections start with my family but grow from them to friends and neighbors. I'm thankful for all of them as well. 

I'm thankful for home...both for the house we live, the house my in-laws built and lived in, as well as the cottage and barn out in the woods. I'm connected to that as well...we discovered that my family homesteaded the land at the end of the road. I love that connection.

I just watched Tick, Tick, Boom. I love Rent and it was a lovely way to look at Larson's life. He left a mark. He impacted my life with his music and story. And I realized how thankful I am for my writing and even my super imperfect attempts at pottery. In my writing I'm able to talk about things that are important to me. Family. Friends. I got another note not long ago from someone who read Just One Thing at just the right time. They said it helped them deal with their grief. For me, as a writer, that's it. That's why I do what I do. At their heart, all romance stories are about connections. I really believe that's what everyone craves...connections. Not just craves...it sounds like something you could pass on. Like chocolate cake. You might want it, but you don't need it. But people need connections. 

So here it is, a few days after Thanksgiving and I'm still thinking about being thankful. I'm thankful for all the connections in my life. Family. Friends. Readers who I've never met but found something to connect to in my writing.  My home.

In A Hometown Christmas the heroine has a saying that, to be honest, I sort of loaned to her. "I can't change the world, but I can try." She feels all alone, but when she looks around she realizes she's not just connected to her town, she's totally entangled in it. 

So on this Thanksgiving week, I hope you find a lot to be thankful for. And I hope when you look at your connections you find that you are entangled in them...in love.

Holly

Here's the list of the entire Hometown Hearts series!

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1

Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBook

A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2

Kindle, iBook, Kobo, Nook

Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3

Kindle, Kobo, IBooks, Nook

 Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Borrowed: Hometown Hearts #5

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Blue: Hometown Hearts #6 

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Apple Books

Something Perfect: Hometown Hearts #7 

Apple Books, Nook, Kobo, Kindle

Something Unexpected: A Hometown Hearts short story 
Amazon

A Hometown Christmas: Hometown Hearts #8
Kindle 
Nook
AppleBooks
Kobo

PPS. Here's my latest kiln opening!!

Goals

 

I had two surgeries in 2019 on my leg and spent the first few months of 2020 with crutches and a wound-vac. Ugh.  I'd been using a FitBit since 2014 and had never missed a 10,000 step day until then. My surgeon got to know me over our months together and when I finally got the ok to start walking without crutches, he said, "One hundred steps a day, Holly. You can add 100 more steps every day." LOL I loved that he got me. (I think he had a clue when after my first surgery I scolded him that he started an hour early and I hadn't got to 10,000 yet. LOL)

Over the last year, I worked to get back to my pre-surgery walking. I walked my way through the pandemic lockdowns and found my way back to a 10-15,000 step daily average. This month, one of my daughters and I started a Fall Frenzy walking challenge. I set my goals at 300K by November 15. I think I got this.

I thought about setting my goal for 500 kilometers, but opted to set it lower. Something that was a challenge, but wasn't unattainable. I prefer setting realistic goals. Things that push me, but are attainable.

Every New Year I set a word of the year because so many people pick a New Year goal and never meet it. One word...I can build a year around that. 2021's word was Patience. That's not my strongest suit, but I've made inroads as I continue to try to strengthen my weak leg.  

I've been reading AWOL on the Appalachian Trail. I'm hoping to hike a few segments of the trail in the next few years. But it sounds like a long walk. And as much as I like walking a good chunk of the year on a trail might not be my gig. I did a long up-and-die trail at Ricketts Glen this spring. Up and down were tough on my leg but I did it.

I was excited to discover this weekend part that a new Erie to Pittsburgh trail  was dedicated here in Erie.  The trail's not complete yet, but when it's done it'll be 270 miles. I'm really thinking that a month (or under) on a trail is doable for me. Especially since I could do it in segments near my home  (Pittsburgh is only a couple hours from Erie). So that's a new goal.  It will be a challenge, but I think doable.  If you read my books, you might suspect how much I love my hometown and this region! I've set most of my books in the Erie area (like my Hometown Hearts series...the last book, A Hometown Christmas came out last week!) and Briar Hill Road was set in Pittsburgh. I'm really looking forward to exploring my area in a new way!!

