Terror on Sunshine Boulevard 2018 Blog Tour Kick-Off Today, Honoring Martin Luther King

Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story Blog by J.Q. Rose!

Terror on Sunshine Boulevard Winter Warm-Up 2018 Blog Tour

with J.Q. Rose

Squeeeeee---Today is the kick-off for the Blog Tour!!! 

Author Sandra Cox is hosting my first guest post for this winter's tour. Brave gal, eh? 

I really love doing blog tours. I get to work with old friends and meet new ones as we prepare for the guest posts together. The support and generosity of all my hosts warms me all over in this miserable winter filled with freezing weather, fires, mudslides. 

My prayers are with all those who are suffering through the tragedies and prayers for those who respond to these emergencies. I hope my book will allow an escape from reality for readers and bring some entertainment, perhaps a giggle, and perhaps chills not caused by cold weather.

Hop over to Sandra's blog today, Monday, January 15, to enter to win a PDF copy of Terror on Sunshine Boulevard. The article on tips on flower arranging will inspire you to bring in some colorful flowers to brighten those wintry days.

Today!! Click here to visit the Sandra Cox Blog

Wednesday, January 17--hop on over to the Nan Pokerwinski Heartwood Blog. You'll learn a lot about the book and my writing process and you can enter to win a PDF copy of Terror on Sunshine Boulevard.

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Please read on to find an excerpt from the paranormal mystery. The excerpt is a scen with the sweetest dog, Jingles, and his master, Mr. Tweeble.  They live in the beautiful Florida senior park, Citrus Ridge Senior Community and Resort on Sunshine Boulevard. 

Mr. Tweeble's dog, Jingles, in paranormal mystery, Terror on Sunshine Boulevard

Excerpt: Terror on Sunshine Boulevard by J.Q. Rose

A few nights later, Mr. Tweeble woke up with a start when his dog Jingles began barking loud enough to wake him even if he wasn’t wearing his hearing aids.

“Jingles! Jingles! Hush up, will you? It’s three o’clock in the morning. You’re going to wake the neighborhood with your barking.”

He remembered Jingles barking and whining like that when he drove his electric scooter near George McConnell’s house that afternoon. He had finally picked up the feisty terrier and put him on his lap to join the other curiosity seekers near the house. The dog jumped off and raced the other way until he was brought up short on his leash and howled until his master turned the cart around and left the area.

Jingles’ pitiful yowling broke into Mr. Tweeble’s memory.

Fearing his dog was sick, Mr. Tweeble rolled himself out of bed, fumbled putting on his glasses, and shuffled into the kitchen. Using the night light in the hood vent over the old stove to see the dog, he discovered the animal scampering back and forth near the back door.

“Jingles, come ‘ere, boy. Are you sick?” Mr. Tweeble picked him up and gently held the dog close to his chest. He switched on the ceiling light and studied the precious face he dearly loved. He checked Jingles’ brown ears and his brown and white furry body for any injuries and then cradled him to his rotund belly.

“It’s all right, little guy. Come on. Come on to bed with me. You must want to go out to chase a rabbit, eh?” As he slowly shuffled his way back to his bedroom with the dog, he wondered what was wrong. Mr. Tweeble made a mental note to check behind the couch for an “accident” in the morning.

He lay down on the rumpled bed and enfolded the trembling dog in his arms. Suddenly Jingles wriggled free and sprang up barking non-stop. He leaped from the bed and raced out of the room. A flash of searing yellow light filled the room blinding Mr. Tweeble, and the smell of his own scorched flesh burned his nostrils.

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Just click on the blog name and pop on over to have fun and win prizes!!

Monday-Today-Sandra Cox Blog

Wednesday, January 17 Nan Pokerwinski Heartwood Blog - a blog about cultivating creativity, connection and contentment wherever you are.

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Honoring and Remembering Martin Luther King

Honoring Martin Luther King

Thank you to Dr.King and those brave people through our history for trailblazing a path to freedom, equality and justice for all. 

Only in the darkness can you see the stars.--Martin Luther King

DIY MFA Book Club Challenge, Terror on Sunshine Boulevard Blog Tour Begins Monday

Hello and welcome to the J.Q. Rose blog!

Are you writing today?

How are you doing with your writing goals? Don't lose your determination to get that story or book out of your head and onto the paper.

"Many writers struggle with finding time to write, maintaining their motivation, or keeping that pesky inner critic at bay," said Gabriella Pereira at DIY MFA. She has a plan for smacking down those obstacles by helping writers build writing momentum and bust through mental blocks that are getting in your way.  She is launching a new program called the DIY MFA Book Club Challenge.  Click here for more information about the Do-It-Yourself Master of Fine Arts Book Club.

I decided to be more proactive in my writing process and join the challenge. How about you? I'll be sharing some of my writing prompts Gabriela gives us during the month. Here's the first one.

DIY MFA Book Club

Prompt: How did you become a writer?

How did you become a writer?

Writing is a superpower and every superhero has an origin story. What’s yours? When did you realize that you wanted to write? What motivated you to get started?

I became a writer when I was in second grade in order to stay out of trouble. I was an innocent player in an unusual situation during my second grade year in my small town grade school. Our second and third grade classes were filled with more kids than usual, hence the term “baby boomers.” Not quite enough kids in each class to hire two teachers, so the school decided to have a combined class of second and third grades in one classroom. And who was the lucky teacher assigned to handle this double workload? My mother.

