Thursday, May 28, 2015

Congratulations Class of 2015 Graduates, Class Reunion, Writing Tidbit for You

Congratulations Class of 2015 Graduates!
This past holiday weekend we traveled back home to Central Illinois for a big event, my High School Class Reunion. It seems like yesterday when I was sitting on our school stage in my white cap and gown nervously waiting for my name to be called and to make that long walk in front of friends and family to receive my high school diploma. 

I told my grand nephew at his graduation open house this past weekend, "before you know it, you'll be reaching your 50th graduation anniversary." Like him, I never believed that day would come. 

My high school has an Alumni Association Banquet on the Saturday before Memorial Day for all the graduates of AHS from 1921-1972. During this banquet several classes who reach a milestone are honored and of course, 50 years IS quite a milestone.
I had a blast returning to my beloved hometown, Atlanta, Illinois, a small town located on old Route 66 and surrounded by newly planted fields of corn and soy beans just breaking through the rich, black soil. I had forgotten how flat the land and how wide the horizon. Acres and acres of fields with the silhouettes of homesteads sprinkled throughout the countryside filled my view as we drove "home".

So many memories flowed through my head as we drove through town and out to the grade school for the banquet. I spotted homes where friends lived, places I rode my bike, my dad's funeral home now in the hands of a new owner, the location of the theater where I experienced my first kiss.

We drove by the park where I played in summer band concerts and of course past the now empty lot where the Dairy King was, THE spot to see and be seen when we were teens.

We arrived at the banquet and relished meeting fellow classmates. I must admit some I didn't even recognize after not seeing them for so many years. Who knew the handsome Captain of the basketball team would be an old man with gray hair, the boy who gave me my first kiss would sit across the table from me with his wife, and the girl who was my biggest competitor for grades would actually come and sit by me for a delightful chat? Only twelve of our original forty-two classmates came for the evening. Death has taken some. Illness and distance prevented others from returning.

For a few minutes we could be kids again re-living the joy of youth. For that short time we could catch up on classmates' work and family. I truly savored the reunion and the opportunity to appreciate and celebrate our long lives shaped by the teachers and students of AHS.

Photo: “Graduation Silhouette” by iosphere
Courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net


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Writing Tidbit for You
Writer at Work

I am taking the Free Transformational Authors online class put together by Christine Kloser this month. She designed the class for authors who are passionate about getting their messages out in the world to readers and listeners who would benefit from it. The classes are podcasts and guests are highly respected in their fields. You can still join, if you are interested.

This, the second week of the programs, I listened to literary agent Wendy Keller on building your author's platform. She shared a FREE site for analyzing the performance of your author page on Facebook. The company "provides you with recommendations and feedback on your company's presence on Facebook. The recommendations are customized for your Facebook Page and the analysis is based on the metrics that we have found to be important - presence, dialogue, action and information."  I found it to be an interesting tool. If you would like to take a peek at it, click on LikeAlyzer.

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Thanks for stopping in today. Please share your visits to your home town, class reunion, memories. It's fun to remember to the good ole days. Who gave you YOUR first kiss???

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Thursday, May 21, 2015

Memorial Day 2015: Remember Those Who Served

American Flag decorated entirely of flower petals
California Rose Parade 2014
Photo by J.Q. Rose
Memorial Day is Monday, May 25. Please take time from your holiday get-togethers to honor and remember the men and women in our military for their service to our country.

For information the Women in Military Service for America Memorial,  located at the Arlington Cemetery. VA, go to the Girls Succeed blog. 


Tribute to the Women in Military Service

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day thanks to our dedicated, volunteer military service men and women.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Author Roseanne Dowell's Writing Tips Book, Show Don't Tell, Giveaway

Show Don't Tell
Available at Amazon
Hello and welcome!

I'm thrilled today to be swapping blogs with my friend and talented author. Roseanne Dowell. Roseanne writes warm and entertaining stories, but I bet you didn't know she also teaches writing classes. She has used her experience in writing and teaching to put together lessons with practical examples in her new release, Show Don't Tell and Other Writing Tips, available in Kindle and print. Roseanne is generously awarding a copy of her book to a lucky commenter. 

And because we are swapping,  I am a guest at Roseanne's blog featuring my book on writing tips, Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing. Hop on over to Roseanne's blog to check it out and leave a comment to enter the drawing to win a free digital copy of this book.

