This week I’m joining in MFRW’s Book Hooks. I’ve decided to highlight The Marquesa’s Necklace, the first book in the Oak Grove Mysteries.This is from the scene where the reader is introduced to Detective Thomason.

It’s boring folks. I have a standard 9-5 job. Well, it’s 8:00 to 4:30, but you get the drift. So I spend my day in front of a computer screen and on conference calls. Thrilling, right?

Only I’d be lying. See, I work in IT. And I have one little word in my job title that changes everything. “Security.” That means there’s a lot about my job I can’t tell you.

What I can tell you is that we pray for those boring moments in IT, because the excitement happens when something breaks. We don’t like it when something doesn’t work right. Neither do all the people who depend on the systems we operate, because that means they can’t do their job in the normal fashion. We like it even less when it’s a problem we can’t fix within a few minutes.

And no, that’s not me. I use enough programs on a daily basis that I have three screens. They take up a lot of territory on my desk. I don’t drink coffee either. I never learned to like it. I keep a water bottle within reach all day and my coffee mugs are filled with pens.

But I have a great bunch of co-workers. On the days when everything is going smoothly, we sneak in a bit of fun to our normal routine. Things like Nerf gun battles (we are geeks!) and putt-putt golf in the hallways.Those are only short breaks, because there are systems to monitor and maintain and work to be done.

I’m always glad to head home to spend time with my dear hubby and the rest of my family. Of course, I have to take time to catch up on social media and write, so some of my time is spent by myself. I look forward to weekends when I can unwind and hopefully spend some extra time on writing.

So that’s my day. Pretty normal these days, not like when I traveled for a living. That’s a different day’s post.

Now let’s jump over and see what everyone else’s day is like!

July 10, 2017 – What Is A Day In The Life Of A _________ (Insert Your Career) Like?
Walk your readers through the hour-by-hour day in the life of (your title). Also, don’t forget to share pictures. It’s always a lot of fun for people to peak into others’ lives.
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
Wordpress:

Custom Blog:

An InLinkz Link-up

get the InLinkz code

InLinkz | view linkup

It’s boring folks. I have a standard 9-5 job. Well, it’s 8:00 to 4:30, but you get the drift. So I spend my day in front of a computer screen and on conference calls. Thrilling, right?

Only I’d be lying. See, I work in IT. And I have one little word in my job title that changes everything. “Security.” That means there’s a lot about my job I can’t tell you.

What I can tell you is that we pray for those boring moments in IT, because the excitement happens when something breaks. We don’t like it when something doesn’t work right. Neither do all the people who depend on the systems we operate, because that means they can’t do their job in the normal fashion. We like it even less when it’s a problem we can’t fix within a few minutes.

And no, that’s not me. I use enough programs on a daily basis that I have three screens. They take up a lot of territory on my desk. I don’t drink coffee either. I never learned to like it. I keep a water bottle within reach all day and my coffee mugs are filled with pens.

But I have a great bunch of co-workers. On the days when everything is going smoothly, we sneak in a bit of fun to our normal routine. Things like Nerf gun battles (we are geeks!) and putt-putt golf in the hallways.Those are only short breaks, because there are systems to monitor and maintain and work to be done.

I’m always glad to head home to spend time with my dear hubby and the rest of my family. Of course, I have to take time to catch up on social media and write, so some of my time is spent by myself. I look forward to weekends when I can unwind and hopefully spend some extra time on writing.

So that’s my day. Pretty normal these days, not like when I traveled for a living. That’s a different day’s post.

Now let’s jump over and see what everyone else’s day is like!

July 10, 2017 – What Is A Day In The Life Of A _________ (Insert Your Career) Like?
Walk your readers through the hour-by-hour day in the life of (your title). Also, don’t forget to share pictures. It’s always a lot of fun for people to peak into others’ lives.
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
WordPress:



Custom Blog:

An InLinkz Link-up

get the InLinkz code

InLinkz | view linkup

This week we’re talking about our dream vacations. And you know where I’m going right?

