So Tell Me, Rose Buds...What Do You Think? by Margo Hoornstra

Hi There Fellow Rose...Buds and Important Others,

With a new title coming out the end of this month, October 29 to be exact, it's promo time for me. As part of my getting the word out plan, and at Jannine's suggestion, I've secured a spot at Just Romantic Suspense, November 7-8. This is what I'm sending in. Tell me what you think.

"Nothing is working for me anymore. I quit."

Flouncing into the living room from my home office down the hall, I plopped on the couch, arms crossed over my chest in true body language style, to protect myself and shut down any argument.

Across the room in his favorite recliner, my husband glanced up. "You know you don't mean that."

Obviously, he hadn't received the body language interpretation memo.

"This time I do." I held myself tighter.

He didn't seem to notice. "Really?"

"Yes. Really."

"Okay, I'll bite. Why?"

"Nothing's working." I hate when I have to repeat myself with him. "My contemporary romance series about women millionaires is going nowhere. I'm not excited about it."

For the next few moments he sat there, quietly letting me fume. Then... "How about this? I see a woman in her apartment, alone and confused. She's just lost her job and doesn't know what to do next. Enter an undercover cop who needs to run surveillance on a resident across the street, and her place is the perfect vantage point."

That was all I needed to hear...

What had started as a short story about an old, abandoned colonial house was morphing into a full length romantic suspense novel with a cop turned bounty hunter hero and an unsuspecting and wrongly accused ex-con out on probation. My hero had a friend and colleague still on the force, who helped him out now and then with 'inside' information.

Fleshing that one out, eventually titled ON THE SURFACE I got the idea for a Brothers In Blue series, four heroes who met at the police academy to become life long friends.

From there, I went on to the suggested unemployed heroine and undercover cop and eventually, ON THE FORCE was born.

Here's a sneak peek.

Losing her job and reputation is nothing compared to the prospect of losing her life

Top notch CFO Sydney Raines is devastated when her coveted job working for a high profile conglomerate is yanked out from under her. Determined to restore a mangled reputation, she finds her second chance when the owner of an upscale art gallery hires her as his personal assistant.

Straight arrow cop Vince Miller is assigned to crack an international art theft ring. Working undercover, he never counted on meeting Sydney Raines, let alone falling in love with her.

Then an unexpected twist in the case reveals the identity of a serial killer, along with the shattering realization that Sydney could be the psycho’s next victim.

*******

“It would have compromised the assignment.”

After she finished the sentence for him, he nodded. “Exactly. The feds were involved. I couldn’t do anything but keep quiet. Those guys don’t take kindly to having civilians interfere in their operations.” 

“Interfere? Really?” Her tone deepened to one of disbelief. “And after the feds left the case?”

He took a moment to swallow. “We…you and I…never seemed to have the time.”

“That is so lame, Vince. In all the alone time we did spend together the past couple of weeks.” A fast breath huffed out of her. “You couldn’t take five minutes?”

“Five minutes wasn’t going to cut it. We’ve been at this a lot longer right now, and nothing’s been resolved.”

“You couldn’t even try?” Tears moved up to tinge her voice. Even as she clamped her mouth shut, her chin continued to tremble.

“It’s not that I didn’t want to. Didn’t think about it a lot.” He lifted an arm toward her then, thinking better of it, let it drop. “You were always so busy with your new job.”

“Seriously? You not being able to tell me the truth was my fault?”

“No. Of course not. I’m not saying that at all.” Pressing his lips tight, he again broke eye contact. “It’s no one’s fault you had responsibilities. Out of town business. The reception Curan had you put on.”

“You could have been honest with me. Not used me the way you did.”

“I never used you.” He pulled in a breath as he looked up at her. “It was my job, Sydney. I was just doing my job as I’d been instructed.”

“Certainly you were. You’re not a magazine reporter, you’re a cop. One who was working undercover to bring a man to justice who, by your own admission, never did anything wrong in the first place.” With both hands at her sides, she drew them into fists she relaxed, then clenched tight again.

Vince lifted his chin, half expecting her to clock him with a well‑aimed right hook. “That’s not exactly how it is.”

ON THE FORCE is Book 2 in the Brothers In Blue series.

It joins ON THE SURFACE Brothers In Blue Book 1, which will be my Reader's Choice giveaway. Both books are published through THE WILD ROSE PRESS

So what do you think? How'd I do? Too much? Too little? Or just about right?

