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.

The Importance of #CharacterNames by Margo Hoornstra

When it comes to starting a new wip (work in progress), choosing proper names for characters is right up there in importance with profession and core beliefs. Distinctive, and properly chosen names can define characters, help establish their personalities, and bring appropriate word pictures to readers.

Baby name sites are helpful for this essential task, and abound the internet, classified by  meaning or popularity or origin and most everything in between.

I’m certainly no expert, but in my opinion, single syllable first names for alpha hero males (think Rhett) play better and have more impact. Though Percy, as a name is nice enough, I don’t recall any romance containing an alpha male hero with the moniker Percy. To be honest, the word picture I receive from Percy doesn’t have a nicely clefted thin, piercing blue eyes nor the slightest hint of washboard abs.

That being said, I’ve found some characters, no matter how heart stoppingly sexy they are portrayed, can have a negative effect on a reader. This reader, at least. My first and favorite historical romance is the epic Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss. Though a fabulous, and well written novel, the hunky hero’s odd first name, Ruark, stopped me as a reader every time.

When properly chosen though, again in my opinion, derivatives of a character’s name can have literary uses as well. (Not that I’d dare compare myself to the great Ms. Woodiwiss, here goes.)

In On The Surface my latest release from The Wild Rose Press, the alpha hero is named Brad short for Bradley. An extremely popular name that, according to one source denotes a no-nonsense quality of masculinity. Of English origin, Bradley officially means broad clearing in the woods. In Welsh, the name means Treason, of all things.

For my purposes, Brad is a tough cop turned badass bounty hunter who has his unrelenting sights set on using a fugitive’s unredeemable girlfriend to get his man. Too bad an admonishment from the foster mother who raised him intrudes on his conscience.

Don’t be too quick to criticize people, Bradley. You never know what trials life may have dealt them.

Has the name of a character in a book ever kept you from enjoying it or, on the flip side, made you enjoy the read even more?

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

Oh, and come back on the 23^rd for more Character Name musings. Secondary #CharacterNames Are Every Bit As Important