I’m very excited to welcome fellow author Ernestine Rose here today! Please make her feel welcome.
I grew up on the west side of Chicago in the 50s and 60’s. As an only child, I became an avid reader and explored the world beyond my block through reading. Writing was easy for me also, and I loved the bustle of classes and extra-curricular activities in high school. So teaching English seemed to be a likely career choice. I could stay there forever surrounded by dance, drama, and books. After four years at Bradley University in Peoria, I started my teaching career. After eight years, we moved to Fort Worth and I taught English, speech and theater another 28 years, gaining a master’s degree along the way.
In 2011, I retired from teaching full time. A year later, I started writing. When exploring topics, my husband asked me what I knew a lot about. My reflex answer was “being married to you.” We’d been married thirty years by then, and I felt that I had something to share. I explored webinars and self-publishing programs to guide me on my approach, and I completed my first book, 7 Tips for a Successful Marriage, within a few weeks. I could not, however, figure out the formatting, nor did I feel that this was the kind of book I wanted to write. I like a good story above all else. So I went on to my next book, a companion piece on bringing up my four sons: Raising the Roses. The formatting still eluded me, so I started book number three, Tales from the Family Tree. This one is a collection of short stories about family conflict. Some of them are based on my family; some are pure fiction. As you can see, my niche is family and all of my books somehow revolve around that.
Finally, in December of 2011, my husband and I figured out the secrets to formatting through CreateSpace, and published all three books within a few days. I spent the next two years struggling with marketing, having had no idea how difficult it would be. I went back to teaching part-time since my book sales were not what I had hoped, and worked in after-school and summer programs the next four years. In 2015 I published a romance novel, Monday Morning Blues, because it’s a genre I’ve always enjoyed. I wanted to write something that women my age and mindset would enjoy, unlike the influx of urban fiction and historical romances that were flooding the market.
My writing time was interrupted when my husband of forty years became ill, and I became his caretaker through a difficult year before he passed. There were weeks of adjusting to my loss and living alone, and months spent planning to relocate to be near my sons and grandchildren. Now, that I’ve settled in Houston, I’m ready to write again. I feel that my journey through grief and my husband’s fight with sarcoidosis are worth sharing, so that is the topic of my latest book, Seasons: My Journey through Grief. I think I can help others who’ve experienced loss, and it’s a story that I feel I must tell.
Author Bio: Ernestine Rose grew up on the west side of Chicago during the turbulent 50’s and 60’s. Adopted by an older couple, she spent a great deal of time as a child reading and participating in dance and drama club activities in school. Bradley University and the University of Dallas prepared her for a successful career as a teacher of English, speech and theater in Peoria and Fort Worth, where she earned numerous educator awards.
As a retired public school teacher and mother of four sons, she made her debut as an author with the publication of three books: 7 Tips for A Successful Marriage, Raising the Roses, and Tales from the Family Tree, all in 2012. She later produced a romance novel, Monday Morning Blues. Her most recent work reflects her experience as a caretaker and widow, Seasons: My Journey through Grief. Inspired by Toni Morrison and Alice Walker, her focus in both writing and theater is on the power of language, love, and family. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and her website.
BONUS!!! The Author is also hosting a giveaway during each day of her blog tour. Simply comment on each stop to be entered. You can win a copy of one of her e-books or even a $10 Amazon Gift Card!! (There will be a total of 13 giveaways!!)
To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the author’s tour page on the 4WillsPublishing site. If you’d like to book your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please click HERE. Thanks for supporting this author and his work!
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