Books We Love 99 Cent Sale, Tiny Tidbits for Writing and Living, This Week

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

February 99 Cent Sale

from Books We Love

Books We Love February 99 Cent Sale

A Valentine Deal for You:

Books We Love, my publisher, is spreading some Valentine Love to readers this month by offering my mystery, Deadly Undertaking, for 99 cents!   In fact BWL has quite an assortment of great reads for 99 cents this month. I hope you'll have a chance to hop over there and grab a few for you and your valentine!

My stories always have a bit of me and my world view in them. After reading Deadly Undertaking, I'm sure you'll know how I feel about legalizing marijuana and my concern about the epidemic of Alzheimer's disease grabbing our world  Entertainment is always a key in my books,  so there are quirky characters and humorous moments in my stories. I hope you get a giggle from your reading.

Don't you love the book cover by Michelle Lee? Lauren Staab is inviting you to enter her world of romance, mystery, and paranormal elements. Happy reading!

Deadly Undertaking by J.Q. Rose
Romance-Mystery-Paranormal

Deadly Undertaking by J.Q. Rose

My latest  mystery, Deadly Undertaking, was a lifetime in the making. My main character is Lauren Staab who is the daughter of a funeral director. I'm the daughter of a funeral director too, so many of the elements in the story are taken from my life experience. But, let me clarify. The story is fiction, so you can bet not all of the mess Lauren gets into is actually from my real life.

I mean we never actually found a murdered man in the garage of the funeral home. I never had a boyfriend who treated me like Chip DeYoung treated Lauren. I never actually took love advice from a shadow man. Hmm, now that I think of it, I guess there’s not much about my real life in there except I did dust the caskets in the casket room and set up flowers for visitations and funeral services.

When you read the story, you’ll have to decide if what I’m telling is from my experience or just made up for your entertainment.

Back of the Book:

Lauren Staab knew there would be dead bodies around when she returned home. After all, her family is in the funeral business, Staab and Blood Funeral Home. Still, finding an extra body on the floor of the garage between the hearse and the flower car shocked her. Lauren’s plan to return to her hometown to help care for her mother and keep the books for the funeral home suddenly turns upside down in a struggle to prove she and her family are not guilty of murdering the man. But will the real killer return for her, her dad, her brother? Her mother’s secrets, a killer, a handsome policeman, and a shadow man muddle up her intention to have a simple life. Welcome home, Lauren!

To download a sample or purchase, click on the links or book cover below. Thank you.

Amazon  http://amzn.to/1OMmocd

Amazon UK http://amzn.to/22Kxumg

Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/1H72tvV

Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/deadly-undertaking

This Week:

Romance Readers Want to Know Thursdays on the J.Q. Rose blog

February 11--Author Kris Bock answers questions readers want to know about her writing process.

Please join un and enter to win the drawing! Thanks.


Tiny Tidbits for Writing and Living:

• HTML Code for a link Have you noticed how signatures in forums and emails have the pristeen name of their site links instead of an ugly string of letters and numbers as a link? Here's the secret to how you get that on your signature--a bit of html code. Thanks to the University of Southern Florida for providing this information.

Fill in the information with your website URL and then the actual title of the site

<a href=“http://Internet URL goes here.”>Title the visitor sees.</a>

Code example:  <a href=“mailto:webmaster@rcma.org”>Contact Us</a>

Comes out as Contact Us

Writers Chatroom

• Writers Chatroom If you're a writer and looking for a great chat room filled with new writers and experienced writers, you would enjoy visiting the Writers Chatroom on Wednesday nights from 8 PM -10 PM. The first hour is a topic driven chat and the second hour is free chat. On Sunday nights, 7 PM - 9PM, Audrey Shaffer interviews a guest author in a moderated chat. Participants are allowed to ask questions and interact with the guest. Last night, I am thrilled to say I won the door prize graciously provided by author Sheila Lowe, Poison Pen. I can't wait to read this mystery/suspense novel, Book One in the series, Forensic Handwriting Mystery.
• Read a Book in the Bathtub Day--February 9

Click the book cover below to find out more about the book, download a sample, and/or purchase.





Thanks for visiting. Do you read in the bathtub???

