Holly Schindler

Forever Finley An Episodic Novel

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Forever Love in the Town of Finley

True love never dies. So begins the legend of Amos Hargrove, a brave Civil War soldier who survived battle and returned home only to learn his beloved had died before they could marry. His spirit, some say, still pervades the town he founded and named after his long-lost sweetheart, gone far too soon. Today, in the town of Finley, dreams come true, love blossoms, and second chances are unearthed. Is Amos’s spirit truly at work, granting wishes as he continues to search for the girl he never stopped loving? Does his unfulfilled desire continue to have influence on those who call Finley home? What will it take to finally reunite two souls meant to be together? Forever Finley is a novel constructed of standalone “episodes,” each building toward a final dramatic conclusion, weaving past and present threads into a single tale of loss and perseverance, the strength of the human spirit, and the ability of love to endure…forever.

Each episode or standalone story can also be purchased individually from Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books, and B&N.

One Fateful Christmas Eve Contemporary Women’s Fiction

Is the magic of Christmas Eve enough to change Mallory’s mind and heart?

Mallory Stewart is an on-the-rise young editor certain she’s about to land a position at one of the “Big Five” publishing houses. All she has to do to clinch the deal is attend her prospective boss’s Christmas Eve party. But Graham Kendall, the charismatic author of a bestselling book on fate, insists her plans are about to be thwarted. Mallory immediately discounts Dr. Kendall’s warnings. Though she edited his book, the industrious Mallory believes in hard work rather than luck or good fortune. When a series of devastating Christmas Eve misadventures conspire against her, Mallory is forced to reexamine everything—her beliefs, her dreams, her own definition of success. What will Mallory choose? What will she discover—about Graham, about her own destiny, even about… a man’s socks? (Yes, socks.)

Miles Left Yet Contemporary Fiction / Boomer Lit / Literary Humor

It’s Never the End of the Road

None of them really expected to wind up at the Granite Ridge Retirement Community for Active Seniors. And yet, here they are—Jim arriving after his wife’s unexpected passing, Norma after selling her home to rescue her financially strapped daughter, and Mildred after her lifelong neighborhood becomes overrun by crime. It’s an odd place to be, for sure—put out to pasture, some might phrase it. At the end of life’s road. And yet, inside, they all still feel as young as ever. When a figure from Mildred’s past emerges, a motley crew from the retirement community embarks on a road trip—in a vintage Mustang convertible, no less—which quickly turns into an adventure of second chances, fresh starts, and the discovery that love is never a landmark in the rearview mirror. No matter what the odometer reads, as long as there’s gas in the tank, there are always still new roads to explore... plenty of miles left yet.

Christmas at Ruby’s Christmas / Reminiscence

Welcome to Ruby’s, where the Christmas spirit is alive and well.

Ruby’s Place (the classy family-friendly nightspot that once lit the night sky in tiny Sullivan, Missouri) is no more—closed for decades—but that doesn’t keep those who once shared an eggnog or plate of homemade marshmallows from remembering the tinsel-wrapped moments Ruby’s supplied come Christmas. On a snowy holiday evening, feeling a bit down on her luck, a middle-aged Angela finds herself back at Ruby’s, staring through its foggy, grimy window to remember the Christmases she spent there with her favorite aunt as a child. Could the best Christmas present of all simply be spending one last moment with that special loved one, in a place where memories were born? At Ruby’s, it seems, the “spirits” are not confined to just the dusty liquors behind the bar, and such a Christmas wish might not be made in vain.

All Roads Thanksgiving / Family / Dogs

Do all roads really lead us home?

Twenty years ago, Louisa’s twin disappeared. Twenty years ago, Jesse entered the foster care system under a mysterious set of circumstances. Just days before Thanksgiving, the two cross paths, both claiming to own the same dog. Questions and strange coincidences quickly begin to mount. Is Jesse just another scam artist out to prey on a family’s long-held hopes? Is Louisa so overly suspicious that she can’t see a miracle staring her in the face? They’ll never guess who holds the key to it all...