This is a longterm goal, but I'm sure you'll hear about it as I go along! 

In the meantime, if you want to check out Erie, the links to my Hometown Hearts series are below! Each book stands alone, so you can pick one up and not worry about missing info. 

Holly

Here's the list of the entire Hometown Hearts series!

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1

Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBook

A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2

Kindle, iBook, Kobo, Nook

Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3

Kindle, Kobo, IBooks, Nook

 Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Borrowed: Hometown Hearts #5

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Blue: Hometown Hearts #6 

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Apple Books

Something Perfect: Hometown Hearts #7 

Apple Books, Nook, Kobo, Kindle

Something Unexpected: A Hometown Hearts short story 
Amazon

A Hometown Christmas: Hometown Hearts #8
Kindle 
Nook
AppleBooks
Kobo

 

The Beauty of Broken Pieces

I unloaded the kiln today. It was like Christmas!! I had so many pieces turn out just the way I'd imaged they would. And some not so much. 

Two pieces I knew weren't going to be exactly the way I'd originally planned were my burdock leaves. They actual leaves grew at the end of the drive and were huge! I loved them. I've made a bunch of small tiles. I used some of the experiments to tile the slop sink in the studio. These were much bigger. Much bigger. I worried they would crack...and they did. The biggest leaf cracked clear through at the stem. I simply pushed the broken pieces together when I hung them and you can hardly tell. The smaller one had a partial crack there was no way to disguise. But I hung it anyway. I didn't try to disguise it. I thought it was beautiful despite the break...or maybe because of it. I am celebrating that break.

As I puttered around the studio examining the pieces and taking pics of all my new pieces, I mulled the two broken pieces. My first report in my college ceramics class was about Rob Barnard. He had a broken piece of pottery I loved.  You can read about it here.

I really think my two broken pieces are my favorites of the batch because they relate so much to what I do as a writer.

I can hear you thinking, "Really, Holly? Burdock leaves relate to writing?"

Yes. 

As a writer I've learned that everyone is a little broken. Some people's breaks are obvious. You can't disguise them. Some are hidden. Others who meet them might not notice. You might think they have it all together. And yet, there is a fine break right down their core and it impacts everything they do.

As a writer, those breaks in my characters are what makes them human...those breaks make them beautiful. And as a person, I realize the same applies to real people as well. There is such beauty in all our broken pieces.  I wish more people realized that.

Tomorrow's release, A Hometown Christmas, deals with two characters who have their broken pieces and ultimately the find that their breaks compliment each other. The heroine, Maeve, has a saying. "I can't save the world...but I can try." It's one of my favorite lines. One that I wrote without much thought and later realized how much I loved the sentiment.  I've tried to live that sentiment. This summer, the Minions practiced Random Acts of Kindness around the neighborhood. One of the neighbors collects frogs. They painted some and using ninja-like moves, secretly hid them in with the rest. They were so excited as they chatted about how surprised she'd be when she discovered the new frogs. I think Maeve would have approved.

Broken pieces. They make us beautiful. And random acts of kindness spreads that beauty. 

I hope you have a beautiful week! And if you have a moment, I hope you'll check out Maeve's story, A Hometown Christmas at Kindle, Nook, AppleBooks, Kobo.

Holly

PS There's a link to some of my pieces on my website, www.HollyJacobs.com The new pieces aren't up yet. I hope to have them loaded soon so check back often! 

PPS Here's the list of the entire Hometown Hearts series!

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1

Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBook

A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2

Kindle, iBook, Kobo, Nook

Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3

Kindle, Kobo, IBooks, Nook

 Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Borrowed: Hometown Hearts #5

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Blue: Hometown Hearts #6 

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Apple Books

Something Perfect: Hometown Hearts #7 

Apple Books, Nook, Kobo, Kindle

Something Unexpected: A Hometown Hearts short story 
Amazon

A Hometown Christmas: Hometown Hearts #8
Kindle 
Nook
AppleBooks
Kobo

 

How Do You Miss What You've Never Known?

 I miss the mountains. 

I have never lived in the Appalachian mountains but I come from there. I come from a family with deep Appalachian roots. 

