Books by Ann Fowler is featured on Saturday's Blurbs #MFRWAuthor #memoir #Central America #Humanitarian work #Honduras

 

Laughter, sadness, empathy, outrage. Canadian Anne Hamilton Fowler appeared to have it all. However, life is not always as idyllic as it seems and at age twenty a series of events almost destroyed her. Emerging from the wreckage she reinvented herself, started over, and proceeded to live on the edge with a risk-taking lifestyle. Then in 1993, an event experienced during a trip to Central America changed everything.

“I’ve Worn Many Hats” is an inspirational read that demonstrates our human frailties, one’s ability to survive personal adversity, and how we can learn to forgive both ourselves and others. It is a story of redemption.

Anne Fowler is a retired Canadian who divides the year between her Haliburton summer cottage and Central America. This memoir is her first book and all proceeds will go to support Anne’s ongoing humanitarian work in Honduras.

For Canadian readers:  

Paperback – https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1778350321

eBook – https://www.amazon.ca/dp/BO9HDN55FV

For US readers:  

Paperback – https://www.amazon.com/dp/1778350321

eBook – https://www.amazon.com/dp/BO9HDN55FV

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1778350321 

Germany – https://www.amazon.de/dp/1778350321

France – https://www.amazon.fr/dp/1778350321 

Spain – https://www.amazon.es/dp/1778350321

Italy – https://www.amazon.it/dp/1778350321 

Australia – https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1778350321

Or you can access via my web page at http://anne.honduranhope.net

 

 

 

Anne Fowler is visiting and talking about her release #MFRWAuthor #book #memoir #life change

 

Tell me about your latest release or the book you wish to feature? Genre?                          I’ve Worn Many Hats is the no holds barred memoir of my unorthodox life lived in a manner regularly viewed as risky and on the edge, frequently laughable, on occasion full of hardship, but never boring! The candid account that spans decades of a long bumpy life evokes many emotions; laughter, empathy, shock, admiration. As you read the first half, you may find yourself going back, re-reading and thinking, “she did what?!” In the second half of the book, you will discover what inspired me to make such a drastic life change, leaving behind a long successful career in Human Resources to pursue philanthropic work with the children of Honduras. All the books proceeds are going towards my children’s programs in Honduras

2. Where did the idea arise?  

 For years, friends and colleagues had been urging me to write my life story. Then trying to cope with the Covid lockdown that prevented me from returning for my normal 6 months to Canada from Honduras, it seems as good a time as ever!

 

3. How much research was involved? Did you stay on point or be distracted by wanting to look at just one more thing?

Since it was “my own story,” it was simply a matter of jotting down notes as memories came to me. This could occur at any time of the day or night! Paper and pens located everywhere!

 

4. How long did you take to write the book?

 About a year.

 

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

I am a Capricorn. This was my first book but I realize that I have been “writing” in various forms since I first penned a mystery play for my Grade Four classmates. Throughout my life I’ve written various newspaper columns, a couple of fund raising cookbooks and many, many speeches, marketing proposals and other business related pitches. 

 

6. Do you write in a number of genres of stick to one?

Since I’ve only written one book, this question probably doesn’t apply.

 

7. Where on the internet can you be found?

    My web page is: http://anne.honduranhope.net, Face Book: Anne Hamilton Fowler, email: anne.fowler@xplornet.ca

 

 

Friday Ann Fowler is visiting and Talking about her latest release #MFRWAuthor #Memoir

 

1.     Tell me about your latest release or the book you wish to feature? Genre?

My only release is my memoir I’ve Worn Many Hats. It is a “no holds barred” chronicle of my rather tumultuous 82- year old life!!! The book can likely be best summed up by these remarks from one of my readers: “Your candid account spanning decades of a long bumpy life evokes many emotions; laughter, empathy, shock, admiration. As I read the first half, I kept going back, re-reading and thinking, she did what?! In the second half of the book, I discovered what had inspired you to make such a drastic life change and accomplish “all this.”  Your memoir is hard to put down, in fact I read it twice! Bravo!”                                                                                                                                                       

 

2.     Where did the idea arise?

Friends had been encouraging me for years to write about my life. So when two of my closest friends retired to Vancouver and wouldn’t be around at the cottage that summer, I knew this was the time to get started.      

