IWSG Blog Hop: What Do You Read? 99 Cents eBook Sale #IWSGbloghop

 

Hello and Welcome to the Focused on Story Blog 
AND the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop

Always on the first Wednesday of the month.

#IWSGbloghop

Happy IWSG Blog Hop Day!!

and an early Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

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What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group?

Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, a Facebook and Instagram group, Twitter, and a monthly newsletter. To find out more, click this link:  Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The purpose of the group is 

* to share and encourage. 

* Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. 

* Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. 

*It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! 

You're invited to become a member of this supportive group. Click here to sign-up to join.

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Aye, 'tis a lucky day for me indeed because it's my turn to be a cohost, sharing duties with a bunch of lively leprechauns.--- Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen, Jacqui Murray, Chemist Ken, Victoria Marie Lees, Natalie Aguirre.

You may not find a pot of gold at the end of your blog hop stops, but I bet you'll find some golden nuggets of information, inspiration and encouragement that are more valuable than gold.

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Question of the Month

March 3 question - Everyone has a favorite genre or genres to write.

 But what about your reading preferences? 

Do you read widely or only within the genre(s) you create stories for?

What motivates your reading choice?

As I romped through the wide-open cyberspace filled with books, I discovered I have my go-to genres- romantic suspense, cozy mystery, YA, time travel, historic fiction, and Westerns (written by Sandra Cox). My non-fiction choices are mainly books dealing with the craft of writing, marketing, publishing and memoir. ( I like memoirs written like fiction.) I have tried many other genres to support fellow authors in the BWL Publishing Stable and here at IWSG.I found delightful reads that widened my reading horizons. Frankly, there were some genres I sampled, but could not finish. I'm sure you have the same experience when it comes to trying something new. 

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WRITING UPDATES

1. You may remember last fall, I was revising and adding new material to my Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women interactive eBook. I had to put that plan on hold when my publisher decided to put my memoir, Arranging a Dream on pre-order in November. 

I picked up where I left off. I contacted the 15 role models to let me know what they were up to nowadays. Afterall, it had been 10 years since their interviews. What fun to reconnect with these amazing women. And yes, they have moved on. 

I updated each interview and added another interview. I was privileged to interview add another amazing role-model for girls, an attorney. (Girls requested a chapter about the career of an attorney.) 

With so many changes, the book needs to be released with a different title and cover. In a nutshell, the book profiles successful women who made their childhood dream careers come true. Their stories will inspire MG girls to dream big and work toward making that dream come true.

So--if you have an idea for a clever title that would catch a reader's attention, please let me know.

Here are a few ideas: 

• Girls' Dreams Come True: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women
• Dream Careers Can Become Reality
• Dream Careers Can Come True.   

I plan to release the book in March during Women's History Month.

Naturally go together-Your Words, Your Life Story and My Life Writing Journal

2. As you may know, I am a life storytelling evangelist! To further my mission for encouraging people to write their stories, I made the needed changes to My Life Writing Journal to make it a useful tool. The writer can choose from a long list of topics to spark their memories, then jot down notes, thoughts, or a complete essay in the journal about the topic such as Travel, Hobbies, Homes, etc.

I also updated the eBook that accompanies the journal, Your Words, Your Life Story:  A Guide for Sharing Memories. 

If you have thought about sharing stories from your life, click here to download the eBook format of this guide at your favorite digital bookseller. On sale now for 99 cents.

Click here to order your life story writing journal at amazon.com. Promotional price $5.82.

Thank you!

Click here to visit more bloggers. I hope to see you on the hop!

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The Rose Courier March 2021 Edition

Stay in touch with updates from JQ--packed with articles, freebies, and photos!
Click here to sign-up for delivery once a month.

IWSG: Writing Fiction-- It's All Because of My Mom!

IWSG Blog Hop---the first Wednesday of every month.

Hello and welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group Blog Hop! 

Always on the first Wednesday of the month.

What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group?

Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, a Facebook and Instagram group, Twitter, and a monthly newsletter. To find out more, click this link:  Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The purpose of the group is 

* to share and encourage. 

* Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. 

* Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. 

*It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! 

You're invited to become a member of this supportive group. Click here to sign-up to join.

***

Happy IWSG Day and Happy New Year 2020!

Question for January 8

January 8 Question 

What started you on your writing journey? Was it a particular book, movie, story, or series? Was it a teacher/coach/spouse/friend/parent? Did you just "know" suddenly you wanted to write?

My mother started me on my writing journey. Not because of her love of reading or writing nor because she thought I was a smart kid and adorable (which I was--wink wink). I began writing to stay out of trouble. My mom was my second-grade teacher--a long story. She taught a split class of second and third graders. 

I must admit I was a bit of a social butterfly and liked to "talk" to my fellow classmates when I finished my assignments. I was usually the first one done.

 My mother thought I was keeping my friends from finishing the assignments and distracting the class, so she found other things for me to do when I finished. She piled up books to read, math problems to solve, worksheets, drawing sheets and of course, a tablet(such as lined pages, not the electronic kind of tablet we know today). I filled those pages with stories and loved sharing them with the class. I'd found my passion.

Many many many years later, I made the decision to try writing fiction for fun. After writing so many freelance non-fiction articles for papers and magazines, I chose to write mysteries. I gobbled up the alphabet mysteries, Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone series e.g. A is for Alibi, and Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, e.g. One for the Money. I loved to try and figure out whodunit, but I also marveled at the humor as the story played out. So entertaining.

