RONE Award Nomination

          Last week one of my publishers notified me that The Calico Heart, the first book in the Stitching Post series, was nominated for a RONE award. RONE stands for Reward of Novel Excellence, and the books are selected from among those read and reviewed by the staff at InD’tale Magazine. 

          Today I received a facebook message from a staff member at InD’tale, asking for my email address so that she could send my nominee badge. Of course I responded right away, and I’m so proud to display it here! What a great honor! My co-author and I are so thrilled, and we’ll be asking all of you to vote, starting next Monday. I’ll have all the details here, as well as on my Facebook page.

          As for my week:

Sewing/crafting - I haven’t managed to do any sewing, except at my bi-weekly hat group. On Wednesday I went to another card-making session at Christi Waite’s home. Here are the cards I made there.

Reading - other than a few minutes here and there on my phone, I haven’t had a chance to sit and read! Still working on RT Wolfe’s Savage Deception. So many books, so little time!

The Grand Rapids Quilt Show

Today I spent a few hours at the DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. Each year, the American Quilt Society hosts a major event in seven cities: Phoenix (AZ), Lancaster (PA), Chattanooga (TN), Paducah (KY), DesMoines (IA), Charlotte (NC), and Grand Rapids. I had never been to a national quilt show before, so I talked my writing partner Stephanie Michels into going with me. We're finishing up the second in our Stitching Post romance series, set in a quilt shop in suburban Grand Rapids, so we thought we'd go and get inspiration for future books in the series.

We were totally awed by the sheer talent displayed in the quilts, sent in from around the world! My phone camera got a workout, and it was difficult to choose my favorites. I put several up on my facebook page, so if you've seen these pictures there, I hope you don't mind seeing them again.

These two were award winners. I love the workmanship in both, but the one on the left, "Capturing Brittany" really impressed me with the intricate and realistic detail.

There were quilts that used variations of traditional patterns:

And other quilts that were quite whimsical.

There were some that were so realistic they reminded me of photographs,

And others that made me smile for other reasons.

But what they all had in common was that each one was a testament to the dedication and hard work of the person who created it.  I think it's the same kind of dedication an author has when he or she spends hours upon hours crafting a single work. I only hope my books show a fraction of the same dedication as these wonderful creations.

     

It's All About the Log Line

Image credit: inspirestock / 123RF Stock Photo

Sometimes when I write, certain things trip me up and I get stuck. Sometimes it's how to get the heroine out of a tricky situation. Other times it's the hero's motivation in doing something. Several times I've written the entire book and not known what to call it! Fortunately, I've now got Facebook friends to help me with that.

A week ago, I got a contract for my latest novella, a regency romance about a couple who both enjoy making music. A Facebook plea resulted in a mavelous title: Love's Refrain. Along with the contract was a lot of other paperwork, and in one, I had to provide a tagline, sometimes known as a logline. It's basically a one or two sentence summary of the book's essence. For some reason, that's where I got stuck. It took two days to come up with a short (25 words or less) description of what the story is about.

Author Lynn Cahoon runs several blogs, and among them is one called The Log Line Blog. Each day she features a different book and its log line. Authors are invited to submit their books to be included in her lineup, and today she's featuring my latest release, The Calico Heart, written with my awesome writing partner Stephanie Michels.  I'd like to encourage you to look at the books she has featured and leave a comment or two. Each comment puts you in the drawing for a monthly prize: a $20 Amazon gift certificate! You can get an awful lot of ebooks for $20, so go on over and leave several comments on the books featured in May.

Here's the link: http://theloglineblog.blogspot.com/

On the Road Again

I'm traveling the virtual highway, anyway. This time I'm promoting The Calico Heart, and fellow MMRWA (Mid-Michigan Romance Writers) author Diane Burton is hosting me at her blog. I'm discussing the real-life quilt group that provided the inspiration for the Stitching Post series. Come and visit! Here's the link:

Diane Burton's blog:

Sweet Saturday

Welcome back to Sweet Saturday Samples! Today I'm thrilled to share a bit of my brand-new release from Astraea Press. The Calico Heart is my first collaboration with my wonderful friend and critique partner, Stephanie Michels. It's a bit different from a traditional romance. The hero and heroine are an older couple (mid-50s) who suddenly experience a few snags in their marriage. The book was just released on Thursday, and AP's fabulously talented cover artist, Elaina Lee, once again came up with a great design to capture the flavor of the story.

Here's the opening scene:

"Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad! Love you!"

"Bye, honey. Love you, too,” Sylvia Miller called back then laughed as a shower of iridescent bubbles surrounded her daughter Lynne and new son-in-law.

The tiny orbs floated around the couple, blending with the sparkling beadwork on Lynne’s sweeping wedding gown and adding gemlike twinkles to her veil. The newlyweds laughed with delight as they raced, hand-in-hand, through the bubbles blown at them by the wedding guests. Her daughter looked like Cinderella rushing down the castle steps to her carriage. Only this time, it was a gaily decorated, red Mustang convertible, and her handsome prince was right at her side.

Wasn’t it just yesterday that Lynne and her older brothers had been playing make-believe in the big sandbox in the backyard?

The time had flown by so quickly. The kids’ mud pies and toy cars had quickly given way to rock posters and laptop computers when they’d reached their teens. Now, her babies had grown up and left the nest. The boys both had thriving careers in Chicago, and Lynne was moving on to a new life with Ron.

As always, Dave seemed to read her mood. His arm tightened around her waist. She leaned into him, grateful for his unspoken comfort, as she continued to wave to the newlyweds until their convertible disappeared from sight. Their guests returned to the air-conditioned comfort of the church’s family center, but Sylvia remained outside with her family, blinking back the nostalgic tears that clouded her vision. It wouldn’t do to be caught crying on such a joyous occasion.

Too late.

"Waterworks alert." Dave Junior’s cheeky warning told Sylvia she’d been busted. "Mom’s about to cry," he added with a grin.

****

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to leave a comment, and please check out other great authors at Sweet Saturday Samples. We have several new authors participating this time—you may find a new favorite!

The Calico Heart is available at Astraea Press, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and other ebook outlets.