A Sharpshooter Marries a Frogman
And They Write Books
The creation of Dead Man’s Pose and Cobra Pose
John Roosen and Susan Rogers
Anyone looking at our backgrounds would wonder how we met, how we stayed together, and how in the world do we write books together. It isn’t easy, but it’s fun.
John Roosen started his career as a biologist, served as a commissioned naval officer, a designated law enforcement officer and environmental emergency specialist in the United States, with one of his passions being scuba diving. Susan Rogers’ life took a major detour when she became a commissioned naval officer and a designated law enforcement officer. She headed a small arms weapons training team for the for the US Coast Guard and conducted safety and engineering inspections of ships at sea.
They met at Officer’s Candidate School in Yorktown, Virginia. With two similar last names (Rogers-Roosen), they were together in group formations, in classes and on the obstacle course always in close proximity. Susan liked to follow all the strict rules. John liked to figure out ways to break them. A perfect combo.
They built several houses together. John would say ‘I think the bricks need to be moved from here to there.’ Susan would move them. Susan would say ‘I think we need an Art Deco interior’. John would cringe and pay the bills. They lived around the world in different places. This included the Republic of Vanuatu – a country which outlawed cannibalism in 1969, the same year that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Their travels have taken them across the South Pacific, Austral-Asia and the Americas. They negotiated many an indirect route, like a one night run across Laos through local militias extorting money along the way in the form of user fees. John pointed out that at least these user fees were in the open and compelling, since they were enforced with blockades and automatic weapons.
Now imagine sitting in corner of a room for 12-14 hours a day. In the kitchen bay window, we have built a narrow American ash table to fit two computers and copious amounts of space for the coffee cups scattered on it. From there, we finished our first mystery novel, Dead Man’s Pose, about a murder occurring in Sydney, Australia. It becomes three murders after wrangling a plotline from the creative ether. We argued over everything—from character flaws, to location descriptions, to unique methods of murder.
It isn’t easy to have two strong personality types build a gummy web of intrigue. As we both have retired from the military, sometimes there is a bit of pulling rank or drawing swords. Most of the time (almost miraculously), we maintain our humour. The impenetrable goal was not to tarnish (too much) our long relationship by arguing over Oxford commas, how to place Australianisms, or where to bury clues so they are read, but not apparent.
So, write we did. We laughed and cried and encouraged Elaina – our main protagonist – onwards in her journey in Dead Man’s Pose. Our solicitor turned yoga instructor sought to overcome her lack of confidence in a zig-zagging pathway. Elaina’s handsome, dark horse partner, Ric, was easier to write about. He seemed to collaborate with us throughout the mystery, making us laugh at his wry humour and smart dialogue. Thanks Ric!
As Cobra Pose was being written, we ground-truthed every street, every restaurant even taking a few days at Stradbroke Island in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia to plot out the final conclusion. (We, however, did not use real weapons.)
We have dug deeply into our backgrounds of English, business, technical writing, biology, chemistry and trivia. Did we tear our hair out, gnash teeth, or threaten to jump from the 14th floor window to get either book done? Well, the jumping would be difficult as we are on the ground level … but it did seem like that sometimes.
During the blazing arguments and work-throughs, we pounded out the direction were headed and how we would get there. That’s where our passion for writing burned brightest. Would we do it again? You bet! On Valentine’s Day 2022, we released Dead Man’s Pose as an eBook novel. On 1 Feb 2023, (14 days ahead of schedule) we released Cobra Pose, Book 2 in the Yoga Mat Mysteries Series.
Guess what we are doing next weekend? Tree Pose (Book 3) is next up and the laptops will be opened and we will be clicking away, coffee hot, and ideas flowing.
Scroll down to read all about our latest release, Cobra Pose…
Title Cobra Pose
Authors Susan Rogers & John Roosen
Genre Mystery-Suspense-Techno Thriller-Romance
Publisher G-EMS PTY LTD and PS LLC
Book Blurb
Australia is a surfers’ paradise … but this is nefarious surfing on the ‘net’ … and will destroy the global financial system.
It’s not just a rippling ‘scam’ job. Has Australia been infiltrated at levels they’ve never known?
Elaina Williams uses a Cobra Pose in her Yoga studio to boost her energy – she will need it! Elaina’s father, Edward, is in trouble. He’s disappeared.
As a solicitor and now yoga instructor, Elaina drags Ric, a man she’s fallen for, into the bursting web of techno-thrilling intrigue.
Ric Peters has just returned from a disastrous trip to Indonesia. Ric bills himself as a photojournalist. Elaina suspects he shoots more than just photographs. Ric has insight into the journey he and Elaina must take. He knows Elaina isn’t ready for what’s going to happen. There are too many moving parts for him to control.
Time is running out before The Cobra and The Wolf strike with their heist. They are extending their fangs towards Australia’s ‘golden coastline’ to bite into and destabilise financial institutions worldwide.
The sparkling sub-tropical city of Brisbane, Queensland, is the epicentre of this hacking tsunami of the century! But these hackers are good at hiding. They make a living out of it. They are submerged Phantoms leaving no tracks.
Can the burgeoning amateur sleuth Elaina piece this puzzle together before her father’s fate is sealed? How far is Ric willing to go in deciding to save Elaina … or Australia?
