Tuesday, March 27, 2018

The Five W's: Roseanne Dowell's Romance Novel, Time to Love Again

Welcome to the Focused on Story Blog and to the guest author series, The Five W's in Story. 

The 5 W's in Storytelling
The five W's in a story are who, what, where, when, and why. During this event, each author shares the five W's with our readers. The How is often included, but since the how may be a spoiler, I didn't ask authors to tell us that!!



I'm delighted to host my friend and multi-published author Roseanne Dowell today. Roseanne writes romance, mystery, paranormal and all have wit and warmth woven into each book.



Roseanne is sharing her paranormal romance, Time to Love Again.


Time to Love Again by Roseanne Dowell
Who 
The characters are. Rose Asbury, Stephen Daniels, Sarah Daniels, and Emma

What 
The conflict is fifty-eight year old Rose Asbury knows people think she’s a recluse, but she doesn’t care. She just wants to be left alone. She doesn’t need anyone and no one needs her and that’s just fine. At least she didn’t until this year. For some reason this year is different. Suddenly, she’s melancholy and discontent with her life. 

And the man next door doesn’t help matters. He insists on speaking to her. So her stomach tumbles every time she sees him, that doesn’t mean anything. Hunger pangs, nerves, she just wishes he’d leave her alone. Or does she? To top it all off, his granddaughter and her friends insist on playing in her yard, sledding, building snowmen and throwing snowballs at her house.

Then her sister’s ghost shows up and Rose’s life changes drastically.

Where
The story takes place in my hometown in Ohio

When
It's set in the late 90s 

 Why
The idea for this story came to me out of nowhere. I was working on a book about creating stories when this one suddenly entered my head. Parts of it from my childhood are true (maybe a bit embellished) although I grew up with 5 siblings, Emma was my real life sister (not her real name) and I miss her immensely. I can picture her haunting me if I lost my husband and acted like Rose. Emma and I were best friends as well as sisters. 

Time to Love again is available from

About Roseanne
Roseanne lives with her husband of more than fifty years, has six grown children, fourteen grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren. Between writing,
quilting, and embroidering, she also enjoys blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, and posting on various writers' groups. Her favorite time is spent with her family.

Click here to find more books written by Roseanne at the Books We Love Author Page

Do you read romance novels? Paranormal? What IS your favorite genre? Please leave a comment below and let us know. Thank you.
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Romance author Roseanne Dowell
Coming Up--

Sunday, April 1--Easter Sunday
2018 #AtoZchallenge participation badge
The MONTH of April--I'll be participating in the Blogging A-Z April 2018 Challenge-- According to the website, a blogger begins "April 1 with a topic themed on something with the letter A, then on April second another topic with the letteB as the theme, and so on until you finish on April thirtieth with the theme based on the letter Z.  It doesn't even have to be a word--it can be a proper noun, the letter used as a symbol, or the letter itself.  The theme of the day is the letter scheduled for that day."

If you are a Word Nerd, then you'll like my theme for April. Check back on Sunday as I kick off this new and challenging blogging experience. 

Thank you for stopping in today. Please Follow Focused on Story so you won't miss a single blog post. Just leave your email in the Follow by Email box in the top of the sidebar. 
I promise--NO SPAM!

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

The Five W's: Marsha R. West's Act of Betrayal, Giveaway

The 5 W's in Story
Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story blog. I'm thrilled to have my friend from Texas and talented mystery author Marsha R. West as our guest this week. She is used to watching geese and ducks on her inland lake. She'll be seeing bluebirds, herons and cranes in my corner of the world.

Second Act: The Second Chances Series, Book 1
A lucky commenter will receive an e-copy of SECOND ACT, Book 1 in the Second Chances Series. Deadline to enter is Sunday, March 18, 9 pm. Thanks, Marsha. I have enjoyed your series of romance and mystery.

This week, Marsha is sharing the 5 W's in her book, ACT OF BETRAYAL, third in the SECOND CHANCES series.


ACT OF BETRAYAL by Marsha R. West
Contemporary mystery
Welcome, Marsha!

Hey, JQ, thanks for letting me participate in your fun spring and summer event, The 5 W's.

 Who? What? When? Where? Why? by Marsha R. West

WHO? Devon Moore, owner of a small cosmetics company. She’s one of the four friends featured in this series.

WHAT? Embezzlement at her company threatens her company and her sanity when her daughter is kidnapped. Devon’s friend Addie from SECOND ACT, suggests a financial investigator to help her determine what happened. Despite suspecting Devon of involvement, Brent Townsend takes the case.