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

To Remember and Honor: In My Own Unique Way by Margo Hoornstra

It's September 11th again. As I do here each year, I ask you to join me in remembering how fragile and precious our many freedoms are. And to acknowledge and honor those brave individuals who knowingly enter into harm's way to preserve those freedoms for us.

In addition to those who serve on our behalf in foreign lands who so deserve our gratitude, so too do the men and women of law enforcement here at home. As one who has spent many years, first as a spouse, then mother to members of the profession, police officer heroes have a special place in my heart.

In that spirit, I created the four book Brothers in Blue series. Four heroes who met at the police academy and became life long friends. The dropout, the straight arrow, the movie star and the maverick. All share a passion to serve and protect, each in their own unique way.

On The Surface, Book 1 - Is available now.

He sought vengeance only to discover love.

On The Force, Book 2 - Comes out October 29th.

Losing her job was nothing compared to the prospect of losing her life.

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

How to Kill a Character, Let Me Count the Ways by Margo Hoornstra

Right now, I'm deep in the soggy middle of, On The Make, my latest work in progress. Book 3 in my Brothers in Blue series, and going down fast.

In a nutshell, my heroine is pregnant and someone does not want that baby born at any and all costs. In fact, they'll even resort to murder to prevent it.

So far, she's survived being run off a steep embankment in her car.

And I plan to have her shot at soon in a faked robbery attempt.

Other than that, what else can I use to hasten her demise? In the covert, we want this to look like an accident realm.

Any ideas?

On the other hand, out and out murder may not be the answer at all. Maybe a series of less obvious lethal mishaps would suffice. A severe fall here, hit by a car there.

What do you think?

While you're helping me come up with ways to do in my heroine, here's a free download of a murder mystery short story I wrote based on a radio script my father once wrote. (To those of you who have seen this before, I apologize.)

Hearts and Flowers

Manhunt was a radio show broadcast out of Detroit based on police files of actual cases. "The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent."

Yeah, that show was the forerunner of another long running television show titled Dragnet.

Hearts and Flowers is one of those stories.

But, if you wouldn't mind, think while you're reading. I'll be waiting for your suggestions.

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

#Amwriting AND Doing My #Research by Margo Hoornstra

Can you believe it? School starts around here in less than a month.

As an empty nester, the approach of that annual event doesn’t affect me quite so much now. No collections of school clothes to buy. (With four children, that was always quite the monumental undertaking.) No before and after child care to line up. (As a working mom, always an end of summer priority.)

Remember that Staples commercial – maybe it will be on again – with the gleeful parent pushing a shopping cart while clicking their heels and singing ‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year…’ I used to love that ad. Sang that song to my own children all the time too.

But, that’s not what I meant to talk about.

On The Make, Book 3 in the Brothers in Blue series is my current work in progress.

She no longer believes in heroes, or happily ever after. He's determined to prove her wrong.

The book features a recently widowed, single mom raising two adolescent boys, one who is in a particularly difficult stage of rebellion. Having raised the aforementioned four kids, I’m calling up memories of some of our more trying times to help get my creative juices flowing.

Not that any of my offspring were necessarily out and out rebellious, but we did have our moments. And thank goodness I wasn’t a single mom, but had a strong, supportive partner to navigate the sometimes choppy child raising waters with me. Such as:

1.       Those first days, weeks, months with a new driver’s license

2.       The friends they coveted who weren’t necessarily the best choice

3.       Those ‘everyone else gets to, why can’t I?’ discussions

4.       The ‘make your bed and clean your room’ requests that seem to be unheard

5.       The ‘there’s nothing to eat’ wails after a mega trip to the grocery store

6.       The eye rolls. For no particular offense, except for simply being…parental

I could go on, but you get the idea.

Again, as an empty nester, there’s a bonus in here too.  While those recollections are helpful, I get to do some real time, here and now research as well. As I watch two of those four I told you about before navigate the same issues with their offspring.

Plus, I have to say…paybacks really are very, very sweet.

How about you? What’s in your research arsenal and how do you use it?

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

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#amwriting, Yes…But There’s More by Margo Hoornstra

Most publishers, The Wild Rose Press which is mine included, ask their authors to fill out Manuscript Information and Cover Art Sheets to accompany completed manuscripts. In my case, for the recently released On The Surface. Book 1 in the Brothers In Blue series.

The Manuscript Information Sheet is self-explanatory and contains pretty cut and dried information such as the dedication, praise and reviews, blurb, excerpt, brief author bio and keywords. I won’t bore you with the details of those items except for the last one. Keywords. For On The Surface, I chose rebel hero, framed heroine, secrets and betrayal.