Deadly Undertaking Book Blog Tour November 12-25, Giveaways, This Week

Sound the trumpets! Fly the flags! It's time for the 

Deadly Undertaking Book Blog Tour! 

I'm looking forward to this great trip hopping around cyberspace 

hosted by author friends. You're invited to stop in and say hi.

12	HEATHER HAVEN
17	MARSHA WEST
19	CONDA DOUGLAS
23	SARA JAYNE TOWNSEND

All aboard for the merriment and dancing along the way. 

Be sure to enter the drawing for prizes during the event November 12-November 25.

Prizes:

Deadly Undertaking by J.Q. Rose
Mystery/Romance. Paranormal

• Reader's choice of any of J.Q. Rose's e-books
• Short story by J.Q. Rose
• 20 minute phone call from J.Q. Rose US only

This Week:

Thursday, November 12 kicks off the Book Blog Tour

Thursday, November 12--My guest author will be Heather Haven sharing the inspiration for her latest Persephone Cole Mystery, The Chocolate Kiss-Off. I'll be at Heather's blog introducing you to the woman to whom I dedicated Deadly Undertaking.

Happy Easter, Happy Spring, This Week,

Happy Easter!

By Grant Cochrane from free digital photos.com

Wishing you a joyous and blessed Easter and a beautiful Spring!

The Seeds of Inspiration Event will continue on April 24 with author Conda Douglas.

Check out my guest authors for this spring event and join us every Thursday to discover what inspires them.

Prizes awarded every week! 

APRIL

17	EASTER
24	Conda Douglas
MAY
1	Helena Fairfax
8	Katie Carroll
15	Susan Bernhardt

The Super Sweet Blogging Award, This Week, IWSG, Seeds of Inspiration Kickoff, TRR Anniversary Party

THANK YOU to my super sweet friend, Susanne Drazic for nominating me for the Super Sweet Blogging Award! It's a tremendous honor to receive this award. If you aren't familiar with Susanne's blog, you should check it out. Click to discover all of her nominees for this delicious award at her blog, Putting Words Down on Paper 

The Super Sweet Blogging Award

Here are the rules for accepting the Super Sweet Blogging Award:

1. Thank the Super Sweet Blogger that nominated you.
2. Answer 5 Super Sweet questions.

3. Include the Super Sweet Blogging Award in your blog post.

4. Nominate a bakers’s dozen (13) other deserving bloggers.

6. Notify your Super Sweet nominees on their blog.

The Super Sweet Questions:

1. Cookies or Cake?     Cake

2. Chocolate or Vanilla?     Chocolate

3. Favorite Sweet Treat?    Only one? I'll just lump them all together into "anything chocolate." 

4. When Do You Crave Sweet Things The Most?     In the evening

5. Sweet Nick Name?     Honey

The Nominees I've Chosen: Click on their names to visit their websites and to congratulate them.

Joselyn Vaughn

W.S. Gager

Tess Grant 

Helena Fairfax

Marsha R. West

Heather Brainerd Fraser 

Leona Pence

Miss Mae 

Gail Roughton

Roseanne Dowell 

Heather Greenis 

Barbara Ehrentreu

Sue Perkins

# # # #

Another exciting week and month at the J.Q. Rose blog. Come back to win prizes and e-books all month (and all spring) at the Seeds of Inspiration Event featuring the stories of what inspired my guest authors. 

Talented author Heather Fraser Brainerd kicks off the Seeds of Inspiration Event on March 6. A guest author will share her story every Thursday this spring. Get to know your favorite author or learn about a new favorite author and discover some great reads. You could be a winner in the weekly drawing too!

The Romance Reviews Third Anniversary Party has begun! March 1-March 31. Over 450 author and 450 prizes are up for you to win! You can win Coda to Murder on Tuesday,  March 4 by stopping in and playing their Q & A game. Good luck!

T'is the Season for Forgiveness, Excerpt, Plus This Week

Disney Christmas Lantern Photo by J.Q. Rose

After I finished the last sentence of my mystery, Coda to Murder, and added the final period, I sat back and looked at the page. At that moment I realized I had told a story about forgiveness. I found it odd that I had written about the one subject that is so difficult for me to include in my life. Forgiveness is not the natural human inclination.

