Holiday Sale

I'll confess, I love a sale!  And right now, my entire Everything But...Series is on sale for Kindle!  You can check them out here...Amazon Everything But...Series page.  This six book series (Everything But a—Groom, Bride, Wedding, Christmas Eve, Mother and Dog) started about with a Hungarian grandmother who accidentally cursed her family to bad weddings and after she broke the curse, tried her hand at a bit of matchmaking!  Nana Vancy has become a reader favorite and went on to have cameos in my Nothing But...Short Story series and in Christmas in Cupid Falls and Carry Her Heart.

And don't forget my newest book These Three Words is finally on the shelves!  The reviews are starting to come in:

"Wow"
"Holly Jacobs has done it again!"
"Ice cream...sunsets...a glorious read."

I hope you'll check it out!! 

Holly

Connections

I love writing stories that are connected in a series.  When I first started writing, I didn't realize how much, but as my first book for Silhouette Romance led to a second that was set on the same park in Erie, and then a third...  I started to get an inkling.  And as they years have gone on, I'm well aware of how difficult I find letting go of characters.  So they get sequels or series.   Some characters like Nana Vancy from the Everything But... series have gone on to star in short stories, like the Nothing But...series and she's had cameos in Christmas in Cupid Falls as well as Carry Her Heart.

Speaking of Carry Her Heart, one of the characters in that book has a small cameo in my newest release, These Three Words (out for just one week!).  The first reader spotted it yesterday.  She seemed as pleased to find the cameo as I was to include it.

Confused yet?  LOL

Let's just say, if you're someone who reads a lot of my books, you'll begin to catch on.  And if you're someone who's new to my books, you'll never notice.  I really try to make every book a stand-alone, even if it is part of a series.

Yesterday's reader asked if I have any more sequels/cameos coming up.  My answer was...Why yes I do!  I don't have dates or even firm titles for next year's line up, so this is tentative, but there is a sequel to Christmas in Cupid Falls, currently known as A Simple Heart.  There's a sequel to Carry Her Heart, currently known as Hold Onto Her Heart.  And when you reading These Three Words (okay, if you're reading...but I do hope you are reading it!!) you'll meet Alice.  I'm almost done with her story now.  And I have a third Cupid Falls story sketched out and hopefully next on my desk.

Phew.  That's a lot of connections.

As I've been thinking about connecting books and/or characters, I really think it's a case of fiction imitating real life.  Here in Erie, if you go to the mall you're bound to bump into someone you know, or someone you went to school with.  And that's what it's like in my books...you pick up one of my books and never know who you'll bump into!

Holly

PS My new release, These Three Words, hit the shelves last week.  It's a paperback, and audio book and an eBook!!  I hope you'll check it out!!

Waiting...These Three Words

The idea of 'waiting' and the 'weight of the experience'...it was a theme for me as I wrote my new release, These Three Words. And as each new character interacted with the heroine, it was the weight of the waiting for both of them that helped them make a connection with each other.

Most of my books have some theme that I return to as I write. Having spent time in waiting rooms, this one rang true to me...and I hope it does for readers, too!

Holly

Family

This summer I was at a conference and a friend attended a workshop where they asked the authors, "What is at the core of all your stories?"  We sat around the table discussing it and when it came to my turn, I answered without hesitation...family

I find the idea of what makes a family fascinating...there are endless variations.  In my Whedon, PA series, the family came together because of adoption.  In my Valley Ridge series, family was formed through friendship and happenstance. In August's Her Second-Chance Family, my heroine is a foster parent.

But April's award winning book was a bit different.  Carry Her Heart isn't about a family that's formed, but rather the family that's left behind...specifically the birth mother who gave a child up.  And even though her child went on to be raised by another family, ultimately the story still is about family.  It's about a mother's love for her child.  And it's that love, more than blood that makes her that child's family.  So many of my books are built around the idea that a family is formed...not necessarily born.

And in my newest two releases, there are no children involved, but they both deal with family.  In 13 Weeks: A Novella, the hero is losing his grandmother...the last of his family.  He learns that those who pass on aren't truly lost...not if we have our love and memories to keep them alive in our hearts.  And in These Three Words (which is out in 11 days...but who's counting??) my hero and heroine are a couple that's been torn apart.  I came up with my tagline for the book early on and I held onto it as I wrote:  Sometimes the greatest loves aren't discovered...they're rediscovered.

