Good morning!

Welcome to Facts, Fiction, and Friends. Here, we learn fun facts about our favorite authors, discover their latest Christian Fiction, and meet new friends. Joining me today for a quick game of This or That is Holly Varni.

Life

Good morning, Holly. Use this or that to tell us about yourself.

hiking/walking

Walking.

extrovert/introvert

Introvert.

log cabin/castle

What better ambiance is there than a cozy log cabin?

rain/sunshine

Rain and more rain!

floral/herbal

Herbal and musky. Anything with sandalwood makes me melt.

Books

Share your choice when reading.

mystery/romance

Romance. Can you hear my sigh as I say it? 🤗

big city/ small town 

I’m all about small-town drama.

ebook/paperback/hardback

Can I say all three? 😂

novella/novel

The longer, the better. I never want it to end.

Writing

Describe your writing style.

setting/characters

Characters always. Characters are what stay with you. If they are good, they will haunt you for a long time.

writing/editing

Both. Writing is creating. Editing it is seeing it at a deeper level.

pantser/plotter

I have no plan for the story. I only know where it begins and that I have to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I can only see the next scene and write on the hope that more will come.

music/silence

Silence. But if I need to block out noise, I put on the sound of rain.

dialogue/description

Dialogue. And more dialogue. I can write endless conversations between characters.

desk/couch

I love my desk. Just like I loved my school desk in elementary school. It’s only mine, and it makes me feel very professional. 

Fiction

Cora Matthew’s life has been turned upside down. She has just broken off her engagement two weeks before the wedding when her mother dies, leaving explicit directions to be buried in the small town she grew up in. Cora finds herself transported back into the world of Moonberry Lake. She arrives in the cozy town in the North Woods of Minnesota filled with unresolved questions about her mother’s past and tugging memories from early childhood that continue to haunt her.

Cora’s “quick” trip to Moonberry Lake is thwarted when she learns that her grandparents’ dilapidated lodge on the lake is her inheritance—but it comes with the surprising stipulation—she must live there for a year. With her life uprooted and nagging questions to answer, Cora resolves to accept the year in Moonberry Lake.

However, challenges abound for Cora, and the disheartening condition of the lodge is only the beginning. The residents of Moonberry Lake present their own set of conundrums, including a cantankerous handywoman, an eccentric artist, a grumpy neighbor, an elderly woman who spends all her time talking to the “residents” in the cemetery, and a very handsome neighbor who somehow always manages to catch Cora at her worst. As Cora seeks to put together the physical and emotional pieces of her past, she must decide if she is willing to let go of the emotional wounds of the past and open her heart to a new family and home that is more than she could have ever imagined.   

This homespun tale of new friendships, sweet romance, and ordinary miracles will have readers wishing they could spend a summer (or a lifetime) on Moonberry Lake.

Friend

Debut novelist Holly Varni is poised to captivate readers with her heartwarming novel On Moonberry Lake. Drawing on her Midwestern upbringing, Varni crafts a tale filled with quirky characters and homespun charm set in the Minnesota town of Moonberry Lake.

Sure to appeal to fans of Jan Karon, Garrison Keillor, and Fannie Flagg, On Moonberry Lake will lure readers into an enchanting story of reconciliation, growth, and community to discover how friendships can transform into family, and genuine love can heal even the most broken-hearted.