Explorations in Story

I'm finally getting to read the new quilt books I picked up over Black Friday weekend, and really loving Design Explorations for the Creative Quilter, a fascinating how-to book by quilt artist Katie Pasquini Masopust that teaches you the basic steps of making art quilts. Art quilts are different from traditional quilts as they usually aren't made to be used as bedding but are hung or displayed like artwork. If you've ever wanted to make an art quilt but aren't sure how to tackle the project, this is definitely a book to check out.

To me the only difference between a painting and an art quilt are the materials used to create them (and often art quilts are painted, too, so that line blurs regularly.) I began dabbling in art quilts a few years ago to forge a connection between my own painting and my needlework. To me every quilt is a work of art, but I've always made quilts to serve their basic purpose, so it was a a bit of a jump for me to make something that wouldn't be used to keep someone warm and comfortable. But art quilts, I discovered, warm the soul.

I've often compared writing to quilting, but always from a practical approach: design it, plan it, make it, finish it, give/keep/sell it. While reading Ms. Masopust's book I realized that from the moment I begin a new story, I've usually got my eye on that last step -- selling it. Marketability is the primary determining factor for what I do during step one and all the other steps, and I don't apologize for that. As a pro, I have to write something that I at least have a chance to sell.

But not everything I write is for sale. Sometimes I write just to get something out of my head, or test out a new idea, or simply recharge my batteries. Joining in NaNoWriMo gave me a chance to write a book that was just for me, just for fun. Generally I only have time to do that with a couple of scenes or a short story, so to give myself permission to write an entire novel that had no price tags attached to it was terrific. Even after producing almost 60K in thirty days I feel so turbo-charged I'm now flying through everything else on the schedule. Whether I sell my NaNoNovel or not, the payoff has been pretty astounding.

As writers we're so focused on dealing with the biz that I think we sometimes forget that for us it's supposed to be about the story. We make so many concessions and compromises in order to sell that we can lose touch with why we do this. For me it's always been about exploring, not just what I can do but what I can do for others through story. Finding ways to understand and work out my vision of a story only strengthens my bond with my craft. Those bonds should never feel like chains, and when they start dragging at me I do go off exploring. November simply taught me that I need to do more of that.

You writers out there, how are you exploring story? Is there anything you've found that helps you get out of the writing rut and rejuvenate? Let us know in comments.

Other Than Writing

Of all the creative people I've met, writers are the ones who most often do creative things outside their own art. It's not uncommon for a fiction writer to also be an artist, crafter, musician, dressmaker, poet, weaver, sculptor, potter, etc. Very often these non-writing activities are on the hobby level -- writing consumes a lot of our spare time -- but a few writers end up having two creative careers.

For the last twenty years, quilts have been my private passion. I make them, restore them, study them and collect them. I often collaborate with other quilters and fabric artists on joint projects. I have two going at the moment that are turning out to be a lot of fun; one is with another author.

Quilts are also a nice side business. For a time I moonlighted as a quilt buyer for a friend who is an antique dealer, and recently I was offered a full-time job as a quilting teacher (and you'll never know how close I came to accepting that one.) It is nice to have something to fall back on, something you enjoy that no one else can mess with or spoil for you. That alone makes up for a lot of what happens during a career in Publishing.

As arts go, quilting isn't very complicated. Most people regard a quilt as an ordinary household item. It's made out of two layers of fabric and a center filling of fiber batting that are sandwiched, pinned and sewn together. Its purpose is to cover a sleeping person and keep them warm. Women often make them by hand for baby shower and wedding gifts, sometimes getting together in sewing groups known as quilting bees. Pretty, practical, and humble, that's about all you can say about the quilt. You can buy one at your local department store (imported from countries overseas that pay women in sweatshops about ten cents an hour to sew them) for as little as $19.95.

At the same time, quilting is an art with a very rich and diverse history. We know from tomb objects in Egypt that quilts may have been made and used as far back as 3,400 B.C. The oldest preserved quilt in existence is The Guicciardini quilt, made sometime during the 14th century in Sicily and, according to The Bent Needle at Force Majeure Farm'a blog, is currently undergoing restoration at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. As for how much they're worth, I think the world record is still held by a Civil War era pictorial quilt that Sotheby's auctioned off in 1991 for $264,000.00. Not bad for a humble bed covering.

I hang quilts around my house like artwork because to me, they are. Here's the one on display in my living room right now (click on image for larger view):



Having a creative outlet isn't a requirement, but it helps. When I need to blow off some steam, or think about a problem story, or just not think at all, I regularly go to my quilting table. My sewing machine never crashes on me. Fabric does not vanish on me (unless I didn't buy enough.) My running threads all make sense and usually are simple to untangle. The end result may never make it to a store the way my books do, but when I'm cold, it keeps me warm.

What sort of creative outlets do you have (or would you like to have)? How do they help you cope with what life throws at you?

2016 Quilt Show

I'm back from the quilt show I attend every year, at which I had a marvelous time. More than marvelous, actually. I've been needing a creative kick in the backside, and this definitely did that, but it was nice just to be with my sewing sisters. Quilters are such lovely people.

So many amazing quilts were entered I practically burned up the camera snapping pics. Among the surprises, there were lots of dimensional quilts with objects couched right on, or faux 3-D appliques artfully. Think a butterfly quilt with the butterflies rising out of the quilt as if they mean to fly off, and you'll get the idea. Adult coloring books have also invaded quiltworld, as they influenced one entrant to design and make an adorable elephant wall hanging based on the bright coloring style of the books. After all the fun I had with the Barcelona coloring book I might have to do something like that.

The only downer was that I didn't have a lot of money to spend at the show this year, but the universe came to the rescue. On the second day I won a door prize bag with a quilt book, a fat quarter and a sample of cotton fiberfill. The author of the quilt book made up patterns based on her great-grandmother's journals, and I never win door prizes, so I was doubly thrilled.

