Calder Springs, Texas ~ 1875
A morning like any other morning, Mae Stafford begins the day at her dress shop, creating ordered garments with her fine stitches. A new customer enters requesting a next-size-up wardrobe for his little daughter, LillyAnn. Her papa, Johannes Mueller, is the new school teacher. This session, LillyAnn will be old enough to be a student!
I loved how Mae envisions making LillyAnn's clothes special just for her by adding embroidery and lace to set them apart. Mae becomes endeared to this little girl whose mama and baby brother passed away.
LillyAnn has plans of her own and involves her papa in her dreams. How unassuming she is and is glad to proclaim her hopes and heartfelt longings. She is a delight to new friends she makes.
Come visit Calder Springs and join in the community activities. You'll want to glean the freshness of open hearts, little by little, as Johannes overhears tenderness he misses.
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| author Jodie Wolfe |
***Thank you author Jodie Wolfe and to Celebrate Lit for sending a review copy for the Love in the Seams blog tour. This review was written in my own words. No other compensation was received.***
~* Blog Stops
November 8: History, Mystery & Faith
November 9: Artistic Nobody (Spotlight)
November 10: Pause for Tales
November 11: Reading Is My SuperPower
November 12: Quiet Quilter
November 13: A Greater Yes
November 13: Blossoms and Blessings
November 14: God’s Little Bookworm
November 14: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations
November 15: Lane Hill House
November 15: Ashley’s Bookshelf
November 16: ASC Book Reviews
November 17: Christian Bookaholic
November 17: Through the Open Window
November 18: Daysong Reflections
November 19: bigreadersite
November 19: Reviewing Novels Online
November 20: Splashes of Joy
November 20: Book Bites, Bee Stings, and Butterfly Kisses
November 21: A Baker’s Perspective
EnJ*O*Y a visit with author Jodie Wolfe ~
I’m so excited to be a part of a Celebrate Lit tour. Thank you for the opportunity to give a small peek into my world. 🙂 Love in the Seams is book two in my Twins & Needles series. Mae Stafford’s journey to believe and have hope that God will give her the desires of her heart echo the ups and downs of my writing adventure.
I wrote my first novel as a teen quite a number of years ago. Ahem. We won’t say how many years that have passed since then. 🙂 Let’s just say it’s quite a few. My next novel didn’t get written until my early twenties…and then soon after I had children. Fiction writing took a back seat as I raised my sons and home schooled them all the way through high school.
Over seven years ago I felt God nudging me back to writing. I still had a son at home, so the progress was a little slow at first. Since then I’ve written four novels, three novellas, and have pitched a half dozen other ideas at various conferences or through my amazing agent.
God dropped my agent, Linda S. Glaz of Hartline Literary Agency, into my lap when I least expected it, but that’s a different story. I’ve had quite a number of rejections over the past few years as she’s tried to drum up interest for my books. We’ve had some nibbles and times when an editor or two was interested, but things didn’t progress any further than that.
I’ve entered contests and have experienced mixed results. I semi-finaled in American Christian Fiction Writer’s Genesis contest a few years ago, and this past summer I found out I’m a finalist in three different contests. But there also have been quite a few where the responses weren’t so great.
Earlier this year I decided to put out a novella independently and Hearts Tightly Knit was the result. It told the tale of Mae’s twin sister, Ellie, and their pact to always stay together and never marry. When Ellie ended up with her happily-ever-after, I knew that Mae needed one too. The only thing is Mae isn’t sure if her hopes for a family will ever come to fruition.
I wrote my first novel as a teen quite a number of years ago. Ahem. We won’t say how many years that have passed since then. 🙂 Let’s just say it’s quite a few. My next novel didn’t get written until my early twenties…and then soon after I had children. Fiction writing took a back seat as I raised my sons and home schooled them all the way through high school.
Over seven years ago I felt God nudging me back to writing. I still had a son at home, so the progress was a little slow at first. Since then I’ve written four novels, three novellas, and have pitched a half dozen other ideas at various conferences or through my amazing agent.
God dropped my agent, Linda S. Glaz of Hartline Literary Agency, into my lap when I least expected it, but that’s a different story. I’ve had quite a number of rejections over the past few years as she’s tried to drum up interest for my books. We’ve had some nibbles and times when an editor or two was interested, but things didn’t progress any further than that.
I’ve entered contests and have experienced mixed results. I semi-finaled in American Christian Fiction Writer’s Genesis contest a few years ago, and this past summer I found out I’m a finalist in three different contests. But there also have been quite a few where the responses weren’t so great.
Earlier this year I decided to put out a novella independently and Hearts Tightly Knit was the result. It told the tale of Mae’s twin sister, Ellie, and their pact to always stay together and never marry. When Ellie ended up with her happily-ever-after, I knew that Mae needed one too. The only thing is Mae isn’t sure if her hopes for a family will ever come to fruition.
Highs and lows are part of a writer’s life. Well, actually for all of us. 🙂 Sometimes it’s easy to get bogged down in the negatives, the ‘rejections’ and not be able to see past them. Believe me, at times I wallow there for a little bit, but my aim is to write books that share about the hope we have in Christ. How can I convey that if I don’t believe and experience it myself?
One of my favorite verses is Hebrews 11:1 (HCSB) which says, “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” One of the things I have hoped for many years was a writing contract. That finally happened in September when I signed for a novelette with Celebrate Lit that will be coming out in the spring. In the process of waiting, I’ve found God has refined and honed me in this journey of hope.
My prayer is that my books will touch your heart and give you a glimmer of the hope we have in Christ. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity into your world.
~*~
G*I*V*E*A*W*A*Y
In honor of her tour, Jodie is giving away a wooden decorated basket, a 24 thread spools with needles and threader, a pack of 30 needles, a tape measure, a tomato pin cushion, embroidery scissors, a thimble, 15 piece sewing kit, and a $10 Amazon gift card!
Thank you for featuring me here today. I hope your readers like my new book. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting with us, Jodie!
DeleteBlessings to you and J*O*Y in our journey. I look forward to watching for your next story. Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House