The Cover Art Sheet, obviously used by the artist to design the cover, can be a little trickier to complete in that it makes you think about your manuscript beyond the main characters and story itself.

Starting out, providing physical descriptions of the hero and heroine, is easy enough and can be as simple as blonde hair, blue eyes, slim build, and such. Casual to formal dress. Jeans, tank tops and T-shirts. That kind of thing.

Then there’s time period, season and setting. Again, easy peasy. “Present time/contemporary. Spring through Summer at the Rest Easy Bed and Breakfast on fictional Cascade Lake, a resort town in Northern Michigan. Also, some scenes take place in Metro Detroit.”

Next up is tone of the book. In this case, I entered “Deception, concealed identities. All is not what or whom, they seem with the undertone of big city crime set on the backdrop of a beautiful resort town bed and breakfast.”

Then we come to the question of what is the most important element of a book cover? Person, place or object? Animal? Couple? If couple, in what pose? I take that to mean what is the main component that explains what you’ve written? My reply was “A landscape of a lake. The title, On The Surface, refers to the deceit of the hero and heroine regarding each other and their relationship.”

Final question. What is the story really about? After months of writing, re-writing, editing and re-editing the story this should be a piece of cake, right? Not necessarily. Following much deliberation, I came up with “Deception and pursuit of vengeance by the hero. Independence from an abuser for the heroine.”

Whew! Done and done!

As many of you know, this is the finished product. And I must say I’m thrilled with the result.

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

And please note. If I don't respond to comments right away, I'm away from my desk for a while.

If Only I Could Just Begin and Be #amwriting…Again by Margo Hoornstra

Brothers in Blue is my latest four book series from The Wild Rose Press. Brad, Vince, Adam and Luke are four heroes who met at the police academy and became lifelong friends. The drop out, the straight arrow, the movie star and the maverick; all have a passion to serve and protect, each in his own unique way.

On The Surface, Book 1 is released and available on virtual shelves everywhere.

On The Force, Book 2 is completed, submitted and Ally, my editor, LOVES the finished product. 

YAY!

Now it’s on to write and finish Book 3, On The Make. Right? Sit down and let my fingers fly as the story flows freely from my brain to page after printed page.

Yeah, I wish. For whatever reason, or reasons, I’m having a really challenging time getting started on this one.

I know quite a bit about the hero, Adam Hollingsworth aka Adam Pride, since he was mentioned in On The Surface and made an actual appearance in On The Force. He’s a police office by profession and, after moonlighting as technical advisor to the stars, becomes a super hero movie idol by chance. Adam’s at a point in his life where, while the adoration of fans is nice, it pales against the elusive dream of having a family of his own to have and to hold.

I know the heroine, Madison Clark no longer believes in heroes. Not after being widowed amid scandal and left with two adolescent boys to raise. Even the so called super hero who's come to town to make a movie. The one her oldest son, in desperate need of a father figure, seems to worship. The same hero who happens to arrive at various points in Madison's life at precisely the right time to save the day.

I know any kind of happily ever after fantasy is nowhere near being on either of these wounded souls’ radars. ***wink, wink***

I even have Madison’s evil villain ex brother in law all figured out, too, and waiting in the wings to spread his hate and discontent throughout Madison’s life. Then there’s Tina, a groupie gone mad to complicate Adam’s.

I also know how this one begins…

“Let us pray.”

Madison Clark dutifully lowered her head, along with scores of others in the huge, impersonal auditorium as memories of a previous, and similar, life changing event swirled. It was bad enough three years ago, when she’d had to bury her first husband with his sons, and hers, on either side of her.

Somehow, she’d gotten through it. Even when Dak, the sensitive one, sobbed so loudly during an acapella solo of Amazing Grace, it was nearly impossible to make out the lyrics. At eight, he’d been old enough to understand, and process the events that had happened since his father’s unexpected and lethal leukemia diagnosis. While not being able to make any sense of it at all.

She’d survived, even when older brother Cameron, stoic, silent and long suffering like his dad, didn’t move a muscle during the entire, grueling forty-five minutes of the service. Then got up and walked down the aisle and straight out the door of the funeral parlor without so much as a word or glance to anyone. She could hardly blame either of her boys for their reactions when they were thrust into the heartbreak of losing their father. The man who loved them more, much more, than life itself.

