Tuesday, July 19, 2016

A list of Holly Jacobs' series in order!


Here's the thing...I write a lot of books that are tied.  I'm not sure why...I take that back, I do know why.  I love my characters and always want to know what's happened after I write the end.  If I write another book in the series, I can find out along with readers!  I've got a lot of series and lately I've had a lot of readers asking about them...so here's the series and the books in order!



Oh, the fairies!  These were some of my earliest books!  They're being released now.  The first three are out now, and Fairly Human will be out at the end of July!

Mad About Max
Magic for Joy
Miracles for Nick





Words of the Heart...
These are heartwarming, bigger stories.  I was using the tagline Romance+ to describe them!

Carry Her Heart's on sale in July!
These Three Words
Coming soon...
Hold Onto Her Heart





I had so much fun with this series!  I loved writing a middle aged heroine!

Maid in LA Mysteries
Steamed

Dusted
Spruce Up
Swept Up

I've had a lot of requests for a new Quincy book...and I've been mulling! I'll keep you posted!






Nana Vancy accidentally cursed her family to bad weddings...and spends the first three books trying to break the curse!
Everything But a Groom
Everything But a Bride

Everything But a Wedding.





After she's broken the curse she's bored...so she ttries her hand at matchmaking!


Everything But a Christmas Eve
Everything But a Mother

Everything But a Dog!

My dogs would be so annoyed if I didn't mention they were the cover models for Everything But a Dog...they're still waiting for the PUParazzi to hound them!  (Yeah, I know that was bad!)





They talk about Christmas in July. So maybe it wouldn't be so odd to start my Cupid Falls series this month!

Christmas in Cupid Falls
A Simple Heart: A Cupid Falls Novella

(There are a few more Cupid Falls books in the pipeline!)




Oh, I should have mentioned this series after Everything But...
When I heard that Montlake was rereleasing that series and WLVH Radio Series, I wrote a trilogy of short stories to bring them all together!

Nothing But Love
Nothing But Heart

Nothing But Luck




And speaking of WLVH Radio series...
Pickup Lines
Lovehandles
Night Calls
Laugh Lines

And yes, I've heard that readers hate these covers. I liked Pickup Lines and Night Calls (which had a dog based on our dog at the time...a 200 lb Old English Mastiff) but I see your point on the other two.  Hopefully the stories are good enough to distract from the covers!  LOL





This series was one of my first! I set it on Erie, PA's very real Perry Square.  But then I went ahead and fictionalized the square and added new businesses!

Do You Hear What I Hear?
A Day Late and a Bride Short
Dad Today, Groom Tomorrow
Be My Baby
Once Upon a Princess
Once Upon Prince
Once Upon a King
Here With Me



I so loved Valley Ridge!  The first three books were a wedding trilogy.  The fourth was just because I loved it in VR and wasn't ready to say goodbye!
You Are Invited
April Showers
A Walk Down the Aisle
A Valley Ridge Christmas



And last but not least, Whedon PA.  This was a very special family...

Unexpected Gifts
A One-of-a-Kind Family
Homecoming Day
A Father's Name

Hope that helps you read the series in order!

Holly


Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Chocolate Zucchini Cake






It's that time of year...Zucchini-palooza!!
So today, I pulled out an old favorite, Chocolate Zucchini Cake (thanks Donna Alward for the original recipe)!!


So here goes:

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 1/2 Cups Flour (I used a white whole wheat...trying to pack the nutrition in!)
1/2 Cup Cocoa
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon (I heaped mine...you can never have enough cinnamon!)
3/4 Cup Oil (I never use the full amount...I think it was about 1/2 cup this time)
1 Cup Brown Sugar (I like dark brown sugar)
1 Cup White Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla
2 Cups Grated Zucchini (I used two giant ones from the garden, but I grated around the seeds)
1/2 Cup Milk
3 Eggs (from Smith Farms...my favorite local farm!)

Back at 350 for about an hour.

Oh, and I coated my bunt pan with turbinado sugar.  Those large grains held up nicely and the cake popped right out of the pan after it cooled about ten minutes!

I topped mine with raspberries from the garden and whipped cream, and I've just used powdered sugar before, but seriously, this is great all by itself!

Holly

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Because You Smiled...pt. 2


I was cleaning out papers (this year's project...shred all old, unnecessary documents, bills...) and found one of my very first rejection letters. The editor wrote, "You have a very real writing ability. Your style is engaging, your voice is distinctive, warm and humorous..." Then rejected the submission.

And it's one of my writing treasures. Even without the paper in my hand, I held onto those words. I'm pretty sure she never gave it a second thought. And even if she had, she couldn't have known how much this letter mean to me. She couldn't have known that when I was faced with other rejections, those two sentences helped me keep going.

I've told my "because you smiled" story before. Well, this one reinforces that you never know when a small gesture on your part will make a huge difference to someone else.  

So smile.  

Say kind and encouraging words.  

You could make all the difference in someone's life.

Holly

Tuesday, July 05, 2016

Same Time Next Summer



Three weeks and counting until Same Time Next Summer hits the shelves.  I'll confess, I love cloudy days.  This seemed like the perfect opening to a story...

by Holly Jacobs

“CARO. CARO, COME ON.”

