Tuesday, August 27, 2019

The Five W's in Terror on Sunshine Boulevard by J.Q. Rose


The 5 W's in Story
The 5 W's of a story are who, what, where, when and why (and sometimes How is included if it doesn't contain any spoilers.) These important W's make up the skeleton or the bones of a story. This series has been a hit with readers.

The Five W's in Terror on Sunshine Boulevard by J.Q. Rose
Originally appeared on Ellen Jacobson's blog, the Cynical Sailor and His Salty Sidekick

Today I thought I'd take a turn to share the 5 W's of one of my mysteries, Terror on Sunshine Boulevard, a touch of the paranormal with a lot of humor set in a Florida retirement community.

That makes the perfect segue to the WHERE in Terror on Sunshine Boulevard--The action takes place at the Citrus Ridge Senior Community and Golf Resort--a beautiful park filled with manufactured homes, a community center, golf course, tennis, pickleball, horseshoes, bocci ball, heated pool and a club for every interest imaginable.
Terror on Sunshine Boulevard by J.Q. Rose
R
escuing a naked woman lying in a geranium bed?
Investigating mysterious murders?
These are not the usual calls in a Florida retirement community
for 
volunteer first responder Jim Hart.

Click here to download your e-copy or read the sample
WHO--The main characters are Jim and Gloria Hart, snowbirds from Michigan, who spend their winters at Citrus Ridge meeting friends and joining in the social activities. 

Jim and Gloria retired after selling their hardware store in Michigan. Jim was a volunteer fireman, so when he moved into the community, he became a volunteer first responder and eventually the co-captain of the Citrus Ridge first responders squad. Because the volunteers live in the park, they are key to saving many lives due to their quick response.

WHEN--Contemporary 

WHAT--The members of the first responder squad are accustomed to being called to seniors' homes for slip and fall accidents or high blood pressure issues, but Jim has never been called to the homes of so many folks dying of unknown causes. 

WHY--So if seniors are dying every day, the question is why? What is killing them? A virus, deadly air quality, bad water, a treacherous mad man? 

Why don't Jim and Gloria head back north and get out of there? (If any of you have endured or are enduring winter storms, icy roads, blizzards, you may understand why Jim and Gloria want to stay in warm, tropical Florida. !!!) 

As co-captain of the squad, Jim is drawn into the police investigations.  Gloria feels responsible for so many of her senior friends who rely on her for assistance. They both know if they went home to Michigan they would only be miserable worrying about their Florida friends and feeling guilty for abandoning their community in crisis. Wouldn't you?

HOW-- I can't tell you how the cause of so many deaths is solved. You knew I wouldn't, didn't you? That would ruin the fun of reading Terror on Sunshine Boulevard. 

Click here to download your e-copy or read the sample.
Click here to order your paperback copy at amazon. 
***
Jingles, a star in the book

BACK OF THE BOOK: Terror on Sunshine Boulevard by J.Q. Rose
 Rescuing a naked woman lying in a geranium bed? Investigating mysterious murders? Not the usual calls for first responder Jim Hart. He expects slip and fall accidents or low blood pressure emergencies in his retirement community of Citrus Ridge Senior Community and Golf Resort. The ghastly crime scenes turn the winter time fun into a terrifying season of death and mystery when the authorities cannot track down the predator responsible.

Jim and his wife Gloria could escape the horror and grief by returning to their northern home, but concern for their friends and residents keep them in Florida. With the entire community in a dither over the deaths, the Harts participate in the normal winter activities of golfing, dancing, and pool parties with their friends to distract them from sadness and loss.

Can Jim and Gloria work with the authorities to discover who or what is killing the seniors on Sunshine Boulevard and stop the increasing body count?

About J.Q.
 After writing feature articles in magazines, newspapers, and online magazines for over fifteen years, J.Q. Rose entered the world of fiction. Her mysteries published by BWL Publishing are Terror on Sunshine Boulevard, Dangerous Sanctuary, and Deadly Undertaking. Blogging, photography, Pegs and Jokers board games, and travel are the things that keep her out of trouble. She and her husband, Gardener Ted, spend winters in Florida and summers up north camping and hunting toads, frogs, and salamanders with her four grandsons and granddaughter.