I’d start off with a drive to a small town somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. That leaves a lot of choices. Walden, Estes Park, Nederland—I don’t have to be picky in my dreams.

There, I’d meet up with an experienced guide. I’d probably spend one night in a lodge, meeting fellow adventurers, getting acclimated to the altitude and having a beer or two. I’d go to bed early (if I was smart) because we’d be leaving early in the morning.

Breakfast the next day would be quick and easy. Cold cereal and fruit maybe, because there’s a long ride ahead. First, a short drive to the alpine pasture where the horses wait for us—I get an older, gentle horse who’s experienced enough to help a novice rider—and then we take off. There’s no rush, and the horses meander along a well-worn path without urging. Most of them know the way as well as our guides.

We make frequent stops, admiring the scenery and getting off the horses long enough to stretch our legs. Lunch is sandwiches and (no chips- we don’t need the salt) and more fruit, eaten beside a mountain stream. Oh, and we drink lots of water and re-apply our suntan lotion. Wrens and jays chatter happily as they flit from aspen branch to aspen branch. A few people take off their shoes and socks to go wading, but I refrain. I already know how cold a creek fed by snow melt is, and I grin at their cries of surprise.

Although the spot would be perfect (in my mind) for a place to camp, it wouldn’t accommodate the whole group, so we mount up and take off again. Our destination is still a couple of hours ahead. I’m already feeling a story coming on, but I can’t put words on paper just yet.

Although the clouds overhead seem to threaten us with a shower, the guides appear unperturbed. The trail we followed was steeper now, but the horses didn’t seem to mind. Around each bend there is new and marvelous scenery, and we are accompanied by a string of “oohs” and “ahs” as well as the clicks of cameras. I’m starting to feel the ache in my legs and mu back, but I know there isn’t too much farther to go.

Then we reach it. The high mountain lake that will be our home for the next few days. I breathe in the fresh air for several minutes before I set up my tent and roll out my sleeping bag, but there is still plenty of time before dark. Some of the other guests already have their fishing poles out, but I have other fish to fry.

But first there is supper, a simple meal of home-made chili and and fresh veggies to munch on. We sit on stools made out of old logs and talk about the the day as we sip on out drink of choice. For me, more beer. There will be the obligatory campfire once it gets dark, along with a few brave souls singing to the rising of the moon.

Some of the more enthusiastic fisherman will rise with the sun but chances are I’ll sleep in. After breakfast, I’ll finally have a chance to grab a notepad and pen and wander off to find a tree to sit under. Hopefully, the words will pour out. I’ll stop long enough for lunch then go for a long walk in the afternoon. Take pictures of mountain wildflowers and mull over where the story is going. Head back to camp eventually, and do some more writing before supper.

Several days later, when it’s time to leave, I’ll have a solid start on a new story. Or two or three of them. When we roll up our sleeping bags and take down the tents, I’ll be sad and happy at the same time. The return to civilization and the chance to take a shower will be welcome, as well as seeing my loved ones again.

And that’s it. My dream vacation. What’s yours?

I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else dreams about. Let’s follow the links below.

July 3, 2017 – What Is The Next Vacation You’d Love To Take?
Dream away. Share the fun. Or if your blog or business is made up of a team, you could always share where each of the team wants to go on vacation next. This is another one of those blog ideas that really help an audience get to know you better.
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
Wordpress:

Custom Blog:

An InLinkz Link-up

get the InLinkz code

This week we’re talking about our dream vacations. And you know where I’m going right?

I’d start off with a drive to a small town somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. That leaves a lot of choices. Walden, Estes Park, Nederland—I don’t have to be picky in my dreams.

There, I’d meet up with an experienced guide. I’d probably spend one night in a lodge, meeting fellow adventurers, getting acclimated to the altitude and having a beer or two. I’d go to bed early (if I was smart) because we’d be leaving early in the morning.

Breakfast the next day would be quick and easy. Cold cereal and fruit maybe, because there’s a long ride ahead. First, a short drive to the alpine pasture where the horses wait for us—I get an older, gentle horse who’s experienced enough to help a novice rider—and then we take off. There’s no rush, and the horses meander along a well-worn path without urging. Most of them know the way as well as our guides.