Tangles Love Poems

Award-winning author Holly Schindler has channeled her love of lyrical writing, metaphors, and wordplay into a unique collection of love poems that range from joyful first encounters to heart-wrenching loss. As a young music teacher, Schindler often dabbled in songwriting, and her poetic turns of phrases have been sprinkled throughout her work from the beginning. Tangles is the first of what she hopes will be many book-length journeys into the expressive, melodic world of poetry.

**Includes book club discussion questions.**

The Ruby’s Place Christmas Series

Christmas at Ruby’s, I Remember You, Sentimental Journey, and The Gift That Is Ruby’s Place

I Remember You: A Ruby’s Place Novel Christmas / First Love

Welcome to the Grand Reopening of Ruby’s Place

Rob & Geena 4Ever 1987 - words carved into a sidewalk square in Sullivan, Missouri. Today, Rob and Geena have become little more than hazily remembered small-town gossip, a sweet story of first love between the high school bad boy and the smartest girl in the class. At least, until Professor Geena Barister returns home after her father’s heart attack. Now, with so much time and distance having passed between them, it will take nothing short of a miracle to get the two to even speak again. As luck would have it, though, Ruby’s Place is about to reopen. Ruby’s, where the “spirits” are more than the dusty liquors in bottles behind the bar, and reunions of the heart are encouraged—no charge. For Rob and Geena (and anyone in Sullivan who enters the bar on its wintry opening night), love promises to be the specialty served on the house, while the endearing refrain of “I Remember You” plays on…

The Art of the Kiss Literary

Not many couples have a record of the exact moment they fell in love. But Sharon’s powerful photograph—a black and white of their first kiss—launched her photography career and served as chapter one in their love story. Fifty years later, Michael and Sharon are finding that dust can settle on anything, even the magic of two hearts coming together. When Sharon gives away the very camera that took the most important image of their lives—to a complete stranger, no less—they both have to confront what she’s really given: not so much a relic as magic itself. And once a couple’s magic is lost, can it ever be found again? Told in snapshots, and spanning half a century, Michael and Sharon’s love story dares to disturb the comfortable dust, to re-expose the past, and set in motion events that could allow them to find a brand-new happily ever after, decades after riding into the sunset for the first time.

When they were young, the sight of Michael and Sharon’s love could literally stop traffic.

Sentimental Journey: A Christmas at Ruby’s Place Christmas / Memory Lane

This Christmas Eve, Ruby’s Place is in danger.

Can the ghosts of Christmases past save the old supper club, paving the way for a long-awaited love reunion? Will it take more than mistletoe and memories of a speakeasy? Will it take a touch of holiday magic?…

Or, read the entire Ruby’s Place Christmas Collection in a single download:

Journey with me to tiny Sullivan, Missouri and unwrap an unexpected gift…

Welcome to Christmas Eve at Ruby’s Place, a nightspot where memories of yesterday come alive. Where one night a year, the past and the present bump headlong into the future. Where beginnings and endings circulate through mystery and the magic of love. Meet the establishment’s current owner, Angela, its first owner, Frankie, and Ruby herself. Get to know the happy hour regulars whose presence is the stuff of quiet speculation. Revisit the Christmas within yourself.

Funny You Should Mention That Humor / Small Town / Novelette

It’s a story just itching to be told—and you’re going to hear it. What choice do you have, really? Your car’s overheated, and you’re fortunate enough to have coasted in here—Lucky Lou’s Earnest Service, an ancient filling station off the highway. Bill, the mechanic, wants to tell you all about the day nearly a year ago—the day of the big lottery draw. A day when the unluckiest bunch of folks you ever did meet may very well have seen their luck turn around… A sweet, short read to chuckle through.

