Confessions of a Geek by Avalon/Montlake and Superromance Author Holly Jacobs

Hey, Ruthy here... 

And I'm bringing back one of the gals I love to pieces. I met Holly online... And through Facebook, we became friends. Somehow we managed to fool the gals in the WNYRWA group to have us come and chat with them and THEY DID IT...

And we laughed ourselves silly as we answered questions, made fun of each other, and literally had a ball.

I first saw Holly's work in the Barclay, way back when. She was writing for the romantic comedy line and I cracked up over her story... hysterically funny. And then that line was dropped. Holly has done blogs about versatility and adaptability because she's "danced" on numerous stages, and has been successful at each one. And that's my kind of "brand"... sure, you want your audience to find you... but IF your line folds, what will you do to find an audience?  Here's Holly talking about her delightful, warm and funny love for science fiction/fantasy (something else we have in common!) and how she created her own "village" for her upcoming series!

I’ve set most of my books here in Erie, PA.  It’s my hometown and I’ll confess, while I might be a bit biased, I do think it’s an awesome community.  But in my last few series, I’ve created towns. Granted they’re nearby Erie, but I built them from the ground up.

First there was Whedon, PA.  It’s a small town that sits about half hour or forty-five minutes from Erie (well, in my head).  It’s home to some very special people. Readers met them in Unexpected Gifts, A One-of-a-Kind Family, Homecoming Day and A Father’s Name.

When I finished that series, I pitched a new trilogy to my editor.  It’s set in another fictional town.  I’ll tell you about it a second, but first some backstory about me—something you all may or may not already know.  I’m a geek. 

Yes, I said it. 

Holly Jacobs is a big geek.  (My kids and a lot of friends are all nodding their heads…they already knew it.)

I’m a science fiction and fantasy reading/tv watching geek.  I grew up with JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Robert Heinlein, and I watched things like Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica (and yes, I was a fan of the BSG reboot, too)…  And even though I write romance, I am still am a geek at heart.  When my husband calls me, the ringtone is “A Man’s Got to Do” from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-AlongBlog. When The Lord of the Rings was turned into movies, I went to see all the films with a geek-friend, Chris.  We were always there early enough to get very good seats.

And when the Star Trek reboot opened, I was there opening night with three of my Star Trek friends (waving at Mike, John and Adam).  I’m hoping to be there again when the next one is released.

And one of my goals is to one day soon head down to Dragon Con in Atlanta with my friend and fellow geek, Tanya Michaels/Michna (who in addition to being a fellow geek is a heck of a writer).

I’ve spent my life walking in other worlds, from Middle Earth to a starship named Dora.  I don’t write science fiction, but I’ll confess, my years hanging out with the Firefly gang and with Harry Dresden had me yearning to try my hand at world building.

So, now that I’ve confessed my geekiness, I’ll tell you about my new world-building adventure with my fictional town of Valley Ridge.  You see, I sold a trilogy (and after that sold a fourth Valley Ridge book).  I set the town in New York, just over the border from North East, Pennsylvania and a stone’s throw from Erie.

When you visit Valley Ridge, you’ll find places like Marilee and Vivienne’s shop, MarVee's Quarters.  You see, they bought the old Five and Dime and renamed it…because of inflation.  If there’s a Twitter feed in Valley Ridge, it runs through the Quarters and right into the coffee shop (Park Perks…the main street in Valley Ridge is Park St.) and the diner, where you’ll still find Hank serving coffee, just as he’s done for decades.

I can see the town as I write it.  I can see the few blocks that comprise downtown Valley Ridge, New York, but more than that I can see the people who populate it.  Those people are the heart of the community…the heart of the world that I’ve built.  Those secondary characters make them come alive for me.  For instance, there’s JoAnn who runs the B and B.  A few of the characters stay with her throughout the series.  My heroine in this first book, Mattie, remembers running away from home when she was young and staying with JoAnn. There's Mrs. Esterly and...  Well, the town is populated with people who became oh-so real to me.

When I world-build, I don’t have to imagine alien nations or foreign environments, but I think creating a fictional community and trying to capture its essence can be just as hard, and hopefully it can come as alive for readers as it did for me as I wrote the books.  Hopefully, readers will be able to picture old Mr. Mento putting up the train in the storefront window every Thanksgiving night.  And they’ll know that the former mayor loves the community so much, he’s still giving back to it in his retirement by working as a crossing guard.

I hope you’ll drop in and visit Valley Ridge and when you do, I hope you enjoy your visit.  Be sure to stop by for a cup of coffee at Park’s Perks, grab one of those banana/blueberry muffins (here’s the recipe if you’re interested) that Mattie’s making.  They’re healthy and they’re quickly becoming a community favorite! 

Holly

Welcome to Valley Ridge, NY in A Valley Ridge Wedding Trilogy:

You Are Invited… 4/13

April Showers, 5/13

A Walk Down the Aisle, 6/13

 A Valley Ridge Christmas, 12/13

www.HollyJacobs.com