Winners of the eBooks will be announced on Thursday.


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Show Don’t Tell by Roseanne Dowell

Did you ever wonder what made you remember the characters in a book? Or what made a story especially memorable. In Part One, you’ll learn to see, hear, smell, feel and taste your story. By combining many elements of writing, my book will help you learn how to write publishable stories. I’ve worked out lessons that will teach you to use the senses, avoid boring dialogue, and write memorable descriptions.  Learn how to put pizzazz in your writing and how to avoid unnecessary words, using action, senses and self-editing. Show Don’t Tell covers it all.

In Part Two, you’ll learn how to self edit. Editing is, by far, the most difficult part of writing. Okay, one of the most difficult. Editing is where we have to cut precious words, sentences, or maybe even whole paragraphs.  How do we even go about editing? Most of us know to look for punctuation, that’s the easy part. After all we’ve all learned about commas, periods, question marks and exclamation marks in school, didn’t we?
You’ll learn how to create and describe characters, places, and things, keeping your POV consistent, proper dialogues, common mistakes, and how to prepare a manuscript.
How many times has something funny or unusual happened and your friends said you should write a story about it. Should you? What if your friend got stuck on the roof? Would his experience make a good story? How about kooky events, scary dreams? Ever hear a portion of conversation and wonder what it was all about? There are many places and ways to come up with ideas for good stories. Follow these lessons and you’ll enter a land of make believe so real, you’ll think it happened to you. From Uncle Joe getting stuck on the roof, to newspaper articles and even the classified ads, In Part Three – Turning Your Ideas into Fiction, you’ll learn the perfect way. . If you’re wondering where authors get their ideas, you’ll find out in this book. Have you ever wondered how much fact to put into fiction?

Show, Don’t Tell is available from Amazon

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About Roseanne

She is an avid reader. Roseanne writes various types of romance - paranormal, contemporary, and mystery. She has several books available at Amazon as well as over 40 articles and short stories published in magazines such as Good Old Days, Nostalgia, and Ohio Writer as well as several online publications. Besides teaching writing courses for Long Story School of Writingshe also taught two writing courses for the Encore Program at Cuyahoga Community College.

Author Roseanne Dowell
Roseanne lives in Northeast Ohio where she enjoys life as a wife, mother of six, grandmother of fourteen and great grandmother of two.  When she’s not writing or enjoying her family, Roseanne spends her time with embroidery and quilting, especially combining the two. She also enjoys blogging, tweeting, facebooking and posting on various writers groups. 

Visit Roseanne Dowell at 
her author website  
her blog 
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Leave a comment to enter to win the drawing for Roseanne's book. Do you have a writing tip to share with us? A book on writing you depend on for great information? A writing website you read every week?

Thank you for stopping by. Get notices about new blog posts on the J.Q. Rose blog by adding your email address to the box in the upper right hand sidebar.

Write on!



Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Meet J.Q. Rose, How to Make Welcome Videos on You Tube

"Reel With Play Icon"
Courtesy of  FreeDigitalPhotos.net.by digitalart
Hello and welcome. Today we're talkng videos. Have you made one? Have you appeared in one? 

Everything I read about blogging, Facebook, G+ states that images are important to reaching and keeping readers on your site. Videos engage the readers the most. 

So I have been playing around with videos. It is a learning process, frustrating at times, but challenging and rewarding (when it's finished.)

My latest adventure into video making was creating a welcome video on my You Tube channel. Lou Bortone is the wizard on video marketing. His webinar inspired me to make the video. Alright I cannot blame him if it comes out pretty ugly, but at the same time, I will not give him credit if it's fantasic. It's all on me. 

Take a peek at what I came up with as a welcome video. It's okay to laugh and guffaw at it since I can't see or hear you. LOL...What do you think? Could you do it? Below the video I'll explain what Lou taught me to do to make your own for Youtube.

Sorry, no popcorn or red licorice served with this 48 second gem.

Meet J.Q. Rose--Hybrid Author
After many takes, I finally settled on this one, however it wasn't even the way I'd practiced! And I was so intent, I forgot to put my glasses back on. 

The interesting note about the welcome video is that the video only plays to visitors who are not subscribers. Once you subscribe, you  don't see the welcome video again. Pretty clever, eh?

