VIDEO: Christmas in St. Augustine, Florida, with J.Q. Rose

Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story Blog!

Welcome!!

Video: Christmas in St. Augustine

Santa gave us a great gift a few years ago, a trip to historic St. Augustine, Florida, located on the east coast of the Sunshine State.

Flagler College, St. Augustine, Florida

We discovered the magic, beauty, and history of the city's tapestry woven together from the threads of many cultures.

Pull up your armchair and discover this amazing place.  Come along and hop on the Old Town Trolley with us. It'll be a great ride!

Video: Christmas in St. Augustine

Curious about the Chocolate Factory Tour? I share that tour at my publisher's blog, Books We Love Authors Insider Blog. Click here on December 20. Watch out, you will get a hankering for chocolate!

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GIFT IDEA

Books make great gifts. The Journal for Sharing Memories is a unique gift to give to your parents or grandparents and a treasured gift of love to receive back from them.

Take a peek at the Journal print book, 

Your Words, Your Life Story: A Journal for Sharing Memories 

or the eBook, 

Your Words, Your Life Story: A Guide for Sharing Memories.

Click here to order Your Words, Your Life Story: A Journal for Sharing Memories 

THANK YOU!

A Journal for Sharing Memories

Click here to download Your Words, Your Life Story: A Guide for Sharing Memories at your favorite online bookseller.

Advent Candles in a church in St. Augustine

Happy Hanukah and Merry Christmas 
to all who celebrate this special season of the year!!

Video: Christmas in St. Augustine

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

My DH and I shared the gift of travel from Santa this year. We visited historic St. Augustine, Florida, located on the east coast of the Sunshine State.

Flagler College, St. Augustine, Florida

We discovered the magic, beauty, and history of the city's tapestry woven together from the threads of many cultures.

In the video below, you can find out about this amazing place which celebrates its 450th birthday in 2015. Come along and hop on the Old Town Trolley with us. It'll be a great ride!

Video: Christmas in St. Augustine

UPDATE: Curious about the Chocolate Factory Tour? Join me on the tour here.

Presidents Day USA, Florida, Writers Chatroom Writers Challenge

Mt. Rushmore--Image courtesy of samandale / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Presidents Day is today, February 17, 2014. Officially it is known as George Washington's birthday, (which is actually February 22, but the federal government wanted a 3 day weekend, so the Monday close to his birthday is his day now.) 

Growing up in central Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, I think Abe Lincoln's February birthday on the 12th gets overlooked. Do you share a birthday close to a holiday? Like my aunt's birthday was December 24, so she usually got a Christmas gift OR a birthday gift or ONE gift to cover both the holiday and her birthday. I always felt bad for her. Or how about the person who was born on December 31? One party for New Years AND her birthday just doesn't seem fair.

I doubt Abe is bothered by the federal birthday holiday for George. Afterall most folks call it President's Day  recognizing those who served as presidents or at least honoring the office of the President of the USA.

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Weeki Wachee River at Linda Pedersen Park near Spring Hill, FL

My brother-in-law visited over the weekend. He was happy to get out of the freezing Northern regions of the USA and kind of warm up in Florida. We had cold nights and mid 60's days while he was here. The day we took him to the airport, it finally hit the 70's and was a gorgeous day. Isn't that the way it goes? We had a great time together and enjoyed giving him a glimpse of the snowbird life. 

Hopefully a few of these photos will warm up your fingers and toes in the snowy areas of the country. 

Anclote Gulf County Park near Tarpon Springs, FL

Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico

 

I've been pretty faithful in working on my Work in Progress during the Writers Chatroom Writers Challenge of writing 1500 words a day, well that is, until this long weekend... I have not reached the 1500 words a day, but I'm still happy to have revised scenes and then work on from there. Every hundred words means I have more of the story down than I had at the beginning of the month. Plus I am finding my way now that I have written the 15th chapter. It's exciting to see the story take shape. 
Go to the TWC discussion board/forum for more info on the TWC Writers Challenge.

Wishing you all a fantastic week! What are you all up to this week?