I’m Steena Holmes. A wife, a mother of three daughters,

and I live in Calgary, Alberta. I’m an author and a travelholic.

I love to read, write, bake and travel – not necessarily in that order either.

Welcome to my world of passions—chocolate and writing! Pull up a chair, fill your plate with sweet delicacies as we learn together how to become stronger writers. We’ll discuss books, indie publishing and passions—not always in that order!

Growing up as a small town Canadian girl, there wasn’t much to do but ride your bike, hang out with friends on the beach and daydream. I always wanted to write but never dreamed it was something I could do as a career. I love to travel and fell in love with the sheep covered hillside, old castles and romantic history of Scotland and England. I dream about waking up in Tuscany and touring small town shops in the south of France with my husband, of placing my toes in the ocean and experiencing history first hand. As a mother with three daughters, I’m learning that teaching them to pursue their dreams is a lasting legacy. I love to wake up to the Rocky Mountains, will forever enjoy the taste of coffee and chocolate and can’t imagine the day when a story doesn’t unfold in my heart. Living a life with passion and pursuing dreams is a life well lived.

Here’s some other fun things about me I bet you didn’t know:

• I’m afraid of heights
• spiders/bugs/bees… yep, afraid!
• HATE mushrooms (I term them devil’s dung)
• LOVE the scent of vanilla
• can’t stand anyone to touch my nose
• I save love notes from my husband
• I have a stash of chocolate hidden in a place I can’t even find
• need silence to write (and in a house with 3 kids that’s hard)
• favorite kids show: ALF
• favorite adult shows: HANNIBAL, NCIS, BLACK LIST, BONES, GRIMM
• favorite movies: MY FAIR LADY, LAKE HOUSE, STAR TREK, ANYTHING MARVEL…

Quick facts:

• Saving Abby was listed in 2016 Best Summer Reads by PopSugar
• Named in the Top 20 Women Author to read in 2015 by Good Housekeeping
• The Word Game won the 2015 USA Best Books for Fiction
• The Memory Child finaled for best fiction in 2015 USA Best Books
• Sold close to 2 million copies of my books
• Reached #1 on Bestseller list on Amazon
• Winner of the 2012 Indie Excellence Award
• Frequent guest speaker on the subject of indie publishing and how to use your brand to reach readers
• USA Today Bestselling Author
• New York Times Bestselling Author
• Recently expanded into the German and other European market with my novels
• I’m a travelholic and am always planning my next trip.
• Have a travel blog called Steena Travels