Connect with J.Q. Rose online at
J.Q.'s blog, Focused on Story http://www.jqrose.com/

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Author Toolbox Blog Hop: Books are Tools Too

#AuthorToolboxBlogHop
Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story Blog and to the Author Toolbox Blog Hop #AuthorToolboxBlogHop which meets every third Wednesday of the month to share resources and tips for authors. Thanks to Raimey Gallant for hosting this venture. 

Please join us to learn more about the craft of writing and to meet bloggers who are dedicated to helping each other become the best writers possible. Click here for the list of participants and take a break and visit them. 
🛠🛠🛠🛠
Books are Tools Too

I don't usually think of books as tools. However, every tool comes with a page or pamphlet or book of instructions. So I believe books on writing are definitely tools to instruct us on the art of constructing our stories as well to help us learn how to publish and market them.

Today I'm sharing books I've used to learn about writing and writing life stories and memoirs. 

At this time, I'm working on creating a journal for those who wish to learn how to tell their life stories and a memoir which covers the first year we were in the floral business. (I wish I'd had a book of instructions for that giant leap.)

"Our lives are filled with extraordinarily ordinary moments. 
Our souls are illuminated by them.  
Sharing them around the hearths of our hearts, 
we become tellers of sacred tales, artists of our lives."
                                                         ----Dr. Susan Wittig Alberta, Writing from Life


Below is my review of one of the books on the list. I recommend it for writers even if you are not writing a memoir!

BOOK REVIEW: Writing Life Stories by Bill Roorbach

Writing Life Stories: How To Make Memories Into Memoirs, Ideas Into Essays And Life Into Literature
Writing Life Stories by Bill Roorbach
Writing Life Stories: How to Make Memories into Memoirs, Ideas into Essays, and Life into Literature by Bill Roorbach is eye-opening, thought-provoking, and full of wisdom for burgeoning writers, as well as experienced authors. His literary grade language and insight into what writing really is made me appreciate my choice to become a writer. This book is an inspiring read.

Bill, if I may call him that, brings clarity to the memoir genre. Incorporating rules of fiction writing with non-fiction events is an art. I soaked up every bit of the information he shared. He's a teacher as well as a writer and allows us to explore this marvelous genre through writing our own articles as exercises at the end of the chapter. I wish I were actually sitting in his classroom so I could be in a lively discussion with him and students on all the topics he covers.

My vocabulary grew because of his expertise in the English language. I discovered words like "adumbration" and "enjambment." 

These are quotes by Bill I want to keep in mind such as:

In regards to the writer's voice--"Emotion is the sound of a writer's voice."
In regards to writing--"This is art we're talking about, not a job."

I don't usually do book reviews, but this is more of a love letter to this book. If you are looking for a book on memoir-writing, pick this one up. I actually borrowed the kindle edition through amazon Prime's program. You know it had to be worth reading because I broke down and actually bought the paperback book!



If you have any comments about a book or wish to add to the list, please leave a comment below.

HELPFUL BOOKS ON WRITING
Albert, Susan Wittig.  Writing from Life:  Telling Your Soul’s Story
Baldwin, Christina.  Life’s Companion:  Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest
Corey, Judy. Storysharing:  A Bridge Between Generations
Daniel, Lois.  How to Write Your Own Life Story
Goldberg, Natalie. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
Hauser, Susan Carol. You Can Write a Memoir
Heilbrun, Carolyn.  Writing a Woman’s Life
King, Stephen. On Writing
Roorbach, Bill. Writing Life Stories
Strunk, William and E.B.White.  The Elements of Style
Zinsser, William.  Inventing the Truth:  the Art and Craft of Memoir



Tuesday, August 13, 2019

What Are Low Content and No Content Books?

Low Content and No Content Books

Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story blog. 
Do I have eye-opening, jaw-dropping news for you today!
People are jumping in on the latest trend in publishing print books--
low content and no content books. 
You don't even have to be a writer to publish these books!