We make frequent stops, admiring the scenery and getting off the horses long enough to stretch our legs. Lunch is sandwiches and (no chips- we don’t need the salt) and more fruit, eaten beside a mountain stream. Oh, and we drink lots of water and re-apply our suntan lotion. Wrens and jays chatter happily as they flit from aspen branch to aspen branch. A few people take off their shoes and socks to go wading, but I refrain. I already know how cold a creek fed by snow melt is, and I grin at their cries of surprise.

Although the spot would be perfect (in my mind) for a place to camp, it wouldn’t accommodate the whole group, so we mount up and take off again. Our destination is still a couple of hours ahead. I’m already feeling a story coming on, but I can’t put words on paper just yet.

Although the clouds overhead seem to threaten us with a shower, the guides appear unperturbed. The trail we followed was steeper now, but the horses didn’t seem to mind. Around each bend there is new and marvelous scenery, and we are accompanied by a string of “oohs” and “ahs” as well as the clicks of cameras. I’m starting to feel the ache in my legs and mu back, but I know there isn’t too much farther to go.

Then we reach it. The high mountain lake that will be our home for the next few days. I breathe in the fresh air for several minutes before I set up my tent and roll out my sleeping bag, but there is still plenty of time before dark. Some of the other guests already have their fishing poles out, but I have other fish to fry.

But first there is supper, a simple meal of home-made chili and and fresh veggies to munch on. We sit on stools made out of old logs and talk about the the day as we sip on out drink of choice. For me, more beer. There will be the obligatory campfire once it gets dark, along with a few brave souls singing to the rising of the moon.

Some of the more enthusiastic fisherman will rise with the sun but chances are I’ll sleep in. After breakfast, I’ll finally have a chance to grab a notepad and pen and wander off to find a tree to sit under. Hopefully, the words will pour out. I’ll stop long enough for lunch then go for a long walk in the afternoon. Take pictures of mountain wildflowers and mull over where the story is going. Head back to camp eventually, and do some more writing before supper.

Several days later, when it’s time to leave, I’ll have a solid start on a new story. Or two or three of them. When we roll up our sleeping bags and take down the tents, I’ll be sad and happy at the same time. The return to civilization and the chance to take a shower will be welcome, as well as seeing my loved ones again.

And that’s it. My dream vacation. What’s yours?

I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else dreams about. Let’s follow the links below.

July 3, 2017 – What Is The Next Vacation You’d Love To Take?
Dream away. Share the fun. Or if your blog or business is made up of a team, you could always share where each of the team wants to go on vacation next. This is another one of those blog ideas that really help an audience get to know you better.
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
WordPress:



Custom Blog:

An InLinkz Link-up

get the InLinkz code

The Maui Heat Series

J.J. will be awarding 5 ebook of Gun For Hire to randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter. Remember you may increase your chances of winning by visiting the other tour stops. You may find those locations here. 

BLURB:

The job should have been easy—patrol a swank beach that serves as a backyard for Maui’s rich, kick out the riffraff, and get a tan in the process. But rent-a-cop Samantha Winters didn’t anticipate a deliciously grumpy cop, Sergeant Grady Roark, who comes down to the beach to bust her chops and instead leaves her breathless…and wondering why the one man who could help her seems determined to thwart her at every turn.

Grady is keeping secrets from Sam that have him walking the line between attraction and duty. But when Sam becomes the target of a shadowy organization, Grady will have to choose between the law and the temptation of a woman who has him breaking every rule he’s ever known.

The job should have been easy, but when the bullets start flying, Sam learns nothing is as easy as it seems when you’re a Gun for Hire.

Buy Links:
Amazon | The Wild Rose Press

Excerpt: 

Author Bio: 

J.J. MONTGOMERY writes romantic suspense novels with a sense of humor. Her heroines are as smart as they are smart mouthed and the men in their lives are just trying to keep up. Gun for Hire is the first book in J.J.’s Maui Heat Series. 

