About
Holly Jahangiri is a professional writer with over twenty years’ experience in technical writing, freelancing, fiction, poetry, and editing.
On a really good writing day, she claims (tongue-in-cheek) to be channeling the spirits of Edgar Allan Poe, Erma Bombeck, and O. Henry. On a really bad writing day, she claims to have poured every last ounce of her creative ability and energy into childbirth, and has two wonderful children – her son, William, and her daughter, Katie – to prove it. But regardless of whether it’s a good day or a bad day, she’s grateful for the love and support of J.J., her husband of twenty-three years.
Holly has published several books. Lost Souls, Restless Spirits, Holly’s first novel, was written during National Novel Writing Month ( http://www.nanowrimo.org ) in 2001. “I considered shoving it in a dark hole somewhere when I was done with it,” says Holly. “After all, doesn’t every novelist have at least one ‘trunk novel’? But I finally got brave enough to let a friend – a fellow writer – read it, and she liked it. That encouraged me to seek more feedback from other writers and readers, and most of them – all of them, really – said that it was good. They enjoyed reading it. Now they’ll probably wish they hadn’t encouraged me!”
Mood Swings contains twenty favorite poems Holly has written since 1990. These poems reflect a wide range of emotions, but readers are invited to rip out anything sappy (if they can find it) and line the bird cage or wrap fish with it. “A delicate poetic soul with the tough hide of an elephant,” said one reviewer of the author.
“Delicate poetic soul, my fanny,” muttered Holly. “I was just trying to write poetry that would appeal to the delicate, poetic soul lurking inside everyone. The only way to do that is with strong, vivid, sensory images…” Mood Swings includes one award-winning poem, and for those who cringe at the thought of emotional poetry, there’s a bonus: “Two Armadillos’ Strife.” Shel Silverstein would be proud. Holly’s mother might not be.
Mood Swings is currently – and indefinitely – out of print, due to Holly’s attempt at reissuing it with new cover art, and her subsequent mangling of said cover art. Until she can afford the services of a talented artist, Mood Swings could be considered a collector’s item, so if you have a copy, hang onto it. No doubt it’ll be worth a Beanie Baby in twenty years or so.
Dancing Dragon is the perfect companion – or preview – to Mood Swings. It’s a rare opportunity to hear the author, who utterly loathes the sound of her own voice on tape, read two of the poems featured in the book.
Dealing with the Demon…and nine other short stories is a riveting collection of ten short stories that includes two award-winning tales. All are designed to send shivers down your spine. “I don’t understand why everyone keeps saying there’s no market for short stories,” says Holly. “I mean, the average reader’s attention span is about seven seconds long. How can a writer compete with the instant, passive gratification of watching a TV show? Besides, with two kids, it’s hard to find the time to write a novel. I can write short stories during the commercial breaks in E.R.” Holly’s efforts to capture our limited attention with these imaginative and sometimes bizarre little stories is a success – at least until the next “all new episode” is scheduled to air.
All kidding aside, Holly’s first children’s picture book, Trockle is due out in Spring 2008. It is the engaging tale of a little boy who is afraid of the monster living under his bed…and the little monster who is every bit as afraid of him! “I originally wrote the story for my son, William, when he was six or seven. I’d just run out of ‘monster repellent,’ and he clearly wasn’t going to sleep any time soon. So I wrote Trockle. I figured, if William was going to lay awake worrying about monsters under the bed, he could at least practice his reading skills. He loved the story, and offered some editorial suggestions. I showed it to my friend, Viv, and she urged me to try to get it published. A few years later, Viv started her own publishing business: 4RV Publishing, LLC. She asked if she could publish Trockle. She found the most wonderful illustrator, Jordan M. Vinyard. Jordan has really captured the personalities of characters and brought the story to life. I can’t wait to hold the book in my hands.”
About the Blog’s Name
You’d be amazed at how easily folks mangle a name like “Jahangiri.” (It’s phonetic. Think “jaw,” like the thing that goes up and down when you talk; “Han” as in “Han Solo”; and “geary” as in “lots of gears.”) People also say the darnedest things, like, “What kind of a name is that?” Well, obviously, it’s Holly’s last name – and she intends the double-entendre. She’s quite happily married to the man who saddled her with it, and doesn’t plan on replacing it in this lifetime. But sometimes, the obvious just isn’t. And for those moments when it’s not, Holly has become an expert on spelling it out – sometimes in more detail than needed. Hence, the blog’s name.
That, and she’s saving all her creativity for the title of her next book.
Email Holly, if you like. She might even answer.
This is an abbreviated version of Holly’s real blog, which is located at http://jahangiri.us/blog/. Come visit! Or subscribe to a feed:
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