Anne Brown loves her job at The Stitching Post Quilt Shop in Grandville, Michigan, but she keeps a suitcase packed so she can leave at a moment's notice. Living under the radar, she longs for a normal life, but settles for listening to family stories told by the friendly ladies of the quilting club who meet at the shop on Tuesday evenings. When she meets Brad, the handsome band director of an area high school and his adorable daughter, Anne begins to hope for a happily ever after of her own. But someone has far different plans.
Brad Carmichael is juggling the demands of his job as band director at Rivertown High School with trying to be a better father to his daughter. When Brad is late picking Jennie up from a birthday party, the pretty young clerk from the local quilt shop comes to his rescue. Kind-hearted and talented, Anne becomes a vital part of his and Jennie’s lives. Until her past threatens to destroy their relationship.
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Let's get to know the authors! Please Welcome
Patricia Kiyono and
Stephanie Michels to Genuine Jenn!!
Tell us a little bit
about your book(s) and yourself.
Stephanie Michels – I was raised on the west coast of Michigan but
lived in several other states (and a short stint overseas) as an adult. I came
back to Michigan to raise my three children, who are now grown with kids of
their own. I started writing as a very young child and spent part of my working
career writing advertising and training manuals for a large Midwest retailer. I
also wrote several how-to articles for various magazines and was a monthly
software reviewer for Compute! Magazine. However, fiction is the love of my
life. My first romance The Calico Heart,
co-authored with Patricia Kiyono, is about a group of women who meet at The
Stitching Post Quilt Shop. It was published by Astraea Press in January 2013.
The next book in that series, The
Friendship Star Quilt is coming out in April of this year. I have also
written Trouble in Paradys, a fantasy
romance for Resplendence Publishing.
Patricia Kiyono — my
grandparents moved to Michigan from Japan about a hundred years ago, and though
I love living here, one of my favorite things to do is travel. I spent 28 years
teaching in the public schools near Grand Rapids, and now teach part-time at
Grand Valley State University, which gives me more time to write and take care
of my grandchildren. The Friendship Star
Quilt is my ninth romance title.
When was your first
book published?
Stephanie: January 2013
Patricia: July 2011
Are you currently
working on anything?
Stephanie: I’m working on several books currently, Cruisin’ for Love, a romance that takes
place on a cruise ship, a cozy mystery that takes place in the shoe industry (I
love shoes!), and also a Christmas story in The Stitching Post series.
Patricia: I’m working on a couple of Stitching Post stories,
as well as two sequels for Christmas
Wishes.
Why did you decide to
become an Author?
Stephanie: I’ve always loved reading and at an early age, I realized I liked to
make up elaborate “let’s pretend” scenarios for my playmates and I. Soon, those
evolved into telling stories for my friends then evolved further into writing
stories to amuse myself and them.
Patricia: I’ve always been a rabid reader, but after
suffering through a poorly written book I challenged myself to write a better
one. Once I retired from full-time teaching I pursued that goal with even more
energy and haven’t looked back.
Who and what inspired
you to write?
Stephanie: My parents always encouraged my reading habit,
especially when I was ill as a small child and spent a summer bed-ridden. They
taught me to read then encouraged me in my own efforts at writing stories. I
owe them so much for their patience and love. But, tongue-in-cheek, I always
like to thank “Carolyn Keene”, the pseudonym of the man who wrote the Nancy
Drew books for my fascination with mysteries. Many of my stories also have a
bit of mystery or suspense in them.
Patricia: My father was one of the most intelligent people
I’ve known, and he once told me, “If you want people to listen, you need two
things: something worth saying, and the ability to say it well.” He guided me
through endless essays and writing assignments, always insisting on proper
spelling and grammar. He didn’t live to see my first book published, but even
now when I write I can hear him whispering in my ear, “Are you sure that’s what you wanted to say?” I
think I pursued writing because I wanted to make him proud of me.
When you are writing to
you like to listen to music? What is on your playlist?
Stephanie: I know a lot of authors like to listen to music
while they write. I even know one who creates a separate playlist for each of
her books. It really works for her, but I don’t usually listen to music or the
TV when I write. The lyrics tend to distract me. If I do listen to anything
when I write, it is Steven Halpern’s Creativity,
The instrumental music seems to make words flow for me when my mind is blocked.
Patricia: I suppose it’s odd, since I’m a musician, but I
usually write better in total silence. When there are lyrics, I listen to the
words. With instrumental music, I’m a critic. Steven Halpern’s Creativity works sometimes, as long as
I’ve had enough sleep.
Who is your favorite
character in your books?
Stephanie: I fall in love with a different character in
every book. Currently, I’m very fond of two supporting characters in Cruising for Love. Cass and Patrick seem
to want to take over the book though, so I’m having a bit of a challenge with
them, too.
Patricia: My favorite character is whichever one allows me
to see into his or her head. Sometimes they’re not good about sharing.
Do you ever take
characteristics or nuances from close friends or family when working on
character development and if so has that friend or family member noticed and
what was their response to it?
Stephanie: Most of my characters are like a cake, made up of
many ingredients. I take traits and mannerisms of people I know (or have heard
of) and add a few quirks to make them good guys (or villains), and hope they
come out the way I want. The only time I purposely put a real person in a book
was as a result of a contest I ran. The winner and her husband got to be named
as characters in the book.
Patricia: Many of my characters are patterned after people I
know. Most of my heroes have one or more of my husband’s characteristics, but
since he doesn’t read my books he hasn’t noticed.
