Hidden Pieces

The Wranglers are excited to welcome bestselling author Holly Jacobs to the round corral today. 

Even though I write fiction, there are always pieces of me—of my experiences, my hometown, my passions, my beliefs—that end up in my books.  Sometimes those pieces are hidden.  They’re buried in the story and only those closest to me see them.  Sometimes they’re not so much—or if they are hidden, they’re hidden in plain sight.

For instance, this month’s release, Just One Thing, has a few not-so-much hidden pieces that went into the story specifically for my online friends.  You see, I like Mondays.  I know, I know…it’s weird. Friends have told me time and time again how weird it is.  But for me, everyone goes to work or school and on Mondays, the house is mine again! 

And most Mondays, I post to my social media pages about my Monday Glee.  Friends there have come to expect the posts…and some even say they like them!  LOL  In Just One Thing, the heroine goes to the local bar and has one beer…once a week.  And when I picked the day, Mondays came to mind immediately:

            It was a Monday. I finished my day’s work, fed Angus, and headed for the bar.
            I went to The Corner Bar every Monday.
            Why Mondays? 
            Well, Fridays and Saturdays were for dates and desperate people looking to “hook up” with others. I wasn’t dating nor was I interested in hooking up. Sundays were for church, and it seemed wrong to go to a bar that day, even though I wasn’t attending church anymore . . . God and I weren’t on speaking terms. Still, no bars for me on Sundays.
            Midweek was filled with work around the cottage.
            So, Mondays were my day.

That’s not the only not-so-hidden piece in the book.  Most of my friends and family know I’m a walker.  I got a FitBit for Christmas from my husband (who knew it would combine my love of gadgets with my love of walking and setting goals) and decided to set a goal of 10,000 steps a day, every day this year.  (So far, so good!)  That came through in the story, too:

           Why did I walk?
            I could try to explain it in many ways.
            When I left the bar tonight, it would be dusk. Twilight. That time of night is like a soft grey blanket being laid over everything. Gently. Slowly. Until it’s complete and everything is finally black.
            I could tell Sam that I walked to drink in the scents. Twilight smells of silent things. Of dreams. Of hopes. Of memories.
            I could tell him that I walked to listen. You’d think as the world moves over from light to darkness that things would get quiet, hushed. When I lived in the city, that’s what I would have said.
            Instead, nighttime is a cacophony of sound. Insects buzzing. Animals rustling in the woods. Owls. Me walking. My footsteps always seem so loud. They make me sound bigger than I am, but the expanse of sky reminds me that I’m really very small.
            The stars. Oh, I could tell Sam that the stars are a large part of why I walk. They’re big and bright . . . not like in the city, where all the streetlights drown them out.
            Those explanations were all part of the reason I walk a couple miles every Monday night here, then a couple miles back. But there was a real reason—the biggest one.
            And that reason became this week’s one thing...

And as I think about this, there’s another fun thing in the book.  Every week as Lexie makes that walk to
the bar, she has one beer.  She’d asked for a Guinness the first day, and when they didn’t have that, she asked for a Killian’s.  Both are my favorites.  Like Lexie, I’m a one beer at a sitting sort of girl.  But I enjoy both! 

So, now even if you’re not my Facebook friend, you’ll see those bits of me in the story.  And next time you read fiction, you can wonder about how much of the author is hidden in their fiction.  Because truly, though I do have hidden bits, there are so many parts of a story that aren’t me at all.  They’re fully and truly the character’s.  Things I don’t think, things I wouldn’t do…  Maybe that’s what makes for a good story… the writer’s true nature mixed up with new ideas and feelings they want to explore.  I know that each book I write changes me a little, just as each book I’ve ever read has as well. 

Happy Reading!

~Holly

Just One Thing, by Holly Jacobs
www.HollyJacobs.com
Amazon http://amzn.to/1kWCZuj


Comments

  1. Thanks for coming, Holly. As we all know from all my fangirl fluttering around, I think JUST ONE THING is a great book!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks so much, Liz! It's a different book for me, but I've been so fortunate that so many friends and readers have given it a try and like the new direction. I'll still be doing some humorous light romances, too, but I do enjoy writing the emotional stories as well!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi, Holly! Welcome to the Wranglers! I think everyone puts pieces of themselves in their books. In mine, it's often my love of 4-H. Your book sounds great!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks so much, D'Ann! I'll confess, I never was in 4-H, but I grew up in the county and had a lot of friends who were. It's a great organization! And thank you so much. So far the response to the book has been overwhelmingly good. I've spent most of the week pinching myself!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Holly--it's so great to have you visit us today. I read your book last week and loved, loved it. I love the idea of getting through a rough patch, one thing at time. And Sam--total swoon.

    My sister was waiting in the dentist's chair when she reached the letter. She had to explain it wasn't a bad day, just a good book :)

    I'm now reading Cinderella Wore Tennis Shoes and enjoying it. I'm so glad I discovered you and can't wait to read more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Margie, Oh, I'm sorry I made your sister explain, but I take that as such a compliment! LOL And thank you. I'm so glad you enjoyed Just One Thing. And I'm glad you're enjoying Cinderella. It was the third book I wrote…hopefully you see some growth in my writing! LOL But I really enjoyed those early books. I didn't have a clue what I was doing, but I had a blast doing it! The Bosom Buddies book, also a rereleased classic, had the weirdest opening I ever wrote. I sent it in and the editor called after reading that opening scene and said, I'm buying it. I'll call you back when I finished. LOL (Just a note…I was a lactation consultant. That opening scene showcased that!)

      Really, thank you!

      Delete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I feel exactly the same way about Mondays, Holly. I loved getting my house back on Monday mornings when the kids went to school and hubby went to work.

    Just One Thing is loaded on my Kindle and tonight I'm curling up with Lexie and Sam. :)

    This is Kathleen,even though it says it's from my hubby.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Kathleen! You make a fine looking Peter! LOL I'm so glad you get my Monday Glee. Someone just commented on FB that she'd read Just One Thing and hadn't made that connection. I really hope you like Lexie and Sam!!

      Delete

Post a Comment