Then, right before the show closed, I won a basket in the raffle:



I am in raptures over the framed Kokopelli cross-stitch piece, which I know someone spent many, many hours making. That goes right in my sewing room to inspire me. The titanium rotary cutter blade, Guterman thread and quilting pins are very welcome. I usually don't wear dangling earrings but I'll have to make an exception for these. I've also never tried to make a southwestern-themed quilt, but now I have lots of fabrics for one.

Here's a slideshow of all the beautiful quilts I got to see:



And that's it for this year's show.

Don't What?

Over the years I've been slowly building a nice collection of reference books on quilts and quilting, one I've asked the kids to donate to a public school or place of free learning if they don't want to keep them after I'm gone. My favorites are the books about crazy quilts, because to me they are the elegant renegades of the quilting universe, and probably the most artistic of all quilts.

The needlework involved in crazy quilting is advanced and quite extensive; a master crazy quilter can use hundreds of different stitches on the surface of her quilt and never repeat any of the stitch patterns. I'm not that ambitious, but one of my lifetime quilting goals is to complete a crazy quilt with at least 100 different historic stitch patterns (which at the speed I presently hand stitch will probably take the rest of my life.) So to reward myself for finishing my last manuscript, I invested in a copy of Carole Samples' The Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches, which I've heard is the unofficial Bible on the subject.

The book arrived and was so amazing it blew me away; if crazy quilt stitching had a goddess it would be Carole Samples (btw, this is a pattern-show book only, and does not include how-to instructions, so if you're a beginning quilter and/or novice needleworker it's probably not for you.) As I was drooling over the two hundred and twenty-two pages of 1,700+ intricately hand-rendered stitches, something fell out into my lap:



It was about half the size of a bookmark, printed on thin cardboard, and appeared to be a sliver of a photo page, or maybe a piece of a book jacket. I hunted through the book to see if there was a correspondingly-shaped hole somewhere, but no such luck. And the words on it -- Don't Squat with yer -- seemed like something you probably would never find in a quilting book. Quilting calls for lots of things, but squatting? Not unless you drop a needle.

Obviously it was a message from the cosmos. But Don't Squat? Where? Why not? And what wasn't I supposed to squat with? I don't squat anyway. One must have two functioning knees to do so. What I do is hold it and wait for a nice clean handicapped restroom. The cosmos needs to remember who it's messaging.

Finally I couldn't stand it another minute, went online and did a search with the words I had to see if I could find what the words belonged to. Great thing about the internet: I instantly got an answer. I figure the sliver of cardboard must have fallen out of one cutting machine at the printer and dropped into the pages of my quilt book.

I also liked finding the full text, because as it happens it was some pretty timely advice that I needed to hear right now. So, merci, Cosmos.

Have you found any odd things in your new books lately, or received any odd warnings from the cosmos? Let us know in comments.

Quilt Show Ten

Ten Things That Happened at the Annual County Quilt Show

Arty: Lately I'm getting more into the art side of quilting, and while reading books about them helps I rarely see real examples in person (this would be because most of my quilter friends are sticking with traditional patchwork.) Thus I was bowled over by the number of innovative art quilt extries in the show. I learned so much by simply studing these gorgeous quilts that I think feathers, stones and decorative thread might start leaking out my ears.

Bags Galore: I love handmade quilted bags, totes and purses, and the ladies had an entire table of them in the Gild's boutique. Suffice to say I now have enough bags, totes and purses to start my own shop. Except they're mine, all mine!

Colleague Collision: I saw another author who quilts at the show, but she was busy with some clients so I didn't get a chance to chat with her. I'll just have to catch her at that other quilt show next weekend . . .

Fat Quarter Frenzy: The fabric choices offered by the show's vendors were splendid; I could have bought a thousand fat quarters. Fortunately I left the credit cards and the check book at home or I might have (for me attending a quilt show is what going to Vegas must be like for people who love to gamble. I take only cash in an amount I decide before I get to the show.)

Quilt Ethic Envy: I debated the merits of machine versus hand-quilting with an amazing gentleman quilter whose lifetime creative goal is to make a king-size log cabin for every member of his extended family. He pieces, binds and quilts them by hand. P.S. He's already made seventeen and has twenty-two more to go. P.S.S. He's sixty-nine years young, bless him.

Quilter's Karma: A lady admired a swatch of fabric I picked up from the gild's stuff-a-bag-for-five-bucks scrap fabric table. Although I liked it, too, I promptly handed it over to her. Later that day someone else did the exact same thing for me.

Possible Second Career: Lots of people admired the crazy-quilted tote I brought with me to show my pals some beading experiments I've been doing. I thought they were just being nice until one lady offered me a hundred bucks to sell it to her.

Technical Difficulties: I took five hundred photos, which was fun. Since I neglected to check the settings on the borrowed camera I was using, about two hundred and fifty of them were fuzzy (but you can see a slideshow of the unfuzzy pics over at the photoblog today.)

Unbelievable #1: I won this quilted duck (or perhaps it's a goose) in a ticket raffle. Since I hardly ever win anything I went right into shock.

Unbelievable #2: I also won this lovely pair of art dolls at the same ticket raffle. Went from shock to utter disbelief.

I believe in passing along good luck, so I'm going to give someone some signed books, the art dolls and a bag of goodies from the quilt show. If you'd like a chance to win, stop by the series blog and enter the Quilt Show giveaway.

Much To-Do

Things around Casa PBW just got interesting, thanks to those of you who went out and invested in my latest release. Evidently a whole bunch of you did, and the next book will very likely be out a month or two sooner than planned. This also trims my work schedule, but like I'm going to complain.

No pressure, really. I simply have to finish writing a book that must be as good, and hopefully better, than the one that is apparently flying off the shelves right now. In the next ten days. Mylanta, anyone?

On the Zen side of life, I've started another weblog. No, not joking. I'm almost as passionate about quilts as I am about writing, and ideally I'd like to talk about that work with other conservators and quilt addicts. I think archiving some of my work on the internet might help other quilters who want to save their old quilts. I won't be able to update A Stitch in Time as often as PBW, as quilts take a lot longer to work on than books, but I still think it'll be fun.

