"Joan's been a writer herself for a long time and a creative writing tutor too.
"She's got her finger on the pulse in terms of what we could look at publishing," she said.
And there is no shortage of publication opportunities.
"We've published everything from a historical novel to a fantasy that kids and adults will enjoy, along with a chick-lit book. And we've got our first children's picture book coming this month."
Tangerine Publications has been going for 18 months and Ms Holly said there was no shortage of material and authors wanting to get published.
The rules of engagement in publishing are straightforward - the publisher takes the risk of getting the book published while the authors and illustrators are paid a commission on their work.
Although the company did not have a mission statement its goals were to be "author-friendly", trying to do the best it could for the authors and get them the best deal.
"That's really come from Joan's background as a writer. She's been on both sides and is a strong advocate for the authors."
Ms Holly said running the business was a mix of fun and hard yards, because all of them had other jobs.
But it's how Tangerine approaches publishing that's different.
It publishes e-books and print-on-demand through web giant Amazon.
It is an approach that is pretty new to New Zealand.
Ms Holly said that although most Kiwis would buy a book in a book store, readers in the US or UK would find it online, through sites such as Amazon or Book Depository.
There has been an obvious exception and that was Little Life Savers at Home, which Tangerine had printed by H&A; Print in Wanganui.
It is the first in a new series of safety books especially for pre-schoolers, encouraging them to take control of their own safety in an emergency, and teaching them how to care for others when required.
Wanganui-based Leedstown Trust helped with that book's publication, so Tangerine has given a copy to every pre-school outlet in the Wanganui and Rangitikei area.
Print-on-demand means Tangerine does not have to keep big numbers of printed books in stock.
They put the title on the Amazon website and then it gets put on to other websites.
"I suppose it's a bit like a portal so, if someone ordered one of our books in print form, it would simply be printed once their order was lodged so we're not holding thousands of dollars' worth of stock," Ms Holly said.
"It would happen through Amazon and that's where the printing is done. But the key is that a book order can be with the purchaser within a matter of days.
"It's certainly a lot different than going into a bookshop."
In terms of buyer preference, orders for e-books and hard copies were about half and half. At the launch of a book, however, they will have some copies printed for that occasion.
Ms Holly said New Zealanders would see more independent publishers emerging and that was driven by the growing demand for e-books. It was happening at a time when major publishing houses were consolidating.
"If you look at reviews in newspapers, it's not dominated by Penguins or Random Houses. You'll see names of publishers that might not have existed less than year ago," she said.
What it has meant though is more outlets for budding authors.
Ms Holly said Tangerine Publications' journey was started more out of philanthropic motivation than hard-nosed business decision-making.
"Sure, at the end of the day we want to make some money out of this, but it's about getting a balance to it."
Tangerine is soon to start a series called Timeless Tangerine, republishing classics, and the first is due out in September.
It will be a collection of short stories that won the Katherine Mansfield prize some years ago but is now out of print.
For more information go to www.tangerinepublications.com.
