I Do Not Have a Chicken Collection

I do not have a chicken collection. A certain person thinks I do. So I have an ever-growing chicken population in the house. A reader even sent me the cutest chicken bowl a few weeks back...it was adorable. But I do not have a chicken collection. 

So when this certain person gave me two new chicken books, and I sighed. Because I do not have a chicken collection. But then I read them. I was hooked.  For years, I was the kindergarten story lady, like Pip in Carry Her Heart.  I love children's literature. Love it!  Still, I do not have a chicken collection.

Check out Interrupting Chicken. You'll be as hooked as I am.

Holly

PS I do not have a chicken collection.

PPS I do have a new book, The Makeover.

PPPS (Okay, even I know that's ridiculous) the prequel, Not Precisely Pregnant, is free today!

Holly Jacobs' April Newsletter

The Makeover If you've watched my Trippin' with Holly and Susan videos, you've probably realized I'm a comfortable person. My studio clothes are my camp clothes are my everyday clothes. I went to NYC for a conference a few years back with my daughter. There was a big party at the Waldorf. She asked if I remembered to bring makeup. Uh, I hadn't. So she came back to give me a makeover before the party. Despite the fact mine was a good makeover, I have a lot of sympathy for The Makeover's heroine's bad makeover. Here's her blurb: Welcome back to WMAC News, a station Where Nice News Matters. Erie, Pennsylvania reporter, Mace Mason longs for a big, groundbreaking story but he doubts he's going to find it in a small town in neighboring Ohio. What he does find is Zoe, a woman with the worst makeover in the history of makeovers. When she cleans herself up, he discovers a small-town girl who seems utterly content with her life. But he quickly suspects Zoe's trying to keep something from him. With each minute Mace is not only closer to the secret . . . he's closer to Zoe, as well. Will this crazy couple ever fall in love and save the day? *** Reviews: "Holly Jacobs's latest is a very special blend of warmth and wit, highlighted by clever dialogue." ~RT Bookclub "...loveable characters that come to life, a charming storyline, and an abundance of the humor one has come to associate with Holly Jacobs' books." ~Love Romances "Ms. Jacobs does a fabulous job describing the personalities, foibles, and follies of small town living. Zoe and Mace have a wonderful chemistry, and their dialogue is sharp and witty. Ms. Jacob's characters are funny, fresh, and make you want to sit down and chat with them a while." ~Romance Junkies "...a wonderfully funny story." ~Writers Unlimited Reviewer *** I hope you'll check it out! It's available as a ebook and a paperback. It's also available in Kindle Unlimited.  And while you're at Amazon, the first WMAC News story, Not Precisely Pregnant, is free today. It's my thank you for picking up The Makeover! This is my summer of romantic comedy. How to Catch a Groom and How to Hunt a Husband will be out in June and August.  Romantic comedy was my first writing home and it's always fun to come home. Speaking of homes, I'm planning to spend my summer at our cottage. We're still thick in the renovations. You can see where we're starting the season here. You can keep an eye on projects on social media. The blue tape around the stone is to protect the wood when we grout. All that stone came from our property. I'm taking Susan out later this spring to film so more Trippin' with Holly and Susan videos! I so love it out there! I hope you love where you're at as well. And I hope sometimes where you're at is a comfy chair reading The Makeover! As always, thanks for everything! Holly PS. If you'd prefer getting my newsletter in your in-box, you can subscribe here.

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A book...

Some of you know that I collect antiques.  I love going to antique stores and house sales, looking for some neglected treasure. I found a cranberry harvester at one.  (Erie's Presque Isle used to have cranberry bogs...I wish it still did!)  But speaking of harvesters, I went to a house sale recently and found a copy of Gene Stratton-Porter's The Harvester.  (Notice how nicely I segued there...LOL)  I'm a huge fan and loved A Girl of the Limberlost.  I'd never read this one, so I picked it up and when I got home...this is what I found.  I was crushed.

I spent a few days talking about it on Facebook and everyone started guessing what might have been in the cut out.  And as they talked, I started to have an idea.  And a short story was born.

Writers find their inspiration everywhere.  Even in a sad book that someone cut up.  I gave the story to my newsletter subscribers early (I have other special gifts for them this year...you can join here) when I announced my newest release, Not Precisely Pregnant (and the heroine is definitely not precisely pregnant...don't you wonder how that happened?  Check it out here) and have put The Book up for Kindle, Kobo and Nook.  I hope you'll check it out! 

