Hollyton Love

Lila can hardly believe it.After a five-month whirlwind romance, she's getting married to the love of her life, Matt, and becoming the adopted mom of his two-year-old darling twins, Emilie and Noah.Everything is coming together. Every. Little. Detail.With her coffee in one hand, a clipboard in another and a baby bag over one shoulder, Lila has pulled off planning a wedding for three hundred without turning into bridezilla.Just when she thinks she has everything together, it all falls apart.Two days before her wedding, a fire in her condo complex consumes not only all her worldy goods, but all the wedding goods too! Lila's controlling, hyper-organized ways finally get the best of her as all of her hard work, handmade wedding décor and her wedding dress all go up in smoke. Literally.Then, her caterer backs out at the last minute.Lila discovers her sweet suburb of Hollyton is hosting a huge convention that weekend, booking every food place except Mike's Pizza and Beer.On top of it all, her family descends from all parts of the country:her very loud,very big,very demanding Italian family.They're determined to help fix Lila's disaster, but they might give Lila a heart attack in the process.In this fast paced, hysterical final chapter of Lila's romance she confronts her fears around family, commitment and letting go of control.Family.You can't live with family and you can't live without them.Find out if Lila makes it to the alter…. or has to call off the wedding. Are all the trimmings really important? Lila might have to decide if she wants a wedding or a romance. To get what she wants she might have to put her most precious relationships at risk…or ask her frustratingly crazy family for help to pull the whole thing off. Is there anything better than a dangerous mystery book along with something tasty to eat?My mom collected the Nancy Drew books when she was a girl. In my childhood home, she lined them all up on two shelves of the floor-to-ceiling oak bookcases. When I passed a milestone- good grades on my report card, did extra chores, was nice to my little brothers- my mom let me read the next mystery.As I read through the Nancy Drew series, I searched for other mysteries, especially during the triple digit days of summer in Northern California. The Boxcar Children, the Babysitter's club, the Mandie mystery series, the Hardy Boys and the Adventures of the Bobbsey Twins filled the hours of summer.As I got older, I dived into the classics of Agatha Christie, then Mary Higgins Clark and many other intriguing mystery books. I imagined what mysteries might lie right in my own little world. As stories came to me, I began to write them down, bringing the characters in my head into life.Along with reading mysteries, cooking and baking is near and dear to my heart. Gathering people and feeding them is such fun. Food is a wonderful way to get to know people.I've gotten to know so many wonderful people and had many rich conversations over a good (or not so good!) meal as well as solved a personal mystery or two.If you'd like to know more about the other books, get the recipes from the books (along with other goodies I come up with throughout the year), go to www.poppymhaas.comYou can also find me on Facebook @poppymhaas