Cooks and Books, Homemade Taco Seasoning

There's a new Cooks and Books out!  

I know, it's been a while!  Join me in the kitchen as we make homemade taco seasoning. It's cheaper than store-bought packets and has no fillers, preservatives or food coloring in it! 

Someone asked me why the cornstarch, and I realized that I hadn't mentioned to add a bit of water, just like the bagged stuff. The cornstarch turns it saucy.

And check out my new series, PTA Moms.  

Holly

Reinvent Yourself...My Novel Freshman Experience, Part 19

I did my last speech of the year yesterday...Finding Your Sequel.  It was a talk about finding what comes next in your life.  It seemed apropos since Once Upon a Christmas was released yesterday...it's the sequel of Once Upon a Thanksgiving (the third book Once Upon a Valentine's is out in January!).

More than just Once Upon a Christmas, the entire PTA Mom trilogy is about sequels...about three single mothers finding out what comes next in their lives.

So that ideas of sequels has been on my mind. I realize that my life has been a series of sequels...I think everyone's is really.
I was a daughter and sister, then wife and mother, then a writer...those are the biggest things, but more than that, I've been a reader, a cook, a cleaner, a waitress, a lactation consultant, a basket weaver...  So many more.  This year, I've added student back to my list.  

Some of you have been following My Novel Freshman Experience (and thank you for that!) as I talk about going back to school and my glee with my ceramics class.  And even there, I'm focusing on sequels.  Our last project was a narrative piece or teapot.  I chose to use my book, Carry Her Heart as my inspiration.  The quote is all about reinventing yourself.  And I made both a narrative piece AND a teapot.  

LOL I'm an overachiever.  

I love the quote I used.  I think we all reinvent ourselves over and over. And again, that really fits into my recent talks/thoughts on sequels.

Holly

PS So many of my books, over time, turned into series because I keep thinking about characters and want to know what came next. (There will be a 5th Maid in LA book next year!).  People keep asking about the order of my books...I've put a list of series in order for all of you.

PSS If you missed any of my Novel Freshman Experience posts, here are links:
Part 18,  Part 17, Part 16,  Part 15, Part 14, Part 13, Part 12, Part 11, Part 10, Part 9, Part 8, Part 7 Part Six, Part 5, Part 4, Part 3, Part 2, Part 1

You Might be a PTA Mom....

In celebration of my new PTA Mom trilogy, let's play a Jeff Foxworthy-esque game:

You Might Be A PTA Mom if...

Here are a few to get you started.  Add your own as a reply and I'll add them to the list.  And to make things more interesting, I'm drawing names from the participants for  some lovely Weary Creek Gift Boxes!

10. ...when you appear in the teacher's workroom all the teachers rush over to see what you brought them to eat. ~Ellen Too

9. ...you know the location of every public washroom in town—field trips help that along. ~Kaelee

8. ...you've dressed up in a grass skirt, aloha shirt, and carried around a pink, plastic, blowup dolphin as volunteer reader for the annual Scholastic book fair . . . in a snowstorm. ~Shelley

7. ... your kids' friends call you "Mom." ~Patti

6. You might be a PTA mom if you can sing "Found a Peanut" in your sleep. ~Jody

5. ...you take every school fundraiser to work and then end up having to carry in 100 tubs of frozen cookie dough ~Tammy

4. ...you've popped so much popcorn to sell on Fridays that when you go to the grocery store later that day, you notice people around you sniffing the air and saying, "Do you smell popcorn?" ~JV

3. ...the students wave in the hall and say, "HI Laminating Lady!" rather than "Mrs. ____" ~Donna

2. ...you're so busy with PTA stuff that your husband has to dress out of the dryer in the mornings. ~JV

1. ... if you've ever forged another mom's name on a volunteer sheet. ~Ellen 

So add your own You Might Be a PTA Mom if, or share a story about your time as a PTA Mom!  I'll draw names from the entries in December for the awesome Weary Creek Gifts!

And Check Out the PTA Mom Trilogy...they're available for Kindle and as a paperback!

Holly

New Perspective...A Novel Freshman Experience, Part 18

I will confess, I love that I love that my ceramics class is making me look at the world with new eyes.  I've been looking at regular objects and noticing distinct shapes and textures.  I wonder if I could duplicate them.

Trees and leaves have been of particular interest.  My tree stump teapot gave me a chance to play with those textures.

But the big news of the day is...the Hobbit Hole/Hobbit Book came out of its bisque firing.  It all stayed together.  No explosions!!  Phew.

I had a dream two nights ago that I was leaning into a kiln (which in my dream was rather like my washing machine) and pulling out my hobbit hole in pieces.  I was so upset in my dream.  So today when Professor H. handed it to me...  

