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Wednesday, September 23, 2015

A 99 Cent Book, And Anti-Hero to Boot by Margo Hoornstra


You’ve seen this book here before, but bear with me because  …..  SATURDAY IN SERENDIPITY is on sale at Amazon for 99 cents. These stories of love rediscovered—Three Strikes Thursday; Two On Tuesday; and One Fateful Friday—take place around the week end of a twenty year high school reunion in Serendipity, Vermont.



Among the six heroes and heroines, the most memorable character for me to write was Aaron Goodwin, the anti-hero who wreaked havoc in Two On Tuesday.

I’ll let him tell you more about it.

Where are you from, Aaron?

Born and raised in Serendipity, Vermont on the shores of Lake Champlain. Lived there all of my life.

When the idea of a twenty-year high school reunion came up, you made a point to invite Blane Weston back home to attend. Why her?

Yeah, she is one hot babe. She’s a Serendipity High School graduate, you know. At any rate, reuniting with her was my primary goal when I talked the lady into coming home for a visit. Heh, heh, yes sir, I had big plans for me and that cutie the reunion week-end. Aside from the looks, turned out she had brains as well. Made a name for herself in the construction industry. Owns her own company somewhere around Denver. Imagine that. A woman being a success in a man’s world. Who’d a thought? Anyway, having dabbled some in real estate myself, I figured me and Blane could, you know, establish a relationship at the reunion. And, if some lucrative property deals resulted as well, so be it. If you get my drift.

So what happened?

Good question. I guess the day before she was supposed to leave for our reunion, she met this guy at one of her job sites. Some hotshot investment guru who wanted to talk business. She said she knew all about him, said he was too much into hostile takeovers for her tastes and turned him down flat. So what does he do? Follows her here to Serendipity, crashes our reunion. For what? Thinking he could change her mind?

How did the plans you had work out for you?

Not worth a crap. Every time I managed to get her alone, this Durand character showed up to, well, show me up.
 
What did you think the first time you saw Blane and Matt together?
 
Geez. He was one arrogant SOB, stepping into my territory. I don’t know how he did it, but he somehow proceeded to monopolize my date’s time the entire week-end. He didn’t graduate with us. In my opinion, he had no business being at our reunion. Look, here’s the deal. A reunion, by definition, is a reuniting. The coming together of a group which has been separated for a length of time. Yeah. I looked it up in the dictionary.

I’m almost afraid to ask this but….what was your second thought?

It’s going to be one heck of a long week-end.

Did you think it was love at first sight for them?

Who cares? But, I gotta say, judging by her reaction to the guy, at least what I saw, she was more than professionally involved. Listen. Around me she’s a no nonsense, all business, stand up kind of woman. Around him, she was all hot flashes and hormones. He followed her to Serendipity, you know.

So you’ve said. Why do you think this Matt Durand succeeded where you failed?

Danged if I know. I mean, I was all about showing Blane a good time—let her in on what she missed out on in high school—namely me.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received?

I don’t take advice, I’m an advice giver. I went to the Serendipity Inn for the Sunday brunch as was on the reunion itinerary. Thinking Blane might want to apologize for dumping me the night before. I was even sort of encouraged when she came flying out of the place like it was on fire. Then Durand came flying out right behind her, begging her to let him explain. You’d never catch me doing something like that over some woman.

Obviously not. Which is probably why heroes, not anti-heroes prevail.

My days to blog here are the 11th and 23rd. For more about me and my stories, please visit my WEBSITE

30 comments:

  1. Sounds lovely!
    Good luck and God's Blessings
    PamT

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  2. Love this guy. I've met a few like him. Totally clueless. He must have been a delight to write. Nice job, Margo.

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  3. I so enjoyed the 3 stories. This guy was almost funny. His plans sure fell through. :)

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  4. Thanks, Maris. He was fun to write. Especially when he became amorous with the heroine who really wasn't interested.

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  5. I'm thrilled you enjoyed Aaron, Diane. Means I did my job. Thank you.

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  6. I really enjoyed reading this story. I recommend it to everyone.

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  7. Thanks for the interview, Margo. Enjoyable and I can see why you liked writing him. Good luck on those sales!

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  8. Nice interview! Aaron was definitely a clueless jerk. My anti-heroes always seem to be killers. Hmmm...what does that say about me?

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  9. I'll bet this guy proves to be a nice foil for Durand, helping Blane to compare men. Your anti-hero is a hoot! Thanks for the interview, Margo.

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  10. He was a fun character, Brenda. Unforgettable in his own way, if you get my drift. ;-) I appreciate the good wishes.

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  11. Hmmmm, Jannine, I'd rather not say what that says about you. (Don't hurt me!) Just kidding. Your anti-heroes are supposed to be killers, aren't they?

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  12. Glad you enjoyed meeting Aaron, Rolynn. He also tried to ruin things for my h/h in Three Strikes Thursday. He didn't succeed there either.

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  13. Margo, this guy made me laugh out loud. I've always wanted to write a guy like him, but in a retirement home environment, chasing all the widows with no luck.

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  14. Great interview! I love when authors can turn around the anti-hero and make him someone everyone loves! All the best with your sale!

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  15. Oh, Vonnie. Yes! I would definitely buy THAT book. I have to say, as a character, Aaron has served me well. You should see him in action. ;-)

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  16. Thanks for the positive sale thoughts, Melissa. Actually,Aaron wasn't at all popular with his former classmates. Surprise!

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  17. You showed him, Margo! Sounds like a hot read, and for 99¢! Fabulous! Thanks for letting us know about it and for getting to know your anti-hero through this interview. Best wishes for Saturday in Serendipity!

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  18. Right now I have a character giving a third-party view of my main characters. It helps flesh them out, doesn't it?

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  19. Thanks, MJ. Aaron deserves everything he gets. You are always so positive and upbeat for you fellow authors. I appreciate the support.

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  20. All character interaction helps the process along, doesn't it, Rohn?

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  21. What interesting characters and I always love the high school reunion idea. Best wishes for success!

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  22. I liked the interview with the anti-hero, and the high school reunion as a setting is different and unique.

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  23. What a character! Sounds like he got what he deserved. I guess we all know a few people like this in real life and they sure can give a story a sense of reality. My own class reunion is coming up soon, but hoping we've gotten past all this. Although you never know...

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  24. Great interview, Margo! I loved "Saturday in Serendipity," but you've enticed me to re-read! :-)

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  25. Thanks for the good wishes, Susan. The high school reunion idea came from a very special editor I once worked with.

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  26. Thanks, Judy Ann. The high school reunion idea was a good one. As I noted, not mine, but one I was able to run with.

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  27. Oh, Lucy. Go to your high school reunion if you can! Imagine the story ideas you'll come home with. Loved your story about the two rival schools merging into one your senior year!

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  28. Wow, Leah, thank you. Hope you enjoy the re-read.

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