Wishing You a Joyful and Happy Easter

In this very important season for followers of Jesus Christ, 

I wish you a joyful and blessed Easter.

Meet Author Janie Franz

Please say hello to author Janie Franz, a multi-talented lady. She says she "comes from a long line of liars and storytellers." That quote is straight from her bio at the end of the page. She is a woman of many interests.

Is keeping a promise to a dying woman more important
than personal friendships and safety ? Only Jan-nell can decide.

Jan-nell Speaks of Growing Things by Janie Franz

[Today, Jan-nell, the main character in the Bowdancer Saga of which The Lost Song: Verses is a part, speaks about her love of growing things.]

When I have my hands plunged deep into fertile soil, I feel more connected to the One and all living things. I lived on the horse plains as a child and trained as The Bowdancer, the spiritual leader and healer of my village. I grew herbs there and some vegetables. I fed myself and made salves and tinctures and teas for those who came for healing.

But I left that safety and lived on the Wayfarer’s Road, foraging for things to eat and herbs for cures and comforts. I taught my daughter all I knew and eventually how to grow some meager fare up on the mountain where she lives with the famed warrior women.

Since I left my babe with those kind hearts there, I have spent my days raising my son and growing new things in this fertile land of his father’s people. I have tomatoes and cucumbers and potatoes and lots of leafy greens to cook. I have an abundance of herbs for healing and for herbing a hen or a fine rabbit my son brings home when he is out hunting with his teacher, Bekar, the Master Hunter of the Sisterhood, the inner circle of hunters and trackfinders on the mountain. It is forbidden that she teaches him. But she honors a pledge she made to the babe when he was born and I had to bring him down mountain to raise. I wonder what else Bekar teaches him.

I have taught him all I know about growing things in this rich soil. He could tend my garden now without my eye on him and herb a stew as well as his sister or as I. I just hope he feels the same connection I do with the powers within the ground and the rain and sun.

[I smile at Jan-nell’s deep connection with the earth. I, too, feel it here in the mountains of Santa Fe as I dig and build, creating my first garden in this new home of mine. I would like to think that I will be as skilled as she not only in the growing of green things but in the culinary and healing arts she possesses.]

# # # #

Excerpt:

Jan-nell frowned into her tea. “I never did craft the story-song of your history.”

“Well, that is one of the reasons Leyton sent me down in the middle of hunting. She wants you to hear Dekla’s gossip before the old woman passes into the winter snows. Leyton says there is a song that no one has heard.”

“Is Dekla dying?”

“Not yet, but she is ill, and at her age, we do not know if this might be the time the Maker will take her.”

A hail interrupted their conversation, and they looked up to see young Bearin, coming across the meadowland with his bow and quiver across his back. Striding beside him was another tall woman in hunting leathers like Chandro’s, also bearing a long bow and quiver and something suspended from a cord over her shoulder and falling behind her back. The woman’s dark hair had been shaved on one side of her head and hung down to her mid ear on the other side. She moved with a catlike grace, and young Bearin was making a good show of copying her agile movements.

Jan-nell stood and ran to meet Bearin, stopping short of enfolding him in her arms.

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About Janie Franz

Janie Franz comes from a long line of liars and storytellers with roots deep in east Tennessee. Honed by the frigid Northern Plains and a degree in anthropology, her writing skill and curiosity have generated thousands of feature and cover articles over a vast range of topics for more than a hundred regional, national, and international publications for over a decade.

She has co-written two books with Texas wedding DJ, Bill Cox (The Ultimate Wedding Ceremony Book and The Ultimate Wedding Reception Book), and has self-published a writing manual, Freelance Writing: It’s a Business, Stupid!

Janie runs her own online music publication, Refrain Magazine, and she is a book and music reviewer, and was a radio announcer, a booking agent/publicist for a groove/funk band, and a yoga/relaxation instructor.

Janie's Website:
 

Winners of the Coda to Murder Book Tour Drawing

Thanks so much to my hosts for inviting me to stop on the Coda to Murder Book Tour. I had a blast working with them and getting to know them better. Many of the hosts swapped blogs with me and often we blogged on the same day inviting readers to hop over to each other's site.

Here's a list of my wonderful hosts so you can visit them when you get time.

FEBRUARY

Janie Franz

Lorrie Struiff

MARCH

Margaret Fieland

Kim Cresswell

Tess Grant

W S Gager

Joselyn Vaughn

Nancy Wood

Scott Caseley

Viola Ryan

Gail Roughton

Thank you to everyone who visited along the tour with us. You are all winners to me. 

But as far as the drawing is concerned, 

congratulations to the winners of the prizes for the Coda to Murder Book Tour!!! 

Drum roll, please <Applause>

$10.00 MuseItUp Publishing Gift Certificate--Marian Lanouette

Sunshine Boulevard E-book--Marsha West

Coda to Murder E-book--Kay Lalone

Discover Author Lorrie Unites-Struiff

I'm thrilled to have a chance to introduce you to multi-genre author Lorrie Unites-Struiff. She tells her clever stories with so much humor that you just have to smile after reading her work. She'll put a spring in your step once you experience her writing.

