Book Two in The Second Circle Series, The Fractured Heart, will be released on January 5th. I've already had the pleasure of reading it, but I'm excited that others get to start off their year with a great follow-up to one of my now favorite books (The Strongest Steel). 

Scarlett has awesome characters that pull you in and make you care about what happens to them. Though there are suspenseful undertones, at the heart of it, the book shows how letting someone in can change your life for the better. Even if doing so is scary. Plus, Drea and Cujo are funny. And sexy. So there's that. 

I am very excited that Lucy and Alex's story, FALLING FOR HOME,  is finally going to be shared. I wrote it a while ago now and it's scheduled to be release from Penner Publishing on February 9th, 2016. 

The second of my co-authored books (with Kara Leigh Miller)JADED LOVE is scheduled to release from Anaiah Press on February 23rd, 2016. This story follows up on the best friend of Alessa from Dangerous Love. 

A fairly personal story for me, DAMAGED will be released from Penner Publishing in March of 2016.

I know, I skipped a few and while I'm sure something exciting will happen in those months in between, I am very excited that I will be going to New York City this summer. When I was 21, my best friend won a trip for two to New York City. Even though she has a brother and a sister (who are very cool), she chose to take me with her. That was a very long time ago now. This summer it'll actually be 19 years since we went. So to celebrate my 40th birthday, we are going to get our fill of Broadway Plays and Times Square. And maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll get to meet my agent, face to face :) 

Who knows what else 2016 will bring? Some exciting things for sure, but mostly, I hope it brings the same things I've been lucky enough to have so far: a happy, healthy family, great friends, a safe house, and lots of laughter and hugs. I hope 2016 brings you and your family something magical. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

It's always nice when people read your books. It's even better when they like them. Yesterday, in the midst of edits where I was wondering if I even knew HOW to write....I saw this lovely post on Twitter from A Southern Girl's Bookshelf.  

Day 17 of 25 Days of Christmas: Forever Christmas by Jody HolfordForever Christmas by Jody Holford
Published: December 10, 2013
Format: free Kindle read
Rating: 4/5

Synopsis
When Anna Meyers purchases the home that her late mother grew up in, she’s determined to prove her independence to herself and to her well-meaning father and brother. She’s been lovingly sheltered and protected for all of her 26 years, but now she just wants to live her life- on her own terms.

Sam Gardner hadn’t given much thought to who would move next door to his small Angel’s Lake bungalow. Once his neighbor arrived, however, he could think of nothing and no one else. When Anna makes it clear that she’s not interested in having a man around, he invents a girlfriend to put her at ease.

Thinking that, Sam has a girlfriend makes it easier for Anna to be herself and open the door to friendship. He frustrates her, makes her laugh, and challenges her, but he never tries to step on her independence. The more time they spend together, the more she realizes that whoever has Sam’s heart is a lucky girl.

The only girl that has Sam’s heart is Anna, but there’s no way he can tell her this when he started this friendship on a lie. Things take a turn for the worse when Anna mistakes a nightmare client as Sam’s fiancée.  Anna came to Minnesota to fight for her independence, but she ends up fighting for much more.

My Thoughts
Sam meets his new neighbor Anna when she is trying to put up Christmas lights and from then on he is a goner. He tries to go over to help but soon finds out that Anna is one stubborn woman who doesn’t want any help. We find out that she has bought this house that once belonged to her mother and is determined to show her father and brother that she isn’t a little girl anymore and that she can do things by herself. She is trying to fix her up her house before Christmas to show them that she was good on her word.

Soon Sam and Anna start to get to know each other and Anna tells him that she isn’t ready for anything and that it’s best that they don’t hang out so much. So Sam decides to fake a girlfriend so that he and Anna and continue to spend time together. Well you know lies are never a good thing they just lead to more lies and soon Sam’s feelings are too much and he knows he just confess everything to Anna. Christmas doesn’t go off as planned for Anna her family comes in and they continue to treat her the same and she finds out Sam’s lies which make her look like a fool.
I get that lies aren’t a good thing, but I thought Anna went to the extreme with her reaction. I would be upset but in the grand scheme of things, there could’ve been worse things that could’ve happened. But aside of the romance with was great what I loved most of all was how Anna was so determined to gain and show her independence. I always loved how she wanted to reconnect with the spirit of her mother by buying the house she grew up in. This is one story that showcased more than romance and that spoke volumes.

Labels: 2015 Christmas reads, 4 stars, Jody Holford, review

They can pretend they’re fine…

Moving to NYC is supposed to be the fresh start Kristy Andrews so desperately needs, but she can't seem to shake the after-effects of having been kidnapped last year.

Detective Jackson Reed never meant to kill an innocent man, but knowing that doesn’t change the guilt he lives with every single day. 

But they can’t hide forever…

When Kirsty and Jackson meet, the connection is instantaneous, but neither is ready to open up about their pasts. Can love and trust conquer their demons?

In order to have a future, they’ll have to face their past… 

When Kristy starts receiving threatening messages, her anxiety kicks into overdrive, but the last thing she wants is Jackson worrying about her.

Jackson may doubt his ability to return to active duty, but he has no doubts about his instincts concerning Kristy. Someone is trying to hurt her, and he refuses to let that happen, even if it means going back to work; something he wasn’t sure he’d do. 

As the threats increase, Jackson shows Kristy that strength doesn’t mean facing her fears alone, and Kristy shows Jackson that forgiveness starts from within. Can they save each other before it’s too late? Or will the past come back to haunt them? 