Cobra Pose is the suspense-thriller and second novel in the Yoga Mat Mysteries series. This book is filled with a snappy plot, dynamic prose, witty dialogue, and slow-burn chemistry. You’ll love Susan Rogers and John Roosen’s atmospheric whodunit. Click Cobra Pose to stretch your sense of adventure today!
The first book, Dead Man’s Pose, is available online. Next in the YMM line-up is Tree Pose – coming soon!
Excerpt
47 Cooper Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia
'Ric. Have been trying to reach you. I’m really worried about my father. Know you’ll arrive soon. Can you call me? Thanks, Elaina.’
Elaina hit send, then placed the phone on the eucalyptus tabletop her father had built for her. It was 6 am. She sent one more text to her father before she had to dash to her sunrise yoga class. The mornings in Surry Hills were crisp in the winter, so she wanted to warm the room for her students.
‘Mon Père. I love you. I’ve been trying to reach you. Your phone seems … dead.’ She hated that word. She deleted ‘dead’ and typed ‘not working’.
‘Can you give me a call, Papa? Je t’aime, Elaina.’
***
Ric bent down and picked up something familiar. A pair of Elaina’s shoes was parked next to the slider doors, as if the canvas duo wanted to walk into the living room on their own. He set them carefully back down.
His mobile phone was also dead-on-arrival. DOA was a tag he had seen way too often. However, revival of his phone was easier than the plants … or any bodies on stretchers that briefly passed through his mind. He plugged in his charger like a small defibrillator sending an electric pulse to the lithium battery in his phone.
He needed coffee to restore his heartbeat. His Rocket espresso machine surged to life. ‘I’m at your command,’ the Rocket acknowledged with a blinking light.
Ric flicked on his burr grinder and warmed the bell of the espresso machine. The last weeks had been a blizzard of tasks. No – make that an avalanche. When his flight from Indonesia had landed on the tarmac in Sydney, Australia, he’d wanted to fall on his knees and kiss the asphalt. Tar or not.
Ric’s shot filled a small demitasse cup. The Rocket streamed a crema of deep chocolate brown.
The phone had picked up enough charge to wake from its deathbed, and messages downloaded like popcorn in hot oil, texts reeling down his screen. He went straight to the voice messages and listened to the latest one. The 6:30 am message was from Elaina.
‘Ric. Sorry, but I wondered if I could see you as soon as possible. I’m teaching a class at 7:00 am, but could you please meet me at 8:30 am at the studio? I know you’re coming home today. Apologies, this is short notice, but … it’s something important. And I … I want to talk to you.’
He didn’t hear, ‘I missed you.’ However, he supposed that was expected, too. But he did hear the urgency in her voice. Fear? Maybe. What was up?
His message back confirmed he’d be at Yoga Boronia at 8:30 am. He had thirty minutes. Time for a shower and another espresso. No matter what type of equipment they used, airplane coffee never made the cut. He grabbed a towel, shed his clothes and took the remainder of his ‘caffeine in a cup’ with him.
The yoga studio was at the dead end of Cooper Street. Ric had started attending Yoga Boronia over a year ago, seeking a complement to his more physical martial arts classes – Tai Chi and Krav Maga.
The bending and twisting of his body while watching Elaina bend and twist her body noticeably improved his health.
Their lives had been slammed together when one of the yoga students, Mario Vincente, suddenly and mysteriously died on his yoga mat during one of Elaina’s sessions. Elaina and Ric, along with his friend, Jack McMasters, Detective Inspector with the Homicide Squad, helped unravel the circumstances. Things unravelled more than Ric planned because Mario’s death had far-reaching implications. Elaina had ended up rooming for ten days with Ric, and shared his apartment, while the events exploded around them.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub)
Amazon US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTJV4V1H
Amazon CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BTJV4V1H
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BTJV4V1H
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/cobra-pose-yoga-mat-mysteries-2-by-susan-rogers-and-john-roosen
Author Biographies
What do a woman, who used to train military personnel how to shoot straight, and a man, skilled at eradicating all sorts of hazardous materials safely, have in common? Besides both being designated law enforcement officers, they have now written two ‘knock ’em dead’ books … together!
John Roosen started his career as a biologist, served as a naval officer and environmental emergency specialist in the United States, and has lived and worked in Australasia, Antarctica and the Middle East. At a moment’s notice, he would respond to chemical and refinery plant explosions, deal with rocket fuel plant meltdowns and dismantle illegal drug labs. As a change-up, John switched careers to chasing pirates and duelling with a con artist extraordinaire on a remote South Pacific island. In between, he organised jungle expeditions and deep-sea scuba diving. However, John’s experience extends beyond responding to cataclysmic disasters and includes mastering the intricacies of making soufflé omelettes without burning the edges.
Susan Rogers already knew she was a writer at age six, but as an adult she took a major detour in becoming a commissioned naval officer. She has conducted sting operations, run extensive weapons training programs and directed the restoration of a Presidential yacht. In between, she has written several books, run health and safety operations for multi-billion-dollar projects in Abu Dhabi and revamped a South Pacific maritime service. Susan continues to write: whether braced against the hull of a sailing vessel on a hard tack, during a crossing of the Middle East’s empty quarter in a Mini, or bouncing around in a troop carrier in Australia’s outback.
Social Media Links
Website: https://www.yogamatmysteries.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/YMysteries