Author Spotlight: J.Q. Rose - Arranging a Dream

With in-person author events still on hold indefinitely, I'm devoting one blog post each month to an author interview.

This month's interview is with Janet Glaser, who writes as J.Q. Rose. Her mysteries, Deadly Undertaking, Terror on Sunshine Boulevard and Dangerous Sanctuary, released by Books We Love Publishing, offer readers chills, giggles, and quirky characters.
 
After presenting workshops on Writing Your Life Story for several years, Janet decided to take her advice and pen her memoir, Arranging a Dream: A Memoir. The book is scheduled for release January 1, 2021, also from Books We Love Publishing.
 
Arranging a Dream tells the story of how Janet and husband Ted, budding entrepreneurs with more enthusiasm than experience, purchased a floral shop and greenhouses in 1975, where they planned to grow their dream. Leaving friends and family behind in Illinois and losing the security of two paychecks, they transplanted themselves, their one-year-old daughter, and all their belongings to Fremont, Michigan, where they knew no one. 

Through trials and triumphs, Janet and Ted dug in to develop a blooming business while juggling parenting with work and keeping their marriage thriving.
 
To celebrate the Arranging a Dream: A Memoir Winter Virtual Book Tour, Janet is offering a free eBook to a lucky reader. Just leave a comment below to be entered in the drawing. Deadline for entries: Sunday, December 20, 9 pm Eastern Time.
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Author J.Q. Rose, AKA Janet Glaser

How is writing about real people, places, and events different from writing fiction, where you can invent characters, situations, and settings? Are the two processes similar in any ways?

Arranging a Dream is Janet's first memoir

Deadly Undertaking, a novel, is also based on the author's true-life experiences.

The #1 rule for life storytellers is to tell the truth. When writing a scene that took place 40 years ago, the emotions and tone of the scene are true. But I doubt anyone can remember the exact words in the conversation. Writers usually put a disclaimer in the book explaining some of the scenes are not accurate, but the writer’s feelings are real.

I have penned two books based on my life story, but one is fiction, Deadly Undertaking. The setting of this romantic suspense is a funeral home. My dad was a funeral director, so many of the jobs I mentioned in the story are ones I did for my dad, such as dusting caskets, running errands and helping my mom set up flowers for visitations and church services (a foreshadowing of my future in the flower business??). But there was no murder or Henry the Shadow Man in my real life!  

​Arranging a Dream: A Memoir is my true story. I interacted with the real people in the story, but I did change their names to protect their privacy. Both books contain elements of fiction with interesting characters, colorful descriptions of the setting, structure and conflict.

In the acknowledgments, you mention that you and your husband Ted had fun recalling the times you write about in this memoir. Tell us more about how your memories meshed and how you reconciled differences when your memories of a specific event didn’t match. 

When Ted and I discussed a certain time period, we recalled people we met. If he couldn’t think of a person’s name, I could, and vice versa. I remembered the cars, delivery vehicles we used but I wasn’t sure when we had the Dodge van (or even if it was a Dodge or a Ford).

During the big move to Fremont in December 1975, we had 4 vehicles in our caravan moving from Central Illinois to West Michigan. We became separated in the traffic going around Chicago. His version of where we met up again and mine are completely different. My brother and sister-in-law were driving the other vehicles, so when we asked them about it, they couldn’t remember!  Since I am the author, I wrote my version of the story.

​We were lucky to have photos from that first day of touring the flower shop in July 1975. I had written a long description of the flower shop outside and inside. He disagreed with me. Finally, we found the photos taken that day, and I hate to admit, I was wrong in several instances. So with that proof, I had to re-write that entire episode.

Ted and Janet in 1986, in their second flower shop

The original flower shop and greenhouses on Ted and Janet's first visit

Daughter Sara's first visit to the greenhouse

What other techniques did you use to access the memories that helped you tell this story? 

The van, garage, and west greenhouse

Sara at Easter

We talked with friends who helped us scrub the apartment over the shop and wallpaper and paint before we moved, and I studied the photos we had. We couldn’t visit the shop to help jog our memories because the property is now an empty, grassy lot with a for-sale sign out front. Because of COVID restrictions, we could not access photos of Fremont in 1975-76 from the library or the history museum. So those techniques were of no use. Thank goodness, we had each other to bounce off the memories, but as you can see, our versions differed, though most of the time, we agreed.

What do you hope readers will take away from Arranging a Dream? What did you gain by writing the book?

I hope readers will be inspired to work toward their dreams. Use their passion to keep driving toward the future they envision.

Looking through the lens of time allowed me to put myself into the shoes of the previous owners of the flower shop, Hattie and Frank. After owning the business for so many years and deciding to sell it, I discovered I was like Hattie. We disagreed a lot with Hattie about how to run the shop and greenhouses because we wanted to use our new ideas and not listen to the tried-and-true methods she had developed during her years of experience. She was afraid we would fail by being so bold. I never thought I would admit I acted like Hattie when we sold our shop. I was also fearful the new owners would fail if they didn’t follow our ways of running things. Instead, they have been successful and are still in business. 

In addition to your own writing, you’re committed to helping others tell stories from their lives, through your Facebook group, your interactive journal, Your Words, Your Life Story: A Journal for Sharing Memories, and your workshops. Why is this important to you, and what are the rewards?

Many years ago, I was in a writers group. A member, Mary, brought her great-great-grandfather's journal from the 1850s. She read several pages from it as he described his ordinary life as a minister in London, England. Fascinating. So many interesting tidbits on the pages. He wrote about gazing at books displayed in the shop window and wishing he could afford to buy one. At that time, only rich people could afford to buy a book. I was captivated by his story and realized how important it is to record our lives for future generations.

Our stories of overcoming obstacles, surviving through tough times, and celebrating our joys serve as guides to the readers who face the same problems and offer hope to them they can survive the uncertainty and move on to have an ordinary, satisfying life. We are living history now as we work our way through the COVID pandemic. We are eyewitnesses to this challenging time, and we must tell the truth of what life is like for us today.

​As far as what are the rewards, one woman in my workshop came up to me and said quietly, “I never appreciated my life until I took this class.” I will never forget her. My hope is to touch every participant in that way as they examine their lives and tell the rich stories that make up their life story.

The cover of Janet's interactive journal

What’s next? Are there other periods of your life that might lend themselves to a memoir? Or will you write more fiction? 

​Next, I hope to turn the book, Your Words, Your Life Story, into a course so I can reach more people and encourage them to write their stories, because I am a life storytelling evangelist. I always have ideas for stories swirling through my brain, so I will be writing, but I have not chosen which idea to develop at this time. I am just savoring touring around cyberspace, meeting authors and readers.

Anything else you'd like to add?

​Thank you, Nan, for hosting me during the Arranging a Dream: A Memoir Winter Virtual Book Tour!

Connect online with J.Q:
​J.Q. Rose blog
Facebook
J. Q.  Rose Amazon Author Page
Goodreads 
Pinterest
BWL  

Pre-order Arranging a Dream​
Kobo
BN.com - Nook
SmashWords 
Amazon - Kindle 
Amazon - paperback