Family.

For me, it's everything.  When I started writing I decided that for me, family came first and writing came second.  Everything else just squeezed in where I could manage.  All these years later, I think that was one of the best decisions I ever made.  I've watched my kids grow into such amazing human beings.  And I'm thrilled to confess, they've grown into my best friends.

So as we sit down to Thanksgiving today, I'll be thankful for many things.  My writing is right up there.  But at the top of my list—at the very top—I'm thankful for my family.  They're my inspiration.  To be honest, they're at the heart of everything I do.

Holly

Holly Jacobs' November Newsletter

Want to get my newsletter in an email and be entered in all the subscriber giveaways and special deals? You can sign up here.

Hi, everyone!!  I hope you're having a wonderful fall!  We're gearing up for Thanksgiving here.  Looks like we're going to have a full house!  Anyone who hangs out with me on social media knows that I love talking about cooking.  So here's my Thanksgiving cooking tip...brine your turkey.  There are a ton of recipes online. I make mine a little different each time, but the results have all be wonderful!  The kids have informed me they never want to do turkey any other way!! Today's my newest book's official release!  This is another of my women's journey/romances, like Just One Thing and Carry Her Heart!  Speaking of Carry Her Heart....there is a sequel!  Thanks everyone who's written and asked me what happened next.  I'll send out more info on it in 2016!  Back to the new release:

These Three Words Sometimes the deepest love isn't discovered...it's rediscovered. Starting over is never easy. Addie and Graham “Gray” Grayson should know: they are a couple on the brink. But they weren’t always. Childhood friends who fell in love, they complemented each other perfectly: her sunny, gregarious outlook was an ideal foil for Gray’s quiet, careful personality. But when an unexpected heartbreak sweeps them into grief, they’re forced to question the fraying bonds that once held them so tightly. Just before Addie walks away for good, Gray’s life is suddenly left hanging in the balance—and Addie’s waiting for news at the hospital. But she’s not alone. Through the stories other families share, she remembers what first brought her and Gray together and realizes how much of their connection still remains. Can letting go of the past also mean embracing the future? Perhaps the words they once said to each other can become a bridge that leads them back to love, to hope, and to a second chance that could last a lifetime. Kindle eBook Amazon Audible Barnes and Noble Books a Million Everything But a Groom was on Booklist's Top 101 Romances in the last Ten Years list!!!