What is your favorite
book of all time?
Stephanie: It’s a toss up between Gone with the Wind and Forever
Amber.
Patricia: Bride of My
Heart by Rebecca Winters.
Tell us in one
sentence why we should read your books.
Stephanie: No matter what your age or shape, your happily
ever after might be waiting right around the corner.
Patricia: I think Stephanie summed it up nicely.
Previous titles
(Click on title to go to the Amazon page)
Stephanie:
Patricia:
Where to find
Stephanie and Patricia
Stephanie:
Patricia:
Thank you Patricia & Stephanie for taking the time to share with my readers at Genuine Jenn!
Time for some Giveaways! Two winners!
Patricia Kiyono would like to offer winners choice of one of her e-books & Stephanie Michels is offering a $5 Amazon or B&N card again winners choice!
For a chance to win, please leave a question for either Stephanie or Patricia. They will do their best to answer! And for another chance to win, be sure to visit Lynn Spangler's blog on Monday, April 14!
~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Genuine Jenn. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
Thank you so much for having us here today, Jenn!
ReplyDeleteI've always been curious about how team authors do it. I'm sure that not every author team uses the same methods. Like for instance, some probably each work on their own part and get together and blend it later. How did you two work together to write this novel?
ReplyDeleteYou're right, each writing team has its own method. For the Calico Heart and The Friendshp Star Quilt, I came up with the initial premise and several scenes. Stephanie came in and tied everything together, filling in all the holes and making it great.
DeleteWillow, Patty and I worked for a couple of days together (before we started writing the first book of the series) to come up with various customers at the quilt shop, doing character sketches, and deciding what their stories might be. Patty had a story idea and some pages written, I went through and plotted out the book and determined what additional scenes/chapters/characters we needed. Then I wrote the first draft while patty wrote a couple of the missing chapters. When the first draft was done, Patty read through it, added and noted what she thought was still missing. We made a couple passes at it before we were both satisfied.
DeleteWe used a similar process with book two - although I took it in a different direction than Patty had originally outlined, because I am a mystery fan and felt the idea of Anne fleeing from an abusive ex-husband needed to be a bit more edgy. When Patty read it, she agreed, so we went with it.
I'm writing a Christmas story for the series on my own and Patty is working on the story of another quilter by herself right now.
Patricia, I just wanted you to know this story is so heartwarming, I really enjoyed it! My question is for both of you. When your writing does the story keep going in your head until you get it all written?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Mary! I wish my stories would play in my head like a movie. I know people lucky enough to have that. But no, I tend to get fuzzy pictures, and then I have to do a lot of brainstorming, sometimes with my daughter, sometimes with others, and sometimes with my street team!
DeleteThank you, Mary. I have to say, I really love Brad and Anne. They were favorites from the first character sketches we did. But they also were a bit stubborn while we were writing. We had to pull some information out of them...and sometimes they surprised us by going in a new direction. For example the prologue wasn't in our original plan. :)
DeletePatricia, I just wanted you to know this story is so heartwarming, I really enjoyed it! My question is for both of you. When your writing does the story keep going in your head until you get it all written?
ReplyDeleteMy mother encouraged me to read. She made going to the library a real treat. I feel sorry for people who don't like reading.
ReplyDeleteMe too, Elaine! They miss out on so much. It's a great treat for me.
DeleteElaine, it always shocks me when I hear adults say: "I haven't read a book since I got out of school." I feel so sorry for them. Books have taken me on some fantastic adventures and introduced me to places I'll probably never get to visit. I'm part of the Friends of the Library both in the town where I live now and of the town where I was raised. I have such fond memories of both places.
DeleteHere's a question from Jessica Watts, who had trouble getting her comment posted. It's for both Stephanie Michels and me. She asks, "Out of all the books you have written which is your favorite or which one are you most proud of?"
ReplyDeleteI think the one that gave me the greatest satisfaction was The Samurai's Garden, because that deals with my family ancestry. It also took the longest to write. I started writing it in 2005, after I retired from full time teaching, and it was published in November 2012.
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DeleteSorry. I had to delete my first post as I had a big old typo in it. Duh!
DeleteTo answer Jessica's question - I wrote Trouble in Paradys for my kids, who are big Robert Asprin fans, and I had a lot of fun populating it with sitcom-star lookalikes. But The Friendship Star Quilt is more my usual style as I love stories with a bit of suspense or mystery to them
I am reading The Friendship Star Quilt and find this book refreshing that it is a clean read yet still deals with real life issues. My dear friend was in an abusive marriage where her first husband beat her so bad that 3 separate times she lost a baby because of it, and one time she was 7 months along. This story made me think of her. But she has been married for 38 years to a wonderful man. I'm glad she found him.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first book to read by Patricia Kiyono but will not be the last. I actually have The Calico Heart but will read it later.
I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying it, and I'm very happy to hear that your friend found her "happily-ever-after" after such a terrible first marriage. God bless her.
DeleteHow awful to lose three babies, and at the hands of their father! I'm so glad she escaped that nightmare of a marriage. Thanks for visiting, Kathy!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMary Lowery, you're the lucky winner of the $ gift card prize. Please email me at StephanieMichels@comcast.net with your email address and let me know your preference for either an Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card and I'll email out your prize to you.
ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone who posted a comment. Be sure to join us at Lynn Spangler's blog for another chance to win
http://lynnspangler.blogspot.com/2014/04/spotlight-and-giveaway.html?m=1