Pre-order on AMAZON

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The below giveaway is sponsored solely by Jody Holford and Kara Leigh Miller and 
is in no way sponsored by Anaiah Press, LLC. Furthermore, all prizes will be awarded 
by the authors directly to the chosen winners. The giveaway starts today and will end 
on Sunday, December 20, 2015. Winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter and will be 
notified by email no later than Monday, December 21, 2015.

Have you read DANGEROUS LOVE? That's where you'll first meet Kristy Andrews. 

My favorite part of the holiday season is that sense of kindness and warmth that settles over us, making strangers friendlier, making people smile more, making us give a little extra. I like the opportunity to give my girls change for the Salvation Army helpers. I love letting them choose from the Gift Tree at the malls, helping to make a child's Christmas better. I think I just like giving. Selfishly, it makes me feel better. It makes me feel like I've done something good, so maybe that bit of good can erase or at least cancel out, the not so nice things about me. If I'm teaching my children to give, I've done something that will make a positive difference in a world that sees too much negative. 

We're headed out to the mall shortly and I haven't told them yet, but we're going to let the girls choose a child off the tree and shop for them. They really love this-- carefully picking out items. It makes me happy to know that this will be a highlight to their day-- giving to someone else. So in those times where I feel like I haven't done enough...I know I've done something. Perhaps this sense of giving, the feeling of making sure we pay it forward, is one of the reasons I love the writing community so much. 

I have blogged about this several times but the generosity of the writing community constantly blows me away. I'm always taken off guard by the willingness, the actual happiness, that others show in giving back. I love it and it makes me feel like I'm part of something special. Just recently, one of the writers I "know" was dealt several difficult hands and shared her journey via blogging. She wasn't complaining or asking for help. She was reaching out because she knew that this beautiful community of writers she knows would give her the virtual hugs she needed to keep going. What I'm sure she didn't anticipate was the lovely and funny Jessa Russo and Tamara Mataya throwing together "Friends of Fizzy". These two women rallied together and in less than a month, raised over $8000 to help Summer and her family. I contributed a tiny little query and three chapter critique. Someone (more than one someone) actually bid on that. And now I feel like I'm part of this amazing thing that happened that will be one of my go to reminders about the good that exists in the world. 

I've never met Summer. Or Jessa or Tamara. But Summer has made me laugh numerous times. She's made me realize I'm not a complete loser because sometimes my anxiety is too much to make me feel normal. She's posted really cool Doctor Who gifs that I can then forward to my best friend in an attempt to make her think I'm getting cooler with age. 

I don't know Jessa. But when I self-published my story Forever Christmas and reached out to the few people I'd connected with via twitter at the time, she helped me promote it. She didn't know me. But she helped me. 

I don't know Tamara but I follow her on Twitter and truly appreciate her candor and the way she gives her time, with Jessa, for #Pitchmas. Plus, she's got the coolest twitter handle ever: @feakysnucker. 

This is one of the biggest rallies of support I have seen in the writing community that I'm grateful to be part of-- but it's by no means the only one. I've had friends support and encourage, give up their time to edit, critique, retweet, and push me forward. I've had authors who have so much on their plate give up time to email me, answer my questions, and offer their time. Scarlett Cole, who wrote the incredibly awesome and sexy The Strongest Steel, said yes when I asked if she'd provide a blurb for my story Damaged. That means she has to give up her time to read it. Shannyn Schroeder did the same for my story Falling For Home. Carly Phillips, (CARLY PHILLIPS you guys!) emailed me back and said she was sorry she couldn't help out-- but she took the time to email back. Same with Roxanne St. Claire and Bella Andre. It might not seem like much, but it's a LOT. It matters. 

Writing can be lonely. Most of the time that's fine because we like being in our own worlds creating all the dialogue and events. But sometimes, when you're waiting (which you're constantly doing), it gets to be too much. And you need someone to tell you to keep going. Someone who knows how hard the waiting is. And I feel so incredibly lucky to have so many someones. I haven't mentioned them all here...I couldn't possibly mention every one of the people that have helped me, supported me, or encouraged me. There's seriously SO many. 

But what I can do, what I try to do, is give back. I can be the one RT-ing so someone gets a wider audience. I can be a judge in contests, even though my time is limited. I can offer a query critique or book suggestions. I can buy books, review them, share them. I can pull someone into the community the way others pulled me in. I can actually remember when Brenda Drake followed me and I thought, oh, who is this person and why are they following me. She is another example of the power of giving. The time and energy and kindness she offers the writing community with her contests and support is unparalleled. I get to be part of that in some small way. She followed an unknown writer and any time I've ever reached out, she's responded with humor and kindness. 

The urge to list people is strong, but my fear of forgetting someone is stronger. So for now, I'll just hope that if you've made me feel connected, made me feel like I belong here, I hope I've thanked you. And I promise that I'm trying to pay it forward. 

The auction that Tamara and Jessa ran closed and I contacted my winning bidder. She was gracious and sweet, saying, "Thank you for responding so quickly'. And I thought, thank you for letting me help you. Thank you for wanting my feedback and letting me be part of your journey. Thank you for giving, not just because it's the holiday season, but because it's who you are. 

We teach our kids to give because it's a way for them to connect and see the bigger picture-- we are not alone in this world and we have the power to make a difference. We never know the impact of a kind word, subtle gesture, or positive response. I'm so far from perfect, perfect is a dot to me. But I know that I'm trying. That I'm making giving part of my life and my girls' lives. And even though I do, it feels completely selfish because while it helps someone else, I think it helps me more.