In A Hundred Years

If you've been following as I have the story about a mysterious 100-year-old package dated to be opened now by the staff of the Gudbrandsdal museum in Norway, here's what they found:



Although a complete list hasn't yet been made available, evidently the package-within-a-package was filled with letters, documents, notebooks and fabric banners, all of which delighted the historians.

Any time one of these time capsule-type stories pops up in the news I have mixed feelings. I love seeing the discovery of artifacts from the past, but it also makes me wonder if all the electronic gadgets we use plus the slow evaporation of meaningful personal writing (like real letters that you write with a pen and mail in an envelope with a stamp to someone else) will deprive future generations of any legacy we might want to cache away for them. Even if we could somehow save the e-mails and texts and other e-communications for a hundred years, given the usual dubious quality of the content, would anyone really want to read them?

I'm pretty realistic about what might survive me for a hundred years. Probably not my books, unless Project Gutenberg or something like it is still around and takes an interest in preserving my stories once they pass into the public domain. One really positive aspect of not being a literary author is that it's almost guaranteed no kid in 2150 will be forced to read and write a book report about one of my stories. Is there any worse fate for an author than the prospect of becoming Boring English Lit Assignment #999?

Oddly enough I think what I do that has the best chance of making it a century or more are my quilts. I've quite a few that I put together using traditional techniques and fabrics that (if properly stored and cared for) might go the distance. I like the idea of my quilts still being around for future generations to enjoy, even if it's just some far-off branch of the family. Besides, how can you hate something colorful and soft and warm and cuddly?

Now it's your turn: what would you like to leave behind to be discovered in a hundred years? Can be anything at all; your choice -- just remember, it should be able to last at least a century. Let us know in comments.

Flickring

I gave up on using my old AOL photo album sharing thing, which half the people I know could never access no matter how I sent the links. Now I'm giving Flickr a whirl, and it seems to be working pretty well.

I'm not a great photographer; I'm not even a fair one. I have the digital camera they sell to people who can push a button but not much else. I forget to center and sometimes my hand shakes and the pic blurs. I do my fair share of pictorial decapitations, too. Luckily, I don't take a lot of photos. Mine are 95% personal: the kids, the family, the pup, my guy when he's not looking, vacation stuff, a few sunrises and sunsets, the lake, whatever slithers into the backyard, and quilts.

My first photoset, County Quilt Show, is from a show in the area that I try to attend every year. It's not a huge gathering, with miles upon miles of quilts on display, but I prefer small shows. You get a chance to really talk to people and see the local talent. My daughter went with me this year and after buying a ton of fabric for our stashes from the quilt shop booths, we went out into this marvelous little atrium area to sit by a wall-length stone fountain and share a box lunch (remember those?)

Flickr has some good features (I know, aside from the Amish I'm probably the last person in the country to try it.) You can upload plenty of photos, and make them public, private, or accessible only to family or friends. You can add little descriptions, sort them (haven't figured out all the organizer stuff yet) and make sets and slide shows. If I can do it without the kids helping me, you know it's easy. Best of all, it's free.

If you've got photos on Flickr or another service that you'd like to share with us, post a link and details in comments (and please note if they're not work-safe.)

Winners & Outside the Lines

The winners of the 2 How-tos giveaway are:

Robin Bayne, who wins Laura Oliver's The Story Within, and who likes Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain.

Samantha, who wins Bonnie Neubauer's Take Ten for Writers, and whose favorite writing how-to is Goal, Motivation, and Conflict by Debra Dixon.

Ladies, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to information to LynnViehl@aol.com, and I'll get these prizes out to you. My thanks to everyone for joining in.

The first quarter of 2012 is coming to a close today, and I've been looking back to see how well I've done with my theme of coloring outside the lines this year. I think I've gotten off to a good start; I did a lot of new-for-me things as well as things I love with the release of Nightborn, and the results were positive and fun. On the diet front I've successfully given up sugar altogether and (combined with the fallout from the jaw problem) have lost 15 pounds since January. My 1000 cards project stands at 277 finished to date, so I've been keeping up there.

As for the immediate future, I signed up for an online art class that starts in mid-April. I wanted to do this for several reasons: 1) it was inexpensive, 2) the instructor is teaching techniques in a medium I love, 3) I've never taken an online class, and 4) this is really coloring outside the lines for me.

The last time I was an art student I was regularly sent to detention (not by the art teacher, who actually liked me, but by every other teacher I had.) I have since learned to shut my mouth -- well, most of the time -- but I've never gotten over my aversion to teachers and classrooms. It's a stupid attitude for someone who loves to learn, and it's time I moved past it, which is another reason why I'm dipping my toe back into the educational waters.

If this wasn't enough stress, I'm also entering a piece in an upcoming art quilt challenge. I didn't pick an easy one because of course that would be the smart thing to do. If it were a traditional quilting challenge I would feel confident; I've been making patchwork quilts for twenty years and I'm pretty good at it. But I've only recently gotten into art quilts, and to date I've made only about a dozen. Half of those were failures ranging from pitiful to spectacular.

Thing is, I've come up with a simple technique to solve a major headache with traditional and non-traditional quilting, and I want to share it with other quilters. There's no better way to do that than by using it in a piece and entering a challenge.

I'm cautiously excited about taking the online art class. I started assembling my supply list yesterday and I didn't cave into the urge to cancel my enrollment. Also, I know if I can handle a virtual class without messing up or being kicked out of it, then the next step would be to try taking a real-world course. Maybe a beginner's class in photography, since I really know nothing about it other than what I've taught myself with a point-and-shoot. So while I'm suffering through the inevitable pre-class nerves, I have a more distant goal in mind to keep me moving along.

The art quilt challenge is a bit worse. I'm up against the best art quilters out there who have been doing this daily for years, so the odds are extremely good that I'm not even going to be noticed. I think about that, and all my past failures, every time I sit down to work on my piece. While it seems kind of pointless to try, I really believe in this technique of mine, and the results are pretty cool. If I don't place in this challenge, the next thing I could try is a more traditional one, where I would have more of a shot at getting some attention.