All They Needed Was a Little Luck

The Funny Thing Is (Humor Series)

Funny Meeting You Here, Funny You Should Mention That, and Once Upon a Punchline

Funny Meeting You Here: 6 Shorts Humor / Short Stories

Oftentimes, the very best part of a story is the section in which the characters meet. The initial spark. The twists of fate. The you’ll never believe what happened to me todays. That’s what you’ll find here: a delightful array of characters—young and old and in-between—meeting for the first time in the most unexpected ways. Six light, humorous, sweet tales of how they came into one another’s lives. When you’re through, you’ll find yourself feeling glad to have spent time with them. Yes, you’ll think, thumbing back through the pages, funny meeting them here. Silly and short, a quick read to chuckle through.

Cross paths. Bump into. Encounter. Come face-to-face. Three cheers for the happy accident!

Playing Hurt New Adult / First Love / Sports Romance

Once, she was a small-town celebrity. One of the most talented high school basketball players her hometown had ever seen. Bound for something far bigger beyond the city limits of Fair Grove, Missouri. But Chelsea’s world changed when an accident on the court ended her days as an athlete. She struggles with the idea of no longer being a star—and has no real idea what life might hold for her next. Once, he was a small-town celebrity. One of the most talented hockey players his hometown had ever seen. Bound for something far bigger beyond the city limits of Baudette, Minnesota. When an unexpected tragedy took his head out of the game, Clint was forced to hang up his skates. He swore he’d never put himself in a position to be hurt again, building walls around his heart. When their paths cross one summer at a Minnesota lake resort, Chelsea and Clint are immediately drawn to one another. But wounds of the heart cut the deepest, and take the longest to heal. Will an unexpected romance end up causing Chelsea and Clint more pain—or finally heal their heartbreak?

It’s hard to get back in the game—of life or love—when you’re still playing hurt.

Lake of the Woods Love Stories

Playing Hurt, Play It Again

Play It Again New Adult / Second Chance Romance

It’s late spring at the rustic Lake of the Woods Fishing Resort. Fish tales and legends are blossoming along with the Minnesota orchids. Chelsea and Clint are together again, given a second chance at love. But this time, a crack exists between them, as deep as any that can ever form in the ground after a long period of drought. Will it be too much for the couple to overcome? Will they find themselves on opposite sides, enemies until the end? Will they wind up being each other’s one that got away? Or will they be able to come together—not just for a steamy summer of love, but for good?

Four years after their unexpected summer romance, the compass that guided Chelsea and Clint to safety is still pointing north, toward everything Chelsea left behind. But can something that rescued you once rescue you a second time?

Lake of the Woods Love Stories Playing Hurt / Play It Again

Most summer love stories are flings, burning hot and fading quickly. But the summer love that blooms among the Minnesota wildflowers at Lake of the Woods has the power to change everything—and last far longer than a few steamy summer weeks.

Summer loves are never built to last. Unless they take place at Lake of the Woods.

Read the entire Lake of the Woods Love Stories series in a single download:

Buy Direct

The Funny Thing Is… and the Lake of the Woods Love Stories are both available as direct purchases through Payhip. At the end of each book in the series, you’ll find a coupon code for 25% off the next installment!

The Gift That Is Ruby’s Place Christmas / Series Finale

What is the true story of Ruby’s Place?

For years, gossip has swirled throughout the small Missouri town of Sullivan. “Something strange going on out there at Ruby’s,” they say. Ruby’s Place is no mere bar. Why? The ghosts of Christmases past are all still inside. Ruby’s still there, too, decades after her own passing. Nobody ever ran that bar quite like Ruby, after all. And nobody—not even Angela, the bar’s current owner—would be able to bring the old regulars back like Ruby can, with nothing more than a rattle of her cocktail shaker. Yes, the people of Sullivan whisper, behind the red neon sign at Ruby’s Place, “spirits” refers to far more than the top-shelf liquors. On Christmas Eve, you can see them all for yourself. Spend one last moment with your own special loved one, a face you thought you’d lost forever. Wouldn’t the best Christmas present be one last chance to right wrongs? Hold that special someone’s hand? Say, “I love you” one more time? But perhaps, as is often the case with gossip, this is nothing but a silly rumor. What is the truth behind Ruby’s Place? And what is the true story of Angela, the bar’s current owner? Journey to a snow-covered Sullivan this Christmas to find out…

The Ruby’s Regulars (the Ruby’s Place Spinoff Series)

Ruby’s Story

How Ruby returned to Sullivan, opening the supper club that became the stuff of Christmas Eve legends.