If you’d like to know more, including info on her newest book, where she gets her ideas, and how it’s possible she can’t use Facebook, please visit her:


Social Links: 
Website | Facebook |  Twitter  | Instagram 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Maui Heat Series

J.J. will be awarding 5 ebook of Gun For Hire to randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter. Remember you may increase your chances of winning by visiting the other tour stops. You may find those locations here. 

BLURB:

The job should have been easy—patrol a swank beach that serves as a backyard for Maui’s rich, kick out the riffraff, and get a tan in the process. But rent-a-cop Samantha Winters didn’t anticipate a deliciously grumpy cop, Sergeant Grady Roark, who comes down to the beach to bust her chops and instead leaves her breathless…and wondering why the one man who could help her seems determined to thwart her at every turn.

Grady is keeping secrets from Sam that have him walking the line between attraction and duty. But when Sam becomes the target of a shadowy organization, Grady will have to choose between the law and the temptation of a woman who has him breaking every rule he’s ever known.

The job should have been easy, but when the bullets start flying, Sam learns nothing is as easy as it seems when you’re a Gun for Hire.

Buy Links:
Amazon | The Wild Rose Press

Excerpt: 

Author Bio: 

J.J. MONTGOMERY writes romantic suspense novels with a sense of humor. Her heroines are as smart as they are smart mouthed and the men in their lives are just trying to keep up. Gun for Hire is the first book in J.J.’s Maui Heat Series. 

If you’d like to know more, including info on her newest book, where she gets her ideas, and how it’s possible she can’t use Facebook, please visit her:


Social Links: 
Website | Facebook |  Twitter  | Instagram 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As many of you know, I’m an IT geek (information technology)  by day and a writer by night. But unlike most people in the IT field, I didn’t touch my first computer until I was over thirty. Yes, I remember the days BEFORE Windows.

But along the way, I was in a job where they were just beginning to convert to computers. We all got some basic computer training and sent along our merry where to put the magic to work—with varying levels of success.

But lo and behold, I found out I was actually GOOD at this stuff. Pretty soon I was helping my coworkers figure out how to make things work. When circumstances decreed that it was time for me to change fields, I decided computers were the way to go. And off to school I went, to learn the ins and outs of personal computers, servers, and networking.

I was lucky enough to get some very talented professors along the way. And they were tickled to have a “mature” student in their classes, who was genuinely interested in learning and didn’t think she knew it all already. Many of the classes I’d be one of two or three females in a class of twenty-five and that made me stand out even more.

It was one of those wonderful teachers who gave—not just me but the entire class—the words I remember and pass along whenever I can. “A bad day in IT is better than a good day at McDonalds.”*

How right he was. That emergency call at midnight when something breaks? Better than smelling french fries all day. Dealing with that user who just doesn’t get it no matter how many times and how many ways you try to tell them how to fix their problem? Better than standing on your feet for an eight hour shift. Having to learn new technologies to stay ahead of the game? Way better than having to learn how to put together the newest sandwich on the market.

Thankfully I ended up in a job that I really love, working for a boss that really cares about the employees he manages. Still. there are days when nothing seems to go right and no matter how hard I try, the computers don’t want to cooperate. And that’s when I have to remind myself … better than McDonalds! *

Now on to follow the links below and see what the rest of the authors have to say!

* No offense to those of you who work at McDonalds and love it. I did a stint in fast food and it’s just not my thing.

June 26, 2017 – What Advice Has Stuck With You For A Long Time? And Who Gave You That Advice?
Did someone give you some great advice at a certain time in your life? Think back to that time and write down the advice as you remember it.
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
Wordpress:

Custom Blog:

An InLinkz Link-up

get the InLinkz code

As many of you know, I’m an IT geek (information technology)  by day and a writer by night. But unlike most people in the IT field, I didn’t touch my first computer until I was over thirty. Yes, I remember the days BEFORE Windows.

But along the way, I was in a job where they were just beginning to convert to computers. We all got some basic computer training and sent along our merry where to put the magic to work—with varying levels of success.