WHEN? Fall

WHERE? Dallas and North Carolina

WHY? Devon’s ex-husband lost client’s money and tries to make it up by “borrowing” from her company.

ACT OF BETRAYAL, Book 3 in the Second Chances Series is available online at all outlets and in print at Amazon.  http://amzn.to/2y2i99a

e-Book Buy Links
iTunes

***Hope you will check out how these friends find their second chances. ACT OF SURVIVAL, Book 4 in the series, releases late fall 2018. It tells the story of abused wife Kim Dennison and takes place in Wichita Falls, Texas. 
Everyone deserves a second chance in love.***

My Review--Mystery and Romance in Act of Betrayal by Marsha R. West

Marsha West's third book in the Second Chances series is another entertaining addition to this series dealing with mature romances. I love the heroines in these books--strong and capable, and yet vulnerable. Act of Betrayal, the story about a family many of us can identify with, draws a reader in. Devon is a divorced working mom rearing her daughter, fighting with her ex, and luckily having her mother and father in her life. I liked the interaction between the generations in this story. Accepting the premise that her bookkeeper messed up and didn't notice a huge amount of money missing from her company, the story moves forward with twists and turns I really enjoyed. Readers will enjoy this story too with the aspects of mystery and romance.

Click here to read more about ACT OF BETRAYAL from Marsha's guest post in July.

About Marsha:
Author Marsha West
Marsha R. West, writes Romance, Suspense, and Second Chances. Experience Required. MuseItUp Publishing released her first book, VERMONT ESCAPE, in July 2013. Marsha released the print version of the first book in the fall of 2014. Her second book, TRUTH BE TOLD, was e-released by MIU in May 2014. Both of these are now also out in print. She released (both in print and electronic) her third book, SECOND ACT, Book 1 of the Second Chances Series, in March 2015, 

Find out more at  www.marsharwest.com She’d love to hear from you.

marsha@marsharwest.com  http://www.marsharwest.com 

 Blog https://authormarsharwest.wordpress.com/ 

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn

http://www.twitter.com/Marsharwest  @Marsharwest

https://www.pinterest.com/marsharwest/

Sisterhood of Suspense  https://sisterhoodofsuspense.com/blog

Click here to learn more about what, where, when and why in storytelling in the article by multi-genre, multi-published author, Janet Lane Walters.
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Coming Up:

Tuesday, March 20--the first day of spring!! I take my turn at the Books We Love Insider Blog sharing a recipe my daughter loved to stir up when she was a kid. So easy--No Bake Cookies. Come on over for the recipe and the story about it. Thanks.
Click here to get the recipe.
Welcome Spring!
Wednesday, March 28--Multi-published author, and my mentor, Roseanne Dowell shares the Five W's in her book. 







Tuesday, March 13, 2018

The Five W's in Story: Historical Romance Author Rosemary Morris

Welcome to the Focused on Story Blog and to the kick-off of a new guest author series, The Five W's in Story. 

One of the basics when learning to be a writer is to listen to a lecture on the Five W's and the H. The 5 W's are the essence of a story and since we are focused on story at this blog, we need to realize just how important working out the 5 W's can be to creating a great story for your readers.


You will find this series with my guests informative and entertaining and not a stuffy lecture in a dusty, old classroom with a professor palavering on and on and on. 


I asked author Kami Kinard if I could use part of her article about the Five W's originally published on the Nerdy Book Club site. She graciously allowed me to re-publish this explanation of the Five W's.


From Kami's article, Every Story a Mystery-- "Now, as an author, I often find myself sitting at my keyboard asking myself “The Five Ws and One H” questions. If my main character feels like she needs to prove herself, then there has to be a reason for it. There has to be a WHY. If she is upset about a friendship, I need to know WHAT happened to her to make her upset. If she is going to overcome an obstacle, I need to know HOW she is going to do it. Everything that happens in a book has to happen for a reason. And If we authors get it right, then these reasons add up to characters who are believable – characters our readers care about enough to keep turning pages because they want to know WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY and HOW."

Now you can see how important knowing the 5 W's in your story can be. I also find when I write them down, it is easier to develop a synopsis for the story. 


BWL Publishing 2017 Best Selling Author Rosemary Morris
Historical author Rosemary Morris is my first guest in the series. She is a multi-published author and today she shares an overview of WHO, WHAT WHERE WHEN AND WHY in her stories. I didn't ask the authors to include HOW because that may contain a spoiler to their story.

Rosemary, thank you for joining us all the way from England today. I have set out a pot of Constant Comment tea and scones for us to enjoy while we visit.


Thank you, Janet. I'm glad to be here.