On Christmas Eve, Ruby Westbrook finds herself alone in an empty train car, no longer the wide-eyed, ready-to-take-on-the-big-city dancer she’d once been. On a whim, she arrives back in her girlhood hometown of tiny Sullivan, Missouri. Against the backdrop of a city navigating mid-century social and technological upheavals, Ruby begins to relive her past and the love she lost there. Will memory drive her to make a leap of faith, changing the course of her life, and that of the entire town of Sullivan forever? Ruby’s Story is the first in Ruby’s Regulars, a new series about the characters who become Ruby’s tried-and-trues. The entire series takes place before The Ruby’s Place Christmas Series.

Ruby's Story from Holly Schindler on Vimeo.

Once Upon a Punchline Humor / Short Reads Collection

you were a child. And fairy tales were delightful stories that insisted life wasn’t scary and overwhelming, but magical and sweet. Oh, there were happy endings galore—not to mention plenty of helpful godmothers and wands locked and loaded with life-changing sparkles. Come on—admit it! That was pretty great. Now, you’re an adult. And let’s admit this: adulthood isn’t quite as swell as you’d once hoped it would be. What if you could explore this (ahem) more mature era of life through the same rose- tinted magical lens of a fairy tale? Once Upon a Punchline is a humorous collection of stories—a little bit parody, a little bit fable, a little bit allegory—and a whole lot of laughs, all aimed at poking fun at the silliness in this era of life called… adulthood.

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…

Read the Funny Thing Is series in a single download:

The Funny Thing Is Humor / Short Reads Collection

Funny Meeting You Here Funny You Should Mention That / Once Upon a Punchline

So a dog (part Irish Setter, part Snuffleupagus), a would-be gas station robber, and a girl with a plane ticket to the other side of grief (literally!) all walk into a bar… Joking aside, these are characters in Holly Schindler’s funny shorts, compiled here into a single download of chuckles and smiles. This compilation features all the short stories published in the following humorous collections: Funny Meeting You Here, Funny You Should Mention That, and Once Upon a Punchline.

Rare Gems

The Story of Ruby’s Favorite Regular—Her Best Friend, Elizabeth

The best Christmas present Elizabeth Rossi ever received was given to her by a complete stranger—plucked from the folds of a desperate woman’s tattered winter garment during the height of the Depression. Forty years later, the stranger is back, her face popping up outside the dress store Elizabeth owns in Sullivan, Missouri. As Elizabeth fights to track the stranger down, to find out what her sudden return means, she’ll bump headlong into another miraculous Christmas gift—love, here, at her half-century mark. And during a magical Christmas Eve at Ruby’s Place, Elizabeth will finally realize the true wonder of that long-ago Christmas present.

Tinsel Town

It’s Christmas Eve, the night of the grand reopening of Ruby’s Place. But the Christmas spirit is nowhere to be found.

Anticipation should be soaring as Ruby's Place, the beloved supper club, prepares for its grand reopening. Carols should be ringing, glasses clinking, and joy filling the air. But the tinsel is looking tarnished and trampled-on to everyone in the town of Sullivan. No one seems to be in the mood to celebrate at Ruby’s. Walter, the guardian of the town’s memories, knows what’s keeping them away—it’s not the decorations that have lost their luster, it’s their cherished recollections. Walter’s got to convince his son Scott to help him bring the sparkle back to Christmas Eve. He can only hope his story of a mysterious box and an enigmatic old couple will convince his son that there’s more to Ruby’s Place than marshmallows and candlelight. And there’s more to the long-closed vault in the Bank of Sullivan than empty safe deposit boxes. The clock is ticking as Walter strives to reignite the dwindling festive spirit and remind Sullivan that the power of Christmas resides in the timeless memories they all hold dear.