Well, I try to contain my glee in class and not annoy the kids.  I mean, someone being a Holly-level of glee at 8 am...even I might be annoyed with me!  LOL  But today, I will confess, I spewed glee all over the class.  And no one threw spitballs at me!  

Have I mentioned that the kids I go to class with are very sweet?  They are.

To the extent when I walk into school in the morning, more often than not, someone holds a door for me.  

My teapot lid came out nice, but Professor H. suggested it needed turned the other way so it read more like a handle.  A leaf handle.  So I did a fourth lid.  LOL  I'm pleased with it!  I forgot to take a pic of it, but I'll get one soon.

With that lid being finished, all my clay-work is done.  I'll need to start glazing soon.  Yes, you'll all probably hear a lot about it.  But now that it's all the clay-work is done, I'm thinking of next semester...I'm taking Ceramics II.  I said at the beginning of this blog I've been seeing the world through different eyes...looking at form and texture.  I really want to experiment more with both.  I have an idea for a quilt...a clay quilt.  I experimented today with that block.  Professor H. said they needed to be thicker, but I think I can get them to read as material.    

I have until January to come up with more ideas.  Uh, January seems like a long way off.  I'm going to miss being in the studio in December.

I'm teaching a workshop in November about Finding Your Sequel...trying something new and learning to see the world in a new way.  That's exactly what this class has been.  It's teaching me a new way to see the world, and I think anytime we can learn to look at things from a new perspective, we've grown!

Holly

PS Speaking of new perspectives and new beginnings, my second PTA Mom story, Once Upon a Christmas is out November 1st.  I hope you'll pick the series up!

PPS If you missed any My Novel Freshman Experiences, you can find them at: Part Seventeen, Part Sixteen,  Part Fifteen, Part Fourteen, Part Thirteen, Part Twelve, Part Eleven, Part Ten, Part Nine, Part Eight, Part Seven, Part Six, Part Five, Part Four, Part Three, Part Two, Part One

Back to School with the PTA Moms

Once Upon a Thanksgiving

I've been talking a lot about going back to school.  Thanks to everyone's who's been following my Freshman Novel Experience Blogs! 

My going back to school is timely, since my new series is out!  My PTA Mom trilogy introduces three single...uh, PTA moms.  Samantha, Michelle and Carly missed the first meeting of the year end up on the worst PTA committee and discover sometimes something really good can surprise you!

Single mom Samantha in Once Upon a Thanksgiving has kids...a lot of kids.  She has a demanding job.  She's working hard to regain her sense of optimism.  She's determined to find a new way to be happy.  She doesn't have time to plan the  PTA Thanksgiving Pageant...and she certainly doesn't have time for Harry, the kids new principal.  Of course, he's just an interim principal.  He'll be leaving soon.  Maybe he is just the kind of man she needs to date...a man with an expiration date.  But Samantha and Harry find out that love doesn't have a timetable. 

Reviews:

"If you're looking for a comfort book as the season gets busier and busier, you can't go wrong with Once Upon a Thanksgiving.... And, for those of us who are fans of Jacobs, it's wonderful to discover this is the first in her new holiday series." ~Lesa Holstine in USA Today

"Beyond delivering a compelling read, or the first in an inventive series about parenting, Holly Jacobs earns her kudos by seriously dealing with the difficulties of divorce on children and parents." ~ RT Bookclub

I hope you enjoy Samantha's story and that you watch for Michelle's story, Once Upon a Christmas in November and Carly's story, Once Upon a Valentine's in January!

Holly

Once Upon a Valentine's

Once Upon a Christmas

Come Back to School with me!

It's fall break so the campus is empty!  I went up to school last night and started cutting out pieces for my next project...a house.  But while I was all alone in the studio, I made you all a video.  Come back to school with me!!

When you're done, go back to school with my three PTA Moms,
Samantha in Once Upon a Thanksgiving,

Michelle in Once Upon a Christmas, 

and Carly in Once Upon a Valentine's!