 

3.     How much research was involved? Did you stay on point or be distracted by wanting to look at just one more thing?

 

        Since the book was about events that had happened to me, research was not a factor. What WAS a factor, was my memory; not about the things from fifty years ago, that was easy! It’s the stuff that happened last week that I sometimes had difficulty with! The way I handled it all was to keep paper and pen EVERYWHERE so that when I had a random memory or thought, I could jot it down at anytime of the day or night. I had a basic book outline already in my computer so every few days I would gather up the paper scraps and insert “that” idea/memory into the correct time spot. This worked out and allowed me to stay on point.    

 

 

4.     How long did you take to write the book?

About 18 months working both at the cottage and in Honduras. Covid had disrupted life to such an extent that my Honduran projects were on hold and summer visitors to the lake were at a minimum. This gave me plenty of free time to concentrate on writing.

 

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

NOT SURE IF YOU WANTED A BIO HERE, SO HAVE ENCLOSED I am a Capricorn and this was my first attempt at writing a book

BIO if needed!

Born and raised in Toronto I grew up an only child in a traditional middle class Canadian family of the 40’s and 50’s. But my life has been anything but traditional! After finishing school my career included flight attendant with American Airlines, model, travel agent, world traveller, sales and marketing and almost 30 years in Human Resources as an entrepreneur/ business owner. I closed my company and retired in 2001 to take up another role, that of humanitarian. As someone once said when they described my various life pursuits during their introduction of me as that night’s speaker, “and she’s only 108 years old”! 

 

 

6.     Do you write in a number of genres or stick to one?

The memoir is my only book so far but I am in the process of putting together a collection of “stories” from the past 22 years as experienced by my many international volunteers to Honduras. Not sure what genre this will be classed under, you be the judge! Their tales will fall into one of these categories: “Is it Love?” “This Inspired Me,” “Shouldn’t That Be Illegal?!” “How Sad,” “Dangerous Pursuits,” “Where Are They Now?”  “Please Don’t Tell My Mother!!” (the authors of these stories will be assigned a pseudonym to protect the innocent!)….and I‘m sure there will be other submissions that will fall under a different category!  

 

7.     Where on the internet can you be found?

My web page: http://anne.honduranhope.net

Email: anne.fowler@xplornet.ca

Face Book: Anne Hamilton Fowler:

 

Saturday's Blurbs @https://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com features Books by J Q Rose #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Memoir #mystery #Girls Succeed

 

Arranging a Dream: A Memoir

BACK OF THE BOOK:

In 1975, budding entrepreneurs Ted and Janet purchase a floral shop and greenhouses where they plan to grow their dream. Leaving friends and family behind in Illinois and losing the security of two paychecks, they transplant themselves, their one-year-old daughter, and all their belongings to Fremont, Michigan, where they know no one. 

 

Will the retiring business owners nurture Ted and Janet as they struggle to develop a blooming business, or will they desert the inexperienced young couple to wither and die in their new environment?

 

Most of all, can Ted and Janet grow together as they cultivate a loving marriage, juggle parenting with work, and root a thriving business?

 

Follow this couple’s inspiring story, filled with the joy and triumphs and the obstacles and failures experienced as they travel along the turbulent path of turning dreams into reality.

We are celebrating the book’s first birthday with a special price of 99 cents for the eBook on amazon!

At Major Online Booksellers: https://books2read.com/Arranging-A-Dream

 

***

Dangerous Sanctuary

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?

 

At Major Online Booksellers: https://books2read.com/Dangerous-Sanctuary

 

***

Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women (for girls 9-12 years old)

Non-fiction

Do you dream about what you want to be when you grow up?
Meet sixteen contemporary women who had ambitious dreams when they were girls.
Find out how they made those dreams come true. Their stories assure you that your dream career can come true too!