But lo and behold, I found out I was actually GOOD at this stuff. Pretty soon I was helping my coworkers figure out how to make things work. When circumstances decreed that it was time for me to change fields, I decided computers were the way to go. And off to school I went, to learn the ins and outs of personal computers, servers, and networking.

I was lucky enough to get some very talented professors along the way. And they were tickled to have a “mature” student in their classes, who was genuinely interested in learning and didn’t think she knew it all already. Many of the classes I’d be one of two or three females in a class of twenty-five and that made me stand out even more.

It was one of those wonderful teachers who gave—not just me but the entire class—the words I remember and pass along whenever I can. “A bad day in IT is better than a good day at McDonalds.”*

How right he was. That emergency call at midnight when something breaks? Better than smelling french fries all day. Dealing with that user who just doesn’t get it no matter how many times and how many ways you try to tell them how to fix their problem? Better than standing on your feet for an eight hour shift. Having to learn new technologies to stay ahead of the game? Way better than having to learn how to put together the newest sandwich on the market.

Thankfully I ended up in a job that I really love, working for a boss that really cares about the employees he manages. Still. there are days when nothing seems to go right and no matter how hard I try, the computers don’t want to cooperate. And that’s when I have to remind myself … better than McDonalds! *

Now on to follow the links below and see what the rest of the authors have to say!

* No offense to those of you who work at McDonalds and love it. I did a stint in fast food and it’s just not my thing.

June 26, 2017 – What Advice Has Stuck With You For A Long Time? And Who Gave You That Advice?
Did someone give you some great advice at a certain time in your life? Think back to that time and write down the advice as you remember it.
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
WordPress:



Custom Blog:

An InLinkz Link-up

get the InLinkz code

This week we’re talking about the events that shaped our lives.

In one of the reviews for The Marquesa’s Necklace, a reader wrote ” the narrator mainly had too many situations.” Well, if I ever wrote out my life story, I’m sure an editor would take a red pain to it and claim I had too many “situations”, that all those coincidences couldn’t possibly be real.

Let me tell you about the incredible string of situations that led me to meeting my beloved husband.

I had a plan for my life after I graduated from high school, all so many years ago. I happily went off to college, my major decided and the perfect school chosen. I was going to be a librarian. But after one semester, (that’s four months) I changed my mind. I was in the wrong school for my vision for my future.

I decided to take some time away from college and reevaluate my goals. I returned home, got a job, and avoided thinking about what else I wanted to do. But my mother, in  her wisdom, didn’t let me off the hook for too long. She encouraged me to come to a decision about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

So I did, with the help of a book listing colleges and universities in the United States. I’d already figured out a mew course of study, forestry, all I needed was the school to go to. And I found it. A little community college in the northwestern corner of Wyoming, near Yellowstone. Inspired by the music of John Denver, I applied and was accepted. (Hey, it wasn’t Colorado, but it was close! Still Rocky Mountain High!)  When August rolled around, I piled all my clothes and a few other belongings into a small trunk and a backpack and got a ride on a cross-country Greyhound bus. Yes, I took a 1500 mile bus trip without ever having seen my destination. Remember, this was pre-internet, so I couldn’t even research what the area looked like.

Where does my future husband come into this? Hold on, there’s more in this string of incidents.

So I get settled into my dorm, and start classes, and everything is marvelous. One of my next-door neighbors is a local girl, who lived about 30 miles away in a small town. She decided to live in the dorm instead of dealing with driving daily and fighting the winter snows. Her boyfriend would come to visit her on a regular basis. Once day he brought along a friend, who fell for the next-door-neighbor’s roommate.

Confused yet? The next night, the boyfriend’s friend wanted to come back but his car was in need of repairs, so he asked yet another friend to bring him to the school. That friend agreed. The friend’s friend and I met, and the rest is history. What editor is going to allow that chain of coincidences into a book?

That’s just one of the many events in my life that has shaped me to be who I am. Let’s find out what stories the other authors have to tell.

WordPress:

Custom Blog:

An InLinkz Link-up

get the InLinkz code