Ten Seconds In-Between is a book of short stories, a collection about connection. There’s something elusive yet immediate about the characters in these tales - as a line “Performance Art,” goes, “You remember reading somewhere that psychologists say when people meet, they decide within 7 and 17 seconds whether or not they will like each other. You wonder about the 10 seconds in between.

"Doug Hoekstra is either the Hank Williams of the printed page, or the Raymond Carver of the recording studio. Like Leonard Cohen he moves smoothly between writing songs and writing poetry. He works so gracefully because he knows language is the set of wings required and with those wings he can soar or glide. Read him and you will recognize that here is art that’s been waiting for you. It will feel that personal.” --Corey Mesler, author of Camel’s Bastard Son and Madstones

“Doug Hoekstra’s stories, like his songs, are infinitely and irresistibly relatable, leaving us not with answers so much as a sense that someone else understands the struggle. Hoekstra has a knack for finding small moments that test us or reveal us and dramatizing them with candor and just a  touch of lyricism when the moment is right. I don’t just enjoy his work; I trust it.  --Justin Hamm, author of The Inheritence, and American Ephemeral

“Ten Seconds In-Between is a collection of relationship stories, full of interactions where something significant happens and maybe only one of those involved realizes or understands.  You’ll travel to Liverpool and Alcatraz, meet poets and blind street vendors. There’s sex and music, dirty laundry cleaned and a light but sure touch when it comes to politics.  Hoekstra’s talent as a writer shines a light on how these relationships are often simply taken for granted, only to be reimagined on the page and in our collective memory.” (Steve Roberts, author and composer of The Library Project)