One of my ancestors, Martin Gambill, took a Paul Revere-esque ride through those mountains during the Revolutionary War and fought in The Battle of Kings Mountain. I come through his sibling's line.  Generation after generation. The family moved from Virginia to West Virginia to North Carolina. But most stayed near those mountains.

I grew up on the shore of Lake Erie without ever knowing about that family connection to the mountains. And yet, back in the eighties we bought land in the country and eventually built a cottage on the side of a hill within spitting distance of a creek and a spring-fed pond.  It felt like home.  It's a thousand feet higher than our home in Erie...and only a few thousand feet less than the mountains.  But it's hilly and filled with trees and wildlife.

So maybe I always knew I was missing something. Maybe, on some level, I always knew the mountains were part of my DNA. When I found the mountain part of my family I realized that I miss a place I never knew. 

Other than a couple visits, I get my mountain fix the same way I've done so many things...through books. And thankfully more than that, through podcasts and blogs. If you want to come visit my mountains here are a few ideas...

Podcast: The Mountain Traditions Podcast
Blog: Blind Pig and the Acorn

Books:
FoxFire, edited by Eliot Wigginton
Land of High Horizons, Elizabeth Skaggs Bowman
The Southern Highlander & His Home, John C. Campbell

"For me, the cravings for mountains is an incurable disease, compatible to the cravings for whiskey by an alcoholic..." Mountain Fever, Tom Alexander

Victuals, Ronni Lundy. "Victuals. Say it the way my people have for centuries: vidls. Maybe you've seen it spelled 'vittles' in a cartoon balloon...Maybe you thought saying it that was was wrong. But look up the word in your dictionary. It turns out my people, the people of southern Appalachian Mountains, have been right about victuals all along."

Maybe We All Remember Well, Volumes I & II, Edited by Robert S. Brunk
The first volume had a lovely piece on Sunset Mountain Pottery.
The second volume talked about The Nonconnah Pottery.

Ah, pottery. Yes, that's another reason I think there's a chance some part of me always understood my roots. 

My love of mountain pottery is vast! I met Burlon Craig his face jugs and it was loved at first...er, face! My pottery shelf is overflowing. These are the books I flip through over and over. I see ceramic artists like Craig and so many others. Kim Ellington. Charles Lisk. Face Jugs. Snake Jugs. Wig Stands. I love them all.

Interested? Check out:
Catawba Clay, Barry G. Huffman
Raised in Clay, Nancy Sweezy
The Potter's Eye, Mark Hewitt & Nancy Sweezy
Valley Ablaze, Jason Harpe & Brian Dedmond
North Carolina Pottery, edited by Barbara Stone Perry

I've built my own Pottery Studio in the woods. HollysWoods Studio. I'm a novice, but in my own way I'm hoping to add to this amazing Appalachian pottery tradition. 

My family tree search led me to a great-grandmother I never knew who played the autoharp. Thanks to an aunt, I have a recording of her and the family singing. It's amazing. That's led me to checking out Old Time Music. My favorite to date is Songs from the Mountain. 

How do you miss what you've never known? Maybe there are places that are so firmly engrained in our DNA that we remember them even if we've never been there.  Where is home? Who is your family? These are questions I've asked over and over again in my fiction...in books like Briar Hill Road, Carry Her Heart and its followup, Hold Her Heart.  And each book in my Hometown Hearts series really looks at both these questions. 

I am a Pennsylvania girl. I love my home. I love the cottage and my studio there. I love my woods (HollysWoods) and the wildlife. And I think it soothes a longing for a place I've never lived. A place I sometimes miss.

Holly

PS Come visit Hollywoods Studio!

Hometown Hearts

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1

Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBook

A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2

Kindle, iBook, Kobo, Nook

Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3

Kindle, Kobo, IBooks, Nook

 Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Borrowed: Hometown Hearts #5

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Blue: Hometown Hearts #6 

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Apple Books

Something Perfect: Hometown Hearts #7 available 5/21

Apple Books, Nook, Kobo, Kindle

Preorder: Something Unexpected: A Hometown Hearts short story, available 7/21
Amazon

Preorder: A Hometown Christmas: Hometown Hearts #8, available 9/21
Kindle 
Nook
AppleBooks
Kobo