THAT’S RIGHT — my 3rd book, Lemon Drops, is finally here! This is the first time I’ve really felt relieved that a book of mine is published. The writing in Lemon Drops is some of my most personal. There’s stories in there I haven’t told anyone, and there’s poems that are very dear to me. […]
MoreSaturday, the mailman dropped a delivery that made my WEEK — a box of my books arrived! I work really hard on all of my books, but I still get really nervous and excited all at once when the box arrives. For Lemon Drops, I really hoped the cover looked as great in-person as it […]
MoreUgh. Getting the news about an ex getting married (especially when you’re still single) can be a bitch. I can’t speak for everyone, but even when I didn’t have feelings for the person anymore, it’s still rough news to get. All of my exes are married, except my most recent (although he might be, who […]
MoreShannon Maker is a blogger and freelance writer in Des Moines, Iowa, with a passion for photography and cooking. She has a degree in Journalism and Spanish. She fell in love with different kinds of authentic European cuisine while backpacking and studying abroad in Spain, France, and Italy during her senior year of college and […]
MoreI’m skipping Fresh Friday this week to make an announcement: MY THIRD BOOK IS COMING YOUR WAY. That’s right, my third book is on its way — mark your calendars for September 22, 2014, which is EXACTLY one month from today! At that time, you’ll be able to purchase digital copies through Amazon Kindle (which […]
MoreThe first guy I fell in love with cheated on me. We were best friends before we started dating, but our relationship was long distance, and there were 15 hours between us. We had a rocky breakup, and he coincidentally had a new girlfriend right afterward. They are married now, so good for them. A […]
MoreEditor’s Note: The contest winner from Tuesday’s Tattly give away is below… Tomorrow around 5 am marks one entire year that I’ve been single. A party of one. I know that when my ex, D, and I broke up, I was miserable. Even though our relationship was not anything good, I had no idea how […]
MoreA few months ago, I thought I was getting knocked into the friend zone, when really the guy was just dating someone (and essentially cheating on her) — read about it here: Part one & Part two. But, the friend zone is a real thing, and one thing’s for sure about the friend zone: it […]
MoreAs I’ve mentioned all year, 2014 has proven itself to be the year of my past. Over the weekend, a friend from high school messaged me, and wanted to tell me about his latest “epic” breakup. But when I tried to call him, I got no reply—a pattern I’ve noticed with this old “friend.” And […]
MoreThis year has been “The Year of Holly’s Past,” and if you have read any of this blog, you know that my past, when it comes to dating, is not anything to be proud of. Before the start of 2014, my ex contacted me via email. This ex isn’t my most-recent ex, but one that […]
MoreIt’s here, it’s FINALLY here! My second book, How to Make Lemonade, is published and ready for YOU to read… What’s it about? It is a memoir of my dating life in college—I had 3 serious boyfriends, which, as you can probably guess, didn’t work out, considering I’m single right now. However, the stories of […]
MoreThe following was written in 2010; nothing has been changed. Like what you’ve read? Enjoy my #tb (throwback) blog series as I count down the days until my second book, How to Make Lemonade, is released on December 2nd! DAY 14: WISH YOU WERE 6 AGAIN Wednesday, May 5, 2010 Today, The Frisky asked me […]
MoreI’m not a big fan of Taylor Swift. But every now and then, she’ll come out with a song that gets stuck in my head or, in this case, strikes a chord with me. Enter, “Everything Has Changed” featuring Ed Sheeran. The song, as interpreted by me, is about two people who go from friends […]
MoreAnnouncing: my second book! My second book, How To Make Lemonade, is my story from the beginning—as far as dating goes, anyway. I tricked him into being my boyfriend. One morning before class began, I took a ring I’d gotten in one of those clear plastic bubbles and placed it in my mailbox. The mailboxes […]
MoreDuring the quick drive from the church to their home, D called his parents asking if they needed anything. “We are going to stop at Walmart because Holly needs a case of beer…” he told them (Baptists are anti-alcohol). I gave him the evil stare. He laughed, hanging up the phone, telling me to lighten […]
MoreLast night, I joined a girlfriend for dinner before an event we had tickets for. The event, an MMA fight, was in an area of town that doesn’t have much going on. The best we could find was an Outback Steakhouse. Outback Steakhouse was the first job I ever had. I was 16, had just […]