Let me tell you more about her. Lorrie Unites-Struiff is a native of West Mifflin, twenty minutes from downtown, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She writes in different genres for the pure enjoyment of entertaining readers. When she is not sitting in front of her computer, she’s often found checking out bookstores, leading her writing workshops, or having lunch with local authors.

Today Lorrie shares her inspiration for writing the paranormal romance and mystery, Gypsy Blood.

Welcome readers and authors,

 Thank you for being here with me today.

Let me tell you how I got my inspiration for Gypsy Blood.

Once upon a time, a good friend, an author in her own right, insisted she treat me for my birthday.

I won’t tell you which birthday, so don’t ask.

My friend took me to a quaint little restaurant where the food was scrumptious. Lo and behold, they had a gypsy fortuneteller seated at a table in the corner. Of course we indulged in both the food and having our fortunes told. The gypsy fascinated me and most of her predictions have come true. She nailed my lifestyle and my hopes.

It was an interesting and fun birthday celebration.

            When I returned home, my thoughts stayed with the gypsy. Being an author, I love to take interesting characters, mix in a few troublemakers and plot storylines for them. This gypsy impressed me with her intelligence and her thoughtfully chosen words, so I researched the gypsies of yore and found some very interesting reading. Their mysticism and beliefs held me captive. I admit, I am often carried away with research. The Romani have rich, colorful traditions, which I included in the book.

Isn’t every writer a research hound?

            Hence, Rita Muldova came to life, a homicide detective of pure Roma blood, her mother a gypsy seer with great mystic powers and her uncle, a great baker and violinist.

            Following today’s popular trend of many readers, I decided to use, and yes, add a little… well…okay, a lot of mysticism.

            What is a story without a love interest? I gave her a handsome hunk of a FBI agent from Voodoo City. Yum. My kind of guy.

          Her best friend on the force, Della, is a character unto herself. She has Rita’s back.

          When I threw in an odd serial killer, it turned into a heck of a wild ride. A fast paced read for all you paranormal/romance/thriller readers out there.

Try it, I think you’ll enjoy the ride.

Lorrie.

# # # #

EXCERPT

Detective Rita Moldova peeked around the corner to make sure the hallway was empty. Making a quick right turn, she slipped into the autopsy lab to have a few minutes alone with the body. She tucked her white shirt tighter into her jeans and zipped her windbreaker to stay warm in the chilly room. The harsh odor of formaldehyde hit her nostrils and stung her throat.

Her heart twisted at the sight of the young, auburn-haired woman lying on the stainless steel table. A white sheet covered her to the navel; bruises blemished the once pretty face. Contusions marred the pallid skin from elbow to shoulder. The gash on the front of her neck gaped, exposing open veins and torn tissue.

        Rita flipped her thick, dark braid back over her shoulder, snapped on one latex glove, leaned over the corpse, and peeled back an eyelid. In her bare hand, she clasped a star-shaped crystal hanging from the gold chain around her neck, an endowment from her maternal Roma bloodline. The crystal heated in her palm, warm energy pulsing up her arm to her shoulder. The face captured in the victim’s eye coalesced and stared back. Rita drew in a sharp breath. Bobby Driscoll! She had known him since high school, and now he worked as a uniform in her precinct.

    

Check Lorrie's website or write her for more info and the reviews.

Gypsy Blood is now available in e-book format at Amazon

Other links:

Facebook

Pinterest

Thank you, Lorrie for visiting today. Love your excerpt!

Today is the final day for the Coda to Murder tour. Race on over to Gail Roughton's Flowers on the Fence where we are discussing conflict in stories (and life.) Leave a comment to win prizes. They will be awarded after 9 pm tonight (Friday, March 22) Hope to see you there!!

Meet Me at Gail Roughton's Flowers on the Fence

Today is March 21 and my last stop on the Coda to Murder Book Tour is at that Southern belle's site, Gail Roughton's Flowers on the Fence. This is a great place to be talking about conflict in stories because Gail is a master at bringing on the conflict and her characters facing it head-on whether it's between a witch and a warlock or a Georgia police man and a bad guy--can't say who because it would ruin the story!!

Please pop on over to Gail's site and let's discuss the conflict in a story you read or wrote. There's always got to be a guy in a white hat vs a guy in a black hat.

Be sure to leave a comment to enter the drawing for prizes to be awarded on Friday, March 22 at 9 pm.

Meet Paranormal/Romance Author Viola Ryan and Giveaway

I am so happy to welcome author Viola Ryan to the J.Q. Rose blog. She is on the Holy Hell Tour from March 1-31. Be sure to register to win the Grand Prize--a $50. Amazon gift card and more prizes at the end of her guest post.

Viola and I are swapping blogs today. Be sure to stop at Viola's blog and leave a comment to enter the drawing for prizes at the conclusion of my Coda to Murder blog tour.

Is a frustrated artist Lucifer’s ticket back to heaven
or will falling in love with her reawaken the compassion that got him expelled?

