Finding Emma

I could not be more pleased then to have new and upcoming, Author Steena Holmes, Guest Post on my little ole' blog here "Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard".

How on God's green Earth would I know of such an up and coming talent right here in the whole of Canada?  well her Mother, Leona, and I just happened to be childhood friends growing up in our Hometown of Southampton together.  Thanks to Facebook, Leona and I reconnected a couple of years ago now.

I am pleased to introduce to my friend's daughter, and Author of Finding Emma, the lovely Steena Holmes.

~ Photo Credits www.steenaholmes.com~

Reading has always been a passion of mine. Spending time in the local library in Kincardine was a favourite past time of mine and at school - I used to sit in between the rows with piles of books by my side during my free periods. I always had a book (or three) on the go and I know I got my love of reading from my mom. I remember sneaking into my mom's room when she was at work and going through the books on her shelf to see what I could read. I remember once bringing home a bag of books I sneaked from a friend - they were Harlequin - I hid that bag in the very back of my closet and covered it with clothes so my mom wouldn't find them :) 

I always wanted to write - but I never thought it would be something that I was good at. For a long time, I was content with just reading books - until one day my husband told me about a contest and encouraged me to enter. I had six short months to write a book and I remember the day I entered it ... I slapped on a really quick ending and never imagined anything would come of it. Surprisingly - I won the contest and was offered a book contract! Well - that was it. That's all I could focus on and the stories started to come. I wrote a few stories that will never see the light of day and then the idea of Finding Emma came to me. 

Finding Emma is about a mother trying to find her kidnapped daughter and the journey that had her tearing apart another family. It's the story from my heart and I'm beyond thrilled at how well it has done. I'm a local small town girl who grew up in Kincardine with a passion for reading and chocolate who just happened to write a story that made it's way into the hearts of other readers. It's been an amazing journey, one filled with joy, endless supplies of chocolate (thanks to Cindy for all her recipes) and dreams coming true! 

Within the past year I've been able to pay off our debts, take my family on a Christmas vacation to Disneyland, buy a house and I'm about to go on a trip to Europe where I'm speaking at a conference. The best part of this trip - I'm going to be doing a chocolate tour through Paris and Belgium! I'm very excited! 

Thank YOU, Steena !  I am so excited for you, your family and your Mom.  I remember very well the conversation your Mom and I had last Fall on the telephone of all your excitement with you having wrote "Finding Emma".   I am also looking forward to following your future in the World of Books with high hopes of you only spiraling upwards to the dizziest heights of success and happiness.

Would you love to learn more about Steena Holmes and her new book, Finding Emma? please do so by going to www.steenaholmes.com  , or if you would love to follow Steena, you also may do so via her Facebook Page you may find HERE.  

One other really exciting fact you will learn is that Steena does PAY IT FORWARD and GIVES BACK:

make a difference

The moment Emma’s story unfolded before me, I knew that I would donate proceeds of every sale towards the Missing Children Society of Canada, an organization dedicated to reuniting families. As a mother, losing a child—especially having a child go missing—has to be our worst nightmare. This is one nightmare I never want to experience but with your help, we can support those who have. 50% of all the proceeds of every paperback copy of Finding Emma will be donated to MCSC.

One other fact I do know about Steena is there is one thing her and I have in common and that is CHOCOLATE ! with both of us feeling exactly that CHOCOLATE is the ANSWER!  to pretty much anything Life might throw at us.

~Photo Credit Facebook~

Many thanks, Steena, for stopping in to give us some wonderful "insights" as how you first began with Finding Emma, and where you are heading in the next short while.  Trust me, knowing that it is towards Chocolate, I do know you will be in good hands.  Hugssss !!!

Pssst... Steena's Mom lent me a copy of Finding Emma, so I am pretty sure I will be following up with a Review once I have gotten it read.  Thanks Leona xxx.

That is definitely a hard act to follow.  I think I will just leave it by saying my day was good, I spent some of it with Rob and a lot of it with my "Checkerboard Aussies", "Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard"