Being a Woman

I watched Barbie this weekend and loved it. Loved the message and loved the memories. Oh, how I loved my Barbies. I had two Malibu Barbies that I dubbed the twins. I had a Ken who couldn't keep his head on his shoulders. I had a black haired Barbie...who was my first one. And...  Well there was a whole gang.  Oh the adventures they had. 

I'm going to confess, the movie got me thinking about my life and who I am. What sort of woman I am. I've spent most of my life working as a writer...working for myself. There was no man I answered to. I've worked some marvelous female editors (if you're one of them reading this...thank you!). I've been surrounded by a cadre of women writers who've supported me and over the years have become more than colleagues, but rather friends. 

But I'm more than a writer. That comes second to my other main job. I'm a mother of four—three  are daughters. Looking back, I know I wasn't a perfect mother. God knows, I wasn't perfect. But I did try to be perfect in my attempt. I apologized when I was wrong. I tried to be there for them. And I hoped they saw in me a strong woman who spent her life trying to do her best and loving them wholeheartedly.

Do you remember Caps for Sale? The peddler wore a stack of hats on his head and had to balance them carefully. That's what being a woman is. Balancing a stack of hats as you walk through life trying to avoid the monkeys. The things you expect of yourself. The things others expect of you. Every choice you make adds a hat to the pile you carry.

I raised four kids. I've cared for other kids. I was a kindergarten story lady (like Pip in Carry Her Heart). I was on the PTA (like my PTA Mom trilogy). I was on the school board. I volunteered in a Teen Parenting program. I planned the kids game for our school's Feather Party (like Once Upon a Thanksgiving). When I was young, I cared for three younger brothers after school. Then  I cared for my kids. Then my grandmother as she got older. My mother-in-law when she got sick (like Briar Hill Road). I cared for my neighbor, Marge, who had no one. We made her family. Now I care for the Minions and an aunt and...caring. That's been my life's major calling. 

Back to Caps for Sale...I've dropped hats. Over and over again, the monkeys have come along and I've lost all my hats. But after a moment,  I stopped, picked them up and kept going.

That's what being a woman is for me.  A series of dropping my hats and then picking them up and getting on with it.

I agree with Barbie...being a woman is hard.  But it's a joy. I might juggle a lot of hats and I might not be perfect, but truly it's been my glee. 

 

Holly

On Sale for $.99:
A Hometown Christmas
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Christmas in Cupid Falls is on sale at Amazon for $.99/

Slip and Fall: A Harry's Pottery Mystery #2 Kindle, iBooks, Kobo, Nook A View to a Kiln: A Harry's Pottery Mystery #1 Kindle, iBooks, Kobo, Nook
A View to a Kiln on Jeopardy!!

Exclusively available for Kindle and KU.
 Around the Square
Book 1, 2 , 3 & 4 are out now. 
Book 5 is available for preorder!

Hometown Hearts

McConnells Mill State Park

121 Pennsylvania State Parks.
5 down. 
116 to go!!

I said in my last blog about State Parks that I wanted to hike them all...eventually. 

Yesterday we went to McConnells Mill State Park. 

We went to see the Hell's Hollow Falls. It was so lovely. It was only a half mile hike from the parking area, then back again. So it was an easy hike. The trail was wide and there were stairs that take you down to the falls. The kids had a blast climbing fallen trees. I only freaked out slightly when the got too near the edge of the creek. There was a very lovely flume on the way to the falls...water had carved a path through the rocks. It was running super fast. Good news is, no one fell into the water. (It's always a good hike when you get back to the car with as many Minions as you left with.)

 Then we drove to the Alpha Falls trail. It's a seasonal falls. We hoped they'd be running with all the spring rains but was just a trickle. Still it was a fun hike. Not must farther than the first one, but a lot hillier with tons of giant rocks. We started by a covered bridge, then went by the old grist mill and finally a walk along the water's edge. Again, we didn't lose any kids over the edge...so it was a good hike! LOL (I know the covered bridge pic is crooked, but one of the Minions took it and I like that slightly askew look...it suits me! LOL) It was cool that the kids were able to associate the mill with the flour and corn meal we grind at home. One mentioned the mill was MUCH bigger. 

These were super easy hikes...even with five kids. Hiking with kids can be like trying to herd cats. It can be challenging but so much fun. We'll be taking them on more state park hikes, but I talked to my hiking buddy and we're going to try for a few adult only ones! I suspect they'll be hikes that don't require me saying, "Don't go close too close to the edge," over and over. 

On a side note, I'm still doing my spring walking challenge. Yesterday was the four week mark and I've reached 197.9 out of my 400 kilometer goal. We have until the end of May, so I'm right on track!

I've spent so many years writing about PA. I'm enjoying seeing my favorite state in new ways! Thanks for coming along for the journey, both through my books and this blog!

Holly

Past State Park Blogs...Parks 1-4 Blog. 

Check some of more recent PA books! (Homecoming is on sale for $.99 for a few more days! Each book stands alone, so you shouldn't have any issues, tho characters cross over from one book to another, which is why reading them in order can be fun!)