Two of my earliest stories have been rereleased as eBooks for Kindle. Cinderella Wore Tennis Shoes Bosom Buddies. Ethel and Ella were featured in USAToday's Happily Ever After blog! This year's prize-palooza continued!  Congrats to: July—Margot August—Joyce September—Joan October—MaryLee I've gone back to my roots and have been writing some short stories for Kindle. 1. Labor Day 2. There He Was 3. Thirteen Weeks Carry Her Heart won a Golden Leaf Award!!  There's a sequel in the works...more details soon!

~~~~~ This is the last newsletter of 2015! I'll be giving away gifts to random newsletter subscribers in November and December to round out our year of prizes.  And you can be sure that there will be some other special gifts just for newsletter subscribers next year.  I've said it before...I really appreciate all your support and I love being able to show it in some small way! Wishing you a wonderful end of 2015 and I'll talk to you all in early 2016! I'm just waiting to solidify some release dates! Really, thank you!! Holly

Newsletter!

Tuesday is These Three Words' release day (I'm so jazzed about it!!) and the next newsletter will go out. Subscribers not only keep up on new books, but are automatically entered in drawings and special deals. If you don't get it, you can signup here!

I'm giving away an audiobook in November and I've got a very special present for someone in December!

Holly

Holly's Quick News

Limited time only $1.99 eBook Sale:

Award Winning, Carry Her Heart  

A Valley Ridge Christmas

Out in 12 Days: 
These Three Words  

Speaking of 12 days...looking for a Christmas read?
Christmas in Cupid Falls  

It's last Christmas's release...there's a new Cupid Falls story coming out next year!

Monthly random giveaways to newsletter subscribers: If you haven't already, you can Sign up here.
(Something especially nice for December!)

Another way to keep track of new releases is to sign up for Amazon updates.  Just click this link and look under my pictures.  There's a link.  They'll send you an email when a new book's on its way out!

Oh, and lastly, I've released a few short stories over the last few months.  I hope they're a perfect short pick-me-up over the busy holiday season:
13 Weeks: A Novella
There He Was: A Short Story
Labor Day: A Short Story

I'm traveling next week.  Keep an eye on my social media feeds.  I think I have a fun way to bring all my friends and readers along with me!!

Holly

Weekly Deal

This week, my award winning book, Carry Her Heart is Kindle Love Stories Weekly Deal!  So if you haven't read it, this is a great time to pick it up!  Especially since next year, the sequel, Hold Onto Her Heart is coming out!!

So what are Amazon readers saying?

“I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys an honest romance, a slice of life book, or a book which deals with families. I can’t think of anyone to whom I would not recommend this book. If I could give it more than five stars, I would do so.” 

"An Awesome Story of Love, Beautifully Written."

"One of the best books I have ever read!"

"Keep Your Tissues Handy! This is Good Stuff! Highly Recommend!"

"Wonderful, Gentle, Thoughtful."

"Wonderful book about friendship and relationships"

"Didn't expect to be sobbing so much though....lol But when you read something that is described so beautifully and it hits a cord deep inside, there's nothing else to do....but sob."

If you've already picked up Carry Her Heart, thank you!  If you haven't, I hope you'll give it a try!!

Holly

2015 releases:

Carry Her Heart
Her Second-Chance Family
Cinderella Wore Tennis Shoes...Holly Jacobs' Classic, rerelease as eBook
Bosom Buddies...Holly Jacobs' Classic, rerelease as eBook

Labor Day: A Short Story
There He Was: A Short Story
13 Weeks: A Novella
These Three Words...coming 11-24!! Available for pre-order now
                                                             Montlake Romance is running a giveaway for it at GoodReads.

13 Weeks

I love the heroine in my new novella, 13 Weeks.  Doran is a traveling nurse who specializes in palliative care.  I've had two loved ones use Hospice care in their last days, and I can tell you from experience that all the nurses, aides and volunteers who work within the program are very special people.  I once called in the wee hours once because my loved one was in pain and the meds I had on hand weren't cutting it.  Someone was at my door an hour later, stronger medication in hand.

But it was more than the medical support.  The amazing people who worked for the program held hands as much as they gave medications.  They listened...not just to the patient, but to the whole family.  They met my family at our most vulnerable time and helped us through it even as they helped our loved ones.

It seemed natural to write a heroine who had that kind of strength...that kind of heart.

I've wrote about those losses before in the award winning The House on Briar Hill Road.  Yes, the story is fiction, just as 13 Weeks is, but at their heart, both dealt with my own personal experiences of loss.

Though 13 Weeks deals with a difficult time, I think the ultimate message is a hopeful one.  It's about finding where you belong.  More than that, it's about recognizing home when you see it.

