Goodbye to Big Blue and the WIP, This Week, Giveaway

"Big Blue"--1996 RAM truck

Good-bye to "Big Blue" by J.Q. Rose

Our Dodge RAM truck has given us fantastic service for fourteen years. Last week, we bought a new truck. I know this sounds sappy and sentimental, but I am sad to lose Big Blue. I know it's just a truck, but when I think of all Big Blue and my hubby and I have been through together...We began our camping adventures with this truck pulling a little 24 foot fifth wheel out west and into Canada.

Big Blue was the one who hauled us and our 32 foot fifth wheel around as we lived full-time in our "condo-on-wheels" for over eight years. Big Blue was the work horse on mission projects with the NOMADS RV'ers group. We loaded up lumber to build decks for my brother-in-law and fix-up jobs.Ted's tools were always at the ready in the tool box in the bed of the truck when he could do handyman jobs for folks. And this is the truck that transported our grandkids to those great family camp-outs.

Big Blue in the background. Grandsons cooking breakfast on camping trip to Mackinac Island

My DH had a hard time giving up this truck, but it had 189,000 miles on it. Though the engine runs like a top, thanks to my DH babying it with regular oil changes and transmission charges, the trip to Florida is a long one. I imagine Big Blue could do it, but we traded to feel more confident on those busy roads and comfy (let me tell you, my seat in that old truck had deep impressions matching my bottom).

Much like giving up Big Blue for a new truck, I have the sad but exhilarating feeling of finishing my WIP. This sounds sappy and sentimental too, but this story has become a "friend" and we have been through some fun and difficult places too. I hate to see the fleshing out of the characters and their emotions and motivations come to an end, but thrilled that I finished it. Do you ever feel that way after reading or writing a book? I have to ask--do you ever get attached to your vehicles?

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This Week:

A lot of fun coming up here on the J.Q. Rose blog this week plus a giveaway!

Tuesday, September 16--Heather Fraser Brainerd invited me to a Character Hop. So much fun to share characters. Click back tomorrow and catch a group of authors talking about the amazing characters who populate their stories. I fill you in on Pastor Christine in my romance/mystery,Coda to Murder.

Thursday, September 18--Katie L. Carroll's Elixir Bound Book Blitz--This YA fantasy is on sale this week for 99 cents AND Katie is giving away a signed copy through Goodreads.

Ebook on sale for $.99 until September 27:
Amazon
MuseItUp bookstore

Signed paperback giveaway on Goodreads until September 28: Click Goodreads to enter.

Have a fantastic week!

Blurb and Synopsis:The Truth Behind The Differences, Girls Succeed on Sale

The Difference Between a Blurb and a Synopsis by J.Q. Rose

Yes, there is a lot of confusion about the difference between a blurb and a synopsis. There's even a mixup about blurbs because the term is used for two different kinds of blurbs for your book.

Blurbs can mean a testimonial about how wonderful your book is. The blurb is written by a respected person in the topic you have written about e.g. a distinguished horticulturalist says delightful things about your non-fiction book on gardening or an author (usually not your best friend) will expound about your book. These testimonials are found in the back of the book cover or front of the book cover or front of the book to testify to a reader the merits of the information provided in a non-fiction book or entertainment value in a novel. You need these blurbs before publishing so the publisher can insert them into your manuscript. 

The other blurb is a short teaser, about a paragraph long, to get the reader's interest to actually look into your book and decide to buy it/read it! It introduces the main character and her conflict, but NOT the resolution. You gotta buy the book to discover how she figures out her problem.

Don't confuse this blurb with a tagline or log line which is only about one or two lines long.

Here's my TAGLINE for my cozymystery/sweet romance, Coda to Murder: Pastor Christine Hobbs never imagined she would be caring for a flock that includes a pig, a kangaroo, and a murderer.

Coda to Murder

Here's my BLURB: Pastor Christine Hobbs has been in the pulpit business for over five years. She never imagined herself caring for a flock that includes a pig, a kangaroo, and a murderer. 

 Detective Cole Stephens doesn't want the pretty pastor to get away with murdering the church music director. His investigative methods infuriate Christine as much as his deep brown eyes attract her.

 Can they find the real killer and build a loving relationship based on trust?

Here's my TAGLINE for my non-fiction ebook for MG girls, Girls Succeed!: Inspiring and empowering girls to achieve success in their dream careers

Here's my BLURB: An interactive e-book filled with dreams and passion to inspire, entertain, and empower girls. Fifteen remarkable career women in a variety of occupations share their stories about their work and the path

Girls Succeed!

they took to become successful in their dream careers. These diverse careers encompass women in the arts, business, science, medicine, ministry, entertainment, and sports. Learn about contemporary women who have discovered cures to stamp out disease, made people laugh, earned Olympic and Paralympic gold medals, and crossed the country in the cab of an eighteen wheeler.