What are Low Content and No Content Books? by J.Q. Rose

These books are exactly what they say they are with little or no word count. Books such as coloring books, planners, workbooks, guide books, journals and picture books have very few words, but lots of repetitive spaces and lines on each page for the user to write in. These are consumable books.

Writing in her journal

For instance, if you want to journal or plan a garden, the book includes lined pages allowing you to keep track of the steps you are taking to plan the garden, dates when seeds and plants are purchased, weather, soil samples, etc. The user will have the record of harvesting and results of how plants performed to help plan next year. Then, next year the user will buy another journal to use because the first one is filled with his notes.

Books are available to spark ideas for writers. The workbook consists of a writing prompt and lines on each page. Devotional journals with an inspirational scripture at the top of the lined page are also popular.
For writers or not?
Some writers design the interiors of a workbook or planner and use the same interiors in books, but add different covers. People are actually making 10's to 100's to 1000's of these low content and no content books and selling them on amazon for extra cash every month. If you create a beautiful book, then the passive income can be very rewarding.

You don't need special software to create the books. Use Canva.com, MS PowerPoint 2016 and up, or MS Word. Amazon provides the free ISBN and turns the PDF of your manuscript into a print book and sells them for you. At this writing, the creators are getting $10.00 or more for selling a book of lined pages! Just push the button to publish and amazon takes care of fulfilling the order and distributing the book. You sit back and collect your royalties. 

I am in the midst of learning how to do this with a journal for folks who want to write their life stories. Mine isn't exactly low content with over 6000 words in it. But ever since I began teaching about writing life stories, I have been passionate about encouraging people to tell their stories. I believe this journal will help me to do that.

Lots of FREE videos on Youtube are available on the subject with some wonderful teachers guiding you along in your journey. 

I don't know how long this market will last. I would think it would be saturated eventually with so many low content and no content books published. Is it only a trend? I don't know, but at the moment it's hot!

Can you think of an audience who would benefit from having a book like this created by you? Pick your passion and go for it.

What do you think of this idea? Have you used a journal or planner or workbook? Have you published a low or no content book? Please leave a comment below and let us know about your experience.

HELP PLEASE--
Can you help me decide on a title or offer a suggestion for a title on telling life stories?
Leave your choice in the comments below, please.

How to Tell Your Life Story the Easy Way
The Easy Way to Tell Your Life Story
Tell Your Life Story the Easy Way

Thank you!!

TERROR ON SUNSHINE BOULEVARD is on a Kindle Countdown Discount through Friday, August 16. Grab your copy now and save. Click here to download this mystery thriller.








Tuesday, August 6, 2019

IWSG Blog HopSummer Fever

IWSG Badge
IWSG Blog Hop---the first Wednesday of every Month.
Hello and welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group Blog Hop! 
Always on the first Wednesday of the month.
What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group?
Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, a Facebook and Instagram group, Twitter, and a monthly newsletter. To find out more, click this link:  Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The purpose of the group 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. Click here to sign-up to join.
***
I'm spending time with my ten-year-old granddaughter this week, so I'm re-posting a popular IWSG blog post from Summer 2016. Just for fun.

Happy IWSG DAY!!
SUMMER FEVER by J.Q. Rose

Writing is Easy...
Spring fever interferes with my writing. So, after the Memorial Day holiday and school closing for the summer, I will be dealing with summer fever. I don't recall having fall or winter fever. The long days and warm weather lures me away from my laptop, but ideas for writing stories are always swirling in my head. 
Woolly Sheep
Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.com
by khunaspix

Right now I am just woolgathering. Yes, that's a real word in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It means "indulgence in idle daydreaming." I'm sure I'll discover a golden nugget in the wool to spark an idea I can use for my future forays in storytelling. 

How about you? How do you deal with Summer Fever? Have you found ways to overcome it?

Thank you for stopping in at the IWSG blog hop. Click the IWSG page here to find more IWSG bloggers to visit and an opportunity to join the group.
* * *


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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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