Visiting Hollyhill

This summer my first inspirational novel, Scent of Lilacs, has been a free e-book download. You can find it at most e-book sites like Amazon Kindle; Christianbook.com or Barnes & Noble. And if you’ve made that first visit to Hollyhill, you might want to go back for more visits. Those books, Orchard of Hope and Summer of Joy, are on e-book sale for $3.99 each which mean you can get all three books for less than 8 bucks and hang out in Hollyhill with Jocie and friends for a while.

Plenty of readers already have and for that I’m thankful. I did enjoy writing about the folks in Hollyhill, and it’s fun to read that others enjoyed visiting Hollyhill and getting to know the people there. I skimmed through some of the Amazon reviews to find spots where readers mentioned the town or characters.

I started with the final story in the series, Summer of Joy. That’s kind of backwards, but some of those reviewers had read all three stories. Some hadn’t. Anyway, here are a few of the things readers said about the last Hollyhill story.

…makes me wish I had grown up in Hollyhill. It seems there is always something new to discover about families and love and how with the help of the Lord you can make it through just about anything. (Reader of the Pack)

You feel like you are part of this community. (Thomas)

I actually found myself talking to Jocie at one point, warning her away from something! (Diane)

It has been fun walking through life with Jocie, the main character. (F. McCarroll)

She [Jocie] is very lovable and endearing and I just wanted to be able to meet her in person to give her a hug! … I hope we get to revisit this little town in future stories as it captured my heart and devotion. (Kimberly)

Here are some small town comments in reviews for Scent of Lilacs.

And Hollyhill is a typical small town with the gossip that spreads and if you’ve read the previous Hollyhill novels you will just get a real laugh out the juicy bit of gossip Zella finds herself caught up in. Get ready to enjoy some small town charm, as you get swept up in the simple innocence of what was. (Meagan)

It was a trip to another world– one I didn’t want to leave. … I could picture the town and the people easily. (Jane)

To call this book Christian genre could deny a whole group of open-hearted readers an amazing story. Stole my heart and mind from the beginning. (Melanie)

Then I found these two remarks about Orchard of Hope. I have to admit that story is the only book where I had to have a tissue box nearby while I was editing. That final scene with Miss Sally in the church (what some readers have called a revival scene) had me practically boo-hooing even after I’d read it over a dozen times. That’s the only one of my stories that has brought on those kind of tears for me. So I appreciated when a reviewer felt what I felt.

“Five Kleenex Story” (lost_l0tr_fan)

It has one of the best endings that I’ve ever read, really emotional. (Jayxthree)

Booksigning in My Hometown Saturday

Just sharing some small town thoughts about these stories since they are on special e-book sale right now. I used my memories of what my little town of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky was like in the 1960s to bring Hollyhill to life. I’ve also modeled my Hidden Springs town in my Hidden Springs mysteries after my small town. And this Saturday I’ll be doing a book signing right in the middle of that small town at the Downtown Lawrenceburg KY Visitor Center on Main. A beautiful store with gifts and books of local interest or by local authors. I’ll be there from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll stop by and say hello while you check out the store.

Do you wish you could visit Hollyhill? Or Hidden Springs? Thanks for reading.