Synopsis

When submitting your book to a publisher, editor, agent, you will need to have the tagline and blurb written as well as a synopsis. The synopsis tells the whole story line. You must reveal the ending too. (I know that goes against your writerly principles, but the person considering your manuscript needs to know.)

As the writer, you know every nuance of the story and want to explain every character down to the waitress who takes the main character's order at the restaurant. Don't do it! Stick to the main character and major characters, not all the little players in the story.

Be sure to have someone who is familiar with your manuscript read through your synopsis before submitting it. They can see the big picture of the story better than you can.

This blog post by Chuck Sambuchino gives you five tips on writing a synopsis for a novel. I have never heard of capitalizing the main characters when you introduce them in your synopsis. Have you?

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 I am in the process of creating my blurb for my WIP.  Here's the rough draft of it. I've written about five. It ain't easy, is it? I need to make it catchier, so I'll keep working on it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

After getting many opinions on the title for the WIP, I have decided on, for the moment, Deadly Undertaking.

Blurb: Dead bodies are the everyday routine for a funeral director, but discovering a murder victim in the garage of the funeral home is not part of a normal day.  Lauren Staab believed she would be helping care for her mother stricken with Alzheimer’s  disease and keep the books for the family funeral business. Defending her family against suspicion of murder and keeping watch for the killer to return do not fit into her plan for her life in her quiet town of Mayfield. She has her sick mother, her dad, a shadow man, and the funeral business to handle. Lauren certainly doesn’t need a murder or a handsome police man to stir into the mix of her complicated life.

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Time for back to school. I know our kids don't return till after Labor Day, but many of you have kids already in school! So to celebrate this very special time of the year (some kids are not cheering that school started) I have discounted 50% off the price of Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women! This book is a great resource for teachers and homeschoolers and has a Reader's Guide to accompany the interactive book. 

BOOK LINKS: If you would like to download a sample which includes the Table of Contents listing all the careers in the book, please go to

Amazon Link

Smashwords Link 

and all major online booksellers.

 The Reader's Guide is organized into units for study. The themes are Careers, Passion, Persistence, Trailblazers, Feeling Different, Being the Best You Can Be, Overcoming Obstacles

Book Links:

 Amazon Link

 Smashwords Link

This 'n That Thursday: Tip on Saving Lily Blossoms, Critique Groups, Re-writing

Rubrum lily

Good morning to ya'. I know you may not be reading this in the morning, but I am writing it on Thursday morning. A glorious summer morning. I'm sharing this photo of a Rubrum lily taken this week in a flower bed in back of our house. This gorgeous lily had at one time, 18, yep 18, blossoms and buds on the one stem. I never took the time to take a photo of that stem in all its glory, and I'm sorry, but the blooms and buds still on the stem are still breath-taking and the buds have a promise of more beauty to come. 

TIP: If you have lilies, removing the pollen from the center of the flower will lengthen the blooming time and reduce the smudging of the petals with the pollen. We call this "picking the lilies' nose." Remember this tip for Easter time when the Easter lilies are filling your room with their sweet fragrance. 

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My WIP: Critique Groups

My Work in Progress (WIP) received a jolt of energy after sharing the first chapter with a couple of authors this week. Working on a manuscript can become so absorbing that after awhile, you need a break and time to come up for air. Get back in touch with reality and there's no better way to do that than to share the writing with a crit group.

Getting together in person or online with fellow writers can give you the shot in the arm you really need to keep going. Of course some groups can really get you down too, so don't go there. Critiques should be done gently. If a member has a problem with a ms, the member can point it out, but should have suggestions to correct what she perceives as a problem.

Thankfully I am blessed to be associated with writers who can do this for me. And by sharing that first chapter this week, that's what happened. Their excitement about the chapter was contagious and now I'm rip roarin' ready to get that re-writing done. 

Another benefit of critique groups is the camaraderie shared in the meeting. We meet for coffee, share our lives, and just enjoy conversation with real human beings. It's like a breath of fresh air to escape for a bit.

Re-Writing 

I asked questions yesterday about the methods of re-writing from the many wonderful authors on the Insecure Writers Support Group. Please take a look at their in-depth answers  in yesterday's post on how they go about re-writing their stories. So interesting. I really appreciated their taking time to give so much information about their process. 

Next week I plan to have several chapters of the funeral home story ready and available for you to take the first peek. Yes, I'm fired up!!

Have a grand day/evening whether you are just beginning it, in the middle of it, or getting ready to settle in for the night.

Are you in a critique group? Has that been a good experience for you? Share your process of re-writing with us. If you're a reader, do you like to know the author's process of getting that story done and published?

This 'n That Thursday--Insecure Writers Support Group, Kat Holmes' Summer Bash, My WIP

Summer sunset over Lake Huron July 2014

Taking a page from Alex Cavanaugh's newsy and fun blog, I am throwing a lot of things into one post here. I call it This 'n That, but they're all about writing. Speaking of Alex, he is the mighty captain of the Insecure Writers Support Group. 