I hope you pick up the novella.  This time next month my next full-length novel, These Three Words is out!  If you've followed my books, you know I love to write series.  And though TTW's isn't part of a series, if you pay attention you just might find a character you'll recognize.

Holly

These Three Words

Another PUParazzi Day...

Everything But a Dog

By now, most of you know Ethel Merman and Ella Fitzgerald, my dogs who also served as the inspiration for Curie and Clara in Everything But a Dog.  There's a bit of a buzz in USAToday's Happily Ever After Blog, today.  And according to a certain daughter, the dogs and I might be having a bit too much fun with it!

Holly

Sunday Shorts

13 Weeks

I started my career writing short stories.  I loved looking at a  small clip from a couple's relationship. This last year, I've been using my "Sunday Book" time to go back to my roots and write some short stories and a couple novellas. These are my Sunday Shorts!  I've had a blast returning to my roots!

In Labor Day a couple tells their daughter about how they met...and while it was over the Labor Day holiday, that's not the only reason for the title. (And after the short story came out, there was a story in the news that echoed it.) In There He Was, a Myth Buster's episode inspired me.  A minor explosion forces the heroine to look at exactly what love looks like.

This October, I have a novella, 13 Weeks, that's available for pre-order now.  A traveling nurse, by definition, travels.  Doran has spent most of her life moving from one place to another.  When she comes to Erie, PA (where else?) she meets Paul.  He's a man who has roots as deeply planted as the old elm in his backyard.  Helping them discover what really matters was so much fun.

I hope you enjoy all three of my return-to-my-roots!!  There are a few more coming out soon!

Holly

Labor Day

There He Was

Everything But a Groom's a Top 101 Romances of the last 10 Years!

Everything But a Groom is the first book in my Everything But... Series.  I found out today it made Booklist's Top 101 Romances of the Last 10 Years list!  I'm so jazzed!  I'll confess, I loved this sweet little romance about a Hungarian grandmother who accidentally cursed her family to bad weddings.  After she broke the curse at the end of the first trilogy, I missed her and it turned out, so did readers.  So I went on to write a second trilogy where Nana Vancy tries her hand at matchmaking.

Since then she's had cameos in my Nothing But...short story trilogy, in Christmas in Cupid Falls and even Carry Her Heart.  She's a reader favorite and she's one of mine, too!  So on behalf of Nana Vancy and myself, thank you Booklist!  And thank you to all the readers who've fallen in love with my slightly offbeat Hungarian grandma!

Holly

They're Playing My Song...Well, They're Playing My Book's Song

Music has always played a part in writing. Beth recently wrote me and said that Sarah McLachlan's Full of Grace reminded her of Just One Thing.  (Thank you again, Beth!!) I loved that she made that connection because not only did I agree, but I do that kind of thing all the time.

For instance, in August's Her Second-Chance Family Sister Hazel's song, Concede really struck me as the song for the heroine's battle to reach her foster daughter...



In My Valley Ridge series, the third book, A Walk Down the Aisle has a couple who was meant to be together but thinks they're over.  I loved As You Turn Away as the heroine's theme song.  I could see her listening to this and crying as I wrote her book.

And Same Time Not Summer Keri Noble's Piece of My Heart really fit. I really love the imagery of the song...

So it comes as no surprise that November's These Three Words has an inspiration as well.  It is the strongest one yet.  When I was young, Dad took Mom to NYC and they saw They're Playing My Song.  Mom bought the album (yeah, I know, I'm dating myself! LOL)  Robert Klein and Lucy Arnaz in a Neil Simon, Marvin Hamlish and Carole Bayer Sager show.  I mean, come on.  Even as I kid I recognized the magic of those people and that show.  (And really, really, really I want a revival of this one.  I'd get front row tickets for it!!)  One song in particular always really touched me, Fill in the Words.  When I started writing These Three Words, I realized early on that this song could be my hero's theme song.  He's a man of very few words, but a very big heart.

How about you?  Do you ever read a book, then hear a song and think, yes...that's it??

Holly

International Literacy Day

International Literacy Day

It's #TeaserTuesday and it's International Literacy Day.  I touched on this issue a few years back in Homecoming Day.  It seemed like an appropriate teaser for today!  The stat in the teaser isn't fiction and it truly breaks my heart.  I'm someone who grew up in books...I can't imagine a world without them!

Homecoming Day

I know you said you didn’t know much about reading problems, that you were an art teacher.  You know basket weaving not teaching reading, wasn’t that it?"  

She smiled and nodded.  “Come in.”  

He’d loved that phrase.  And as he stepped into Laura’s hallway, he was struck by how non-Spartan her home seemed.

It was the opposite of his apartment.  It was warm and inviting.  There was a coat tree standing next to the door.  A long, skinny table next to it.  It had a small bowl with keys in it, and a small ivy-ish looking plant.

