"Saving Abby"

Steena Holmes lives in Calgary, Alberta, with her husband, three daughters, and two dogs. Her novels, including Finding Emma and Emma’s Secret, have sold more than one million copies, have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists, won the National Excellence in Indie Award for Fiction, and are now published in the international market.

Holmes applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Saving Abby, and reported the following:

Page 69 in Saving Abby … while I re-read this page, I couldn’t stop smiling. If you follow me on Facebook, Instagram or even check in on my travel blog, you’ll understand why.

She wasn’t sure if she could keep the excitement out of her voice so she sent her mother a text instead.

Josh set a plate of cut fruit down on the table, and then not so discretely pushed the pages he’d been working on towards her.

Claire smiled. She got the hint.

John’s gift was creating unforgettable characters in the simplest of situations and having readers beg for more stories. Her passion was bringing those characters and situations to life through her illustrations. Before their Jack’s Adventure series, she’d been a sought-after illustrator, but now she only took on a few select clients.

Her favorite project, hands down, was when she was working on Jack’s story.

“So where are we today?” She looked through the pages and smiled.

Paris. Jack was racing after what he thought was a lost puppy, tearing through the winding streets of Saint-Germain while his mother was on a walking tour of chocolate shops.

She remembered that day so clearly, how Josh came up with the idea when they’d spotted a puppy after their own walking tour – a tour that entailed two stops at their favorite chocolatier.

“Of all the cities we visited, Paris is the one I felt we didn’t have enough time in,” Claire said before hiding a yawn with her hand.

“We’ll have to go back. Do you need to lie down again or think you can manage to stay up until past dinner?” There was a teasing tone in Josh’s voice and Claire knew he was greatly relieved to finally know the reason for her exhaustion.

I love Paris. It’s a city I’m always yearning to return to, a stop that I’m always attempting to add to my itinerary when I’m headed back to Europe. A few years ago I took a chocolate walking tour and loved it… there was this one chocolate shop we found that I’ll never forget – it had the best drinking chocolate I’ve ever tasted (even better than Angelina’s in Paris).

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to add in my love of traveling into Saving Abby and I hope readers will enjoy these small glimpses into my life as well!

Visit Steena Holmes's website.

--Marshal Zeringue