Twelve-year-old Carolyn Kendal threw open the cottage door and ran out onto the porch. The force of the wind took her breath away.
She looked out at Lake Erie. The wind had whipped it into a frenzy, pounding wave after wave onto the shore.
Stephan Foster, her best friend each summer, was on his family’s porch, waving at her.
Caro tugged at the leg of her swimsuit. The suit didn’t fit as well as it had when she’d arrived with her mom and dad at their Heritage Bay, Ohio, summer-home last month. She smiled as she continued pulling it into place. Normally, she didn’t like things to change but she was pleased that she’d finally started growing. For two years she’d been lamenting her lack of height, certain she’d never get any taller than four feet eleven.
She glanced down at her chest and hoped that if she was growing taller, she’d also start growing out, but truly, she didn’t feel very optimistic.
Optimistic was her word of the week. She liked the way it felt as it rolled off her tongue.
Optimistic.
It seemed like such a happy word. And on days like this, when the beach was this perfect, it was the right word to describe herself. She was optimistic.
“Caro.” Stephan’s voice was laced with exasperation. “Come on. We haven’t had a day like this all summer.”
He was now down on the beach, waiting for her.
“Caro,” he called again, louder, more impatient.
And though she knew they were getting too old for this game, there was a comfort in it. She might be starting seventh grade in September, but this was familiar and hadn’t changed. She stopped pulling at her yellow suit, quit playing with words and ran to him. Her bare feet made a slapping noise on the cement walkway then quieted as soon as she reached the rocky sand.
“Here comes one.” Stephan stood poised, ready to run.
Caro got ready, too. She extended her right leg, bending at the knee, waiting for just the right moment. She knew from years of experience, it was all about the right moment. Too soon, too late...either would ruin the run.
“Go.” Stephan sprinted forward and she followed on his heels.
The wind whipped the marshmallow-puffy clouds across the sky. Pushing. Pushing. The clouds bumped into the sun high over head. That was the moment that signaled they could start
They ran between the rocky cliff and Lake Erie, on the small swatch of pebbly sand, chasing the edge of the sun’s shadow.
Sometimes, if the breeze was lazy enough, they would catch it. But on days like today, when the wind really kicked up, they never did. But it didn’t matter. The joy was in the chase.
“We lost it.” Caro stopped, panting for air.
“There will be another shadow in a few minutes.” Stephan, a year older than she was, had the weight of that extra twelve-month’s wisdom. This time he nodded sagely, his summer-long hair flopping onto his forehead, and added, “Yep, everything always changes. We just have to wait, catch our breath, ’cause there’s always another shadow.”

Everything always changes. There’s always another shadow, she thought.
Coming July 26, Preorder at Amazon.


"Best friends Carolyn Kendal and Stephen Foster get a second chance at love after Carolyn's young daughter, Emma, severely injured in a car accident and expected to die, recovers and thrives. Having Stephen around to help her believe that the impossible was possible allowed Carolyn to never give up hope. Holly Jacobs' Same Time Next Summer (4.5) is a well-written, touching story about rekindled love and the power of friendship." ~Romantic Times

"Award winning author Holly Jacobs has written a real life drama with insight and compassion that will touch your heart in her unforgettable book, SAME TIME NEXT SUMMER. ...I recommend SAME TIME NEXT SUMMER as an all time best summer read." ~CataRomance

"...a heartwarming story of love and family that was written with such passion you cannot help wanting to read it from start to finishing in one sitting." Writers Unlimited

"Same Time Next Summer is beautiful story of love being the strength to overcome any of life's obstacles. Holly Jacobs has once again written a book full of heart humor, home and family. ...Whether chasing shadows on the beach or weathering the storms of life, family and friends are what get us through the good and bad times. Holly Jacobs is a master at representing real family life in her books and helping us to realize what love and life are all about. She can make us sigh with happiness, cry with sorrow, and laugh out loud at the humor." ~ © Kelley A. Hartsell, July 2008. All rights reserved

"Jacobs tells a good story... one that feels like home. Summers on Lake Erie can be magical."
 ~ Lesa Holstine

Fairy Resurgence!!!

When I first started writing, no one told me that Romantic Comedies with a goodly dose of fairy godmothers might be a tough sell. But I wrote the first three book anyway, and ImaJinn Books, a small publisher bought them. And readers found them. They seemed to enjoy Myrtle, Fern and Blossom...my rather inept, but loving, fairy godmothers! Which led to a number of fairy gifts...

Yes, fairies kept popping up in the mail over the years!

And here's how my love of sci fi led to this fantasy inspired my books! You see, I grew up reading Robert Heinlein. And in one of his books he theorized that well loved places/characters really exist. He sent his characters to Oz. And that story inspired me to bring Grace's fairies to life. You see, she wrote a series of bestselling fairy romances...and the fairies have come to life to give their author/goddaughter her very own HEA!

Mad About Max, Magic For Joy, Miracles For Nick are out now...and the fairy finale will be out next month!!
Available at:
Amazon
BN
Kobo
Apple Books

Hope you have a magical time!!

Holly

Fairy Resurgence!!!

When I first started writing, no one told me that Romantic Comedies with a goodly dose of fairy godmothers might be a tough sell. But I wrote the first three book anyway, and ImaJinn Books, a small publisher bought them. And readers found them. They seemed to enjoy Myrtle, Fern and Blossom...my rather inept, but loving, fairy godmothers! Which led to a number of fairy gifts...

Yes, fairies kept popping up in the mail over the years!

And here's how my love of sci fi led to this fantasy inspired my books! You see, I grew up reading Robert Heinlein. And in one of his books he theorized that well loved places/characters really exist. He sent his characters to Oz. And that story inspired me to bring Grace's fairies to life. You see, she wrote a series of bestselling fairy romances...and the fairies have come to life to give their author/goddaughter her very own HEA!

Mad About Max, Magic For Joy, Miracles For Nick are out now...and the fairy finale will be out next month!!
Available at:
Amazon
BN
Kobo
Apple Books

Hope you have a magical time!!

Holly