What an exciting week this is going to be, for me and my visitor :) My novel The Silk Romance will be released on 24th May, and my vistor has a special birthday on 25th May!
So to celebrate we’re having great wodges of cake, and a couple of glasses of something even stronger than my tea :) And as a special birthday present, one lucky commenter will win a copy of Coda to Murder, J.Q. Rose’s latest release.
Congratulations, J.Q. Rose, and good to meet you here!
Helena, thank you so much for the opportunity to be a guest on your blog. Oh my goodness, but you asked some questions that made me dig down deeper to come up with the answers. I am thrilled to tell your readers about my new mystery/sweet romance, Coda to Murder, and to award a copy of the e-book to a commenter.
Thanks for the present! Now, my first question is an easy one – Where do you live? I’m a snowbird so I live in Michigan in the spring, summer, and fall then move to Florida for the sunshine. It’s kind of like going away to summer camp in the winter because we play with friends and have no responsibility.
Where is your favourite place in the world? My favourite place in the world, magnificent Mackinac Island (pronounced Mack-INAW), is not that far from my Michigan home. Located in the waters of Lake Huron, the only way visitors can reach the island during the summer is via ferry service. No motor driven vehicles are allowed on the island, so it really is like stepping back into the Victorian era. Christopher Reeves in the romantic movie, Somewhere in Time, travels back to this era. The movie was filmed on location in the Grand Hotel, a majestic, world-renowned hotel and the centrepiece of the island. http://www.mackinacisland.org/lodging/
The downtown area mostly consists of ice cream shops, t-shirt outlets, and famous fudge shops. During the summer season the quaint town is teeming with tourists. We love to grab a bike to get away from the congestion and take our time riding the road that hugs the coast. We stop to breathe in the fresh air and to appreciate the marriage of sky and water. It’s so much fun to explore the rocks along the small beaches. It is truly a place to escape from reality.
The lilac festival this year begins June 7, but you may want to take your heavy winter coat that time of year so you can enjoy the visit and drink in the perfume of the lovely lilac bushes spotted throughout the island.
Wow, that sounds an amazing place. Thanks for the link – at least I can enjoy the island in cyber-space :)
Being a writer is a great job. What’s the worst job you’ve ever had? The summer between my junior and senior year at college, I took a job as a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman. I travelled with a group of college age students to cities in Illinois. My leader would drop each of us in a neighbourhood and leave. I walked from door to door telling the folks I was taking a survey for the schools so they would invite me in. Somehow I worked it around to giving a presentation on Grolier encyclopedia. Some residents would throw me out, others were polite and listened while I wasted my evening with them. Others actually bought the set and were grateful for me stopping in. I learned it didn’t matter if the home was in a fancy subdivision or a blue collar neighborhood, every family had to figure out if they could afford the books.
You’re right, selling door to door is an awful job. Here’s a nicer question: what book do you wish you’d written? I enjoy the storytelling in all of Jan Karon’s Mitford series.
And what’s your happiest memory? If I were to say happiest career memory, I would say the open house for our new floral shop, garden center, and greenhouses. Personal memory? Seeing my two young daughters race into the arms of my mother and her hugging them tightly as they giggled together.
If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you say to them? I grew up in Central Illinois known as the Land of Lincoln where Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president worked as a lawyer before he was elected to the presidency. I would probably be speechless in his presence, but I would cherish the opportunity to meet with him and soak up his wisdom.
What would your superpower be, if you could choose one? Flying! I would fly to Florida and not spend 22 hours in a car.
If you won twenty million in the lottery, what would you do with the money? Oh that’s easy. I would travel, buy my DH a new truck although he loves our 17 year old “Big Blue,” Dodge Ram, set aside funds for our grandchildren’s college education, buy a special gift for everyone in our family, and donate to the United Methodist Committee on Relief toward building wells in Africa, supporting the African University, developing resources in third world countries to allow them to grow food for themselves and to make a living, helping Haiti recover, and supporting food banks in our country to feed children, and probably a dozen more causes that would help children.
What’s the most important lesson life has taught you? Don’t spin your wheels worrying about things you cannot control.
Great advice. And finally, please tell us about your latest book, where we can find it, and where we can find your blog/website
Coda to Murder is a cozy mystery and sweet romance. From the back of the book:
Pastor Christine Hobbs has been in the pulpit business for over five years. She never imagined herself caring for a flock that includes a pig, a kangaroo, and a murderer. Detective Cole Stephens doesn’t want the pretty pastor to get away with murdering the church music director. His investigative methods infuriate Christine as much as his deep brown eyes attract her. Can they find the real killer and build a loving relationship based on trust?
Now available at MuseItUp Publishing
bn.com and major online booksellers
Connect with J.Q. Rose online at
J.Q. Rose blog http://www.jqrose.com/
Girls Succeed blog http://girlssucceed.blogspot.com/
Author website http://jqrose.webs.com/
J. Q. Rose Amazon Author Page http://tinyurl.com/aeuv4m4
Goodreads- http://www.goodreads.com/jqrose
Pinterest http://pinterest.com/janetglaser/
You Tube Book Trailer— http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8J4Lkw0q3g
Thanks so much for visiting me today, and telling us all about your wonderful home state. I hope I can return the visit some day!
And thanks for the great birthday present! Don’t forget, one lucky commenter will win a copy of J.Q. Rose’s Coda to Murder. So if you have any questions for us, or any comments at all, or just want to wish J.Q. Rose a happy birthday, please just drop in and comment. You could be the winner!
Helena Fairfax 
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