Now, a mere thirty-six months later, front and center in the jam-packed and impersonal amphitheater, she prepared to bury spouse number two. Though Dak and Cameron were a few years older and supposedly, more mature, this time they exhibited no more emotion than simple and detached boredom as the accolades went on and on and on for their mother’s late husband.

From then on, I’m pretty much stuck…for now.

If it’s always so gratifying to bring a book or books all the way to THE END. Why is it always so difficult to get started on the next one?

My days to blog here are the 11^th and 23^rd. For more about me and the stories I write, along with some free downloads, please visit my WEBSITE.

Summertime...and the livin' is...Well, You Decide, Part II by Margo Hoornstra

Ah yes, the Gershwin song, Summertime from the musical Porgy and Bess. The opening line goes like this. Summertime…and the livin’ is…easy

Last time I wrote on these pages I opened with that, and pointed to those lazy, hazy days of Summer. Warm, tranquil days full of sunshine and fresh breezes. Days, and nights, to sit back, relax and soak in the quiet. Enjoy doing whatever we want, or nothing if that’s our choice.

I championed my Calla Lily blooms...okay bloom...

I mentioned the Adirondack Chairs we purchased for the front yard.

And a glider swing to go with the rocker on the back deck.

Then lamented the fact I only wished I could use them more.

To paraphrase the great Mr. G – I noted, in my world, it’s more like Summertime…and the livin’ is…busy!

With a novella, For Money Or Love...

in the six story anthology, All In For Love...

Promo going on through Author Promo Pal for my own three book anthology, Saturday In Serendipity...

A soon to be given release date for Book One in the Brothers in Blue series...On the Surface...

Nearing completion is Book Two in the Brothers in Blue series...On the Force...

Whew!!

Then....they started digging up our road about a week ago. We live on the very end of a dead end, so getting out and about can be a challenge. What with a ten feet wide, by twelve feet long by fourteen feet deep crater between us and the nearest highway.

This is a picture of the view out my front bedroom window these days.

And that's just the beginning. They are putting in new water and sewer lines. Fun! Fun! Fun!

Then....this morning, we awoke to water dripping, ominously, I must say, down a wall.

To their credit...the plumbers, two of them, arrived within an hour. Diagnostic...estimate...both time and cost. Thankfully a one day, albeit 8 hour+, job and an estimate that won't exactly break us...but...

I'll spare you pictures of their endeavors. Think bathroom sink and vanity removed, drywall as well. More drywall, plus part of the ceiling cut out in the bathroom below. Items under the kitchen sink...didn't know that space could hold so much...gotten out of their way...pipes out...pipes in...pipes out...pipes in. (More in than out, I'm hoping.)

Although I am taking a little time off to attend the Romance Writers of America® National Conference. My husband's going with me. What a sport, huh? I think so.

It'll be nice to get away...

So, tell me. What about you? Are you indulging in a vacation this year? Or are you as busy as the rest of us?

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

A Little R and R by Margo Hoornstra

As you read this, I'll be unplugged and taking a little R and R. For a while, anyway. And not completely unplugged. **shudder** That would be too horrible to contemplate. Though the internet service may be sketchy, my trusty iPhone will still be working. Unless I hit a No Service area. **double shudder**

The graphic I found to lead this column doesn't really tell the whole story. You see, I won't be taking a break from my computer, oh no. That indispensable laptop of mine is going with me. As is the laser printer that fits neatly on the floor of the backseat.

After a busy few months, surgeries for both hubby and me, another hospitalization for him, a novella, For Money Or Love, finished for a box set, All In For Love, coming out June 1st, a final galley for, On the Surface, the first book in my new Brothers In Blue series proofed and returned to my editor to forward to my publisher for release this summer, we're going camping to take a little break.

Beautiful scenery.

Quiet times by the campfire.

Wildlife.

Oh, wait. Cancel. Cancel. Not that kind of wild life. Although my husband did once scare up what must have been a bobcat - what he thought was really a rather large kitty - on one of our many walks.

This kind of wildlife.

Much better.

Can't forget the walks. Lots and lots of walks.

But...there's something else. Oh. Wait. I know what it is. A completed manuscript to critique for CP Extraordinaire. Got my Track Changes up and ready. Really ready!

Then there's the second book in the Brothers In Blue series, On The Force to finish and send in. Oh, and book three, On the Make, of which I have one chapter under my belt.

Yikes! My little R and R time is dwindling. And fast!

Guess I better get to it.

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