When a writing sub op catches your eye, or you consider preparing a novel proposal for a publisher, you'll think of a million reasons not to do it. There are so many writers out there, and at least half are better at it than you. The odds are most definitely against you. You've probably racked up enough rejections to feel beaten before you even start counting words or composing that cover letter. Sanity dictates that you stick to what you know and don't cross any lines into unknown territory. I understand. Been there. Done that. Ten years in a row.

What always kept me going back to the submission list -- and still keeps me at the keyboard every day -- is the thought of all the great writers who never were. How many wonderful stories have we lost to fear and self-doubt? I believe for every Stephenie Meyer and J.K. Rowling on the market there are a dozen just like them who will never be known or their work read. The manuscripts for their amazing novels will sit on a hard drive or gather dust on a shelf until they're deleted or tossed out. This because they didn't think they were any good, and/or they were too afraid to try. Or they tried a few times, and failed, and gave up.

On a more personal level, I also think about a writer of mine who spent years getting ready to write his first novel. We talked about it a lot, and he had the kind of talent and ideas it takes to get into print. I knew he would make it. I just knew. He saved every penny, thought it through, organized, took off from work and prepared to go the distance. He was well aware of his competition and the odds against him, but he was ready. He was so happy, so excited . . . and then he died in an accident, and his novel died with him. So when I think about giving up on writing (or anything) I can almost hear him in the back of my head saying, "You're kidding me, right?"

What are you doing to color outside your lines? What would you like to do? What's keeping you from doing it? Let us know in comments.

Gift No-Nos

Ten Things I Don't Want for Christmas

Biographies of Famous Dead Writers: Why, thank you for showing me exactly what sort of erroneous idiocies some dumbass might someday write about me or one of my friends as well as reminding me of how young we generally buy the farm. Does this come with a box of Kleenex?

Celebrity bylined Books: They didn't write them, and the writer who actually did the work probably got paid a pittance, so this is just going straight to the library donation box.

Chocolate Anything: With my diet the way it is, this is pretty much the same thing as handing a sixteen-year-old boy a bottle of whiskey and the keys to a brand-new Maserati.

Computer Games: After eight to ten hours of writing and editing, my eyes burning, my neck cricked, my voice gone and me never wanting to see another red- or green-squiggle-underlined word again, you think I'm going to want to play Publishing Tycoon for PC?

High-Tech Phone: Last year I used exactly 118 minutes on the cheap, do-nothing disposable phone I've had for the last six years, and half of that was from the kids borrowing it when the batteries on theirs died. I can't text. I can't overuse my voice. I won't talk on the phone when I'm driving. You know what I like to do with phones most? Shut them off. So just turn around and walk away from the Blackberry display.

Personalized Items: I know my name. So do my friends and family. The dog even knows my name. I already have an extensive collection of personalized coffee mugs, T-shirts, embossed address books, planners, blotters, desk signs and notepads. So save yourself an hour hanging around the mall kiosk while having it etched on yet another item I won't use, because as you seem to forget every year, I hate my name.

Quilts or quilted objects: Aside from the fact that they're generally imports made by women who are paid pennies to work in horrendous sweat-shop conditions in some third world country with a fascist government that endorses honor killings, have you not noticed that I already own enough quilts to keep an Army regiment warm at night?

Vampire-themed Things: It's sweet of you to try to connect with my work, but that series is finished and I've moved on. Besides, the only time I can use this stuff is to decorate the house once a year for Halloween.

Victoria's Secret Products: At my age, baby, this is like putting lipstick and nail polish on a plow mare.

Zhu Zhu: Oh for God's sake.

So what don't you guys want for Christmas? Let us know in comments.

Sweet

I like surrounding myself with beautiful things. For me the top five on that list are family, quilts, art, books, and plants. Every spring I make extra time for gardening so I can insure I'll have lots of flowers and green thing to inspire and calm me for the rest of the year. It also adds a little joy to every day (whoever said you can't be unhappy in a garden was right on the money.)

We can't keep plants in the house because the pets won't leave them alone, but the back porch is fully stocked with containers now and we're planning a new rose garden around my much-loved miniature Japanese maple. I also put out my favorite hanging plants, sweet potato vines, on the front porch (I love how fast they grow and the way they spill over the pots like leafy waterfalls.)

I went out to water the front porch pots when I noticed a shadow among the leaves. At first I thought it was some dead leaves cluttering the middle, until I got closer and saw some very familiar spots:



Yep. Seems I'm not the only one who appreciates sweet potato vines.

For a couple of minutes I was pretty ticked off, seeing as we just hung these pots up only two weeks ago. Now I knew I'd have to stop watering it and let it die while Sweetie nests, and then wait a couple more weeks until the babies were ready to go before I took it down and replaced it with a new plant. This was going to totally ruin the look of my front porch.

Some people would chase off Sweetie, I know. And I was briefly tempted, because I didn't want her mate defending her and the nest by flying at the head of anyone who came to the front door (which we have learned the male doves will do because they're never far away during nesting.) I also knew it was my own fault for feeding them. If I didn't put out so much wild bird seed, the local avian population wouldn't spend so much time on my property or decide to nest in all these weird places.

It would be more logical just to stop feeding the birds. Eventually they'd get the message and then leave us alone. Life would be far less nerve-wracking.

Actually, life would also be kind of boring without our bird visitors. We wouldn't wake up to all this chattery birdsong in the morning. The pup and I would have no one to watch when we go out to sit on the porch. I'd never find another blue or red or gray feather in the grass, or see tiny baby birds cuddled together, or watch fledglings bravely take their first flights.

I do love my plants, but I have plenty on the porch and in the backyard. Until we moved to the country I'd never seen birds nest, or eggs hatch, or fledglings fly, not up close like this. Not on my front door step.

I like surrounding myself with beautiful things: Family, quilts, art, books and plants. These are all things I choose to have in my life. That Nature decided to surround me with nesting birds may be a little inconvenient, and spoil some of my plans, but they've become part of the beauty now, too. Then there's that look nesting Mama birds like Sweetie give me when they see me. They're wary of me, but there's also something else in their eyes. Maybe it's a smirk. Or maybe it's a little smile of thanks for the safe haven.