Rosemary brought along an e-book to giveaway. A lucky commenter will win a copy of Far Beyond Rubies.  Deadline to enter is Sunday, March 19 at 9 pm ET.

In a review for this book, I wrote--"When I read this historical romance, I felt I had stepped into the 18th century. Ms Morris has done her homework to bring us such a rich story with all the historic background and social graces of the era."
Far Beyond Rubies by Rosemary Morris

WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, AND WHY by Rosemary Morris

WHO?

   Before I write the first line of a novel I name the main characters. I write romantic historical fact fiction, so I consult the Oxford Dictionary of English Christian names before I baptise my hero and heroine. Also, I make sure the names of secondary and minor character are appropriate for the era my tale of past times will be set in. (I couldn’t imagine a medieval knight whose Christian name was Wayne, I leafed through the romance and decided not to buy it.)
   After I have chosen the names, I fill in detailed profiles for the main characters and briefer ones for minor characters.
   I am not ready to write until I know the hero and heroine so well that they seem to be real people. I make notes of their ancestry, their family, their education, the music they enjoy, their eccentricities, their good and bad characteristics and much more.
   The characters occupy my head for a long time while I get to know them better.
   Do they have any mannerisms or idiosyncrasies? I ask questions about their social status, upbringing and environment, occupation, politics, relationships, religion and other matters.
   Finally, I want to know what motivates them. For example, to name a few possibilities, duty, greed, jealousy, revenge, self-sacrifice e.g. wife for a husband, husband for a wife, mother for a child, father for his children, patriot for his or her country.

WHAT?

    I don’t plan my novels in detail because I like my characters to surprise me. Once, I plotted each chapter of my novel before I began to write. This method didn’t work for me. I felt as though I and the protagonists were in a strait jacket.
   Before I write the first chapter I sympathise with the problems the characters must face and introduce the conflict immediately.
   What happens next is up to them, and I experience the thrill of finding out, so, I hope, do my readers.

WHEN?

There is a gigantic canvas for a historical novelist to choose from.
My novels are set in the reign of Charles II’s niece, Queen Anne Stuart, who reigned from 1702 to 1714, and the ever-popular Regency era. I have also written a mediaeval novel set in in the reign of Edward II.
I chose those periods because each of them affected the course of history. If the Duke of Marlborough had not won The War of Spanish Succession, and The Duke of Wellington was defeated by Napoleon at The Battle of Waterloo, the history of Britain and Europe would be different. Defeat would also have had far-reaching consequences for other countries. If Edward II had won the Battle of Bannockburn, it is feasible that he would have conquered Scotland and, perhaps, as it is claimed, he would not have been murdered.
   There are other eras that interest me in which I hope to set future novels.


WHERE?

   So far, with one exception, my novels are set in ancestral houses and estates and in fashionable parts of London where the nobility lived and the clubs, and functions they attended.
   My medieval novel, is set in castles, manor houses and peasants’ cottages.


WHY?

   Cause and effect answer the question, why something takes place, whether it is a person’s action or a historical event which will direct subsequent events.
   My passion for history answers the question why I write romantic historical fact fiction which I spend hours researching to avoid characters dressed in costume, who behave as though they live in the 21st century. 

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Yvonne, Lady of Cassio by Rosemary Morris
Historical romance
Back of the Book:
When Yvonne and Elizabeth, daughters of ruthless Simon Lovage, Earl of Cassio, are born under the same star to different mothers, no one could have foretold their lives would be irrevocably entangled.
Against the background of Edward II’s turbulent reign in the fourteenth century, Yvonne, Lady of Cassio, contains imaginary and historical characters.
It is said the past is a foreign country in which things were done differently. Nevertheless, although that is true of attitudes, such as those towards women and children, our ancestors were also prompted by ambition, anger, greed, jealousy, humanity, duty, loyalty, unselfishness and love.
From early childhood, despite those who love her and want to protect her, Yvonne is forced to face difficult economic, personal and political circumstances, during a long, often bitter struggle.

Novels by Rosemary Morris
Early 18th Century. Tangled LoveFar Beyond RubiesThe Captain and The Countess
Regency. False Pretences, Sunday’s Child, Monday’s Child, Tuesday’s Child, Wednesday’s Child. Work in progress Thursday’s Child to be published in June, 2018.
Mediaeval. Yvonne Lady of Cassio. The Lovages of Cassio Book One

Click here to discover and purchase Rosemary's books. 