MoreIn last Sunday’s issue of The New York Times, there was a great Modern Love article by Aimee Lee Ball, “Exit Left, Wordlessly.” Read it here. In it, Ball explains a relationship she had with a Civil War re-enactor. Although she was attracted to him, she questioned some of the stories he told her about his […]
MoreAfter Halloween, the anger portion of my grief set in. The lovely Facebook showed me pictures of Adam in a frat boy costume. He was with a girl who was dressed as a pirate wench. She is now his wife. Although I had declared my single status on Facebook, I wasn’t an idiot—Adam hadn’t met […]
MoreWhen I flew back to Louisiana, I had just as much trouble as I did getting to Indiana. My luggage was lost, again. And I could tell something was very off with Adam. I hadn’t talked to him all day, and even when I called him to tell him I made it home safely, he […]
MoreWhen I returned to LSU for the fall semester of my junior year, I was on a high. I was in love with someone who loved me. When I left Indiana, we were certain we could make it work, despite the 14 hours between us. I was confident in our relationship, feeling like it was […]
MoreAfter the night in Adam’s dorm over winter break, and returning to LSU for the spring semester, I was ready to go home and see my friends for the summer. Sheena and I were headed out for a typical summer night—out to a lake house. This was a friend’s family’s lake house—a notorious hotspot for partying […]
MoreAs close as Adam and I were, I never saw much of him during school breaks. Over the summer, Adam and his family spent time at their lakeside cottage in Michigan. During Christmas break, he was either closing the cottage or traveling to visit other family members. From the outside, his family looked perfect. Adam’s […]
MoreHe arrived at her house in his black Sunfire. The sunroof was open, letting the evening sun pour into the gray interior. He was the first one in our grade to get his license and a car, dubbing him the official driver. His friend was in the passenger’s seat, waiting for my girlfriend and I […]
MoreA few weeks later, I spent my first Thanksgiving away from home. It was such a hassle to travel back to the midwest for such a short trip, that I was happy when a sorority sister invited me to her family’s Thanksgiving dinner. However, I was worried that all of my high school friends would […]
MoreAfter the journal entries, and after Halloween, the anger portion of my grief set in. The lovely Facebook showed me pictures of Adam in a frat boy costume for Halloween. He was with a girl who was dressed as a pirate wench. She is now his wife. Although I had declared my single status on […]
MoreAs you can tell from a few of those previously posted columns, things were going pretty well with Adam and I, even though we were 15 hours away from each other. When I got back to school in August, for the fall semester, I booked a flight to visit Adam for my Fall Break—basically a […]
MoreAfter the night in Adam’s dorm over winter break, and returning to LSU for the spring semester, I was ready to go home and see my friends for the summer. That was when Sheena and I nearly got arrested. No more than a few weeks after that, Adam invited me over for dinner at his […]
MoreI wrote this column for the LSU newspaper. It’s about my relationship with Adam. It was published about two weeks before he dumped me. Relationships with Holly A. Phillips {published Tuesday, September 27, 2005} I miss my single-self. My single-self is laid-back, strong and independent. But I lost her somewhere in the midst of my […]
MoreDuring winter break of my sophomore year, I was making notes for a relationship column I was writing. I wanted to write about Adam. Here is the notebook page I kept: Holly A. Phillips 1.8.05 Column idea: Adam makes the move. One of my best friends, Adam is finally coming onto me. Several of my […]
MoreLooking back, it’s difficult for me to say exactly when my friendship with Adam melted into a relationship, with full-blown feelings. But since it’s my responsibility to figure it out, I would say it all started in Adam’s dorm room. ‘Twas the night before winter break at Indiana University. I drove into town, heading home […]
MoreI never saw much of Adam during school breaks. Over the summer, Adam and his family spent time at their lakeside cottage in Michigan. Over Christmas break, he was either closing the cottage or traveling to visit other family members. From the outside, his family looked perfect. Adam’s dad worked for one of the largest […]
MoreI keep a giant, expandable folder of notes, journal entries, cards, ticket stubs, and all things that might jog my memory as I attempt to write this book. Over the next few weeks, my assignment is to write and organize all of my “Adam” information—my first love. I can hear the singing from the angels […]
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The Bitter Lemon 
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