How to Make a Welcome Video

This is so easy because you make the video right on your Youtube channel with the webcam and microphone on your computer/laptop/iPhone etc. Record your short message to your visitors and it is easy to record over and over till you get what you want. When you are satisfied with your video, click UPLOAD and Youtube will take it and put it right on your channel for you. Easy-peasy.

1. Go to your Youtube channel--Here's my page. I still have to figure out how to add the channel art.
                                                                                                                            !!!

2. Notice the UPLOAD box in the upper right-hand corner. Click it.


3. This screen will appear. Look at the right side-bar under CREATE VIDEOS. Click on the Webcam Capture Record button.


4. This screen will open. Be sure your webcam is uncovered. (We tape a piece of paper across our camera eye when we are not using it so noone can hack into it and take photos of us or our room.) Click  start recording under the screen,  and go for it. When finished, hit play to play it back to review it for sound, lighting, and clarity. If you don't like it, record again. I used a head set with a microphone for my recording because my microphone didn't pick up my voice well enough from the distance where I sat. (I think farther away from the camera makes wrinkles less visible!!!)

5. Upload the video and you will be ready to welcome visitors.

So will you try it? If you have questions after playing with this, please ask. 

Thanks for being guinea pigs for all my crazy attempts at learning about making videos. I figure it's not perfect, but it's like writing a story, you can't fix a blank page. You have to start somewhere.

Thanks for stopping. Oh, and if you wish, please visit my Youtube channel and peek around at my book trailers and some other video "experiments." Subscribe to the channel if you want to be updated on more of my cinematic wonders.

Find me on You Tube-- Search J.Q. Rose and all my videos will pop up.



Saturday, May 9, 2015

Honor "Second Moms" on Mother's Day


My Second Mom by J.Q. Rose

Many of us have been “mothered” by someone other than our mothers who gave us birth. Mother’s Day honors mothers, but also all those women who have taken on a role as mother--an aunt, sister, grandmother, friend.

On this special day for honoring women who love and care for children, I choose to honor Alma Lee.

In 1976 my husband, baby daughter, and I moved from Central Illinois to West Michigan to a place that was new to us to start our own business. We had no family or friends there. We had no support system because we gave up good jobs to live my husband’s dream--to have a greenhouse, raise plants, and sell them. We wanted to carve out a new life for us. It was exciting, scary, hard work, and challenging all at once.

A cute floral shop came along with the greenhouse business. The flower shop, located in a charming chalet, was attached to the greenhouses. Flower shop? The only flower know-how I had was what I had learned by helping my dad set up flowers for a funeral and then racing them out to the grave site before the family came for the internment service. Yes, my parents were in the funeral business.

Did we know anything about the flower business? No. Did my hubby know anything about the greenhouse business? Only what he’d learned from his hobby growing experience in Illinois.

Thank goodness when we bought the business, Morris and his wife, Alma Lee, came with it! Morris worked with my husband. Alma Lee was the lady who became my second mom.

This kind and loving woman who was probably in her mid-50’s invited us for Sunday dinners and made the best tasting home cookin’ ever. She introduced me to windmill cookies and tea. She played with our daughter and loved her. And their 12-year-old son would rough house with our daughter on the floor laughing and giggling together.

Going to her house was like going home. We could leave the long hard week behind us and forget all the pressures to relax and enjoy Sunday afternoons at Alma Lee’s.

When I look back at that time in my life, I realize how special Alma Lee was to me, not just preparing meals or babysitting. She gave us her heart, and I gave her mine. Always ready to listen and to help, she truly took on the role of mother.

Though she has passed, she will remain with me forever as my second mom.

Do you have a special person in your life who you would consider as your second mom? Please leave a comment below and share about that special lady.'

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms 
and to those women who are involved in children's lives.
Thanks, Mom...



Thursday, May 7, 2015

Insecure Writer's Support Group Blog Hop: Google Calendar, Apology, FREE PDF Copy


Hello and welcome to  the IWSG blog hop. 


What is IWSG? Founder of the Insecure Writers Support Group 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!" You're invited to become a member of this supportive group.
The group blogs the first Wednesday of every month.  The list of bloggers is always available so you can hop around to the author blogs filled with humor, advice, and thought-provoking topics on writing and publishing. You can find the list of participants at Alex's IWSG page
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Embarrassed
Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net by Salvatore Vuono
Ummm, the first Wednesday of the month has passed. Somehow it slid into Thursday overnight. In fact at 4:00 a.m. today, I realized I had forgotten all about the IWSG hop on Wednesday. But, hey, I figure it is still Wednesday someplace in the world. Right?

