Holly and Ivy By Selah Janel and Giveaway

 

Synopsis: After losing her job and her boyfriend, Holly returns to her parents’ farm. Embarrassed and hopeless, she doesn’t expect to bump into a forgotten childhood friend that wasn’t supposed to exist. Ivy is not only a dryad, but she lives in the pine trees Holly’s family grows to sell at Christmas. As the old friends reconnect, Ivy not only shares her strong opinions, but gives Holly a charm that will change both their lives. As days melt into weeks and the seasons change, Holly’s life magically turns around. Christmas not only brings surprises, but a choice for the human woman. What’s more important: stability, success, and love, or keeping a promise to an old friend?

• Print Length: 34 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Mocha Memoirs Press, LLC (November 30, 2012)
• Publication Date: November 30, 2012

About the author: Selah Janel has been blessed with a giant imagination since she was little when she wondered if fairies lived in the nearby state park and worried that vampires hid in the old barns outside of town. Her appreciation for a good story was enhanced by a love of reading, the many talented storytellers that surrounded her, and a healthy curiosity for everything. A talent for warping everything she learned didn't hurt, either.

Everything she does feeds the idea machine and she often finds a story in the strangest of places. She gravitates to writing fantasy and horror but will give any genre a chance if the idea is good enough. Her work has appeared in the winter 2012 issue of The MacGuffin, issue three and five of The Realm Beyond, and the back to school issue of Stories for Children Magazine. She has also contributed to multiple anthologies including The Big Bad: an Anthology of Evil, the upcoming Thunder on the Battlefield, and the upcoming Bedtime Stories for Girls.

She has multiple e-books with Mocha Memoirs Press, including Holly and Ivy and The Other Man. Olde School, the first book in The Kingdom City Chronicles is out with Seventh Star Press.


My Thoughts: Janel has a way of making the story flow. I love her transitions and details that she adds to a story. I do not read a lot of short stories because I often feel they are too short and can not give me the in-depth connection and details that I need to be drawn into a story but Janel manages to captive me even in a short story. Janel has created a wonderful read in general and an amazing holiday read too. I think that the holidays can be a wonderful and terrible time for many but Janel points out that it takes strength to not let the world stop you from believing in the magic. Holly and Ivy are two amazing characters and Ivy shows up when Holly needed her most. Ivy reminds her of the simplistic magic of the trees and childhood and the Donnie of Wahlberg. Sometimes you have to go back to the beginning to find the magic. Janel has created a story that is bright, clever, magical and revealing. It made me remember that the best magic is the magic we make for ourselves.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 

Links:
Selah Janel's Website
Selah Janel's Amazon Page
Holly and Ivy on Amazon 
Holly and Ivy - Barnes and Noble
http://mochamemoirspress.com/


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