Friday J. Q. Rose is visiting and talking about Dedly Undertaking #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Romantic suspense #funeral home

 

1. Tell me about your book? Genre? Deadly Undertaking, a romantic suspense novel. The title is a play on the word “undertaking” because the murder takes place in a funeral home. Lauren Staab returns to her home town to help her father in the family business, the funeral business. Her mother is in the nursing home due to Alzheimer’s Disease, so Lauren works as a bookkeeper and support for her dad. It’s difficult for her. But finding the body dumped in the garage by the mafia is way beyond what she could handle. Thank goodness her friend is there to support her through it all. Or is he more than a friend?

 

2. Where did the idea arise? My dad was an undertaker and so are my brothers. I grew up believing it was natural to have the unclaimed ashes of a stranger out in the pantry on our porch. There is mystery to the funeral business. The regular person has no idea what it is like to be in the funeral business. That’s when I thought this could be an interesting plot for folks who were curious about the everyday life of an undertaker. And of course, there had to be a ghost character, Henry the shadow man, who always shows up at the most inappropriate times.

 

3. How much research was involved? Did you stay on point or be distracted by wanting to look at just one more thing? I did some research by quizzing my brother with questions about embalming fluid, picking up a body at the hospital but no scholarly research. I had lived the life as a kid, and what I didn’t know for sure, I embellished a bit. Afterall, it is a work of fiction. That made it fun. I loved the characters in the story too, so I enjoyed throwing them in situations involving romance, murder and lies.

 

4. How long did you take to write the book? The idea stewed in my brain for a couple of years until I finally had to get it down on paper. It took me two years to finish the book because Lauren’s story was based on my life. Once I understood she was just a character and not really me, I could place her in circumstances that I would never be in. I must admit, I spent a whole summer writing short stories trying to put space between Lauren and me.

 

5. Now a bit about you. How long have you been writing? What is your Sun Sign?

I have been writing since I was in second grade. My mother was my teacher. I had a bad habit of finishing my work early, so I would hop up and visit, or interrupt as my mother said, my classmates. So, to stay out of trouble, I began writing stories and then shared them with the class. I had fun entertaining them with my stories, so I continued to write all through school. I took a hiatus to teach, get married, run a flower shop and take care of our two daughters. When we sold the shop in 1995, I asked the editor of the regional newspaper if he would be interested in any articles for the paper. He said “yes!” That was my springboard to launching a career in writing non-fiction articles for magazines, newspapers and online magazines. Then, tired of interviewing people or getting the facts about a vacation place, I decided to try writing fiction and began with writing what I liked to read, mysteries. BWL Publishing released three of my mysteries and released Arranging a Dream: A Memoir in January. My sun sign is Gemini. I think I do have the characteristics of being born under that sign of the twins. I love learning new things and call myself a life-long learner. I enjoy meeting people, and I am in the media or arts as an author.

 

 

6. Do you write in several genres or stick to one?

Perhaps another sign that I am a Gemini. I write non-fiction and fiction. I have non-fiction books in gardening, writing, a MG book for girls, how to record memories for your life story, as well as memoir. The fiction genres are romance, mystery, paranormal and time travel.

 

7. Where on the internet can you be found?

J.Q. Rose blog http://www.jqrose.com/

Facebook http://facebook.com/jqroseauthor

J. Q.  Rose Amazon Author Page http://tinyurl.com/aeuv4m4

Goodreads- http://www.goodreads.com/jqrose