Why Sewing?

First of all, the craft niche books are popular. And since many of those who sew, knit, scrapbook, antique, (etc.) are also readers, it’s a natural crossover for the publishing  houses to explore.

The key, as a writer, is how to tickle that group’s interest without losing the interest of readers who don’t have any experience (or interest) in said craft. For me, this last part wasn’t too hard simply because I don’t sew. I can do buttons (well)…and patches (a little well)…but, beyond that, not so much.

Fortunately for me, my series focuses on the sewing circle rather than simply the sewing. Sure, the folks sew in the background, but it’s the socialization aspect of the craft that brings these particular people together. It also allows for a varied age range to come together (one of my favorite parts of this series) in a place that makes sense.

By focusing on the socialization aspect, people can identify with these stories whether they sew or not. Will they enjoy it if they sew? Of course. There’s a commonality with the people right off the bat. But those who don’t sew can identify with the friendships that come from getting together with people who have a common interest. When I get together with my writing buddies we talk about writing. But we also talk about other stuff…like life, kids, books, etc. Much like the women of the Sweet Briar Ladies Society Sewing Circle.

I hope that helps answer your question, J.D.

The mailbag is starting to run low on questions, so fire away everyone. I’ll answer them on future “Writing Thursdays.”

~Elizabeth

The first full night I was there had me meeting up with two of my dearest friends over dinner (the first half) and hot cocoa (the second half). We talked. We laughed. We plotted (we’re all writers). And we just enjoyed being together for the first time in entirely too long. It was, essentially, a wonderful (albeit bittersweet) recharging for the old internal battery. And boy did I need a recharging as well as time with my friends…

Now, that the trip is over, I’m in complete work mode as I write my way toward deadline day for # 4 in the Sewing Circle Mystery Series. This book is tentatively titled, DEADLY NOTIONS, and is proving to be a lot of fun to write!

But writing is not all I’m up to at the moment. I’m also getting busy making plans for the May 4th launch of DEATH THREADS…and looking ahead to the Oct. 5th launch of PINNED FOR MURDER. If you have connections with a library or bookstore and would like to see me come to your area, let me know!!

If you follow my series (as I hope you do), I thought you might like to see how the cover for DEATH THREADS has  evolved…

This is version # 1. It’s cut off a little on the top and bottom simply because I’m an idiot and can’t figure out why it’s not loading the complete image. But it’s enough to give you the effect. However, if you click on it, you’ll see the whole thing!

And here is version # 2 (and, once again, it’s chopping off the top and bottom–I’m nothing if not consistent). As you can see, the changes from version # 1 to version # 2 are subtle, yet they sure make things POP, don’t they?? Huge kudos to the folks at Berkley for creating a great cover and then finding ways to make it even better!

Oh…and both versions really DO have my name on the cover…that’s just part of what got cut off on my uploading attempts.  If you click on each one, you’ll see the changes there, too. In version # 1, my  name was in red and it was split over the black and white tiles (making it harder to read). In this new version they’ve designed the tiles so the name fits on black and it’s the same color as the title. It’s very nicely done!

What do you think?

~Elizabeth

Be it Cinderella, The Little Mermaid or 101 Dalmatians, the powers-that-be at Disney were uniquely successful in transferring classic and contemporary stories from print to film.

Studio animators used light and shadow to establish mood and paint scenes. Casting directors found pitch perfect voice talent to breathe emotion into scripts. Writers infused familiar plots and themes with new ideas and timely twists.

Yes, Disney took liberties with folk tales, de-emphasizing the darker elements. But the emotional cores and themes remained, which is why the films still resonate.

Like anyone who elevates skill to art, Disney made reimagining stories look easy.

The film industry will tell you it isn’t.

No longer content to poach fables and fairytales, Hollywood has moved to a new stalking ground–the New York Times Bestseller List. In the last year alone, Harry Potter, Coraline, The Lovely bones, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Sherlock Holmes and Rick Riordan’s sword-swinging Percy Jackson have leapt from page to screen.

The results?

Mixed.

Lovely Bones came under fire from readers when a key scene from the book was excised from the film. Some Conan Doyle aficionados avoided Holmes for fear of seeing their Baker Street sleuth transformed into an action-adventure hero. And here at home, despite loving the Percy Jackson books, my children are still undecided about seeing The Lightning Thief after hearing lukewarm reviews from friends.