Yes, I had my mother as my second-grade teacher. Talk about a predicament for both of us. I was always aware of my "special standing" in the class.  Did the kids treat me differently because our teacher was my mother? Perhaps at times, but I never felt it caused a problem with friends.
Do I call mom Mrs.or just Mom? Actually, I didn't address her at all during school time. 
Could I hug her when leaving for recess? No, I didn't do that, but plenty of hugs after school. 
In fact, my mother and I had a special relationship which I cherish to this day. I don't know if being her student for nine months may have contributed to our closeness as I forged through my teens and beyond.

Many years later, after I was married and had my two daughters, Mom told me how difficult that year was for her. She never graded my tests, but instead opted for having the other second-grade teacher do it. She didn’t want anyone to think she was giving me A’s because I was her daughter. She was stricter with me than with the other kids in the classroom for fear of being accused of favoring me. She struggled all year to find a balance between being my mother and being my teacher. As a 7-year-old I had no idea.

I admit I was one of those kids who loved to talk to students sitting near me so I would get in trouble a lot for doing that. In order not to invoke the wrath of my mother on me, I learned I had to keep busy so I wouldn’t talk to my classmates when I finished my assignments. Since I was always done earlier than anyone else, I decided to write stories.

My writing pencil.

I remember scrawling those stories, mostly about animals, on a tablet (way before electronic tablets were available) using a #2 lead pencil. I wrote so many stories, I developed a “writer’s bump” on the middle finger of my right hand. I still have it. Not only did I love creating those tales using my 7-year-old-experiences as a starting point, I especially loved reading the stories to my class and watching them smile and laugh because of what I wrote. Seeing their enjoyment hooked me so I continued to make up stories and still do to this day!
 Are you a writer? When did you begin? How ARE you doing with those 2018 writing plans? 

Are you a reader? When did you fall in love with reading? 

Please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear your experiences.

Terror on Sunshine Boulevard Winter Warm-Up Blog Tour with J.Q. Rose

Terror on Sunshine Boulevard Winter Blog Tour
Join us for book giveaways, prizes, mysteries, and fun!

Excited to begin my Blog Tour for my newly-released paranormal mystery, Terror on Sunshine Boulevard. Author Sandra Cox kicks off the tour on Monday where I share tips on arranging cut flowers. (In case you didn't know, I was in the flower business with GT for 20 years.) Thank you, Sandra, for hosting my first stop!

Then I pop over to my critique buddy's amazing blog, Heartwood, on Wednesday where I answer questions Nan Pokerwinski has cooked up. Please join us. Just click on the blog name and go to have fun and win prizes!!

Sandra Cox Blog

Nan Pokerwinski Heartwood Blog - a blog about cultivating creativity, connection and contentment wherever you are.

My Favorite Books on Writing by J.Q. Rose, Intentions for 2017

Make it happen!

Welcome to the J.Q. Rose Blog!

This is the year you are going to make things happen in your life! I know you've thought about and perhaps already written down your resolutions, goals, or intentions for the year.

If you're a writer, new or experienced, or even thinking about writing, I hope the list of books on writing will spur you on and keep you going to achieve your 2017 writing goals.

I presented a month long workshop on creative writing for our county schools' continuing education program. Working with these terrific, creative groups of adults inspires me. Their enthusiasm for writing is contagious. Their questions and ideas energize for my own writing projects. And my constant research to present the different elements of writing was an adventure in discovery.

I tried to introduce and expand on as many topics as I could in that short time–character development, dialogue, plot, theme, setting, conflict, POV, show, don’t tell, and more. On top of all this, we devoted time to writing and sharing.

For the class I relied on Stephen King’s book On Writing and Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones as resources. I'm including the list of books I gave to the participants. They would be great additions to a writer's library. Do you have outstanding books you would suggest for new and veteran writers?

Thanks.

Books on Writing

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR BOOKS ON WRITING
Compiled by J.Q. Rose

 Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Author: Anne Lamott

Chicago Manual of Style

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing

Author: The Editors of Writer’s Digest

Publisher: Writer’s Digest Books

How to be a Writer: Building Your Creative Skills Through Practice and Play

Author: Barbara Baig

The Elements of Style

Author: William Strunk and E.B.White.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Author: Stephen King

Publisher: Scribner

On Writing Well

Author: William Zinsser

Reading Like a Writer

Author: Francine Prose

Writers on Writing: Collected Essays from The New York Times

Editor: John Darnton

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within

Author: Natalie Goldberg

The Art of Memoir

Author: Mary Karr

The Emotion Thesaurus

Authors: Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi

The Story Template

Author: Amy Deardon

Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story

Author: K.M. Weiland

The Insecure Writers Support Group Guide to Publishing and Beyond (FREE)

Compiled by Alex J. Cavanaugh

Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing: Tips on the Writing Process, Publishing and Marketing

Compiled by J.Q. Rose with15 author contributors 


AND there's MORE! Blogger and author Joan Y. Edwards lists books on the craft of writing. Get the list here. Thank you, Joan!

Happy New Year 2017

INTENTIONS FOR 2017
Last week on my friend Nan Sanders Pokerwinski's blog, she asked her friends to respond to this question--What is one way you hope to enhance (or exercise) your creativity OR increase your connection (with other people, with the natural world, with causes you champion) OR foster contentment (your own or someone else's) in 2017? 

HeartWood--Written from the heart,
from the heart of the woods--Nan Sanders Pokerwinski

I'm thrilled I could be a part of the exercise. Nan has a diverse group of friends who answered with wit and wisdom. Take a peek at their responses and be inspired to make your intentions happen in 2017! Click here to go to the post on her HeartWood blog.