 Her first novel, "World By the Tail," was published in 1943.She attracted a loyal audience with her commonsense parables and pick-me-ups published in such volumes as "Hold Me up a Little Longer, Lord" and "Secrets of Health, Energy, and Staying Young," an ode to the miraculous properties of nutritional supplements.Holmes was inspired to write "Two From Galilee" after attending a candlelit Christmas Eve church service in 1963, where the nativity scene was reenacted.