A Story from my journalism career

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By Norma Hopcraft

Down the right hand column of this blog you can see my three new covers for the Tricia Maguire romantic suspense series.

Tricia Maguire is a feisty, funny young widow and journalist who takes big risks to find the stories that will lift her from her small Central Jersey newspaper to The New York Times.

She takes risks and lands in precarious situations. Just as I did when I was a reporter in Central Jersey.

I'll allow that she takes bigger risks than I ever did.

Here's the story:

Even though I didn't take the risks my character does, sometimes I was really scared.

At one point I was given an assignment to go to a fur salon in Central Jersey and interview the owner. His neighbors kept complaining—to the police, and when they did nothing, to the newspaper I worked for—that he was training pit bulls in his backyard. He had a full-length leather suit with thick gauntlets and targets for the dogs to attack -- the whole set-up for training dogs to attack intruders.

So I went on the assignment, not too concerned, thinking I’d interview the owner amongst the mink coats. Instead, he led me to his break room in the basement – where six pit bulls were hanging out!

He said they would be fine. I didn’t want to admit that I was scared out of my mind with this arrangement. But I couldn’t let my editor down. I wanted to fulfill my assignment. I was ambitious to do well at the newspaper.

So I stepped into the break room. The dogs ignored me. Thank God. In retrospect, I should never have taken that risk.

My character Tricia has the same desire to fulfill assignments—and not just that but a burning desire to rise in the journalism world. In my novel Envy Kills, she interviews an ex-con who has a German Shepherd on a leash—and then he lets go of it. She takes even bigger risks than that in the story. Both you and I can enjoy her tale from the comfort of our armchairs.

Click on one of the covers to the right to order your book today. Envy Kills went live today, and reviews are in:

"I love it! It's fun! It's a page turner!" -- Val J.

"Deep, rich, with interesting, believable characters -- and I'm an English major!" -- John M.

Next up: Photos from Paris, where I'm staying with friends and enjoying the City of Light.

Back to the Sahara desert for a beauty fix

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 By Norma Hopcraft

In desert camp I laid in the sand that night for a while to soak in the vast display of stars, sharp and clear, with the Milky Way a cloudy streak across the apex of the sky. So many billions of stars in just one galaxy, and there are an estimated 2 trillion more galaxies. That's up from an older estimate of 100-200 billion because of the Hubble and Webb space telescopes.

I left the night-sky vista reluctantly when the desert chill drove me into my tent. I was grateful to crawl between clean white sheets, with a soft blanket above, and then the rough camel-hair blanket. I was overnighting in a tent in the Sahara desert. It was beyond my wildest dreams.

The desert was beautiful in morning light.

Camels were still with us, some nestled into the sand overnight. I believe that the Tuareg tribesmen, les hommes bleus, who guarded the camp overnight, used them as their mode of transportation to get to their jobs.

The temperature is about to go up with the sun.

I couldn't get enough of these exotic (to me) creatures.

A panoramic view of the desert, ending with our mode of transporation back to civilization.

Our driver, whose name I regret forgetting. All the Tuareg drivers displayed an infectious joie de vivre. Their music does to (look into downloading some Tinariwen, Grammy-award winning Tuareg musicion). Tuaregs are a specific ethnic group within the larger Berber people of North Africa, who are known for their nomadic culture and distinct Berber language, Tamasheq.

"Berber" comes from Roman times and means "barbarian" or "foreigner." The Berbers refer to themselves as Amazigh, or "free people."

Here's yours truly in blue.

Our SUVs took our group back to town, perched precariously at the edge of the dunes, in a scene that's at least 1,000 years old--except for the SUV on the left edge.

In town, a tower inscribed with Berber designs.

Our bus headed away from the parched region into the High Atlas mountains.

News from the crossroads of beauty, adventure + creativity!

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 I'm whisking you away from the Sahara desert temporarily to share some news! 

 I've been writing away at the crossroads of beauty, adventure, and creativity. And I've emerged -- with a new novel! Here's the cover! Subscribers to my blog are the first to see it!

Envy Kills. I had fun writing it, in hopes that you would too as you read it. 

"Meet Tricia Maguire. What fun!" says Readers' Favorite. 

 "She's feisty but funny, holy but horny, nosey but nice." 

An ambitious young widow and journalist, Tricia dreams of romance and children with Justin Hardy, and a leap from her small New Jersey paper to The New York Times. But she's fighting more than deadlines -- her weight, her biological clock, her envy, and the scars of a disastrous first marriage that left her wary of men. 

When a shocking murder rocks the local museum, Tricia investigates with daring. Every suspect hides a darker motive than the last. A chase through a swamp. A gunfight in a solarium. An unstable killer. And in the end, Tricia discovers that envy does indeed kill. 

Will she achieve her Times-worthy ambitions -- or finally choose love? Can she make peace with herself before her battles consume her, despite her spiritual leanings? 

A witty, suspenseful mystery steeped in the grit of noir Central Jersey. 

You can preorder the ebook at a short-term price of $1.99. Paperback available soon.

Just think! A mystery in noir Central Jersey, in time for Halloween! Perfect! 

Praise from early readers just came in: "It's got really interesting, believable characters. Really well written -- rich, deep, interesting." -- John M, an English major 

"I'm loving it! It's fun!" -- Valerie J. 

Preorder Envy Kills before the price goes up! 

I hope you enjoy reading the novel as much as I enjoyed writing it!