Holly's June News

2019 is the summer of Love and Laughter! How to Catch a Groom is out now and will be followed by How to Hunt a Husband in August! Check them out... How to Catch a Groom: 1. Find a man who is your complete opposite. 2. Help save him from utter embarrassment. 3. Call in a favor and ask him to help you out of a wedding emergency. 4. Try not to fall in love with a man who values logic more than love.   Wedding planner, Desdemona Smith, follows her heart. College professor and researcher, Seth Rutherford, is a man who loves logic.   When Seth loses his bride--a woman who was perfectly suited to him--he's confused. It doesn't make sense. Desi assures him love isn't logical and Seth soon discovers neither is Desi. Then why is he attracted to a woman who is his opposite? Why can't he seem to get enough of Desi Smith? Can these two opposites make the perfect romance?   How to Hunt a Husband: 1. Try to ignore your mother's constant matchmaking. 2. Find a kindred spirit who shares your tribulations. 3. Come up with a wild plan to fix your meddling mothers once and for all. 4. Try to ignore the fact your feelings might be something more than just an alliance. Shannon and Nate agree to a con in order to get their mothers off their backs. She'll be Roxy, a sexy stripper, for his mom and he'll be Bull, a Harley-riding biker, for hers. When they start spending a whole lot more time together they discover something unexpected is going on. Maybe it's love?  And very exciting news...Once Upon a Princess and Once Upon a Prince are being released in the US as  Manga—comics. It's a fun way to read a story. I hope you'll check them out! Spring has finally arrived here in Erie! We've been out in the garden and working at the cottage. We finally finished the stonework behind the wood stove and we're starting a pole-barn. I'm sure any of you who follow me on social media will see pics! The barn is so exciting because I'll be putting my own ceramic studio in it! I still have two more terms of classes at the university, but after that, I'll be on my own. I want it ready by this time next year! I hope you'll pick up this summer's romantic comedies! They're perfect for a beach read...or a couch read. If you've picked any of my books up, I hope you'll stop at your favorite bookstore and leave a review. That's the best way to help new readers find my books! We just celebrated our one year anniversary of Trippin' with Holly and Susan videos. The last batch were in filmed in my office and the new ones are out at my cottage! Check them out on YouTube. You can subscribe there so you don't miss an episode! I'm posting today's newest video at the bottom of the blog. We shot it at the cottage. Yes, that's my favorite writing place! Have a marvelous June!! Holly Books On Sale: Hold Her Heart Everything But a Dog Everything But a Mother Everything But a Wedding

Pets in Books

1. Ella Fitzgerald

I don't post all my videos on my blog (you can find any you missed on YouTube), but this one was so much fun. You get to meet my dog, Ella Fitzgerald and we talk about her rise from cover model, to movie star. Okay, what Susan and I really talking about is pets in books, but that's not how Ella sees it! LOL

Speaking of Susan, we're filming more Trippin' videos tomorrow. If you have any questions for us, or topics you'd like us to discuss, please feel free to send them to me!

Holly

PS Check out my books!

Find more of my books at:

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BAM

B&N

What's in a Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." William Shakespeare

Susan and I talked about how we name our characters in yesterday's Trippin' video.  Sometimes names say something about a character. I use Harry from my PTA Moms as an example. For me, Harry is just a nice guy. He's trustworthy and sweet. So as I wrote Once Upon a Thanksgiving, I think my feeling for the name came through in the character.

Yep, it's all about me. LOL

But when the book is read, it's all about the reader. I'm sure every reader brings their own baggage to certain names.  Maybe Harry was the first boy you had a crush on and he broke your heart. Maybe Harry beat up your little brother. Maybe . . .

But my hope is, as you read my Harry, you fall a little in love with him. And maybe he helps lighten your Harry-baggage. LOL That's my hope with every character. That you see something in all my characters that stick with you and influence how you feel about their particular name.

Check out our video, and when you're done, leave a comment here or on one of my other social media sites. You never know, maybe you'll see your name in a story??!!

Holly

"A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble." Charles Spurgeon

PS 

There's a Sale-palooza at Amazon this month! If you've missed one, I hope you pick it up.
On Sale for $.99:
Carry Her Heart 

    A mother gives up her child...then builds a life around her.
Hold Her Heart 
    Her child comes home.
Just One Thing 

    Sometimes we heal one memory at a time.
Everything But a Groom 

    A grandmother curses her family to bad weddings and spends a trilogy trying to break the curse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Briar Hill Road

Between the Words

Able to Love Again

PTA Moms: the Collection

The Moments

Find my books at:

Amazon

Kobo

iBooks

B&N

Google Play

BAM

My Office Tour

I know a lot of you have been following my Trippin' with Holly and Susan videos.

(If you haven't caught them, they're all on YouTube. You can catch up there and follow me so you don't miss future videos.)

I'm happy about this series of videos. They're my chance to invite you into my office! We've lived in this house for fourteen years. When me moved in, I had to downsize my office.  But Himself (my husband) felt bad about my small workspace and got me the most beautiful built-in bookshelves. So while it's small, it's super functional. I love it there. I hope you stop in for a visit and keep and eye out Mondays and Fridays. We'll be in my office for a few week. After that, we're heading out to The Cottage!

Check it out.  And when you're done, share your traditions. And we'd love to hear if you have any topics you'd like us to talk about in an upcoming episode!

Sláinte!

Holly

PS 

There's a Sale-palooza at Amazon this month!
On Sale for $.99:
Carry Her Heart 

    A mother gives up her child...then builds a life around her.
Hold Her Heart 
    Her child comes home.
Just One Thing 

    Sometimes we heal one memory at a time.
Everything But a Groom 

    A grandmother curses her family to bad weddings and spends a trilogy trying to break the curse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Briar Hill Road

Between the Words

Able to Love Again

PTA Moms: the Collection

The Moments

Find my books at:

Amazon

Kobo

Radish Fiction

iBooks

B&N

Google Play

BAM

Connection

Connection

A reader sent me a few emails talking about the way my books had similarities to their life. And on the surface, there were some weird coincidences. But on a deeper level, I don't think it's weird at all. Books are about connection. The best books (I'm not saying mine are the best books, but I do try to do my best with each book LOL) speak to something universal. Love. Family. Friendship. Grief. Fear. Those universal feelings are what connect a reader to the book. They're what connect the author to the book.

Sometimes readers find something totally different in a book than I found as I wrote it. And that's okay. That's part of the relationship between a reader, a writer and a book. I write a story that speaks to me, then I let you and the story find your own relationship. LOL  I had an English teacher who used to say things like, "This is what the author wanted you to know/feel/take away..." I always argued that she had no way of knowing just what that author wanted. She could only know what she—the reader—took from the story. And what I—as a reader—took with me could be something entirely different. That didn't make either of us wrong. The writer, my teacher and I all came to the story from a different place and read it through a different lenses. We all had a different connection to it and they were all right.

Briar Hill Road

Between the Words

So whenever you read one of my books I hope you find some connection to the story. That you think, wow, this is me or this echoes my life. That is my goal with every book I write, whether it's a comedy, a drama, or a mystery. My hope is always that readers find themselves in the story.

Happy Reading!

Holly

Able to Love Again

PTA Moms: the Collection

The Moments

Find my books at:

Amazon

Kobo

Radish Fiction

iBooks

B&N

Google Play

BAM

PPS.
Have you missed our most recent Trippin' with Holly and Susan? You can catch up with them all on YouTube.