Writing: My Work in Progress, This Week,Book Maven's Second Anniversary Celebration, and Giveaway

Yes, I'm pounding the keys on my laptop. I made a vow I would finish my work-in-progress (WIP) by the time we are ready to head back to the North Country. It's getting down to the wire. I have about 8 more chapters to write before I can wrap up the story in my first rough draft. And it is a very rough draft. 

A book is never done after one draft. Revising is called for in the next draft, and the next and the next. So instead of finishing, this is just the beginning of this long process of creating a novel for readers, and for me, to enjoy. 

I'm having so much fun with this one. The story includes everything I like to write about--mystery, murder, paranormal, and romance. Is that enough genres for ya'?? 

Who'd think a sweet gal like me would write about murder and paranormal events? Is this my true self running wild? I wonder. The best thing about writing is to let your imagination loose to consider all the possibilities and fantasy bottled up inside you. Have fun with it!

If you are an author, how many times do you revise your work before you submit it for publication? If you haven't submitted your stories for publication, why not? Please, leave a comment after you find out what's up for this week and this month. 

This Week:

March 27--Seeds of Inspiration Event--Miss Mae comes to visit and giveaway a book too!

March 23-April 5

Devoted reader and reviewer, Jackie of the Book Maven, is celebrating the second anniversary of her book review blog, The Book Maven. Join in the party.

Below you will see the list of authors and/or bloggers who have donated presents to win.  All you have to do is enter the RAFFLECOPTER at the Book Maven usilng this link and BAM!  you could be a winner.  Here are your possible prizes:

• Georgie Tyler-ecopy of Doctors Beyond Borders
• Linn B Halton-3 copies of Falling, Angels Among Us and a signed paperback of Never Alone.
• Katie O’Sullivan-ecopy of Son of a Mermaid
• Stephanie Keyes-Signed copy of The Star Catcher
• JQ Rose-ecopy of Coda to Murder
• AJ Nuest-Ecopy of entire Golden Key Chronicles
• Theresa Rizzo-Ecopy’s of Just Destiny and He Belongs to Me
• Stacey Jay-Signed Copy of Of Beast and Beauty
• Melissa Snark-Signed copy of Hunger Moon
• Lindsey Loucks-Ecopy of The Grave Winner
• Jerrie Alexander-Ecopy of Hell or High Water and Cold Day in Hell
• Darlene Jones-Ecopy of all 4 of her books
• Bette Lee Crosby- Ecopy of The Twelfth Child
• Gena Showalter-signed book
• Kacey Vanderkarr-paper copy of Antithesis and Reflection Pond.
• Andrea R. Cooper-E copy The Garnet Dagger
• Bella Andre-Autographed copy of The Look of Love
• Panty dropping Book Blog- 2.99 ebook
• Coffee and a Good Book Blog- 2 I <3 books stickers
• Pepper Winters- Ecopy of Destroyed
• Butterflies, Books & Dreams Blog- BBD Bookmark
• Alyson Raynes-$5 Amazon Gift Card and Kindle Copy of Deception
• Kandi Steiner-E copy of Tag Chaser and signed bookmark.
• Forever Me Romance-Ebook up to $5
• Joan Swan-Print copy of Shatter and Ecopies of Intimate Enemies, First Temptation and First Deception.
• Melanie Codina-Ebook of Love Realized
• Lisa Suzanne-How He Really Feels (He Feels, Book 1)
• Halos and Horns Book Blog-$5 amazon gift card and swag pack.
• Clarissa Wild-2 ebook copies of Fierce and Fury.
• Jade C. Jamison-Ebooks got the Life and Quickies
• Ella James-Ebook Trapped
• Marie Wathren – Ebook All This Time
• Jaden Wilkes-Ebooks Dirty Little Freaks and The Beast
• Cassandra Giovanni-E books Flawed Perfection, Love Exactly and Walking in the Shadows
• Jody Kessler- Ecopy of Death Lies Between Us
• Sibelle Stone-1 Ecopy and 1 Print copy of Prudence and the Professor
• Nancy Jardine-Ecopy of Beltane Choice
• LJ Kentowski-1 Ecopy of Guardian of Fate and 1 Ecopy of Seeker of Fate
• Michaela Dubelius-Ecopy of Decoy
• Heather McCullom-Signed copies of Prophecy, Tangled Hearts and Siren Song
• Lyndi Alexander- Ecopy Conviction of the heart by Alana Lorens
• Lisa Renee Jones- Ecopy of If I Were You
• Carlene Love Flores-1 Ecopy of Sidewalk Flower and Sin’s Flower.
• Regina Morris-1 Ecopy of Enduring Service
• Zack Love-1 Ecopy of Sex in the Title
• Janice Horton-1 Signed copy of Bagpipes and Bullshot and 1 Kindle copy of How To Party Online

• This Month
• The Romance Reviews Third Anniversary Party
  
  
  

Dieting is Like Writing, This Week, Giveaways

Image courtesy of debspoons / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Wishing you a fantastic Saint Patrick's Day and loads of Irish luck to ya'!

Dieting is Like Writing by J.Q. Rose

Image courtesy of Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Dieting is like writing? Yes, depending on what results you want to achieve. Will you be dieting for a few days, a couple of weeks, or is it a lifestyle change with foods and exercise that you can continue for the rest of your life? How about writing? Do you plan to dabble in writing stories or do you want to make writing a part of your life?