Oh, hell, I can always buy another damn plant.

Added: Sweetie wasn't sitting in the sweet potato vine this morning, and one of my friends said she might just be hiding out there, so I very carefully took down the pot to have a look. I was right, she's not just loitering.

Quilt or Innocence

Back in March I mentioned discovering The Writer's Knowledge Base, author Elizabeth S. Craig's site that provides among many neat things a search engine specifically geared toward writers. They also put out a free monthly newsletter, for which they kindly interviewed me in April as their featured blogger.

Since then I've been shamelessly rifling through the links on the site, and while reading Elizabeth's blog post Covering Our Bases I noticed her June release had quilts in the art and one in the title: Quilt or Innocence. Fiction featuring quilts is pretty rare to begin with, but this one is the first novel in a mystery series set in the North Carolina mountains, and features a retired art museum curator turned amateur sleuth.

Here's some copy on the book from the author's web site:

As the newest member of the Village Quilters Guild, Beatrice has a lot of gossip to catch up on—especially with the Patchwork Cottage quilt shop about to close. It seems that Judith, the landlord everyone loves to hate, wants to raise the rent, despite being a quilter herself…

But when Judith is found dead, the harmless gossip becomes an intricate patchwork of mischievous motives. And it’s up to Beatrice’s expert eye to decipher the pattern and catch the killer, before her life gets sewn up for good.

The quilt-themed books I encounter are generally of the memoir, angsty Amish or bestest-girlfriend/lafemmance variety, so I was happy to order a copy from B&N. Buying it also gives me an opportunity to show my support for an author who provides free resources for writers on the internet, aka practicing what I preach.

What authors have you discovered via their support for their peers? Let us know in comments.

Vacation Report

Two things I learned during my mini-vacation: 1) although I haven't been a bookseller for years, it still felt great to talk to complete strangers about books and 2) quilters love good stories almost as much as fat quarters and fusible bias tape.

While I was at the show I handed out books written by me and various authors, most at random to about forty people I didn't know. I kept it very low-key and friendly, talked about the authors and asked the recipients that if they enjoyed the book to pass the word around to others who might like it. The response was almost 100% enthusiastic (one lady was quite suspicious; she assumed she'd have to order something if she accepted the book. And I still got her to take it.)

In return, I discovered what these folks are reading, like to read and want to see in the stores. I'd say the average age of the readers I chatted with was about fifty. Among the romance fans, Nicholas Sparks was the name most often mentioned when I asked them who they liked to read. Nicholas, you have to stop saying you don't write romances now. The readers would also like you to stop killing off so many of your darlings, please. Kathleen Woodiwiss, you are greatly missed.

Women's fiction, cozy mysteries, soft thrillers, mainstream historicals, self-help, evangelist titles and celebrity biographies were also favorites among the readers I talked to; vampire fiction/paranormal romance, urban fantasy and science fiction were not mentioned at all. Younger readers were more willing to try something new (moms with babies seemed the most receptive); older readers grilled me more on what the book was about even before they accepted the free copy. I was glad I had read all the books by the other authors I was handing out and could give them a quick synopsis, to say the least.

With each book I also gave out a laminated bookmark I made up with book info on one side and the respective author's backlist and blog URL printed on the back (here's the one I made up for The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square.) I know that most readers prefer these to fliers or any other type of promo; they can slip the bookmark in their pocket or purse. The most common question -- other than "Why are you giving these books away, honey?" -- was "Can I get his/her other books at the book store/library?"

Several of the recipients were vendors at the show, and one promised that if she liked the book I gave her that she would mention it in her e-mail newsletter, which she sends out to 28,000 customers. This really got me to thinking -- if you could give a free book to ten small business owners with the same size mailing list, and earn a mention in their newsletters to customers, that's exposure to over a quarter of a million people.

It's all about what appeal your story might have for the customers involved. For example, Jennifer Chiaverni, the author of the Elm Creek Quilts novels, would have obvious appeal to customers of a quilt fabric shop. So would Lizbie Brown's and Earline Fowler's mysteries, and Suzanne Ellison and Ginger Chamber's romances, most of which are all titled with the names of quilt patterns and/or feature quilts as an integral part of the story.

Not having time to read was the most frequent complaint I heard; one I countered by showing them that I carry a paperback book in my purse to read when I have a spare moment (currently Madhouse by Rob Thurman, and everyone admired the cool cover art) and mentioning the nonfic audio book I'm listening to this week in my car. I definitely made some converts among the moms with the latter suggestion by pointing out that everyone has to sit for at least twenty minutes in the school pickup line every weekday and it's nice to have something more interesting to listen to than endless radio commercials and Rush Limbaugh.

The PBW character card was a hit; everyone smiled or laughed when they saw it (two of the mothers with kids who collect Yu-Gi-Oh cards groaned.) All thought it was an interesting and eye-catching alternative to the hohum business card. One lady suggested handing out "decks of authors and their books" -- something you authors with long backlists or group bloggers might think about trying at your next reader con.

As to what the readers would like to read, longer books with bigger casts of characters (aka the "meaty read" as one lady put it), epic romances ala Kathleen Woodiwiss, sweeping American historical/dynasty series like the old John Jakes books were requested. There was a lot of nostalgia for the good old days of book buying, when the readers picked up a book not because of the hype, the cover art or the pun-y title, but because they followed a specific author, often for the entire length of his/her career. As one lady put it, "I'd read anything LaVyrle Spencer wrote, it just had to have her name on it."

It was good to get out there and talk books with people, especially outside the biz box. Authors, consider checking out some of the non-publishing trade shows, conferences and conventions happening in your local area, and see if any of them might be an opportunity to make some connections.

BAM Ten

Ever wonder what writers do with those bookstore gift cards? Here are:

Ten Things I Bought with Mine at Books-a-Million



Blank Books:

1. Piccadilly spiral-bound blank journal (butterfly front, discounted.) I picked this up on impulse; the cover is fetching and it's large enough to make into a daily art journal.