It’s easy to carry a grudge within our hardened hearts. Instead of trying to make the horrible burden go away, we seem to feed it and make it grow into hatred that seethes throughout our pores and colors our world black with anger and resentment. 

Withholding forgiveness to someone who hurts us only gives us a false sense of power and control over that person. Not accepting forgiveness from someone who is truly sorry adds bitterness to the situation and further damages the relationship.

Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, love, and peace. Too often, it turns into a season of hurt and resentment. Memories of those who wronged us bubble up through the wrapping paper and Christmas ornaments. Instead of the Norman Rockwell type family get-togethers, snide remarks, facial expressions, and body language can turn the gathering into a contentious event.

It takes a strong person to be the first to try and reach out and forgive, and a strong person to accept forgiveness. When that happens, the heart soars free of the burden of all the meanness.

Forgiveness isn’t easy. It may take a long time to get a different perspective on the hurt and anguish, but in the end we can try and do the best we can to resolve a relationship and relieve heartache for all parties involved. 

The Christmas season is the time of year when more people are open to giving and receiving forgiveness. If your heart is in despair, this is the moment to take time to make things right and re-connect with the person for all the right reasons. 

# # # #

My main character, Pastor Christine Hobbs, preaches about God’s forgiveness in all things. Even if we don’t feel we are worthy of forgiveness, God’s love and grace is available. All we need to do is sincerely ask.

Christine tries to practice forgiveness in her own life, but a minister is not perfect. Just when she thinks she has come to terms with her husband’s cheating, lying, and eventual abandonment, she discovers she has not forgiven him....yet. 

# # # #

This excerpt is from Coda to Murder when Christine receives a phone call from her ex which starts her stomach churning and her blood boiling.

Pastor Christine Hobbs never imagined 

she would be caring

 for a flock that includes 

a pig, a kangaroo, and a murderer.

“So how are you getting along there with your new church position?” Brad's voice moderated. “You may not believe it, but I do think of you and wonder how you are.”

Christine's eyes teared up. He had no idea how much she missed him and hated him at the same time.

“I’m fine. How’re you?”

“Well, as soon as I get this apartment cleaned up, I’ll be happy. What a job. I never knew moving would be so difficult.”

“You’re moving? Where are you going?” She bit her lip. She hated to sound as if she were the least bit interested in his life.

“Nadia and I found a house.” He delivered it like a hot poker through her heart.

He met Nadia while he was away on a lengthy sales trip. She shook her head to erase the dark thoughts in her mind.

“We decided it was such a good deal, we couldn’t pass it up. I’ll send you my new address. It’s a ranch in a subdivision near that greasy spoon cafe we liked to go to. Do you remember that place? Jake’s.” His remarks were so off-handed.

“Oh, yeah.” Christine remembered Jake’s like it was yesterday.

Jake’s was the place where she told Brad she was pregnant with their baby. She remembered the joy in his face and excitement they felt about beginning their family.

She squeezed her eyes closed, trying to blot out the memory of the night she lost her baby girl in the emergency room. She was all by herself because Brad was away on a business trip. He never understood her feeling of loss, so he tried to act like it never happened. The baby wasn’t real to him as she was to her.

She realized she wasn’t listening to a word he’d spoken, so when Brad stopped talking she said, “Okay. Thanks. Gotta go. Just mail them to the church. Good-bye.” The lump in her throat prevented her from continuing the phone conversation.

Still clutching the phone in her hand, the memories of that Saturday morning conversation over two years ago surfaced in her mind. She and Brad were sitting at the kitchen table. Christine looked forward to spending time with her husband. Having a weekend together was unusual.

“So what are your plans for this weekend? Do you want to take a drive or go to a movie?” she asked as she picked up the cereal box.

Setting his coffee mug on the kitchen table, he looked directly into her eyes.

“I won’t be here this weekend.”

She stopped pouring the sugary flakes of cereal into the bowl. “Oh, really?” She turned to face her beloved husband. “I thought we could do something fun this weekend. We have so little time together anymore.”

“I’m moving out today.” He sat motionless in the chair.

“What? What did you say?” She leaned in closer toward Brad, the cereal box clenched in her hand.

“I’m leaving. I’m moving in with a friend. I want out of this marriage.” He grabbed the cup of coffee and pulled it toward him.