Readers cheer for these incredible women as they overcome obstacles and crash through barriers to complete their goals. Join these hard-working women during a typical workday. Learn about the achievements they have reached in their chosen careers.

Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women includes stories about 21st-century women who have discovered cures to stamp out disease, made people laugh, earned Olympic and Paralympic gold medals, crossed the country behind the wheel of an 18-wheel semi-truck, and more. Meet the people who mentored these dreamers and helped them negotiate the curves and bumps

along the way.

 

The Girls Succeed Reader's Guide, included in this book, suggests project and discussion ideas for classroom teachers and home-school educators to expand on themes covered in the book such as trailblazers, feeling different, persistence, and more.

 

At Major Online Booksellers: https://books2read.com/JQRose

Friday J Q Rose is visiting @https://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com and talking about Arrnging A Dream #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Memoir #Flowers

 

1. Tell me about your latest release or the book you wish to feature? Genre? This month we are celebrating Arranging a Dream: A Memoir’s first birthday. This “feel-good” book was released on January 1, 2021, by BWL Publishing. The story was a “heart work” for me, recording the first year we were in the flower and greenhouse business in Fremont, Michigan.

 

2. Where did the idea arise? I have taught life storytelling classes for many years. I am a life storytelling evangelist! I encourage everyone to record their life stories via writing or making a video. Leaving a legacy for your family is the best gift you can give them. I decided since I had “preached” about it, I’d better follow my advice and use those lessons and the stories I had penned during those workshops to write my memoir. A memoir is different from a biography. An autobiography includes all the life experiences from birth to the present. If your life is like a delicious cherry pie, then a memoir is just a slice of the pie dealing with just one theme such as your travel, careers, hobbies, etc. The slice of my life covers the first year we were in the flower business—December 1975-December 1976.

 

3. How much research was involved? Did you stay on point or be distracted by wanting to look at just one more thing? Researching to write a memoir or life story can be a delightful trip back in time. I had to look up what was happening in the news in 1975-76, talk with friends and family about what they remembered of our move to Fremont, Michigan, and their visits during that year, and travel to places I was writing about. I even called the weather person at the TV station to ask about the weather during Easter 1976!

 

4. How long did you take to write the book? Officially I have a file dated 2016. But I had started collecting stories years before that date. When I became serious about writing it for our daughters, I started submitting chapters to my critique group in 2018. With their support and encouragement, I decided to publish it for the world to read. The original release date for the book was June 1, 2020. But when Covid hit, my publisher realized how difficult it was to write, so she offered to all of their authors to put off the release date until later. I’m glad she did because when COVID hit, I could not focus on writing.

 

5. Now a bit about you. How long have you been writing? I have been writing since second grade. I used to have a bump on the middle finger of my right hand from handwriting so many stories! I continued writing poems all through college and as a young mom. But, as there are seasons in the year, I believe there are seasons for writing. I didn’t take up writing as a “career” until after we sold the flower shop. That was my season to dream and write because I had no responsibilities at work and my daughters were grown. What is your Sun Sign? Gemini, the twins.

 

6. Do you write in several genres or stick to one? I began freelance writing for newspapers and magazines and loved it because I interviewed so many wonderful people. But I turned from non-fiction writing eventually in favor of a new challenge, writing fiction. I loved mysteries by Sue McGrath and Janet Evanovich, so I decided to write mysteries with humor. I liked making up characters and worlds, so I placed the strong women protagonists in novels of romantic suspense and delved into the paranormal. I can tell you it is much more fun making up the stories than recording my memoir. A memoir has to be true, which means no making up places or fictional characters.

