IWSG: Writing Fiction-- It's All Because of My Mom!

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.

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Happy IWSG Day and Happy New Year 2020!

Question for January 8

January 8 Question 

What started you on your writing journey? Was it a particular book, movie, story, or series? Was it a teacher/coach/spouse/friend/parent? Did you just "know" suddenly you wanted to write?

My mother started me on my writing journey. Not because of her love of reading or writing nor because she thought I was a smart kid and adorable (which I was--wink wink). I began writing to stay out of trouble. My mom was my second-grade teacher--a long story. She taught a split class of second and third graders. 

I must admit I was a bit of a social butterfly and liked to "talk" to my fellow classmates when I finished my assignments. I was usually the first one done.

 My mother thought I was keeping my friends from finishing the assignments and distracting the class, so she found other things for me to do when I finished. She piled up books to read, math problems to solve, worksheets, drawing sheets and of course, a tablet(such as lined pages, not the electronic kind of tablet we know today). I filled those pages with stories and loved sharing them with the class. I'd found my passion.

Many many many years later, I made the decision to try writing fiction for fun. After writing so many freelance non-fiction articles for papers and magazines, I chose to write mysteries. I gobbled up the alphabet mysteries, Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone series e.g. A is for Alibi, and Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, e.g. One for the Money. I loved to try and figure out whodunit, but I also marveled at the humor as the story played out. So entertaining.

Their writing styles influenced my storytelling so I added light, funny scenes in my novels to break up the dark murder mystery.

Here's an excerpt from my romantic suspense, Dangerous Sanctuary, Chapter 10--I hope you'll get a giggle out of it...

“The detective practically accused me of killing William, right there, right in the park.” Sitting on the screened-in porch at the rear of the parsonage, Christine expected Lacey to be as angry as she was at such a ridiculous idea.

Instead, her friend held her slice of pizza midway from the greasy box to her mouth long enough to ask, “Hey, you didn’t tell me you were at the park with Detective Stephens this afternoon. How’d that happen?”

“What? You’re more interested in why I was at the park instead of being accused of murdering William? Come on, Lacey.” Planting her feet firmly on the cement floor, she stopped the gentle rocking of the glider. “Don’t you get it? I could be tossed in jail for something I didn’t do.”

“Don’t be silly. You’re innocent. You know it, and so does everyone else.” Lacey popped the last morsel of pepperoni in her mouth. “Anyway, tell me how you met Cole Stephens at the park. He is super cute.” Her friend licked the pizza grease from her fingers and then grabbed the thin paper napkin to complete the grease removal from her lips.

“Excuse me, Lacey. Some people in this town are spreading rumors that I did kill William. I wouldn’t be surprised if it weren’t some of my own parishioners involved in spreading them. There were several folks who weren’t too happy to have a young woman for their pastor.”

“You don’t think they would spread malicious lies to get you out of here, do you?”

“I would hope not.” Christine sat back on the glider and sipped her light beer. She was too upset to eat the pizza Lacey had brought over.

“I guess we could always do our own investigation, eh?” She threw it out there to get a reaction from her friend.

“Sure, Sherlock.” Lacey laughed. “We could go to William’s house to see if someone left a note telling us who killed him.”

Christine sat bolt upright. “You’re right! We could run out there and investigate.”

“I’m sure the police have already done that. There’s nothing left to check out.” Lacey piled the paper napkins next to the half-empty pizza box on the patio table.

They sat in silence for a few minutes allowing the peaceful twilight to restore tranquility. Christine couldn’t let go of the idea of checking out William’s home. After all, William had shown her where the key was if she needed to get into his house in case of an emergency. I think trying to find William’s killer could qualify as an emergency.

Christine moved to the patio table. “We’ve got to go to William’s house and look for clues to his killer.”

“We can’t even get into his house.”

“Oh yes, we can. I know where he hides his house key. Come on, let’s go.”

“Hey, what about the pizza?” Lacey asked as Christine swooped up the pizza box and bottles.

“I’ll store it in my refrigerator for a midnight snack. Let’s go now. “ Christine was fired up to prove her innocence. Sitting back and waiting to find out who murdered William was no longer an option. She needed to take action toward solving this mystery, so she and her congregation could deal with it and move forward.

Dangerous Sanctuary by J.Q.Rose

Romantic suspense

Pastor Christine Hobbs never imagined her flock would consist 

of a cat, a pig, a kangaroo and a murderer.

Click here for more about Dangerous Sanctuary on sale now for 99 cents!

Click here to order a paperback book.

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GOOD NEWS: I finally figured out, I think, how to send the Rose Courier out to subscribers. The inaugural edition will be in your inbox on Thursday, January 9 IF you signed up for it. Please enter your email address at the top of the page under The Rose Courier to get this jazzy update every month. Thank you!!