A View to a Kiln: A Harry's Pottery Mystery
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iBooks
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Nook

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

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts Book #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
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AppleBooks
Kobo

February 8, 2022 Newsletter

Move over Quincy Mac... Meet Harriet Lawe! First there was Markie Malkowicz who tripped over a dead body on her way out the door one Monday. Then there was Quincy Mac, who accidentally cleaned a murder scene. Today, is the first release in my new cozy mystery series. Meet Harriet Lawe. She leaves a lucrative career as an attorney and starts her own pottery studio...Harry's Pottery. Everything's going fine until...she finds a dead body in her kiln. Now she's trying to find out whodunnit to save her new business! A View to a Kiln: A Harry's Pottery Mystery Kindle iBooks Kobo Nook I started taking pottery classes a few years ago at Mercyhurst University. (This is one of my Face Planters!) One day I asked the professor if I could cremate a body in a kiln. And thus Harry's Pottery was born. (After I took my last class he retired. I think I might have broken him!) Combining my love of pottery and books was such a thrill! I hope you enjoy Harry's first adventure. Her second book, Slip and Fall will be out in '23!) If you want to take a tour of my studio, check out my video! As always, thanks for everything! Holly Keep an eye out for my July release, Chances!    Find Out More

Check and see if you missed any of my Hometown Hearts series!

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

 

Book Stories: Maid in LA

I write romances. I started writing romantic comedy and then some sweet romances and finally moved into more serious dramas. Many were a cross between romance and women's fiction. I tried to coin the word Womance...it didn't catch on. LOL I settled for Romance+.

That's a lot of different types of writing. But I had this idea for a character. A maid who accidentally cleans a murder scene. And because she's good at her job...she cleans up the murder weapon. Quincy Mac doesn't want to go to jail for just cleaning good...so she sets out to solve the mystery.

I've had such a great time with Quincy. I have a friend in Hollywood. She was sweet enough to let me pepper her with questions as I wrote the series. Any times I stretch how things work there, it's on me not on her. Oh, and she not only works in the industry...she writes too. Check out her books, Dee J. Adams.

I really thought Quincy was a one-off. My only cozy mystery series. But my agent asked if I'd consider writing another series. And I started to mull and...well, I don't want to even talk about the title because I really want to save it for a reveal next year. But suffice to say, I have once again dipped my toes into cozy mysteries. I've finished the first two books and hope to have more info for you soon! In the meantime, my first four Maid in LA books are in a collection...and it's on sale. And the new (final?) book is out as well! I hope you'll check them all out! When you're done, if you have a sec, please go leave a review!

Speaking of cleaning...that's part of my agenda today. I don't mind vacuuming or laundry, but man, I hate dusting! I think there's a chance that all the books in my house might be a part of that...dusting them is a pain. LOL How about you? Is there a chore you just can't like?
Don't forget to check out...

The Maid in LA Collection is on sale for $1.99.

When you're done, pick up book #5, Polished Off. Quincy Mac's cleaning up Hollywood...one murder at a time!

Holly

PS Quincy's from Erie. She comes back home for a visit in book #3. Many of my books are set here in Erie and many of them take readers to Presque Isle. Join Susan and me in this new Trippin' video and we'll give you a tour!

PPS.

Polished Off

Don't forget my new release Polished Off: A Maid in LA Mystery is out! Check out Quincy's newest adventure!

Then go back to school with three PTA Moms.  There's a bonus short story included! Check out the PTA Mom Collection!!

PTA Moms: the Collection

Don't want to miss any new releases in the future? Subscribe to my Newsletter!! I'll keep you up-to-date and I frequently have something special for subscribers!

As always, you can find my ebooks, paperbacks, hardbacks, audiobooks and available through Kindle Unlimited.  They're also available in a lot of other languages. I hope there's something for all of you!

Find my books at:

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In Erie, you can find my books on the shelf at Werner Books! 

On Writing: Series

On Writing: Series

I'm not teaching a workshop on writing series next weekend at Valley Forge RWA (I keep typing Valley Ridge...that was one of my series which actually does fit into this blog post LOL), but I have in the past.  It turns out that I've written a lot of series.  And most of them weren't intentional.

Yes, I'm an accidental series writer.

It all started with the first book I sold to Silhouette Romance.  Do You Hear What I Hear? was the story of a mother with a hearing impaired daughter.  I set it on Perry Square...a real area in Erie.  Only I added my own businesses to it (the real ones are lovely).  When I finished, I wondered what happened to everyone else on the Square and...well, I started thinking about a designer who needed legal help and a lawyer who needed a fiancé fast...and discovered A Day Late and a Bride Short.  Then...  Well, my Perry Square series ended up with eight books in it.  Erie even got their own royalty in that series. (I think my town has everything...except maybe royalty, so I gave us that! LOL)

That need to know what happens next...it's a writer's curse.  But it's a reader thing, too.  I can't tell you how many times a reader has asked for another book in a series.  More than that, specific character's stories.  It's one of the biggest compliments a writer can get.

I wrote Pip's story, Carry Her Heart, then I wrote another book, These Three Words, set in that same "world."  And then, in the middle of the book, I found Pip's daughter come into the chapel and cry and I realized that after I left Pip and Ned in their happily-ever-after, something happened.  I needed to know what...so I wrote Hold Her Heart.

I work to make every book can stand alone, but readers can frequently tell that there's another book in the series.  I love when someone discovers there are more books and feel glee. 

So about writing....One of the biggest writing tools an author has is the question, What If?  Those two words have become every book I've written.  But in addition to that question, another questions that fuels my writing is What Next? That's the question that fuels my series.

Back to Pip...here's the thing, every book I write has held the promise of the happily-ever-after.  Even when something hard happens in their life.  I like to think in that way, my fiction represents real life.  Bad things happen...but we can find our way back to happy.

I think that's why I can move from Romantic Comedy to my more emotional Romance + stories, to Cozy Mysteries.  All of them answer that What If question and many answer What Next.  And every single one of them has a happily-ever-after.

Holly

PS I have a handy-dandy list of series in order on my website here Holly's Series.

PS It's a sales palooza week.  (Publishers just send me notices...I have no control most of the time and just like to pass them on.)

Hold Her Heart
Just One Thing
Everything But...series
Fairly Human