 

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

BWL  http://bookswelove.com/rose-j-q/

Saturday's Blurbs feature Books by J. Q. Rose #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Memoir #Dangerous Sanctuary #Mystery Arranging a Dream

 

Arranging a Dream: A Memoir

In 1975, Ted and Janet transplant themselves, their one-year-old daughter, and all their belongings to Fremont, Michigan, to make their dream of building a blooming business in the floral industry come true. Laugh with them. Cry with them, but most of all watch them grow as they cultivate a loving marriage, juggle parenting and dig deep to discover what it takes to root a thriving business.

UNIVERSAL LINK  https://books2read.com/Arranging-A-Dream

Your Words, Your Life Story: A Journal for Sharing Memories-- Your Words, Your Life Story: A Journal for Sharing Memories, is a journal and a guide for capturing the moments that impacted your life—the happy, sad, funny and crazy times that shaped a generation. Family and friends want to relive your experience through your words. This book contains the lessons I have shared in my life storytelling workshops to ignite and share memories.

AMAZON JOURNAL LINK https://www.amazon.com/dp/Your-Words-Life-Story-Memories/1702360571

Dangerous Sanctuary—cozy mystery

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?

 

AMAZON 2^nd edition Kindle http://amazon.com/dp/B07SVPS8N1

 

Friday J. Q. Rose is visiting and talking about her latest release #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Arranging a Dream #Memoir #Life story #Flowers

 

Thank you for hosting me during my Arranging a Dream: A Memoir Virtual Book Tour.  A lucky commenter will win a PDF copy of Arranging a Dream. Just leave a comment or question for me below to enter.

 

1.Tell me about your latest release? Genre? My latest release is Arranging a Dream: A Memoir. Here is the information from the back of the book. In 1975, budding entrepreneurs Ted and Janet purchase a floral shop and greenhouses where they plan to grow their dream. Leaving friends and family behind in Illinois and losing the security of two paychecks, they transplant themselves, their one-year-old daughter, and all their belongings to Fremont, Michigan, where they know no one. 

 

Will the retiring business owners nurture Ted and Janet as they struggle to develop a blooming business, or will they desert the inexperienced young couple to wither and die in their new environment?

 

Most of all, can Ted and Janet grow together as they cultivate a loving marriage, juggle parenting with work, and root a thriving business?

 

Follow this couple’s inspiring story, filled with the joy and triumphs and the obstacles and failures experienced as they travel along the turbulent path of turning dreams into reality.

 

2. Where did the idea arise? For many years, I have presented workshops on writing life stories preaching to everyone to write their life story. So, I decided to take my advice and offer a good example for the participants by writing my story. A person’s life story is made up of many life experiences. Think of your life or autobiography as a cherry pie. A memoir is a slice out of that delicious cherry pie. I chose to record the story of our first year in the floral shop because that was a life-changing event in my life.

 

3. How much research was involved? Did you stay on point or be distracted by wanting to look at just one more thing? The research consisted of getting the dates, weather and the events that occurred in 1975-76 correct. I wrote the chapters and would insert #### in bold letters so I would know to go back and check out the weather at that time or a fact like when the plant tours ended at Gerber Products Co. (My little town is the International Headquarters of what is now Nestle-owned Gerber Products.) My main resource for information came from my husband and his memory of the events e.g.as the route we took to get to Fremont, Michigan, from Marseilles, Illinois, and what the area around the flower shop looked like in 1975. In 2021, the shop and greenhouse location is now a grassy lot in front of a big box store and surrounded by fast-food services and other businesses. Nothing like the rural setting in 1975.

 

4. How long did you take to write the book? I am “guess-timating” I wrote on and off for six years. I am sure I made notes before that.

 

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 a number of 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, and how to record memories for your life story. The fiction genres are romance, mystery, paranormal and time travel.

 

7. Where on the internet can you be found? You can connect with me at these sites:

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

Facebook http://facebook.com/jqroseauthor

Telling Your Life Story and Memoirs Circle FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/telllifestories

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

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

Pinterest http://pinterest.com/janetglaser/

BWL Publishing  http://bookswelove.com/rose-j-q/