Holly

Come FALL in love with Holly Jacobs Books...

e It's FALL!!  This is my favorite time of year. It's the time of year that Erie, PA truly shines! If you drive through North East, you can smell grapes ripening on the vine.  Enjoy the fall foliage—deep reds, vibrant oranges and cheery yellows—as you drive a little west along the lake into Erie proper.  Yes, the kids are back to school...oh, and there's a bit of news...so am I!!  I'm a college freshman.  My first class?  Ceramics.  Oh, I'm having more fun at school than anyone should.  Don't tell my class, but I just finished my presentation...uh, it's not due until November.  Yeah, I know, it's a sickness.  But seriously, I'm enjoying every part of this class.  I'm blogging about my "Novel" Freshman Experience on this blog. It's amazing how much pottery relates to my writing! And I'm going to segue from school to...uh, school.  It didn't take much talent, did it? LOL  I'm talking about my PTA Mom trilogy.  The first book, Once Upon a Thanksgiving, is out today as an ebook, and the paperback will be out in a couple days!   The PTA Mom series is filled with heart, holidays and three PTA Moms who find their own happily-ever-afters!   The first in the series, Once Upon A Thanksgiving is about when Harry Met…Samantha. Single mom, Samantha Williams is too busy for love. She’s already juggling work, four kids, a one-eyed cat and now the PTA’s Social Planning Committee. But when Samantha meets Harry Remington, she finds herself drawn to the kids’ principal. But not only is Harry recovering from a bad break-up, he’ll only be around until December. Maybe they can date knowing there’s an expiration date on their time together. But sometimes the heart has its own mind. By Thanksgiving, neither are ready to let go of what they've discovered together, but both are afraid to hold on. Will their love be enough to overcome their pasts as they look beyond their present to a future…together?   Reviews: "If you're looking for a comfort book as the season gets busier and busier, you can't go wrong with Once Upon a Thanksgiving.... And, for those of us who are fans of Jacobs, it's wonderful to discover this is the first in her new holiday series." ~Lesa Holstine in USA Today "Beyond delivering a compelling read, or the first in an inventive series about parenting, Holly Jacobs earns her kudos by seriously dealing with the difficulties of divorce on children and parents." ~ RT Bookclub The second book, Once Upon a Christmas is out in November, and the third book, Once Upon a Valentine's will be out in January!

I'm so glad all the winners loved their Weary Creek Bathworks boxes of soap earlier this year!  It was so much fun, I've decided to do it again for the PTA Moms trilogy.  The boxes will go out in December, so you have time to enter.  And here's how we're going to do this one... Take a picture of yourself reading any of my books, post it on social media and tag me...and you're in. OR write an honest review of one of my books for your favorite online site (Amazon, Goodreads, etc...) and tag me, or email it to me and you're entered. OR take a picture of a Holly Jacobs' book on your bookshelf, in a pile of leaves, and post it on social media.... Well, here's the thing...do something to tell friends about my books, tell me or tag me, and you're entered.  I'll draw names in December, so you've got two months to enter. Why?  Word of mouth is always the best promotion a writer can get.  I have Weary Creek working on PTA Mom boxes!  You can just link me on social media, or send them to me at HollyJacobs1@gmail.com. That's it this time!  I'm working like crazy on the new Quincy book (yes, she's back again for a 5th book and oh, there's a bunch of news!!) that will be out next year!  Thanks everyone for asking for more Quincy!! Wishing you all an amazing fall!  I'll be back in a couple months to tell you about Michelle's book, and then again to tell you about Carly, our accidental arsonist! (Don't you want to know how that happened??) As always, thank you, thank you, thank you for all your support!! Holly Once Upon a Thanksgiving Once Upon a Christmas Once Upon a Valentine's

My Novel Freshman Experience: Part Ten...Raku

 RAKU

It was a lovely walk to school today.  Yes, I'm still FitBitting at least 10,000 steps every day, so that mile or so walk is helpful!  It's a bit warmer than I like, but not summer-hot, so it was a nice walk up. And look at that sunrise!

Now, on to school...I had so much fun today!!  We talked about the next project (we're making a boot), got our artist for our reports approved (I'm doing Rob Barnard...love his pots and the fact he writes a lot about pottery)...and we made a Raku cup. I took pictures so you could come to class with me...

So that's the kiln in the back, and those two buckets?  They're filled with sawdust. 






The top of the kiln's been removed and the hot pots are put into the sawdust.  You can see how red-hot the pieces in the kiln are.





The pots actually flame when you put them in the sawdust.  The buckets go back on top and the pieces smoke for a bit.

 The second one down from the top of the picture is mine.  It's after they pots are removed from the sawdust and filled with water to rapidly cool them down.






And here's the finished piece.  This wouldn't be a great cup for drinking, since the flame doesn't get hot enough to really seal it, but it is lovely.  I purposefully left holes with no glaze that turned a lovely black, matte, smoky color.

I'm heading back later today to put some underglaze on my big sculpture (see the previous post).  And I'm starting on my boot later this week...we don't have class Thursday, but I'm thinking I might as well go up and work.  And even though the artist report isn't due for a while, by now you've probably figured out I'll be starting it this week.  LOL  I seriously can't help myself.  The family keeps giving me those, isn't-she-cute looks as I gleefully work on stuff here. But I've wanted to take a pottery class forever...and I'm enjoying it as much as I thought I would.