The migration from publishing house to production company is a hero’s journey, fraught with mangled plots, clipped character arcs, changes in tone and pace and mood, memorable lines shoehorned into ill-fitting exchanges of dialogue, and–on rare occasion–retellings that are somehow both faithful and fresh, satisfying stalwart fans while drawing new readers into the fold.

In the quest to mine blockbuster gold from a literary favorite, many have tried, and many have fallen.

Now it’s your turn.

On the heels of a Hollywood disaster, a producer is running away from home. He’s passing through your town, standing in line behind you at Gas n’ Go. He comments on the book tucked under your coat.

“Some nitwit made a move from it and botched it,” you say.

He introduces himself as the nitwit. He’d like to know:

*How he botched it.
*What he got right.
*And another book, new or classic, that would make a great film.

Leave your thoughts in the comment section. But be quick about it. By the time you post, your pick already may have hit the production listings of imdb.

~Joe

Joe Richardson has written for newspapers, magazines, trade journals and broadcast media. When not at his desk, he can be found photographing his family and other forms of wildlife. He lives in rural Illinois.

If you could impart just one piece of wisdom you’ve learned during the course of your life, what would it be? 

Me? I think it would be something like this:  Be true to yourself. Always. When it’s time to put your head on the pillow each night, you need to know you tried your best. At being kind. At being compassionate. At being true. The people that matter will respect this. Those who don’t…well, you don’t need them.

 Tag. You’re it.

~Elizabeth

So I’ll tell you some of mine, if you’ll tell me some of yours , okay?

Here we go (in no particular order)…

1) I’ve always had a bizarre desire to climb to the top of a working lighthouse. Doesn’t matter where, I just want to walk up the spiral staircase and stare out at the ocean. Maybe imagine the ships that have been called home because of that actual light…

2) I’d like to spend an entire summer at the beach one year. Doesn’t have to be some fancy house…just something comfortable. Seriously, how cool would it be to walk out your front door into sand and then ocean?!?!?!

3) I’d like to go to Walnut Grove, Minnesota and all the other places Laura Ingalls wrote about in her books. 

4) I’d like to see Paris. This is a new entry onto the list because, until this past year, I had zero interest in ever going to this city. For some reason that’s changed. I think, in part, because I realize how much I truly enjoy the hustle and bustle of a real city.

5) I’d like to drive a Zamboni. Just once. I have no idea why.

6) I’d like to meet Mary Higgins Clark and tell her how much she influenced my writing career (not that she probably hasn’t heard that a million times from a million writers but still…).

Oh…and here’s one more. Although I must confess it wasn’t ON my list until after I did it (yes, I’m one of those people who adds things I’ve already done to my to-do list just so I can check it off–*insert evil laugh*) .

7) For those of you who may have read my blog toward the end of January, you know I was asked to speak at the President’s Circle NY event for the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America. The venue? Um…Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Podium location? Um…in front of a floor-to-ceiling glass room overlooking Times Square. So that’s why I’ve added it to my Bucket List after the fact. Because it was cool and a true once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.  (I think you can click on the picture to get a better look…just remember, I’m in the process of speaking…hence the facial expression).

Those are a few of mine at the moment. Now it’s your turn…

~Elizabeth

When you spend upwards of five to six hours a day with people (even those that reside in your head), you get to know them. You know their strengths, you know their flaws, you know their vulnerabilities, you know what makes them tick and why…and you become attached. Like they’re old friends.

In my Southern Sewing Circle books, the main character–Tori Sinclair–is part of a sewing circle. The circle, itself, is comprised of nine women (including Tori). They range in age from early twenties to seventy-something and each and every one of them has a personality all their own.

Margaret Louise is loyal and true–a sixty-something woman who backs up those often misused words by offering them unconditionally (that, people, is the true test of “loyalty”).

Her twin sister, Leona–is a pistol. And I do mean a pistol. She’s very cultured. Never married. A little full of herself. A total flirt (think Blanche from the Golden Girls).