About Rosemary Morris

I was born in Kent. As a child, when I was not making up stories, my head was ‘always in a book.’
While working in a travel agency, I met my Hindu husband. He encouraged me to continue my education at Westminster College.  In 1961 I and my husband, by then a barrister who read law at Inner Temple, moved to his birthplace, Kenya. I lived there from 1961 until 1982. After an attempted coup d’état, four of my children lived with me in an ashram in France.
Historical author, Rosemary Morris
Back in England, I wrote historical fiction, joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association, The Historical Novel Society, Watford Writers and on-line groups, and am now published by BooksWeLove Inc.
Apart from writing, I enjoy classical Indian literature, reading fiction and non-fiction, visiting places of historical interest, vegetarian cooking, growing organic fruit, herbs and vegetables and creative crafts. 
My bookshelves are so crammed with historical non-fiction, which I use to research my novels, that until that if I bought a new book I considered getting rid of one. However, I am converting the small spare bedroom into a study and have ordered a 6ft high 8ft wide bookcase to solve the problem.
Time spent with my children and their families, most of whom live nearby is precious.
However, much of my time is spent researching my romantic historical fact fiction. The more I read about past times, the more fascinated I become, and increasingly aware of the gulf between the past and present. Our ancestors shared the same emotions as we do, but their attitudes and way of life were, in many ways, very different to ours. One of the most striking examples was the social position of women and children.
 Research sparks my imagination. The seeds of my novels are sown, and from them sprout the characters and events which will shape their lives.
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Connect online with Rosemary:


Thank You--Huge thank you to Kami Kinard for sharing a bit of her article posted at the Nerdy Book Club. Click here if you would like to read the complete article, Every book is a Mystery by Kami Kinard.


Thursday, March 15 and 16 I will be a guest at multi-published author Victoria Chatham. Victoria asks some refreshing new questions that made me think. Click here to visit.

Coming Up on the Five W's of Story Event at the Focused on Story Blog--Right here!
Wednesday, March 21--Marsha R. West
Wednesday, March 28--Roseanne Dowell








Tuesday, March 6, 2018

IWSG Blog Hop: Achieving a Writing Goal, Author Platform

Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story blog by J.Q. Rose
It's the monthly meeting of the Insecure Writers Support Group(IWSG) blog hop 


Internet Writers Support Group Blog Hop
First Wednesday of every month.
What is IWSG? Founder of the  Insecure Writer’s 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. I hope you'll take some time to visit the diverse list of bloggers.

IWSG Question for the Month
Question:  How do you celebrate when you achieve a writing goal/ finish a story?
I'd like to say I celebrate with a big party with balloons and cake and music and dancing and... But I don't. I usually share the good news with my writing buddies and that's about it. I didn't even have a launch "party" for my first book. I think my hubby and I went out for dinner and I don't mean at McDonald's. A delightful dinner was probably the extent of it. Do you celebrate?

Insecure About My Author Platform by J.Q. Rose
Catnapping on a platform
Courtesy of pixabay.com
A writer's platform, according to Cliff Dagle, is "basically the group of activities you engage in that get your name and work noticed by the public. It's marketing, not of a specific work, but of you as the author. It's everything you do to build your brand."

I'm insecure about "building my brand." I have fiction and non-fiction books published, so I can't say I'm just a mystery author or I'm known as a non-fiction writer. It's confusing to a reader and very confusing to me as to how to let readers know who I am. 

I'm writing a memoir now and wondering if I can use my pen name, J.Q. Rose, or use my real name as the author because it is such a personal story. But, if I use Janet Glaser, I'll have to start building another platform for that name. Well-known authors write fiction as well as non-fiction like Stephen King's On Writing. However, I am definitely not in that tier of authors.


Do you write stories and/or articles in more than one genre? Can I describe myself, my platform, my brand, as multi-genre? What advice can you give me? I'd appreciate any suggestions you can offer.
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The 5 W's of a Story
Promotion Opportunity--You're invited to participate in my new series with guest authors who write in diverse genres. The series, offered in March and throughout the spring and summer, discusses the Five W's of a Story. Who, what, where, when and why. (I left out How because that may be a spoiler.) Choose one of your books (it doesn't have to be a new release) to tell readers--

  • Who the characters are.
  • What the conflict is 
  • Where the story takes place
  • When the story takes place
  • Why you wrote this story or why the characters are in the situation, etc.
These are some examples to use, but you're free to figure out how you'd like to fill in the Five W's. We are writers. I know there will be a lot of creative answers.
If you are interested in getting the word out about your book, then leave a comment below or contact me at jqrose at gmail dot com.

I look forward to hosting you on this blog, Focused on Story!

Historical author Rosemary Morris kicks off the event, March 14. Come and join us!

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