Honestly I never thought about how the writing and dieting could be alike, so let's examine the idea a bit further. During the Lenten season my home church has chosen to study the Daniel Plan. According to the blurb for the book, Pastor Rick Warren and well-known respected doctors have put together the plan which "is an appetizing approach to achieving a healthy lifestyle where people are encouraged to get healthier together by optimizing the key five essentials of faith, food, fitness, focus, and friends." 

I had never heard of this plan, but the idea intrigued me that dieting is to achieve a healthy lifestyle. That doesn't mean for a short time, but rather for all of my life. It's not a get-thin-quick program. It's one that will take some study, some planning, some trials and failures, some patience, and adjustments in my life to achieve success for the rest of my life.

I want to be healthy so I can experience life with zest and joy. 

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming -- WOW-- What a Ride!"Attributed to Bill McKenna, Anonymous and in a Nissan ad

Do I ever want to be able to say "What a ride" when I'm done with this body. 

Compare the lifestyle change to achieve a healthier way of life to the change in my life since I decided to pursue writing. Writing demands study, planning, and patience indeed! Trials and failures in writing? You bet
. 
Writing and the faith component in the Daniel plan fills my life with purpose.

Keeping fit will give me strength and energy and writing certainly exercises my brain and stretches my writing muscles.

Needless to say I study the information on food and I study the art of writing by reading books, learning from colleagues on forums and chats, attending webinars, and lurking on writing blogs.

Friends together support each other in trying to achieve success in weight loss and fitness as well as writers helping writers. 

I think if I can make room in my life to be a writer, then why can't I make some adjustments in my life to become healthier? 

If you would like to find out more about the Daniel Plan, there is information on the Daniel Plan website. Get a buddy to do it with you so you can support each other. Focus on your health and discover more about faith, food, and fitness.

Can you see how writing and dieting have the same requirements? Have you found a successful diet? Any tips on dieting? Any tips on writing? Please leave a comment with your ideas. Thank you.




This Week: 
Thursday March 20--Romance author Roseanne Dowell is my guest on the Seeds of Inspiration Event. Roseanne writes romance mixed in with many genres. Find out what boosted her into the writing world. Enter the drawing for a giveaway, Trouble Comes in Twos.







Friday, March 20--I'll be visiting with Katie Carroll at her blog. Lacey, Pastor Christine's best friend, in my mystery, Coda to Murder, joins us as we discuss her role in the book. 

This Month:

The Seeds of Inspiration Event!

Every Thursday this spring, a guest author will tell us what inspires her. 

Be sure to mark Thursdays on your calendar as the place to be to learn more about your favorite author or discover a new one. 

You'll also find great reads and have a chance to win prizes every week.

The Romance Reviews Third Anniversary Party

J.Q.Rose is Centered on Story, This Week, Giveaways

Yes, that's what I am centered on now. Writing a fun, entertaining, story that will take you away from the ho-hum everyday life. Forget the weather, forget the pressure at work, forget the housework, forget the kids, er, well , maybe not forget them, but get them busy or ship them off to Grandma's so you can escape into the pages of a book.

To tell you the truth, when I center on writing a story, I get the benefit of escaping too. So much fun to make up characters and settings and then figure out how to get them out of a dilemma.

I am working on another mystery, paranormal, romance. My deadline is to finish the first draft by April 1. Yikes, where is March going? So I missed my usual post on Monday and the This Week's events. I apologize for being late. I guess I escaped too far for too long, eh?


This Week: 
Thursday (tomorrow) March 13--Fantasy/romance author Janie Franz is my guest on the Seeds of Inspiration Event. Discover her path to writing and publishing her first novel. Enter the drawing for a giveaway.

This Month:

The Seeds of Inspiration Event!

Every Thursday this spring, a guest author will tell us what inspires her. 

Be sure to mark Thursdays on your calendar as the place to be to learn more about your favorite author or discover a new one. 

You'll also find great reads and have a chance to win prizes every week.

The Romance Reviews Third Anniversary Party

Congratulations to reader Meghan who won a copy of my mystery, Coda to Murder, when she answered the Q and A about Coda to Murder correctly. Check out the games and prizes all this month. Over 450 authors and 450 prizes! 

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!

Awesome March Coming Up-The Romance Reviews Party and Seeds of Inspiration Event--Giveaways and Prizes

Beginning March 6, the Seeds of Inspiration Event features authors and their books. Find new authors and re-visit your favorite authors. Let's celebrate spring, even if you are snow bound!

# # # #

Stop by every Thursday this March and visit with these AUTHORS. Enter to win e-books and prizes every week!

 6   Heather Brainerd

13  Janie Franz

20  Roseanne Dowell

27  Miss Mae

# # # #

The Romance Reviews (TRR) is turning 3! 

Celebrate this awesome event at the THIRD ANNIVERSARY PARTY 

during the month of March!

More than 450 participating authors!!!

More than 450 prizes to be won!!!

PRIZES: Grand Prize: $100 GC. Other Prizes: GCs, book giveaways, etc.

Play games, join the fun and win prizes!