Welcome, Viola!

Thank you for having me my Muse, sister.

Not Another Vampire or Fallen Angel novel....Wait which is it?

  

The Mark of Abel started in 2003 with an image--a vampire biting the woman he loved so he could turn her, giving her the greatest gift he knew.  She didn’t understand, was abhorred and rejected him. The original title was Rejection: A Vampire’s Tale. That got filed away until National Novel Writing Month 2007.

Lucifer found his way into the hero’s role. After all, what rejection is bigger than Lucifer being kicked out of heaven? Having the original fallen angel be a vampire made sense to me. Vampires are demons. Fallen angels are demons. According to math, if A=B and B=C then A=C.

I needed to play with Lucifer’s mythology in order to turn him into a hero. It wasn’t that difficult. Motivation and backstory allow the reader to excuse bad actions. I love dark wounded heroes. Lucifer fit perfectly with that.

Lucifer may be the first fallen angel, therefore the first vampire, but he isn’t the only one. The Grigori or Watchers from Genesis are the main fallen angels. Playing with their story was fun. First I needed to find  a way for them to drink blood. As angels they can’t harm a human, so they convinced Cain to murder Abel, so they could drink his blood and become vampires.  The Mark of Abel is vampirism. Since unlike Lucifer, their transformation is built on murder, they became evil vampires.

Lucifer can’t be the only non-evil vampire. Someone has to keep the Grigori in line. First I had Lucifer turn Mary Magdalene (Maggie) and she turned the Gnostics, early Christians. These are the good vampires in the series.

So the book is both a vampire story complete with the standard mythos associated with that and a fallen angel story. These aren’t generic fallen angels. They are the Watchers/Grigori from Genesis. As the series progresses, their role will expand as I incorporate more of the Book of Enoch. 

Back of the cover:

Lucifer is fed up with humanity. He created hell to deter evil, but man’s inhumanity is only escalating. He just wants to return home to heaven, but ever since that little problem in the Garden of Eden, the Pearly Gates remain firmly shut to him. It doesn’t help that he’s the first vampire, an abomination in God’s sight.

Fortunately, two thousand years ago Lucifer’s estranged brother, Jesus, gave him a prophecy. To fulfill it, all Lucifer has to do is find the right artist, study her artwork and the path back to heaven will be revealed. The artist even bears a symbol so he knows who she is. Too bad she is murdered every time he finds her.

Janie’s a frustrated artist and college art teacher who wants two things—a guy she can show her paintings to and a night without nightmares. Each nightmare plagues her until she paints it. She doesn’t realize these paintings are key to unlocking her destiny, one that could redeem the original fallen angel.

Buy Links:

MuseItUp Publishing:  

Amazon:

About Viola Ryan

A very good friend of Viola Ryan in high school said, “You don’t think outside the box. You blow the thing up.” Sometimes boxes need exploding. That’s why she’s here. She has a whole bag of C4 and isn’t afraid to use it. She’s blessed with people who treasure her eccentricities or at least put up with them.

Sometimes the box can be a cozy place. Without some sort of stability, her two daughters’ and her life would be unmanageable. That stability comes from her husband. He’s the rock holding her family together.

On the flip side, his career is anything but stable. He’s a Chief Marine Safety Technician in the US Coast Guard. They’ve lived from Kittery, Maine to Yorktown, Virginia. Fortunately, the moves have all been on the east coast. Then again, the Coast Guard tends to guard the coast.

Her oldest daughter (16) was born on Cape Cod, not far from Plymouth. Massachusetts. Her youngest (12) was born in Yorktown, Virginia, down the road from Williamsburg. Viola jokes they’re doing the colonial America tour.

Find Viola on the Web:

Website: http://www.violaryan.com

Blog: http://violaryanauthor.blogspot.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jeanie.ryan.9

pinterest: http://pinterest.com/violaryan/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6922260.Viola_Ryan

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/violaryan

Enter to win Viola's $50. Amazon Grand Prize Gift Certificate a Rafflecopter giveaway

Final Week of Coda to Murder Book Tour

The Coda to Murder Book Tour winds down this week. I've enjoyed meeting new authors and re-visiting, I can't say old authors, so I'll say author friends. We connected to swap blogs, but we also had a chance to swap experiences and everyday chit chat. It has been a very satisfying experience.

Needless to say a book tour is an exciting time running around cyberspace, meeting new folks, receiving comments and well wishes. I hate to see that end. I guess I'll just have to get another book ready so I can do it all over again, eh?

This week you will find me visiting three more generous hosts.

TODAY Monday, March 18--Scott Caseley--Lacey tells about her experience in helping out her best friend, Pastor Christine. 

Tuesday, March 19--Viola Ryan--My inspiration for writing this story

Thursday, March 21-- Gail Roughton--Conflict

Winners of the random drawing will be selected on Friday, March 22, 9:00 pm, so be sure to leave a comment in any of the stops along the tour.

You can win:

$$$$$  $10.00 MuseItUp Publishing Gift Card  $$$$$

E-book Giveaway

E-book Giveaway