Five Facts...Three Questions...One sentence

Happy Friday! Did you have a good Christmas? Mine was relaxing and filled with way too much food. In other words, a perfect holiday!


Today's guest on Friday Five...Three...One is Margo Hoornstra, a mother, author, grandmother, resident of the upper Midwest and my fellow author in The Class of 1985 series from The Wild Rose Press. She's here to talk about herself and her new Class of '85 book, To Be or Not.

OK, Margo, take it away...

 FIVE FUN FACTS:

1. Favorite word: Snuggle. It’s a universal term for closeness and love at all age levels.
2. First thing you do in the morning: Brew coffee. Drink coffee. And please don’t speak to me until I do.
3. Favorite song to dance to: Head and Shoulders; Knees and Toes with my grandchildren.
4. What constitutes a crime against nature: Abuse of an animal by someone they trust.
5. Favorite destination: Anywhere on the water. Boating, swimming. Sunbathing, not so much.

THREE QUESTIONS

1. What book is on your nightstand? Not as romantic, but how about on my iPad? A Holiday to Remember a progressive contemporary romance written by several talented ladies of The Roses of Prose. www.rosesofprose.blogspot.com
2. What would your mother say about today’s underwear choice? Whatever happened to good old fashioned white?
3. What scares you most? Losing someone in my family.

ONE SENTENCE

Using these four words, write a sentence: Skeleton. Chocolate.  Spa. Files.

Fresh from a two hour workout at the spa, I scoured some computer files for my latest work in progress and allowed myself nibbles of the chocolate skeleton left over from Halloween.

YOUR TURN:

Feel free to give us a teaser about your new book and information where to find you online.

Blurb: To Be, Or Not

Barry Carlson had it all, a successful career in professional baseball and the adoration of any woman he wanted. Except one. Forced to retire in his prime, Barry returns to his hometown of Summerville, New York to coach the Minor League Hornets.

Twenty years ago, Barry broke through Amanda Marsh’s trust issues. He melted her ice, won her love, then walked away without a backward glance to survey the wreckage. Now Amanda is the head of public relations for the Hornets and happily single—until Barry slides back into her life.

Still reluctant to trust, Amanda gives Barry another chance. But the announcement of their twenty-fifth high school reunion leads to an asinine bet between Barry and his old buddies, and threatens to ruin their newfound relationship. As scandals of the past and present converge, can Barry and Amanda get beyond their differences to find their second chance at love?

To learn more about Margo, visit one or all of these sites:

Blog:     www.margohoornstra.blogspot.com

Website:  www.margohoornstra.com

FB:           http://www.facebook.com/pages/Margo-Hoornstra-Author/251502834867396

Twitter:      https://twitter.com/#!/MargoHoornstra

Friday Five...Three...One... is a chance for guest bloggers to share a bit about themselves in a fun format of Five Facts, Three Questions and One Sentence. If you'd like to be a guest on Friday Five, Three, One drop me an email.

To request or to return...that is the question

Today is the third busiest retail day of the year. It's the day when we take back all the gifts that didn't fit, didn't work or just didn't strike our fancy. News reports suggest a record $46 billion worth of merchandise will be returned.


$46 billion.


I find that number a bit embarrassing.


Does it mean we're a nation of 300 million ingrates? Yes, I know sometimes gifts don't work or don't fit... but I have a feeling it's often down to the fact that we just don't like something that someone else thought we would and we feel entitled to have exactly what we want in a gift.

And I must not be alone in my ambivalence to returning gifts. Although holiday returns are now an expected part of the gift-giving, a survey by American Express found that nearly 60 percent of gift getters won't tell Great Aunt Milly the fate of the red popcorn sweater she gave them.

Of course, as my mother would say, if you'd given me a list, you wouldn't be standing in line. But I find making a list equally problematic. As a child, it was fun and exciting. As an adult, it seems selfish and more than a bit presumptuous.


What do you think? It is better to ask for what you want and need or to stay quiet knowing you can join the hordes returning gifts after Christmas?

Friday Five… Three… One

Happy Friday! I hope everyone is ready for the holidays.


Callie Hutton is today's guest. Besides giving us insight into her mother's opinion of underwear, she's also talking bout her new book, A Wife By Christmas from Soul Mate Publishing.

Callie, you're up...

FIVE FUN FACTS:

1.     Favorite word: Tenacious

2.     First thing you do in the morning: Make coffee

3.     Favorite song to dance to: YMCA

4.     What constitutes a crime against nature: Abusing and/or neglecting animals

5.     Favorite destination: Home

THREE QUESTIONS

1.     What book is on your nightstand? "Twice In A Lifetime" by Jennifer Jakes

2.     What would your mother say about today’s underwear choice? Why bother?

3.     What scares you most? Something happening to one of my children.

ONE SENTENCE

1.     Using these four words, write a sentence: Wimpy. Dairy. St. Nickolas. Millions.

St. Nickolas is certainly not wimpy, delivering millions of toys to children and drinking their favorite dairy drink while munching on cookies.

YOUR TURN:

Feel free to give us a teaser about your new book and information where to find you online.

High School Principal Max Colbert needs to get rid of that pesky History teacher, Ellie Henderson. Getting her married off is the perfect solution, except everyone he introduces her to doesn’t seem right.

In 1906 Guthrie, Oklahoma, History teacher, Ellie Henderson, has been a thorn in High School Principal Max Colbert’s side ever since he took over three months ago. When she’s not flying by his office, late for her class, with books and papers jumbled in her arms, she’s attending Suffragettes meetings against his orders.


Because of her family connections, he can’t fire her, but he can certainly find someone to marry her, and keep her busy in the kitchen. And far away from his school. Max soon finds that what seemed like a good idea can turn into disaster when Miss Ellie Henderson is involved. The woman is a master at getting into trouble.

With the Christmas season in full swing, he has many opportunities to introduce her to prospective husbands. However, the uncomfortable feeling is growing that no one is worthy of the minx…

 My website: http://calliehutton.com/

Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/A-Wife-by-Christmas-ebook/dp/B006H2A51E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1324167458&sr=1-1 

Friday Five...Three...One... is a chance for guest bloggers to share a bit about themselves in a fun format of Five Facts, Three Questions and One Sentence. If you'd like to be a guest on Friday Five, Three, One drop me an email.