Forever Finley An Episodic Novel

Each episode or standalone story can also be purchased individually from Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books, and B&N.

One Fateful Christmas Eve Contemporary Women’s Fiction

Is the magic of Christmas Eve enough to change Mallory’s mind and heart?

Miles Left Yet Contemporary Fiction / Boomer Lit / Leterary Humor

It’s Never the End of the Road

Follow Me Online

Forever Love in the Town of Finley

All Roads Thanksgiving / Family / Dogs

Do all roads really lead us home?

Tangles Love Poems

**Includes book club discussion questions.**

The Ruby’s Place Christmas Series

Ruby’s Place (the classy family-friendly nightspot that once lit the night sky in tiny Sullivan, Missouri) is no more—closed for decades—but that doesn’t keep those who once shared an eggnog or plate of homemade marshmallows from remembering the tinsel- wrapped moments Ruby’s supplied come Christmas. On a snowy holiday evening, feeling a bit down on her luck, a middle-aged Angela finds herself back at Ruby’s, staring through its foggy, grimy window to remember the Christmases she spent there with her favorite aunt as a child. Could the best Christmas present of all simply be spending one last moment with that special loved one, in a place where memories were born? At Ruby’s, it seems, the “spirits” are not confined to just the dusty liquors behind the bar, and such a Christmas wish might not be made in vain

The Art of the Kiss Literary

Sentimental Journey: A Christmas at Ruby’s Place Christmas / Memory Lane

This Christmas Eve, Ruby’s Place is in danger.

Or, read the entire Christmas at Ruby’s series in a single download:

Journey with me to tiny Sullivan, Missouri and unwrap an unexpected gift…

I Remember You: A Ruby’s Place Novel Christmas / First Love

Christmas at Ruby’s Christmas / Reminiscence

Welcome to Ruby’s, where the Christmas spirit is alive and well.

Christmas at Ruby’s, I Remember You, Sentimental Journey, and The Gift That Is Ruby’s Place

Welcome to the Grand Reopening of Ruby’s Place

When they were young, the sight of Michael and Sharon’s love could literally stop traffic.

Funny You Should Mention That Humor / Small Town / Novelette

All They Needed Was a Little Luck

The Funny Thing Is (Humor Series)

Funny Meeting You Here, Funny You Should Mention That, and Once Upon a Punchline

Funny Meeting You Here: 6 Shorts Humor / Short Stories

Cross paths. Bump into. Encounter. Come face-to-face. Three cheers for the happy accident!

Playing Hurt New Adult / First Love / Sports Romance

It’s hard to get back in the game—of life or love—when you’re still playing hurt.

Lake of the Woods Love Stories

Playing Hurt, Play It Again

Play It Again New Adult / Second Chance Romance

Lake of the Woods Love Stories Playing Hurt / Play It Again

Summer loves are never built to last. Unless they take place at Lake of the Woods.

Read the entire Lake of the Woods Love Stories series in a single download:

Buy Direct

The Gift That Is Ruby’s Place Christmas / Series Finale

What is the true story of Ruby’s Place?

Ruby’s Story

How Ruby returned to Sullivan, opening the supper club that became the stuff of Christmas Eve legends.

Ruby's Story from Holly Schindler on Vimeo.

Once Upon a Punchline Humor / Short Read Collection

you were a child. And fairy tales were delightful stories that insisted life wasn’t scary and overwhelming, but magical and sweet. Oh, there were happy endings galore—not to mention plenty of helpful godmothers and wands locked and loaded with life-changing sparkles. Come on—admit it! That was pretty great. Now, you’re an adult. And let’s admit this: adulthood isn’t quite as swell as you’d once hoped it would be. What if you could explore this (ahem) more mature era of life through the same rose-tinted magical lens of a fairy tale? Once Upon a Punchline is a humorous collection of stories—a little bit parody, a little bit fable, a little bit allegory—and a whole lot of laughs, all aimed at poking fun at the silliness in this era of life called… adulthood.

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…