Great Reads Friday

 My bud and fellow writer, J. Q. Rose has written her memoirs. I was lucky enough to get a sneak peak and loved it. Memoirs aren't my normal read but it caught my attention at the beginning and held my interest all the way through.

Thanks. Sandra, for hosting me.  We are kicking off the winter virtual book tour for my memoir, Arranging a Dream on your amazing blog!

I brought along a list of tips for arranging fresh flowers. You’ll understand why that’s my subject today when you read the Back of the Book for 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.

 

Basic Fresh Floral Design Tips by J.Q. Rose

1. It’s very important to always cut the stems on a slant to allow more surface area for water to enter the stem. Allow the flowers to soak up the warm, not hot, not cold, water with dissolved preservative before beginning your design.
2. Use a very sharp knife or scissors to cut the stems. Dull tools will crush the stem and not allow the flower to drink up the water.
3. If you use wet foam for your arrangement, be sure to place the foam in a bucket of warm water with preservative dissolved in it. Then place the foam, cut to fit your container, into the water, but don’t hold it down in the bucket. Every inch of the foam needs to be wet. If you hold it down for a couple of minutes, water does not reach all parts of it and may leave air holes in the material. Your flower could dry out because the stem end is in air and not water. So leave it in to soak up all the water. You can tell when you pick it up if the block is full or not by the weight.
4. If making a “plunk-it” arrangement in a vase, simply bring the vase to the edge of the counter, hold the flower bunch next to the vase, and determine how tall or short you want the arrangement to be.  Cut at the point where the flower stems are even with the top of the counter.  Then “plunk” the flowers in the vase immediately. Easy-peasy.
5. Always give a fresh cut to the flower stem before placing it in the arrangement.
6. When making a centerpiece, determine the width and length by placing a flower or greens at north, south, east, and west. Determine the height by placing a flower in the center. Just remember to start your arrangement with five flowers, then fill in.
7. Don’t forget to use green foliage to make a lovely background for the flowers to showcase their colors.
8. Include three shapes of flowers in mixed bouquets—a spike flower e.g. gladiola or snapdragon, a round flower e.g. carnation or mum, and a form flower e.g. iris or rose.
9. Usually, and I say usually because the rule is to place lighter colors at the top of an arrangement and darker colors at the base. But rules are made to be broken, so design your piece to please your eye.
10. Leave space around each flower so you can see each one. Don’t cram them together so tightly that the viewer can’t appreciate each beautiful face.
11. The most important rule is to make a bouquet that you will enjoy. 
12. Really, how can you go wrong when working with brilliant colors, unique shapes, and pleasant fragrances? You can’t!

 

The official launch date for Arranging a Dream: A Memoir is January 1, 2021. However, you can order it at your favorite online bookseller at the pre-order price of $2.99. The book will be delivered to your reading device magically on launch day, January 1, 2021.

 

The print book is available now! Just in time for Christmas gifting.

 

Pre-order Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/arranging-a-dream

Pre-order Nook BN.com https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/arranging-a-dream-jq-rose/1138258568?ean=2940164728984

Pre-order SW https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1054054

Pre-order amazon page    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NDZNYQJ

Paperback at amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Arranging-Dream-J-Q-Rose/dp/0228615542/

 

To keep up-to-date with the news on J.Q.’s books and winter tour stops, click here to sign up for the Rose Courier, delivered once a month to your inbox.  Thank you. https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/m7v2z3

 

ABOUT JQ:

 Whether the story is fiction or non-fiction, J.Q. Rose is “focused on story.”  She offers readers chills, giggles and quirky characters woven within the pages of her mystery novels. Her published mysteries are Deadly Undertaking, Terror on Sunshine Boulevard and Dangerous Sanctuary released by Books We Love Publishing. Using her storytelling skills, she provides entertainment and information with articles featured in books, magazines, newspapers, and online magazines. 

 J.Q. taught elementary school for several years and never lost the love for teaching passed down from her teacher grandmother and mother. She satisfies that aspect of her character by presenting workshops on Writing Your Life Story.

Based on the lessons taught in her workshops, JQ created a book, Your Words, Your Life Story: a Journal for Sharing Memories to help life storytellers write, publish and market their stories. She decided to take her advice and pen her memoir, Arranging a Dream: A Memoir. If you would like to write or record your life story or memoir, check out the Facebook Group, Telling Your Life Story and Memoirs Circle for encouragement and ways to spark memories. Click here to join. https://www.facebook.com/groups/telllifestories

 Blogging, photography, Pegs and Jokers board games, and travel are the things that keep her out of trouble. She and her husband spend winters in Florida and summers up north with her four grandsons and granddaughter.

 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

Pinterest http://pinterest.com/janetglaser/

BWL  http://bookswelove.com/authors/rose-j-q-mystery-romance/

 

One lucky commenter will receive an e copy of J.Q’s book.