She clutched her stomach to stop the churning inside. Was she dreaming? This couldn’t be real. She tried to read his face, but he kept his eyes on his coffee mug.

She slammed the box of cereal down on the table and curled her hands into tight fists. With each sentence she spoke, her fists hit the table. “Wait a minute. Bradley, wait a minute. What’s happening? What are you saying?”

He glanced up furtively. Finally locking onto her eyes, he said, “I’m in love with another woman. It’s over for us.” He scooted back the kitchen chair, turned his back to her, and walked to their bedroom. She remembered sitting at the table, shell-shocked, silent, and helpless.

Blinking back to reality, Christine threw the cell phone on the end table and covered her face with her hands. A torrent of tears puddled in her palms. Christine heard heartbreaking cries then realized the sounds came from her, from the depths of her soul. The phone conversation stirred up all the memories and hurt she thought she had buried. Although she had tried, she realized now she hadn’t forgiven him, nor could she ever forget.

No man would ever again win her heart then crush it.

# # # #

Now available at

MuseItUp Publishing

Amazon.com 

bn.com and major online booksellers.

This Week:

Red poinsettia, traditional Christmas Flower Photo by J.Q. Rose

Sunday, December 15 (Today)--Join me at sweet romance author Roseanne Dowell's blog for a discussion on Christmas traditions. Share yours with us.

Friday, December 20--Pat McDermott brings the lovely sounds of Irish music to the J. Q. Rose blog and discusses her new romance, The Rosewood Whistle. Find out more about it at Pat’s Web Site.

Missed Monday, Goofy Puzzle and This Week

Our thoughts and prayers are with those in the flood ravaged Colorado. I think the gentleman from Colorado nailed it when he said they would rebuild inch by inch and community by community. God bless.

Everything is goofy to start off this week as evidenced by my Monday post being posted on Tuesday. I don't know where the weekend went...Well, I kind of do since we had grandchildren here all weekend! 

Okay maybe only a gardener would call this a beautiful picture.

We had a lot of fun digging up 119 pounds of potatoes from the garden. We sliced them up and baked them into crispy potato chips in the oven. Soooo good. We also stuffed ourselves on brownies and finished off the entire pan full. Thank goodness there were no repercussions for eating like we did. Gee, I hope their mom is not reading this!! 

# # # #

Talking about the grandkids--When our daughters were young, they enjoyed this puzzle. Can you figure it out? I know there's a book full of these. I would like to give credit to the author, but I cannot remember the name of the book or the author. If you know, please leave the information in a comment. Thanks!

M R Ducks
M R not Ducks
O S A R
C M Wangs?
L I B
M R Ducks

When we shared the puzzle with our grandsons, they enjoyed it so much, they made up their own puzzle. We snickered and giggled at this one.

M R Grandmas
M R not Grandmas
O S A R
C M Wrinkles?
L I B
M R Grandmas!

# # # # 

THIS WEEK:

Thursday, September 19  it's my turn to share my hobby of flower arranging on the Hobby Hoedown! I'll give you lots of tips so you can learn to arrange your flowers too. Come back on Thursday, ya'all!

Friday, September 20-Children's author Sue Perkins visits the Girls Succeed blog with the Story Behind the Story of the Rainbow Ghost Bus

It's Fair Time! and the Week's Events

The county fair is just winding up this weekend. In my area the fair, founded in 1955, is an opportunity for the "city" folks to see what the farmer does for all of us and educate the city folks about farming operations.( BTW, have you seen those enormous tractors, combines, and machinery? Amazing!)

Tractors are loaded now with air conditioning, GPS, music, and auto-pilot so it can plant corn.
Driver just needs to turn the tractor around when it gets to the end of the field. Yeah, really!

I especially like the idea of the kids participating in projects for the fair. They have the opportunity to raise and show animals, grow veggies, and/or work on a craft like needle work, woodworking, painting, photography, and more. Finishing the project, having it judged by an expert in their field,  and displaying it to friends, family, and the entire community is quite a boost in self-esteem for any kid. Responsibility and work ethics are lessons learned when entering projects in the fair. 

Some of the lovely sewing projects are shown here proudly displayed with the award winning ribbons.

What can I say? If you read Coda to Murder, you'll know I am particularly partial to pigs.