2. Write Ideas "Dance Floor" large flex journal. I don't like the cover on this one, but it's huge, the page lining is nice and wide, and it has a pocket and a ribbon marker. I'll probably redo the cover with an interesting fabric.

Bookmarks:

3.& 4. "Go with all your heart" and 5. "The Spirit of Flight." Two are to give away and one is a replacement for me (I gave my original to a friend.)

Fiction:

6. Angel at Dawn by Emma Holly; second in her latest Upyr trilogy. The first one in this trio was terrific, and I think this installment continues the protagonists' story, which is even better.

7. My Immortal Assassin by Carolyn Jewel. I'm pretty sure this is the third in her paranormal romance series; definitely the newest. It's been a while since I read the last one so I may have to go back and reread the early novels to pick up the story again.

Magazines:

8. Quilting Arts Magazine Dec/Jan issue. This is not for me; I'm taking it to a quilter friend who is recovering from back surgery and can't get out to the store. Looking forward to bickering with her over adding metal to quilts (she's dead set against it; I'm all for it as long as the quilts aren't to be used for bedding or handled by children.)

9. Somerset Studio Gallery Magazine Winter '2011 issue. I tried to walk past it, really I did, but Angela Cartwright has an article in this one about watercolor photo art, and that I couldn't resist.

Nonfiction:

10. Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury. I've never read it, and since I'm into Zen anything, thought it was about time I did.

(the above list is thanks to my guy, and the gift card he never forgets to give me every Christmas)

Quilt Show Pics

I had an amazing time at this year's county quilt show. I saw so many beautiful quilts, talked with their incredibly talented makers, and got some wonderful ideas for my own work. Kat went with me one day so I got to show off my kid to my friends. I think I completely recharged my creative batteries too, always a great thing.

We also had fantastic luck with the show raffles. I won two: a huge basket filled with yarn and pattern books, and a adorable ceramic purse stuffed with fat quarters, sewing tools, and a journal:



My daughter was the big winner with this lovely wine rack filled with fabric, patterns and even two bottles of very nice vino:



It's also a little funny -- none of us drink -- but the bottles will go to friends who appreciate wine. Kat generously gave me all the fabric and patterns, so I'll have to make her something neat.

With fingers crossed that this slideshow embed code works, here are some of the pictures I took of the show quilts (Added: the embed thing isn't working for everyone, so here's the link to open it in another window: http://s259.photobucket.com/user/LynnViehl/slideshow/2017%20PBW/Quilt%20Show%202017):

Going Once

Artist Damien Hirst made headlines and lots of cash this week by auctioning off some of his bizarre artworks. Already he's sold a pickled tiger shark for $17 million, and a gold-crowned bull (I can't find an image of this one, but here's a similar work by the artist) for $18.6 million.

Call me stodgy and unimaginative, but I don't call this art. Embalming, definitely, or maybe -- stretching a definition a bit here -- creative taxidermy. But not art. Nor can I see paying millions for the privilege of parking a large dead critter in a tank of formaldehyde in the living room, but hey, I'm cheap that way.

It did make me wonder what my heirs might decide to auction off after I'm gone (one can only specify and control so much in a will.) I don't have a lot in the way of personal possessions, just my books, art, and quilts. Well, several decades of unpublished writing and terrible poetry, but I'm slowly destroying everything I don't want published posthumously, so 99% of that won't be around. I think my journals would only be of interest to my loved ones, but after seeing how Ted Hughes edited what the world saw of Sylvia Plath's, I might burn those, too.

If my kids don't want them, I'd like to my books to go to a public library, and my antique quilts to a museum. The art, eh. I can't see anyone paying a dime for my own paintings, but I have a very small collection of some nice pieces by other artists, including the original cover paintings for Shockball and Beyond Varallan. Art is personal, so I'd like those to stay in the family if possible. If not, then I'd like to see them auctioned off to benefit a public school arts program.

What would you like to see happen to your stuff after you're gone?

For Art's Sake

This is another pic test, but also displays what was a big step for me as a quilter. Over the summer I made my first official art quilt (which I define as a quilted piece created organically and strictly to function as art.) I've done some crazy quilted and fiber art pieces, but both times I used stitch guides or patterns. This time I planned nothing, collected the materials I wanted to use as I spotted them, and then put it together and embroidered and quilted it. No patterns. No stitch guide. I designed it based on things in my life, and went with improvisational stitching.

How was it, working on the art quilt? I can tell you that it felt intimidating and frustrating, and at times scared the crap out of me. The whole time I worked on it I wanted to run for my how-to books and use something from them rather than invent my own designs. Even as I put the last stitches in I considered hiding it under the bed.

It's definitely not perfect, and I've seen art quilts that are a hundred times better. I also love every single awkward unplanned imperfect stitch of it, because it's mine. My world. My art. My hands. My vision. I know because I did the same thing thirty-three years ago when I wrote my first novel.

I had no practical reason to make this art quilt. The time I used to work on it could have been spent working on a handmade gift for someone else -- I live in what has become the house of quilts, so I give away almost everything I make now to family or friends. I didn't need another wall hanging; I'm actually running out of wall space in the office. When I thought about it before I made it, I felt like I was being selfish to put so much of my spare time into what seemed basically useless.

Any of that sound familiar? Most of us are so busy with making a living or caring/providing for family that we feel guilty when we give a little of ourselves to our art. To do something just to create beauty, that doesn't generate income, almost seems wasteful. To vent or rejoice or mourn or celebrate through art is probably the best therapy on the planet, and yet we beat ourselves for doing it, or behave as if it's something we have to do in secret, like using drugs or booze.

This art quilt, awkward and amateurish as it is, represents one of the changes I'm making in my creative life. I'm taking a little time for me now, and I don't feel guilty about that. I've spent my life to caring for and giving to others. There are still things I need to discover. I'm going looking for them.