What is IWSG? Founder of IWSG 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!" 

The group blogs the first Wednesday of every month, so come back on Wednesday to see how insecure I am! LOL The list of bloggers is always available so you can hop around to the author blogs filled with humor, advice, and thought provoking posts.

Cozy mystery/sweet romance

Romance author Kat Holmes is hosting me on her blog today during her Summer Bash party. Inteviews with lots of authors all summer long. Stop over and enjoy the party, take a cruise with me in my red Mustang with the top down, of course, and enjoy fresh summer salads and ice cream!!

Kat's Lucky 13 question is "What are you working on?" I'm so happy she asked that one because I am just finishing my work in progress, a new mystery/sweet romance. The story takes place in the Staab and Blood funeral home,. Lauren Staab, the undertaker's daughter, moved back home to help her father care for her mother who is stricken with Alzheimer's disease. Lauren also stesp in for her mother's responsibilities in the business. Her world is turned upside down when, well let me just share the first part of Chapter One with you so you can get the idea.

Proposed Chapter One

“Lauren, call 9-1-1, there’s a dead body out here in the garage!”

            Lauren frowned. Dad must be joking. This is a funeral home. There’s always a body here. Still, there was urgency in his voice.

            She grabbed her cell phone off the desk in her office, kicked off her high heels, and ran toward the garage at the back of the funeral home.

            Lauren studdered to a stop and stood in shock when she saw a man lying face down in a pool of blood on the garage floor between the black funeral coach and SUV.  Her father looked up at her and shook his head. She felt the bile rise to her throat and turned away from the ghastly scene.

That gives you an idea of one of her problems in the story, but she also has a shadow man who keeps visiting her and sometimes at the most inopportune times like when she and her boyfriend, Chip, are together!

Fun to write this story. It isn't a dark drama. but instead filled with humor, high jinx, and a lot of bad guys too.

I have a LOT of work to do after writing the first draft, but I am anxious to dig in and smooth out the bumps and add a lovely layer of smooth asphalt on top to make the journey down the path an entertaining and thought-provoking ride. I hope you'll come along with me as I share about the writing of this new story. I'll need some of your ideas to help me along...for instance, a Title! 

Thank you for stopping by today and please leave a comment about your writing /reading progress this summer.

            

When Your Writing Plans Go Awry, Doughboys and Camping

Hi Writers and Readers,

Glad you stopped in today. I'm a bit late in posting. In fact most of my writing plans are going awry. I gave myself a deadline to finish my WIP, but that deadline has passed and so has another, and now I am looking in the face of a failed deadline yet again.

I am working on a mystery/romance/paranormal. (Do you think that's enough genres for one book??? LOL) I don't even have a title for it and I am on Chapter 31. No name has even begun to swirl in my head, but then, I don't usually title my stories or books till I'm done writing THE END on the last page.

I really really wanted to give you a hint of the story, even the first scene, but as I write, I see I have to make some changes to the beginning chapters. Heck, I'm going to have to add and take away quite a few places in this book. It's one of the most complicated stories I have ever written. Too complex can be a bad thing. Readers don't want to have to stop and sort out every piece in the plot or make notes to read the tale! (I know this because I am a reader too.)

The Reason Why My Writing Went Awry

 This past weekend I had huge plans of writing while we were on a camping trip with the family. There is no WiFi in the Muskegon State Park, Muskegon, Michigan, so I knew I wouldn't have emails and Facebook and reading blogs to distract me. However, I didn't anticipate having such a good time with the gang. Yes, I am blaming my lack of progress on my WIP on the fishing, the delicious cookouts over the campfire, and great conversations. Plus it doesn't get dark until after 10:00 pm EDT in this area, so we were out and about late. 

I didn't even open my laptop or take out my notebook while camping. Do I feel guilty? Not at all!! My characters Lauren, Gary, Chip, and Randy will just have to wait for me. I'm feeling the sand between my toes, the warm sunshine, the sweet hugs and kisses from my grandkids instead.

Take a Peek at my Weekend

We enjoyed S'mores and Doughboys over this campfire
as well as burgers, hot dogs, and chicken.

Doughboys are dough of crescent rolls wrapped around the end of a large dowel rod. It takes patience to "bake" it over a campfire, but oh so yummy when filled with pie filling, apple butter, or pizza toppings.

Kids are ready to go fishin' in the channel
that connects Muskegon Lake to Lake Michigan.

We found out there weren't many fish in the channel. :-(
 Ethan was lucky to catch a 15 inch rock bass.

What a gorgeous day for a boat ride. No, not our boats.

All shapes and sizes of boats use the channel to reach the big lake.

This is our home sweet home when camping.

 Hope you had a delightful weekend. Now tell me, if you are a writer, when do you have a title for your stories? If you are a camper, share one of your camping experiences with us. Please leave a comment below.