Their writing styles influenced my storytelling so I added light, funny scenes in my novels to break up the dark murder mystery.

Here's an excerpt from my romantic suspense, Dangerous Sanctuary, Chapter 10--I hope you'll get a giggle out of it...

“The detective practically accused me of killing William, right there, right in the park.” Sitting on the screened-in porch at the rear of the parsonage, Christine expected Lacey to be as angry as she was at such a ridiculous idea.

Instead, her friend held her slice of pizza midway from the greasy box to her mouth long enough to ask, “Hey, you didn’t tell me you were at the park with Detective Stephens this afternoon. How’d that happen?”

“What? You’re more interested in why I was at the park instead of being accused of murdering William? Come on, Lacey.” Planting her feet firmly on the cement floor, she stopped the gentle rocking of the glider. “Don’t you get it? I could be tossed in jail for something I didn’t do.”

“Don’t be silly. You’re innocent. You know it, and so does everyone else.” Lacey popped the last morsel of pepperoni in her mouth. “Anyway, tell me how you met Cole Stephens at the park. He is super cute.” Her friend licked the pizza grease from her fingers and then grabbed the thin paper napkin to complete the grease removal from her lips.

“Excuse me, Lacey. Some people in this town are spreading rumors that I did kill William. I wouldn’t be surprised if it weren’t some of my own parishioners involved in spreading them. There were several folks who weren’t too happy to have a young woman for their pastor.”

“You don’t think they would spread malicious lies to get you out of here, do you?”

“I would hope not.” Christine sat back on the glider and sipped her light beer. She was too upset to eat the pizza Lacey had brought over.

“I guess we could always do our own investigation, eh?” She threw it out there to get a reaction from her friend.

“Sure, Sherlock.” Lacey laughed. “We could go to William’s house to see if someone left a note telling us who killed him.”

Christine sat bolt upright. “You’re right! We could run out there and investigate.”

“I’m sure the police have already done that. There’s nothing left to check out.” Lacey piled the paper napkins next to the half-empty pizza box on the patio table.

They sat in silence for a few minutes allowing the peaceful twilight to restore tranquility. Christine couldn’t let go of the idea of checking out William’s home. After all, William had shown her where the key was if she needed to get into his house in case of an emergency. I think trying to find William’s killer could qualify as an emergency.

Christine moved to the patio table. “We’ve got to go to William’s house and look for clues to his killer.”

“We can’t even get into his house.”

“Oh yes, we can. I know where he hides his house key. Come on, let’s go.”

“Hey, what about the pizza?” Lacey asked as Christine swooped up the pizza box and bottles.

“I’ll store it in my refrigerator for a midnight snack. Let’s go now. “ Christine was fired up to prove her innocence. Sitting back and waiting to find out who murdered William was no longer an option. She needed to take action toward solving this mystery, so she and her congregation could deal with it and move forward.

Dangerous Sanctuary by J.Q.Rose

Romantic suspense

Pastor Christine Hobbs never imagined her flock would consist 

of a cat, a pig, a kangaroo and a murderer.

Click here for more about Dangerous Sanctuary on sale now for 99 cents!

Click here to order a paperback book.

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GOOD NEWS: I finally figured out, I think, how to send the Rose Courier out to subscribers. The inaugural edition will be in your inbox on Thursday, January 9 IF you signed up for it. Please enter your email address at the top of the page under The Rose Courier to get this jazzy update every month. Thank you!!

Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop: Firing Up My Writing Ideas, 99 Cents eBook Sale

Hello and welcome to the monthly meeting of the 

Insecure Writers Support Group(IWSG) blog hop! 

Internet Writers Support Group Blog Hop
First Wednesday of every month.

What is IWSG? Founder of the  Insecure Writer’s Support Group and author Alex J Cavanaugh explains the group's purpose is "to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!" You're invited to become a member of this supportive group.

The group blogs the first Wednesday of every month.  The list of bloggers is always available so you can hop around to the author blogs filled with humor, advice, and thought-provoking topics on writing and publishing. You can find the list of participants at Alex's IWSG page.

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Scene from Mesa Verde National Park
Photo by J.Q. Rose

I just returned from two weeks of roaming around the deserts, mountains, and rocks of the Southwest USA. What a completely different experience from my life in green, tree-laden, lake-rich Michigan. The wide open vistas, sands, dwarf bushes, and cacti were never in my life except when I watched cowboys like Roy Rogers and Rex Allen race across the movie screen when I was a little kid. Loved all those movies, but never imagined I would ever visit the movie locations. 

Vintage train ride up the mountain from Durango, CO to Silverton, CO
1870's style
Photo by J.Q. Rose

Now I'm home and tapping on the keyboard filled with eagerness to get down all the ideas I thought about while riding hours and hours in our little rental car from one destination to the next. We put on 2400 miles on this trip and that doesn't count the plane ride from Michigan to Las Vegas!!

So, at this moment, I'm not feeling insecure about my writing, but fired up to get to it! How about you? Does taking time away from the keyboard (or pen and paper) inspire your writing projects? I'd love to read your thoughts on this. Thank you for stopping in.

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Check out this countdown deal on my latest romantic suspense, Deadly Undertaking.

Deadly Undertaking for 99 cents for limited time.

BIG NEWS (and shameless promo): Romantic suspense, Deadly Undertaking, is now on sale through Wednesday, July 6 for 99 cents. Time is clicking away. Grab it quick at amazon