PTC #3

3. Budget Marketing: What can be done about marketing for writers with a $2k advance?.

1. Get as much marketing and marketing support as you can (politely) wrangle out of your publisher. Ask your editor and your agent for marketing ideas and advice. Find out if you've been assigned a publicist, make contact if you have and ask their advice. Ask your editor if there is a more established author at your imprint who would be willing to place an excerpt of your novel in the back of their next book. Talk to pros you know at your publisher or who write in your genre and ask them for ideas and advice. Contact your local booksellers, meet store managers in person and see what they're willing to do to help hand-sell your book.

2. Think outside the bookmark/widget/con circuit box. Example: Last week I met author Ed West at a local quilt show. At these shows you usually find quilts, quilters, quilt shop booths and quilting demos by the local guild, but never authors, so it was a nice surprise to meet him.

Mr. West set up a table with his books and talked to ladies as they made the rounds. He had a reproduction quilt from his novel set up as a backdrop behind the table, and he and his wife (I assume that nice lady was your wife, Ed) were dressed in period costumes. He happens to be a warm, marvelous speaker and an expert on period quilts and quilting, and sold three books in the five minutes I stood there listening to him.

3. Use the Internet; it's free. Set up a weblog, they're free. Become active in the author blogging community. Jump in discussions (like this one) about budget marketing and brain storm. Do the same at writer communities with discussion boards. Add a link to your web site/weblog to your signature block. Put up excerpts from your book on your web site. Have interesting contests to giveaway galleys, ARCs or final editions of your book. Answer author surveys (the one I answered for Mad Max Perkins led to a featured interview on his blog.) Don't SPAM anyone, but make yourself available for interviews to bloggers and other publishing-related web sites.

4. Use the media. Send out a press release to local, state and national media. If you do this, read up on press releases and how to write them (also see PR Web link below) effectively. Write articles for trade web sites and magazines about your author experience and submit them for consideration (free promotion which you get paid for, and most allow you to put a web site link in your end-of-article bio.)

5. Invest only in promotion that a) you can afford and b) is proven to boost book sales. I wish I could give you a list, but most book advertising services promise a lot and don't deliver much in the way of statistics. As with suggestion #2, look for something unique that makes you stand out from the pack.

Related Links:

About.com's article Low-Budget High-Impact Marketing Plan.

PR Web's How to Write a Press Release that Gets Noticed by the Media.

Voices of Hope's .pdf format article Self-promotion on a Shoestring.

100

Here's something you can do for someone you love during the holidays, and all it costs is some time, typing, old photos and a bit of memory-surfing. This is for my guy:

The 100 Reasons Why I Love You

1. All the beaches we've shared and all the sunsets we've watched.

2. Surprising me at Christmas with the Kitchen Aid I was always too cheap to buy. God, I love that thing.

3. Never walking out on me in labor and delivery, even when the nurses thought you were going to faint and told you to.

4. Buying our rather expensive bed because you hated seeing me hobble around in the morning.

5. Cutting the kids' umbilical cords when you were so obviously terrified you'd do it wrong.

6. The way you smiled at me the very first time we met.

7. Driving two thousand miles so our daughter could to see snow for the first time on her eighteenth birthday.

8. How nice you were to Mary Balogh at that writer's conference when we were drafted as her chauffeurs because the other people had bailed on her; this while you had absolutely no idea who Mary Balogh was.

9. Not dying on me from your cancer, or that fall that really should have broken your back and neck and paralyzed you for life. Miracle should be your middle name, actually.

10. Always giving me birthday and holiday cards that have the words "I love you" on them somewhere.

11. Our first date on Hollywood Beach, and later, when it rained.

12. What you wrote on those 517 tiny slips of paper you left scattered them all around the house for me to find.

13. Fixing our neighbor's lawn mower and edger to help save her the repair costs.

14. The doors you always hold open for me and any other female or elderly person within ten feet of us.

15. Warming up bath water on the gas grill for me and the kids when the hurricanes knocked out our power for 21 days.

16. Being there at every single one of the kids' school events, even when you had to drive from work and show up in your uniform.

17. The baby powder rubdowns and the scalp massages.

18. How you smiled when we were serenaded by mariachis at the Copa.

19. Driving my car without complaint when I know how much you utterly despise driving my car.

20. The way you constantly apologize to me every time you get sick.

21. All those phone calls while we were dating. Thousands, I think.

22. Feeding the neighbor's cows.

23. Filling the feeders during the winter because you feel sorry for the birds.

24. Your aftershave. Still drives me insanely crazy for you.

25. Your amazement and wonder the first time I took you inside St. John's to see the stained glass.

26. How you look whenever you wear blue.

27. Cleaning the bathrooms when you know I'd do it.

28. The undying love of little diners that we share.

29. The color of your eyes.

30. Not minding when the daughter and I drag you into yet another Cuban restaurant.

31. The way you looked at me when I was sitting with Ray in the hospital.

32. Your voice, your hands and your nose. Yes, I love your nose (but I love your hands just a tiny bit more.)

33. How you always make the Chinese lady laugh.

34. The hours you'll spend on the phone talking another guy through a problem at work that isn't your problem.

35. How kind you were to my Dad when he began forgetting things.

36. How kind you are to anyone in trouble.

37. How kind you are, period.

38. Your love of wings, which you've never insisted I share.

39. What you said when my dad died.

40. Your tireless obsessions with my pasta sauce and my German chocolate cake.

41. How you kid around with waitresses, and how well you tip them (okay, I help with that last part a little.)

42. How your voice sounded when you said, "It's a little girl."

43. How bewildered you were when I informed you that the pretty lady in the neighborhood who kept stopping by to talk to you was actually trying to hit on you.

44. Refusing to lose your temper even under circumstances that would have pissed off Buddha.

45. Going with me to see Titanic at the over-priced movie theater because everyone said we should, and (despite really liking the movie) being okay with me crying afterward while I swore I'd never watch it again.

