Hello to Janet Glaser!

Janet Glaser officially launched her latest memoir, Arranging a Dream. A feel-good story about successfully starting a business while raising an infant, moving to a new town, and not knowing the industry. Janet’s story is exactly what we need to escape for a few hours from the worries and insecurity in our lives.

Blurb

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.

My review

J.Q. Rose’s Arranging a Dream (BWL Publishing 2021) is a how-to in buying a family business (in this case, a flower shop and greenhouse) in an industry you know nothing about in a town you’d never even visited before all this started, with a tiny support system of unknown provenance–all while raising a family. In Janet’s case, she and her husband gave up solid predictable jobs for the unpredictability of being self-employed. Janet took classes to learn the basics and then trusted herself to solve each problem as it arose. Turns out, with passion, drive, and a clever mind, that works nicely.

This is a delightful memoir of the growth of Janet’s family business and how it fits nicely with her personal dreams. I’d categorize it as a Quiet Memoir (link may not be available yet)–memoirs that deal with more common topics that are made uncommon by the author’s voice. Dorothy Rice says:

“Memories…are often quiet, more echo than boom, more lingering sense than clamor, more subtext than headline.” 

In this case, J.Q.’s voice is approachable, friendly, vulnerable, and honest, innately addressing the worries we’d all have if we started a business, or didn’t. See if you agree that Janet’s voice is what makes this memoir truly stand out:

“…for the first time, I was always second-guessing my instincts.”

“We had followed the map’s directions to find our destination. If only we had a map to know if this place was the right direction we should take for our future.”

“…could “Ted-gineer” anything [Ted is Janet’s husband].”

5/5 for this memoir, and a worthy read if your interested in exploring a life well lived with good decisions followed through to success.

BTW, husband Ted is amazing.

–I received an ARC of this book but the opinions are my own.

Where to buy

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/

About J.Q. Rose

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/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 JQ out of trouble. She and her husband spend winters in Florida and summers up north with their two daughters, two sons-in-law,  four grandsons, one granddaughter, two grand dogs, four grand cats, and one great-grand bearded dragon.

Contact J.Q. Rose

Blog http://www.jqrose.com/

Facebook http://facebook.com/jqroseauthor

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/

If it is possible to help me get the word out about the book, please let me know when you can schedule my spot and what you would like to do. Thank you.

I would be happy to return the favor this winter by hosting you on my blog during my Readers Circle event, swapping newsletters, or using social media to spread the word about your books.

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Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy, the Man vs. Nature saga, and the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers. She is also the author/editor of over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, blog webmaster, an Amazon Vine Voice,  a columnist for NEA Today, and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. Look for her next prehistoric fiction, Laws of Nature, Summer 2021.