Thirteen Questions for Janet Glaser

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Greetings, everyone. I’m excited to share Janet Glaser with you today on Boston DayDreaming.

She is an avid reader of diverse genres and photographer of family, (especially grandkids), friends, nature, and food that she prepares from her garden. She likes to try new recipes and share them on her blog, The Garden for Eatin.

Janet and her husband are snowbirds. They leave their northern home every fall and migrate to sunny Florida for the winter. She prefers to be called a sunbird because they are flying toward sunshine. Summer allows them fun family time camping with their grandsons (and granddaughter when she gets out of diapers). They enjoy campfires and fishing and especially hunting toads, frogs, and salamanders with the boys.


Please welcome Janet Glaser, author of Sunshine Boulevard from MuseItUp Publishing.


ksm: Thank you for joining me today and answering these questions. It’s great to have you here. My readers are excited to learn more about you and your work. Congratulations on your contract with MuseItUp Publishing.

JQ: Thanks, Karen. I appreciate this opportunity to guest on Boston Daydreaming today and meet your readers.


ksm: You know I have to ask this, when and why did you start writing?

JQ: I started writing, like so many writers, in second grade at my public school. I had to do something to keep out of trouble---my mother was my second grade teacher…way before home schooling became an alternative. I believe the impetus to keep writing came when I was in seventh grade. My dear grandmother, Ma, took my handwritten “novel” and typed it up so it looked like a book. I was thrilled to see my words in this format instead of scrawled on the yellow-lined notepad.

ksm: Please tell me a little about your book.

JQ: Sunshine Boulevard is a mystery/light horror novella from Muse It Up Publishing. The story takes place in a Florida retirement community, Citrus Ridge Senior Golf and Resort Community. Someone or something is killing the senior residents on Sunshine Boulevard. Jim Hart, co-captain of the community’s volunteer first responders, is drawn into the investigation of the mysterious deaths. His friends are keeping shocking secrets which are revealed as a result of one of these inexplicable deaths. The story is a fun, quick, entertaining read. You can find the e-book at Muse It Up Publishing Bookstore http:/ tinyurl.com/2c53noz / , Amazon.com, BN.com and major e-book stores online.


ksm: What inspired you to write this book and why did you choose to write this in the mystery/light horror genre?

JQ: We spend winters in Florida and meet lots of wonderful characters. Florida is known for having strange crimes and events happen, so it is a perfectly believable place for a quirky story like Sunshine Boulevard. I wrote this because I love reading mysteries and trying to pick up the clues to solving the who-dun-it. Sometimes I am right on and other times I am way off the mark. I love to discover a twist or surprise ending.


ksm: What research did you do for this book?

JQ: I did have to do some research for the book, but if I tell you what topics I studied, it would give away the ending!!!


ksm: They say that books choose their authors. How has writing this particular book affected you?

JQ: There are some scary spots in the book. After writing those scenes, it affected my sleep. I learned NOT to write before bedtime. Having a respected publisher like Muse It Up Publishing accept my story affirms that I am a storyteller. I am proud to be associated with MIU.


ksm: What do you want readers to take from your writing? What do you want them to understand and why?

JQ: I want them to escape into a different world. I want readers to put aside their every day life and make them smile or make their heart race with suspense. Since the book is about boomers and senior citizens, I think it is the perfect stage to present these folks as worthwhile, contributing members of our society. Just because people retire, it doesn’t mean they are brain dead or useless.


ksm: Longhand or typing? Do you carry a notebook with you all the time?

JQ: I am definitely a keyboard kind of gal all the way. I write poems long hand, but not pages of a story. I must admit my best creative time is in the shower, so no notebook. I think I have fantastic ideas just before I go to sleep. However, I doubt my husband would appreciate me switching on the light to write them down. I know I wouldn’t like it if he did that to me!


ksm: Do you consider yourself a full-time writer or do you have a day job? Where do you see yourself in five years?

JQ: I am not a full-time writer if you consider full-time as a 40 hours a week job. I enjoy writing several hours a day, but I fit it into a schedule that allows me plenty of time to spend with friends and family as well as reading and playing cards.


ksm: Are you working on any new projects? Can you give us a short preview?

JQ: I am working now on a mystery, but with a romance between a professional woman and a detective. I am also researching information about a brave woman who actually crossed the country in an automobile before there were roads. I think it will make a great story for girls.


ksm: What is the hardest thing for you as a writer?

JQ: The middle. Yes, I usually know the beginning and have an inkling of the ending, but making the middle of the story interesting is difficult. I just want to hurry up and get to the end. I think the middle is the most demanding for me to write in order to keep the reader’s interest.


ksm: Do you have any pearls of wisdom to pass on to aspiring writers?

JQ: No matter if you are learning how to ride a bike, play the piano, or hit a softball, you have to practice. It’s the same for writing. Write, write, write. That is the only way you will improve. I usually write a story, article, or even answers to interview questions, and then put the writing away for a few days or more. When I return, errors pop out at me. Odd sentence structure jolts me. Repeated words jump up at me. I think taking a break from your project gives you a chance to read it with fresh eyes. So write another project. Write, write, write.


ksm: Can you tell us what your favorite pastime is? (other than writing!)

JQ: I truly enjoy getting together with our friends for a very competitive, rousing game of Pegs and Jokers. It is a game similar to Sorry. We have all played it so much that we know the various strategies, so there are a lot of clever moves needed to finally get the last peg home. It is never the same game twice. I love the game so much I have a Squidoo site to teach others. I had a record number of hits over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. It’s a privilege to share this fun game, sometimes called Social Security, with everyone.


ksm: Thanks, Janet. If you could do anything you’d like, go anywhere in the world without time or money constraints, what would you do and why?

JQ: In our forty years of marriage, my husband and I have taken trips to a lot of places including Europe, Costa Rica, and Hawaii. We traveled in our RV full-time for over eight years and saw most of the USA. I would still like to visit Nova Scotia and Alaska some day to see the beautiful scenery and meet the people of those areas.


ksm: Lovely interview, Janet. Thank you for joining us. How can fans find, follow and friend you?

JQ: It would be fun to hear from my fans at my JQ Rose blog


At Facebook J Q Rose,


Email me through the MuseItUp Author page for JQ Rose.


If you wish to purchase the ebook, it is available at the MuseItUp Publishing bookstore, Amazon.com, BN.com and major ebook stores.


An excerpt from Sunshine Boulevard is on my author website at http://www.jqrose.webs.com/

photo credits: Janet Glaser & MuseItUp Publishing