It’s not always Murder…

Date: August 11, 2019

Author: Bobbi Holmes

Today I sent The Ghost and the Halloween Haunt—Book 22 of my Haunting Danielle series—off to the second round of Beta readers. It still has to go to the editor and another round of beta readers, and several other pairs of eyes before it is released at the end of this month on August 31, 2019. Around that same time it will be available in paperback (large print and regular print) and within the next year, it will be available in audiobook format.

Go here if you would like to pre-order the eBook. It’s currently at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Google for pre-Order. It won’t be available for pre-Order at iBooks until about a week before its release date.

When people ask me about the Haunting Danielle series, they want to know what genre it falls under. I typically say, Paranormal Cozy Mystery.

Ghost fiction often falls under horror, and these aren’t horror ghost stories, not in the true spirit of the horror genre.

But now that I think about it, not sure it is a true cozy—not even a paranormal cozy mystery. Why do I say this? Because readers often think “murder mystery,” and looking back, while most of the Haunting Danielle books includes at least one murder—not all do. And some of the murders might be considered cold cases.

Whatever genre you wish to assign Haunting Danielle to, there will be a new book out in three weeks. Hope you enjoy it!

Lily and Danny, works in progress…

Date: August 10, 2019

Author: Bobbi Holmes

Categories: Bobbi Ann Johnson Holmes

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Lily turns a year next month, and Danny turned a year last month. We love the pups, but I will confess our sweet Lily has been something of a challenge.

Dogs each have distinct different personalities, even within the same breed. We have had four Australian Shepherds—two regular size, and these two miniatures. While they all shared traits common with the breed, they were also individuals.

Danny is our sweet, loving boy who just wants to please. He’s a fast learner.

Lily is our sweet affectionate girl who likes sitting on your lap, loves playing in water, and is blindly possessive once she has something she shouldn’t have—even to a point she snaps.

Yep, our sweet little Lily is a snapping turtle, with a vicious growl one moment, and then so timid she will roll over so you can scratch her belly the next. We’ve never had this issue with any of our dogs. In fact, I never worried about any of our pups—including our little mutt we had for eighteen years—aggressively biting anyone.

It’s an issue that has recently escalated and we are considering working with a trainer. Actually, we had planned to work with a trainer long before this. But one thing came after another—first Don’s surgery, then both of the pups were fixed, first Danny, then Lily, and then my surgery, which I am currently recuperating from.

Unfortunately with the summer heat, we can’t work with either dog outside. I’d love to take Lily in the pool, but the doctor tells me I can’t go swimming until the end of the month.

At the moment I am pouring through dog training videos from reputable sites and trying to work with her inside. Wish me luck!

My baby turns 40…YIKES!

Date: August 9, 2019

Author: Bobbi Holmes

Categories: Bobbi Ann Johnson Holmes

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Today our eldest turns forty. All those old clichés come to mind—where has the time gone, they grow up so fast, he is still my baby…

We have two children, a son and daughter. I’ve always felt so incredibly lucky to have had a boy and girl. I had always wanted a daughter—and never realized how much I wanted a son until Scott was born.

Scott’s real name is Robert Scott, but as a child always went by Scott. My father-in-law, who passed away when my husband was a small child was named Robert. My husband’s middle name is Robert. And I was named for my Uncle Robert, who died when he was just a little boy. So basically, the name Robert comes from both sides of the family. Yet, we felt calling him Scott when he was a child might be easier for him than sharing a name so similar to his mother. As an adult he has embraced his first name.

Both of our children are incredibly creative. When it comes to a profession, I have always wanted for them what I eventually obtained—to be able to do what they truly love. I don’t look forward to retiring, I look forward to writing my next book.

I believe our daughter Elizabeth has obtained what I have—making a living doing what she loves. As many of my readers know, she is my cover designer. But she doesn’t just design book covers for me, she is a successful freelance graphic designer with many clients from the New York Times Bestsellerlist.

Our son, like our daughter is creative. Currently his passion is more a hobby, but he’s working to build something more. If you like to travel, to hike, then visit his YouTube channel and check out some of the amazing videos he has produced.

As many of you already know he and his wife helped inspire the location for my Haunting Danielle series. Scott and SeAnne live in Oregon. (I also borrowed SeAnne’s name for one of my characters!)

While visiting his YouTube channel, be sure to wish him Happy Birthday. And tell him his proud mama sent you.