The Friendship Star Quilt
by Patricia
Kiyono & Stephanie Michels
It's an absolute pleasure to have Patricia and Stephanie as my guest today. With the title "The Friendship Star Quilt", the obvious question was whether they quilt as well.
1 – Quilting is still popular here in Australia. Do you ladies
quilt?
Patricia: Every other week I sew quilts with a group of ladies at my
church. Once in a while I'll sew quilts for members of my family.
Stephanie: I don't make quilts, but I collect them. I have one old one from
my grandmother that is almost 100 years old, and several others I've picked up
over the years. I do sew and used to make a lot of my own clothes. Now,
however, my crafts of choice are crochet and knitting. They're more portable
for me.
2 – How did you come up with the story and how do you work together?
Patricia: I came up with a basic story line for Anne, and Stephanie
fleshed it out.
Stephanie: When Patty first talked about the series, we sat down and created
a large group of quilters to populate the the quilt shop. Then we gave them
families and possible story lines. We're constantly adding new characters and
plots.
3 – Will there be another Michaels/Kiyono collaboration?
Patricia: We're working on more Stitching Post stories!
Stephanie: Maybe not co-authored as such, but there will be more stories.
I'm working on a Christmas one featuring one of my favorite characters in the
quilt shop, and Patty is working on a story line that is dear to her heart.
Blurb:
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 res-cue. Kind-hearted and talented, Anne becomes a vital part of Brad and Jennie’s lives. But her past threatens to destroy their relationship.
Authors:
Stephanie Michels considers herself a “Jill
of All Trades.” During her corporate career, she worked as a computer trainer,
advertising copywriter, personnel agent, radio DJ, magazine columnist, and a
financial planner among other things.
She recently left those behind in order to focus on writing full time.
Raised
in Michigan, she lived in South Carolina, Missouri, and Germany, before
returning to the Mitten State to raise her family. When she isn’t writing, you can usually find
her reading or spending time with family, friends, and Beta Sigma Phi sisters.
The
Friendship Star Quilt is her second novel with writing partner, Patricia
Kiyono.
Patricia Kiyono -
Patricia Kiyono retired from public school teaching, and is now an adjunct faculty member at Grand Valley State University, where she instructs future teachers. Born in Japan, she lives in southwest Michigan with her husband, not far from their five children and nine grandchildren. In addition to writing, she enjoys sewing, scrapbooking, playing in local bands and orchestras, and taking care of grandchildren.
Blog - www.StephanieMichelsAuthor.com
Purchase
Links:
The Friendship
Star Quilt
is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and
Smashwords, as well as
other ebook outlets.
Excerpt:
few minutes later, an early model sedan raced into a
parking space in front of the shop, and skidded to a halt. The driver’s side
opened, and a tall man in a blue windbreaker jumped out. His dark hair
practically stood on end, as if he’d been running worried fingers through it.
He glanced around, spotted the shop, and hurried toward it. Without a word, he
rushed to Jennie’s side and scooped her up in a tight embrace.
“Jennie, I am so, so sorry! I knew the party was
over at five-thirty. I should have set the alarm on my phone. I’m so sorry you had
to wait for me.”
“It’s okay, Daddy. This lady said it was okay for me
to wait in here for you because the ice cream man turned the lights off and said
I had to leave.”
“He what? Why would he do such a thing to you?
Especially when it’s raining! I ought to go over and…”
“I think he went home. But it was okay, Daddy. I
came in here to wait safely.”
Her dad took a deep breath. Although his face appeared
somewhat calmer, anger still burned in his dark brown eyes.
“Smart thinking, Princess. I’m very glad you did.”
He turned then and, shifting his daughter to one arm, held out his free hand to
Anne. “I’m Brad Carmichael. Thank you very much for letting Jennie come inside
to wait… and for calling me.”
She shook the outstretched hand and introduced
herself. “I’m Anne Brown, and you’re entirely welcome. Your daughter was no
trouble at all.”
“Nonetheless, it was very kind of you,” he said then
reached for Jennie’s backpack. “I can see you’re busy, so we’ll get out of your
hair now.”
“Bye, Miss Anne,” Jennie said from her perch in her
dad’s arm.
“Thanks again,” he called before heading into the
night.
Anne nodded and stifled a desire to sigh. Brad
Carmichael wasn’t movie-star handsome, but he had such beautiful, warm brown
eyes. More importantly, she could tell he cared about his little girl. His
concern for her made him far more attractive in Anne’s opinion than mere good
looks. Although he was awfully cute with his hair all tousled and disarrayed.
“Anne, do you have more of this interfacing? I think
I’m going to need it for my appliqués.”
Setting aside her musing, the young clerk hurried to
help her customer. Pining for something she couldn’t have was nothing but a
waste of time, a daydream. The Stitching Post and its customers were her
reality.