Rose is in her upper seventies. She’s a retired schoolteacher who speaks her mind. Always. She’s sharp-tongued most of the time, yet has a softness about her that can’t go unnoticed, either.

Georgina Hayes, the town’s mayor, is welcoming. She’s also strong and self sufficient.

Beatrice Tharrington is the youngest of the group, living in Sweet Briar as a nanny for a local family. She’s shy yet extremely observant. She’s growing as the series continues.

Melissa Davis is in her early thirties and is the mom of seven kids. She’s always on the go… Loves her family even if she’s harried 24/7.

Debbie Calhoun is mid thirties and a real go-getter. She manages to make motherhood (to two), marriage (to the semi-famous author, Colby Calhoun), and owning her own business (Debbie’s Bakery) look easy.

And then there’s Dixie Dunn. There’s not much to say about Dixie other than she’s old, and more than a little bitter (at least so far as my main character goes). She, too, adds her own dimension to the group. Especially when the claws retract just long enough to show a side that’s not completely bitter.

These people have become real to me. Sitting down with them, after having worked on other projects, is like coming home. I know what they’re going to say before they say it, I have a feel for who is going to do what in any given situation, and–when surprises happen–they make rolling with the punches a treat!

So tell us, do you enjoy series? Do you, as readers, feel as if series’ characters become like old friends, too? Any stand out from books you’ve read?

~Elizabeth

You see, when I was a kid, we played outside all the time. We played kickball in the cul-de-sac, we played back-up dancers (don’t ask), we played “ship” (think Lost in Space but on top of a huge rock in the side yard), we rode bikes, we went exploring.

Today…I don’t see that so much. I see kids watching TV, I see them playing video games, I see them texting (sometimes when they’re sitting next to each other).

And it kind of makes me sad. I think back on my childhood and I smile thinking about the crazy adventures I got into with my friends. I remember staying outside for hours on end (until I literally got frostbite on my toes) after a snowstorm, only to go in for a change of mittens before heading out again. I remember snow angels and snow forts and covering the front yard with footprints.

Heck, my dream of being a writer was born on an afternoon playdate at a friend’s house. And we weren’t watching TV. 

Contrast that against today and I can’t imagine there will be much to look back on… I mean, really, what’s to remember about sitting in a corner, staring at a screen, and pressing buttons?

What’s your take? Am I missing something?  

~Elizabeth

You know, the ones you’d return to again and again, the pages getting more and more worn with each passing. When I was a kid, those well-read copies were generally my Little House books (still have them today). I loved Laura Ingalls and everything about her life.

In fact, on my bucket list, is a visit to as many of her houses as I can go (to date, I’ve only been to the one in Mansfield, MO so I hope I don’t die anytime soon).

But I digress.

Anyway, I have a book that I return to again and again as an adult, too. And, like my Little House books, the pages are worn and tattered and yellowed with age. I could buy a new copy, but I don’t want to. There’s a comfort in knowing that’s my book. 

The book–with the actual cover I have–is this one right here…   I absolutely adored A Cry in the Night by Mary Higgins Clark the first time I read it. And I love it just as much with each subsequent read (and there have been many). I’m not sure what it is that pulls me to this story. But I’ll try to explain.

The sense of place in this book is strong, the characters so layered you can’t help but feel as if you’re walking alongside them in the book. And even though I know what happens now, it still packs a wallop.

Oh, and there’s one more thing. It’s this book that made me decide to pilot my writing dream in the direction of mysteries.

So what’s your book? The one you’ve re-read time and time again? And while you’re at it…tell us why.

~Elizabeth

If you knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you were going to get snowed in, what would be some of your must-haves in the house?

Mine would be all the necessary ingredients to make homemade chocolate chip cookies that would be eaten right from the oven (with a cup of hot cocoa, of course), the kind of book I simply can’t put down, and pizza for dinner.

Your turn…

~Elizabeth

So, our winner for February is Chris C. Yay! Chris, please drop me a quick email at: ElizabethLCasey@aol.com to claim your prize. You can choose from an autographed copy of either SEW DEADLY (mystery) or KAYLA’S DADDY (romance). Let me know your choice, as well as a snail mail address, and I’ll get that out to you right away! And if you want me to personalize it to anyone in particular, let me know that, too!  Congratulations!

~Elizabeth