The Night Garden
A story of love, lust, and pest control set against the changing seasons of San Francisco.
“If only Dawn had one more room for rent – I’d move in tomorrow…These characters make for wonderful company and a wild ride into unexplored territory of the human heart. Holm writes with wit, compassion and grace.”
– Ellen Sussman, author of On A Night Like This
“Reading The Night Garden is like getting to hear your close friends share their intimate love troubles – and by this I mean the good stuff – which Pamela Holm relates with sprightly wit and radiant warmth.”
– Paul Mandelbaum, author of Garrett in Wedlock
“A lesser writer could never have achieved these intimate character portraits while at the same time infusing the story with such wisdom. Pamela Holm broke my heart and two hundred pages later, she pieced it back together again.”
– Wendy Dale, author of Avoiding Prison and Other Noble Vacation Goals
When Dawn leaves her boyfriend of five years she leaves behind their comfortable home, their rose garden, and their life of couplehood. With her nine-year-old daughter, Jewel, in tow, Dawn struggles to forge a new life in the shadow of the old one. While her days are spent exterminating bugs and her evenings spent painting them, Dawn struggles to balance work, art, single motherhood, and love.
The difficulty of starting over is leavened by Dawn’s nine year-old daughter Jewel, a charmingly morbid daredevil who dreams of having a pet rat and plants a scent garden in case they happen to go blind.
Dawn and Jewel rent a home with a small apartment downstairs, and set out to find a tenant. They soon hear from Harlan, a frustrated documentary filmmaker whose world is quietly crashing down on him too. After years of domestic bliss, he and his wife, Macie, have become consumed by their quest to have a baby. He doesn’t realize how far this mission has driven them apart until he meets Sophia, a birdcage dancer who lives in an ancient firehouse full of mirrors and candles, and whose postmodern views on life and love seduce Harlan into reevaluating his own.
Over the course of a year Dawn, Jewel, and Harlan’s worlds become intertwined as they transform their lives and bring the neglected garden of their new home back to life.
The Toaster Broke, So We’re Getting Married
The Toaster Broke, So We’re Getting Married, is a hilarious and heartwarming look at one woman’s odyssey from divorced single mom with a rebellious streak and a string of soured relationships to blushing bride, shamelessly seduced by the kind of satin-and-lace fantasies that short-circuit logic, practicality, and self-control.
“Humorous and Touching” -– The New York Times Book Review
“Holm’s TOASTER is a comical commentary on how brides often get caught up in the trimmings of the wedding, while ignoring the larger issues of the marriage ahead.”– Bookreporter
“Artfully captures life’s bittersweet details…funny, tender, endearing, and always entertaining.” – Jill A. Davis, bestselling author of Girl’s Poker Night.