Baby goat, one of the cutest animals there IMHO.

Baby mesmerized by the newly-hatched baby chicks.

Mr. Peacock struttin' his stuff for all the ladies!

Horse events and handling all kinds of animals are popular at the fair.

The county fairs are having a tough time of making it these days now that the state of Michigan has dropped supporting the fairs in every way. As an example, kids used to receive a token amount of cash for their ribbons, but not anymore. That didn't decrease the participation in the events.

This enormous barn to house draft horses is one of the many improvements to the grounds .

Another new facility for the horse arena.

Business people and community organizations stepped up this year to pay for improvements to the fairgrounds. The area is looking pretty sharp and much more handicap accessible.

The county fair is one of the highlights of summer and a tradition for area families. The dream to promote agriculture and grow the economy by bringing the country and the city folk together through the fair continues to be realized. A huge thank you to all the volunteers, sponsors, business community, and foundations who make this event possible every year.

Have you had any experiences with the county fair/state fair in your area? What time of year do you go to the county fair?

THIS WEEK FOR J.Q. ROSE

Monday, August 12--I review an entertaining fantasy for middle graders, Kiera's Quest Awakenings by Kristy Brown, on the Girls Succeed blog. It's the first story in the Kiera's Quest series at MuseItUp Publishing and Smashwords  and major online booksellers.

Thursday, August 15--Hobby Hoedown continues featuring David Fraser showcasing his hobby, planes. Ya'all come back this Thursday now, ya' hear?

Thanks for stopping in today!

Report on the Author Talk and Book Signing and What's Up This Week

Blueberries are ready in Michigan and oh so sweet and yummy!

It's blueberry picking time in Michigan. Those plump, juicy berries, which I really never liked till moving to Michigan, are growing abundantly on the tall bushes. The exceptional weather has produced a delicious batch of blueberries this year.

Unfortunately the beautiful weather and outdoor activities (like concerts in the park) contributed to low attendance for our writers critique group talk and book signing. But we were grateful to those who came in out of the sunshine that beautiful evening last week. We had a relaxed, informative, and informal get-together. Plus my three crit partners sold books!!

I didn't. Sigh. All my books are e-books, but I did pass out a lot of "propaganda." I don't know how an e-book author can sell e-books at such an event. I wish I could just stuff the darn book into their Kindles and Nooks. I'm sure sometime in the future, we will.....somehow.

We had great publicity for the talk discussing "What Stirs Inspiration." A big article in the newspaper, online, newsletter from the Artsplace where we held the signing helped tell folks about our books. The four of us spread the word through Facebook, Twitter, Google plus, you name it, we did it! So we had a lot of exposure to the community. I had three people weeks before the event come up to me and remark they didn't know I was an author!! So that helps. (Maybe pen names aren't so wise, but that is another topic for discussion later.)

I believe the night was a success especially in realizing how important each of us in the crit group is for our inspiration and support for our writing projects. I should also point out, this group of writers bakes fantastic cookies too!



THIS WEEK:

Monday, Aug. 5--Ace Hansen and I are swapping blogs. I feature Ace's brand new humorous MG book, Julius Caesar Brown and the Green Gas Mystery on the Girls Succeed Blog and I try to the best of my ability tp answer her interesting, makes-you-think interview questions on her blog at http://yascribe.blogspot.com/ Her new release is as one reviewer described it, "hysterical." Good for reluctant boy readers.

MuseItUp Publishing Celebrates!

All During the Month of August: My publisher, MuseItUp Publishing is celebrating their brand-spankin' new website. Publisher Lea Schizas is installing the cutting edge technology to the site and offering 25% discount on all the books. And let me tell you MIU Publishing has a ton of great authors with diverse genres and voices. Take a peek and take advantage of the discount!!

Wednesday, Aug. 7-- The first Wednesday of every month is the Insecure Writer's Support Group blog day. Who knew writers were insecure? Take a peek at my maiden voyage into this group founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh, then hop around to the 100 plus writers who also post on their blogs that same day.

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Thursday, August 8-- Hobby Hoedown continues featuring author Anne Stenhouse's  foray into belly dancing. And I always thought the British had a reputation for being "stuffy." LOL.. 

Yee-haw,  ya'all come by now, ya' hear?