46. Cruising around with me to look at houses just because I like to look at houses.

47. Paying a little more at beach hotels so we always have a view of the ocean.

48. Your expression when you watch the Thunderbirds perform at air shows.

49. How you're always willing to have my mom stay with us when she needs looking after.

50. Not caring that I usually smell like the dogs + hand soap instead of eau de something sexy.

51. Always kissing me good night when we go to bed, and again when you leave in the morning for work. Always.

52. Driving all the way to Cedar Key in my car and not bitching about it or making me take a turn at the wheel (and I offered a couple times, remember?)

53. Spending all that time looking for something to fix the lid on my old sewing box that is basically worthless to everyone but me.

54. Going with me to that quilt museum on the way home from Cedar Key and pretending to be interested when the lady volunteers talked to you.

55. Your obsession with wiping out the crab grass. Patton was not this determined.

56. Asking me to come and see every rainbow you've ever spotted.

57. Not getting mad at me for rescuing Skye.

58. Not getting mad about the daughter's pet rats, or the huge cage, or the smell of rat pee that sometimes gets a bit much.

59. Not getting mad whenever any other human being would simply explode.

60. Waiting for me every time I've had surgery, sometimes for very long hours in very small rooms filled with too many people.

61. Giving me your camera when I broke mine.

62. Buying me another camera when I broke yours.

63. Sharing my intense hatred of mobile phones. You, me, and the Amish, baby.

64. Driving me over to see the spectacular Christmas lights at that guy's house when you were tired and probably just wanted to go home.

65. Every time you say "Let's take a little ride."

66. That weekend at the inn by the lake, when we chanced upon the festival at the winery, and that night we sat out on the dock.

67. Letting me help when things are a bit much now versus hanging onto your pride and doing it yourself.

68. Not retiring when you should so the kids can stay on your medical insurance plan a little longer.

69. Going with me to visit family after Thanksgiving dinner instead of taking the usual food-coma nap on the couch like most other men.

70. Insisting we have a real Christmas tree every year.

71. Allowing me to gradually eliminate virtually every fried food from your diet.

72. Driving up the always-scary mountain roads so we could see the Smokies from the highest possible elevation -- in the dead of winter, no less.

73. Being okay with my love of books and quilts when you don't actually like books or quilts.

74. Being fine with taking coffee from home to work every day in reusable cups to save money and waste (which saves us like a hundred bucks every month, btw.)

75. Supporting me 100% when I went freelance, and neither of us knew if I'd make a dime.

76. Not minding my wrinkles, my white hair or my new shoulder problems (because if you do, you've never shown it.)

77. Never once criticizing me for gaining weight at any time I have over the last 24 years.

78. Doing most of the grunt work when we had a booth at MegaCon.

79. Calling me honey or sweetie instead of my name, which you use to only identify me in conversation with other people.

80. Being the only person who didn't bail on me on the worst days of my life. The only person. All of them.

81. The night of your birthday, 2003.

82. Taking care of me, the kids, and basically everything else that Christmas when I fell down the stairs and sprained my ankle so badly that I couldn't walk.

83. All the Saturdays and Sundays walking around the flea market just so I could get some exercise.

84. Your lifelong determination to prune trees so that they have perfect balance. Bonsai masters probably should worship you.

85. Bathing and brushing out the dogs, with which you have more patience than anyone else.

86. Teasing the daughter about her hipster outfits.

87. Taking us out for hot chocolate and cake in the winter and sitting outside in the cold on the cafe balcony when I know how much you hate being cold.

88. Being okay with my crazy idea to open a bed-and-breakfast even after it (thankfully) passed.

89. The things you say when you talk in your sleep.

90. The nights sitting and talking by the firepit.

91. How much you adore our children. They really have no idea, but I do.

92. Your complete inability to end a phone conversation quickly.

93. Always checking in with me every day you're out of town.

94. Asking me to marry you every day for six months.

95. The years you spent taking care of that miserable abusive bastard who treated you like crap for most of your life, simply because he was your dad and you loved him.

96. Letting me keep and look after a nineteen-year-old cat, although all he mostly does is sleep, puke and miss the litter box.

97. Being the kind of man whom other people admire, like or love. I actually don't know a single person who dislikes you.

98. Having no hobbies because you'd rather spend the time taking care of our home and family.

99. Choosing me as the first woman you asked out after your ex heartlessly dumped you.

100. Sticking with me through better or worse, including thirty-one years of our rollercoaster relationship, my arthritis, my three bouts of cancer and when I started going blind, every single one of my surgeries, the scares, the waiting, menopause, and all the other scary bad times in my life. That's why I don't need a list to know just how much you love me, and how blessed I am to have you as my guy.

Hmmmm Ten

Ten Things That Seemed Pretty Interesting

Freeware caution:always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.

1. 7 Wonders is a free game download that takes the player on a journey to build the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by swapping and matching ancient runes. For the fantasy empire-lovers out there, 8 Kingdoms.

2. Manage your research info better with BiblioExpress freeware.

3. Easy HR Popup Calendar is a quick-ref utility freeware that sits in your system tray until you need it.

4. Train yourself to read more quickly with FastReader freeware.

5. Microsoft Word users can "write mirror words or whole sentences, mix up the words of a sentence, remove all the vowels from the words, color every word of a document in a different color, give a wave shape to a sentence, cipher the text and more" with Fun4Word freeware.

6. Garden with Insight freeware is a virtual garden simulator (I'd love to play with this one when I have more time.)

7. Need a tabbed word processor and outliner freeware designed specifically for creative writers? Check out Page Four.

8. Turn your photo archive into a virtual city with Photopolis freeware.

9. The free 30 day trial of QuiltComposer allows you to design quilts on your computer.

10. Seasidesoft Book Manager freeware helps you create digital photo albums with music and pages that turn.

For the rockhounds like me out there, Earth's Core freeware offers "a wealth of information for those people interested in Rocks, Gems and Minerals. It contains detailed information on hundreds of gems and minerals as well as a detail glossary of terms." Also included in the freeware is a generous amount of info on the Periodic Table.

Upcoming on PBW this week:

July's Biz post: Supplemental Writing Income

Missing in Action posts from last week: Scene Building 101 and Your Best Writing Life Now

Plotfreaks

Revitalize Your Blog

Some New Writing How-Tos (and a chance to win them)