Maybe a plant would make his sisters feel better about his house?

“Seth?”

Sorry.”  He stopped worrying about his unadorned apartment and concentrated on JT.  “Anyway, I Googled it.  Did you know that about a fifth of high school seniors can be considered functionally illiterate?  They suggested these.  They’re easy readers for older readers.  I thought they might help JT.”

Pawpaws

I love pawpaws...though I've never tasted one.  To be honest, I hadn't even heard about them until a few years ago when I read Paradise Lot by Eric Toensmeier.  I so enjoyed reading about their urban garden, but when I read about pawpaws was hooked.  I bought these from their  Food Forest Farm and planted them here at home, thinking eventually I'd transplant them to camp.

From personal experience I already know that they seem to be very hardy.  The one on the left was broken by a young boy I love despite the fact he steps on my plants.  It came back from the small twig it that was left to a smaller than it's sister, but doing fine little tree.  So I went ahead and ordered a couple more to plant this fall from FFF.

Oh, and there's a new book out that's feeding my pawpaw love...Pawpaw (aptly named) by Andrew Moore who lives in neighboring Pittsburgh.  Yes my fascination with this native tree is growing.  It might be that I'm a bit too excited...a few friends have had to listen to my geeky gushing over them.

So here I am with a couple pawpaws at home and a soon-to-be baby pawpaw patch at camp...and I've never tasted one of the creamy banana custardish fruits.  Rumor has it I have a few years to go before I get to.

I normally feel I can learn anything by reading a book.  And I have learned a lot about pawpaws and native plants by reading.  But alas, reading can't really let me taste one...and thus my waiting continues!!

When I first mentioned them to my husband, he remembered a pawpaw song from scouting (he was—is—an Eagle Scout) so, here's a YouTube version...with a real pawpaw in the background!

Holly

PS. Yes, I know, you're all shocked that I'm so public with my wild, wild ways!  LOL

What does a writer do to celebrate??

 Yesterday, I heard that Carry Her Heart was a finalist for a Golden Leaf Award.  I was so jazzed that I decided to celebrate...I made a basket.

Wait, you don't think that's a wild and crazy celebration?  Well, don't you worry.  I really went nuts and went to watch a sunset on Presque Isle, here in Erie.  I set so many of my books in Erie and use our peninsula for scenes so often because it's just this beautiful!!

Holly...aka that wild and crazy writer!

Carry Her Heart

I'm definitely having a bit of Monday Glee here in Erie, PA today!  I found out that this spring's release, Carry Her Heart, is a Golden Leaf Award finalist!!  

I am so glad that readers (and judges) are responding to this gentle story of love...the love of a mother for a child, and the kind of true-love couples I adore writing about.

91% of the 113 reviews on Amazon have been 4 and 5 star!

Thanks to the judges of the Golden Leaf...and thanks to all you readers who've picked up Pip and Ned's story!

Holly

PS For those who've asked, yes there is a sequel.  I'll let you know as soon as I have a release date!!

National Dog Day!

It's National Dog Day!  As the owner of two dogs—or probably as the person two dogs own—we're celebrating here.  These are my dogs, Ethel Merman and Ella Fitzgerald.  We rescued Ethel first.  She's been abused before languishing in the shelter for weeks.  But the kids fell in love with her, and we brought her home.  She was not without issues.  Separation anxiety was a real thing.  So we adopted Ella Fitzgerald to keep her company.  It's been ten years and they're inseparable.

They're also my writing companions.  When I decided to end the Everything But...series with Everything But a Dog, I used them as the models for the dogs in the book.

If you haven't ever tried the series, it's about a Hungarian grandmother, Nana Vancy, who spends three books trying to break a family curse...yes the family was cursed to bad weddings.  After she's finally broken the curse in Everything But a Groom, Everything But a Bride and Everything But a Wedding, she finds she's bored.  So she tries her hand at matchmaking in Everything But a Christmas Eve, Everything But a Mother and Everything But a Dog.  That last one is Ethel and Ella's book.  Not to give too much away, Nana Vancy discovers that she's very good at matchmaking dogs to their proper humans.  (Better than matchmaking human couples!)

Ella

When it came time to put together a cover for the book, I sent in a picture of me and the dogs.  They did a great job of capturing Ethel and Ella!!  Yes, my dogs had their fifteen minutes of fame.  And because readers kept asking about Nana Vancy and crew, I went on to do three short Nothing But stories and the Everything But group had cameos in the first book in my new Cupid Falls series, Christmas in Cupid Falls and if you watch closely, you'll see Nana Vancy again in Carry Her Heart.

Ethel

Today, for National Dog Day, let's celebrate our pets.  And if you're looking for a new pet, don't forget to check out your local shelter.  There's a chance one of Ethel or Ella's friends is waiting for you.  And who knows, if a tiny Hungarian grandmother points you in the direction of a certain dog, maybe you should listen???

Holly