Hope you all have a good day and find something new to learn that gives you as much glee as this is giving me!

Holly

PS.

Once Upon a Thanksgiving

If you've missed any Novel Experience posts, you can find them here... Part Nine, Part Eight, Part Seven, Part Six, Part Five, Part Four, Part Three, Part Two, Part One

PPS The first book in my PTA Mom Trilogy is out on September 26th. You can preorder it now!!

Once Upon a Christmas

Once Upon a Valentine's

Throwback Thursday, PTA Trilogy

Once Upon a Thanksgiving

This week's Throwback Thursday happens to be a trilogy.  The eBooks are all on sale at Amazon.com​.

Once Upon a Christmas

Once Upon a Valentine's

I originally called these my PTA Mom trilogy.  TPTB felt Dads were a better sell, so it became my American Dad trilogy.  But for me, it was all about the moms.  I identified with the three mothers who balanced jobs, kids and a budding romance.  Okay, so my romance is well established and not a bud, but I still empathized with their balancing act.  All three moms missed the first PTA meeting of the year and got stuck on the crap committee.  The first one got stuck planning the Thanksgiving event, the second the Christmas event, and the last a Valentine's dance.

Since Valentine's is just a week away, I thought I'd talk about her...Carly.  She's a great mom, an accidental arsonist and...  What, you want that explained?  Yeah, selling an arsonist (accidental or otherwise) wasn't as easy as you'd think.  You see, Carly caught her husband doing...uh the down-and-dirty on a couch she'd spent weeks shopping for.  So in the divorce, she asked for it.  And what do you do with a couch like that?  Why you have a bonfire...that accidentally spreads to a neighbor's.  So she's doing community service with a hunky Erie cop and...  Well, let's just say sparks ensue!  LOL

I loved this series.  And for me, it's always going to be the PTA Mom trilogy!!

Holiday Reads

Here it is...a confession.  I love the holidays.  And I love holiday stories.  So many of my books, whether they're comedies or dramas, center around family themes, and the holidays are perfect for those.  If you're looking for a holiday read, I've got new releases and older books that are still readily available as eBooks.

New Releases in December:

Quincy's Back for Christmas in a in Spruced Up: A Maid in LA Holiday Novella.

Quincy Mac has faced a murder and an art thief. She's dealt with three teenaged boys on her own. She's even braved a brand new romance. But nothing she'd done in the past has prepared Quincy for this...she's heading home for Christmas! She's planning a quiet week with her family, but finds herself with another mystery to solve! 

Join Quincy as she celebrates with her family and solves a mystery in a way that's in keeping with the Christmas season!

Review:
"I fell in love with Quincy Mac when I learned she was once almost the spokeswoman for Dazzling Smile toothpaste.  I have a fondness for great stories, for toothpaste...and for teeth."  ~Hermey, Dentist to the North Pole

Available for Kindle




A Valley Ridge Christmas...the name says it all.  It's stand alone, but if you've read the previous Valley Ridge Wedding trilogy, you'll meet up with old friends in this Christmas story.  Take one Pollyanna-ish librarian who lives by the mantra, I can't save the world, but I can try, and one Scrooge-ish man who is not thrilled by the idea of a white Christmas, add in a homeless family and you a new holiday story!

Available in December at your local bookstore, and for Kindle and Nook.  It's also available as part of a special 3 eBook bundle on Kindle and Nook.

   Other Holiday books:

Take meddling Nana Vancy who wants to play matchmaker along with her two best friends, known as The Silver Bells (Isabel and Annabelle) and set a romance two the tune ofThe 12 Days of Christmas and you have a fun Christmas romance!  Kindle and B&N.

Last year's holiday short story (also featuring Nana Vancy) is finally available for Nook!  Nana Vancy thinks she's out of the matchmaking business...at least for people.  She's better with pets.  But her Hungarian magic still has some kick.  Kindle and Nook


For Thanksgiving, Once Upon a Thanksgiving.  This was the first in my American Romance American Dad series.  Kindle and Nook.  The second American Dad book was Once Upon a Christmas.  Kindle and Nook.

Three moms miss the first PTA meeting of the year and get stuck on the worst committee…where they find friendship and maybe love!

Unexpected Gifts.  A woman who teaches teen parents finds her own personal journey echoing her girls' when she finds herself unexpectedly pregnant and jilted by the baby's dad.  Then just as unexpectedly a special man enters her life. Kindle and Nook

Laura Watson suffered the most unimaginable pain.  She meets a man who's also gone through a horrible loss of his own.  Can these two damage people find the strength to love again?  Kindle and Nook.