I apologize for missing THE blog hop day in my corner of the world, but I have a gift for you along with my apology.

So sorry!
Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos,net by Stuart Miles
One of the reasons I didn't get the blog done was I didn't check the dang calendar. Whether you schedule something on a physical calendar hanging on the bulletin board in plain sight and never look at it OR add the event to your Google calendar and don't open your email, there is no guarantee you will actually show up at the appointed time. I am at that stage where I am dealing with ICRS disease (I Can't Remember Stuff (well you know what goes in the S but this is a PG rated blog.)

Last week I learned there are a lot of ways to use the Google Calendar and there are tutorials on Video Tube or information for Google calendar tips and tricks to make it a real tool for marketing and business use. I hope to check this out and vow to actually look at it every day!

The other reason I never thought about the blog hop is because this is the week for the book launch for the writing tips eBook, Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing: Tips on the Writing Process, Publishing, and Marketing. I chose this week especially so I could let you all know about it and give you a FREE PDF copy of the eBook. But since that offer ended at 12:30 this morning, I'm going to extend it for you. 

Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing
Now Available

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If you would like a free PDF copy of the 40 page book, please contact me at jqrose02 at gmail dot com.Tell your friends and, if you have time, leave a review. Thank you.Deadline for receiving this freebie is Saturday, May 9,2015 at 9:00 pm EDST.

In August, I invited romance and mystery authors to send me writing tips to share on this blog during October through February. I compiled tips from the fifteen participating authors with new material to make up the book. Yes, when I sent them the letter of invitation in August, they knew their tips would be included in a book. So the intention was to turn the blog posts into a book known as "blogging a book." 

I enjoyed meeting new authors and working again with author friends on the project. And oh my, what great tips and information are included in the eBook. 

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Worrying about missing an event or appointment can make me insecure. How do you keep track of your schedule? Please leave a comment below to join in the discussion. Thank you!

I hope you will accept my apology for being tardy on posting for the monthly ISWG blog hop and the offer to receive the FREE PDF copy. 

For more information about the book, go to Amazon. All royalties go to public libraries.

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Don't miss a new blog post on the J.Q. Rose blog. Submit your email address in the Follow by Email box in the right sidebar. I promise, NO SPAM!



Monday, May 4, 2015

Spring Garden, Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing Book Launch, Free PDF copy

Tulips in my back yard are abundant this spring. So far, no deer have chosen the blooms for their evening meals.

Also in the back yard, Gardener Ted (catch a glimpse of him behind the white fence) has roto-tilled the ground a couple of times. He worked up this section on the left and mounded up the dirt. Before planting the melons and squash plants, he placed black plastic over the rows to heat up the soil. Today the soil is only 52 degrees F.
Yesterday he planted some fun new veggies...purple cabbage, purple cauliflower, broccoflower (a combination of broccoli with cauliflower). He's tries new things every year.

Rhubarb, a spring crop here in Michigan. My DH loves it. Me? Not so much. How about you?


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Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing:
Tips on the Writing Process, Publishing, and Marketing
Writing Tips eBook with tips from fifteen authors!
Available NOW at Amazon.com

Book Launch Week is finally here! Beginning May 3-May 9, the fifteen authors who contributed to the eBook will be spreading the word about this jam-packed full of valuable tips guide through tweets, blogs, and social media.

Authors who have graciously contributed to this project are:

Conda Douglas
C. Hope Clark
Gail Roughton
Heather Fraser Brainerd
Heather Haven
Helena Fairfax
J.Q. Rose
Joan Curtis
http://joancurtis.com/
Joselyn Vaughn
Kathy MacIntosh
Marsha West
Melissa Maygrove
Miss Mae
Roseanne Dowell
Sara-Jayne Townsend

Please visit their sites this week and learn more about them and their books.

  ***If you would like a free PDF copy of the 40 page book, please contact me at jqrose02 at gmail dot com. We would appreciate if it you wrote a review and/or recommended the eBook to your friends. Deadline for receiving this freebie is Thursday, May 7 at 12:30 a,m.




Insecure Writers Support Group (IWSG) Blog Post: Now About That AI! #IWSGbloghop

  Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop #IWSGbloghop What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group? Founded by author   Alex J. Cavanaug...

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