IWSG -Under The Rose

Hello there!

Whether you’re just passing through, or looking for a comfortable online group in which to share your writing journey, you’ve come to the right place! The Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers resources, tips, timely news, how-to’s and don’t do’s – all the support we writers can use to make the most of our craft.

We meet on the 1^st Wednesday of every month. Feel free to browse around and mingle. As in the words of IWSG founder and “Cassa Series” author Alex Cavanaugh, “Your words may be the encouragement someone else needs” Join us!

This month’s gracious co-hosts are Lee Lowery, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Jennifer Hawes, Cathrina Constantine, and Tyrean Martinson!

I’ve been doing a lot more planning than writing these days as I’ve been alternately resting and therapeutically working on a broken shoulder. I’ve had ample time to wool-gather too.

For instance, it seems like we’d barely stopped pondering the identity of last year’s Secret Santa before another holiday, sometimes involving secrecy came along. Yep, Valentine’s Day, and admirers who want to remain anonymous. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

In some ancient Romans circles, anything said “Under the rose” was deemed to be top secret. Given the cultural fondness for roses, for decoration, as well as jewelry, there must have been a lot of whispering going on.

The Rose may be one of only three flowers mentioned by name in the Bible, but it sure is popular, especially this time of year. One of the most expensive of these fragrant flowers is the “Juliet,” created by famed rose breeder David Austin in 2006.  In 2002 a miniature rose called the “Overnite Scensation” traveled to space as part of a study gauging the effects of low gravity on the scent of the rose.

The oldest known rosebush, aptly named the Thousand-year Rose, clings tenaciously to the wall of the Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany.  As hardy, not to mention sharp as those prickles – AKA: thorns are, I certainly hope Mark Antony wore boots when visiting Cleopatra, as she reportedly carpeted her floor with roses in preparation for his visits.

Planted in 1885, Tombstone’s Lady Banksia rosebush retains its unchallenged Guinness book status as the world’s largest and boasts a canopy that measures 8500 square feet, with a trunk circumference of nearly 12 ft. The sound of occasional gunfire notwithstanding, throughout March and April rose-lovers from all around the world come to relax in the shade of fragrant white roses during the annual Rose Festival celebrating the blooming of the original Shady Lady.

There are over 4000 songs dedicated to roses. Which song just popped into your head?

 Happy writing!