Holly

Just in time for Valentine's...Holly's February Newsletter

Not Precisely Pregnant is this month's release!  It's out this Tuesday!!  I pitched this romantic comedy to my editor as Shrek meets Pollyanna!  It features two reporters...one who covers hard hitting news stories and one whose reports use the tagline Nice News Matters. To be honest, I do love nice news and think the world could use more of it! Here's the blurb: Nice News matters to reporter Paige Montgomery, aka Pollyanna Paige, reports on news that makes you smile. When she finds herself (not precisely) pregnant and in trouble, she’s rescued by an unlikely savior...cynical newsman, Riley Calhoon. Paige is intrigued with this unprecedented heroic streak, but Riley prefers to keep that particular scoop to himself. Riley might doubt Paige’s reporter’s instincts, but she’s following his story with a tenacity that even he can admire. The problem is, whenever she’s around he finds himself being assaulted by hockey pucks, killer cats and even a run-away trucks. He either has a chronic case of heartburn… or maybe it’s love? Reviews: "...guaranteed to provide plenty of entertainment, and more laughs than should be legal." ~Kelley A. Hartsell, Love Romances Reviews "Holly Jacobs returns with NOT PRECISELY PREGNANT, a wry, warm-hearted screwball comedy featuring an appealing pair of lovers...and an attack cat." ~Romantic Times "Ms. Jacobs has done it again!...Her books are lighthearted joy to read..." ~Carol Carter, Reviewer "In "Not Precisely Pregnant", Holly Jacobs spins a marvelously funny tale about love, ratings, sex and stubbornness." ~Women on Writing "I picked up this book with the intention of reading the first couple of pages to see what it was about. I didn't have time right then to read it. Well, it got read sooner than I thought! Ms. Jacobs grabbed my attention and kept me reading. " ~Lydia Funneman, Writers Unlimited

Other News: Honor Roll: I'm so excited to announce that I'm on Romance Writers of America's Honor Roll now!!  And I want to thank you all...I'm there because of all your support and all the books you've bought,  Thank you! Subscriber Only Giveaway:  I'm so glad that everyone enjoyed the giveaway last month!!  I wanted to do something for all my subscribers this month, not just a lucky few.  So, I've put up a short story that only you can read for free before it goes up for the general public.  It all started with a book.  I went to a house sale and found a copy of Gene Stratton-Porter's The Harvester.  I've always loved her books and had never read this one.  Imagine my excitement!!  I picked it up, took it home and found...   I know...sad, wasn't it?  But, this maimed book did inspire a story.  And I knew I wanted to do something for all of you, so you're getting it for free.  How?    If you get my newsletter, you know how to find the story.  If not, join my newsletter this week and I'll give you the instructions. Then I'll take the "Secret" page down and put the story up for everyone else. I hope you enjoy my gift!  It's just my way of saying thank you for all the books you've bought and reviewed!  Really, you all are the best! So what's up next?  Confessions of a Party Crasher.  It's an older book that Harlequin bought for a line that was in its death throes before Party Crasher ever went on sale.  So it made it to very few bookstores, which means it's probably new to you.  So let's call it a new old book! LOL  More on that soon! Hope you're having a great start of the year!  And hoping 2017 is one of your best years yet! Holly Recent Releases:

The Same but Different

When I walk, I spend a lot of time thinking.  So here's today's thought process...

When I wrote Just One Thing, my editor and I were discussing what I should write next and she said she wanted books that were the same, but different.  And thus my Romance + series, Words of the Heart (Carry Her Heart, These Three Words and Hold Her Heart) was born.  The stories were all centered on a woman's journey.  A journey that included romance but romance wasn't the reason for her journey, nor was it her ultimate destination.

So I was thinking about my current Romance + story...more on that sometime soon.  And that phrase same but different stuck in my head.

From there my mind jumped.  I've been updating my iPod with some new CD's and had just loaded Simba La La, a lovely CD that the Erie Art Museum put out.  And so that was on my mind as I walked.  A CD of songs from around the world...songs countless mothers have sung to their children.

I'd just been singing Grey Squirrel with one of my favorite one-year-olds the other day.  And as I walked, I felt a connection to all these other mothers from around the world.

And my circular thoughts led me back to that phrase, same but different.

I realized that I loved this little CD that was so very global because it emphasizes the sameness in all of us.  Mothers around the world love their children.  They sing to them.  They want to give them opportunities, peace and joy.  We're all the same but different.

I'd been talking to readers about the fact I write romantic comedies (Not Precisely Pregnant's out next month), Romance + stories (Words of the Heart), and cozy mysteries (Can't Find NoBODY) now.  It seems like a wide range of styles, but to be honest, every book I write is the same at its core...it's about love and family and the need we all have to belong.  They're all the same but different.

That need for love is universal, but if every love was the same, the romance genre would have one book.  She met him.  He met her.  They fell in love and lived happily ever after.  No, every relationship comes together differently.  So despite the fact love is universal, every love is different.  And that's why the romance genre is one of the most popular and enduring.  That's why my books have gone to more than twenty-five countries...where despite different cultures, readers can embrace the stories.  Because love is universal.

It's the same...but different.

And that was how my morning's walk went.  To be honest, it's how most of my walks go. One thought chases another.  Thinking about my work-in-progress intertwines with other things that are happening in my life.

So every walk, in essence is...the same but different!  LOL

Holly

PS. I'm still counting steps on my FitBit...today's thoughts were on a 5,000 step walk!  I'm halfway to the day's goal!