Quilting is the Best Medicine

I'd like to welcome back our former blog sister Terri Thayer as my guest blogber this week.


First, let me say it’s great to be back at Killer Hobbies. I’m waving to all my old friends here. Blowing kisses, too.

Quilting is the Best Medicine.

It says so right on the back cover of my latest, MONKEY WRENCH. Sometimes what appears on the back of your book can come as a surprise.

Back cover blurbs are an art form. The writer has to wrap up the plot in 100 words or less. He must be clever, funny, engaging. Can’t give the plot away. Don’t tell us who the murderer is (believe me, it has happened). Tell enough to entice the reader into wanting to read more. Maybe most importantly, that little paragraph needs to take the potential buyer and turn her (or him) into an actual buyer.

My back cover reads like this:

Dewey Pellicano’s quilt shop has earned a spot in the annual Quilter’s Crawl, and twenty-something employee Vangie has organized a trendy Twitter promotion to boost sales at the struggling store. But when Vangie’s boyfriend dies from an overdose, it’s up to Dewey to get her young staffer off the hook for homicide. Meanwhile, the store’s quilting teacher Pearl takes in a college-age “GrandSon” who turns out to be a real pill. As if Dewey didn’t have enough on her plate, she’s blamed when a customer is killed during a Twitter-induced stampede. Putting together the pieces to save her skin—and her store—is a real monkey wrench in Dewey’s murderously busy shop-hop weekend.

Pretty good, right? I think so. The writer (Andy Belmas) used meaty words like trendy, stampede and murderously. I love the description of the GrandSon as a “pill.” This book deals with prescription drug addictions so it’s a great play on words. I would like to read this book. Would you?

Back to that headline. I didn’t know Quilting is the Best Medicine was going to be on the back. Of course, I know that axiom to be true. I’ve known plenty of people who have gotten through a tough spot in their life by quilting. I’ve been known to work through a few issues myself. Making graduation quilts for my son and now my nieces and nephews has helped to ease the pain of a kid leaving home for the first time. For the kid and for me.

That premise, Quilting is the Best Medicine, is what my books are about. Everything about quilting is healing, although it might not always feel like that when you’ve broken your fourth needle. The repetition motion can put you in a meditative state. Sewing with friends can be healing. And finishing a work of art—or work of heart—can make your heart soar.

I know that Quilting is the Best Medicine. I’m just surprised back cover writer, Andy Belmas knew.

What is your Best Medicine? We’re all crafters here (or wannabes). What is the thing you reach for when you’re upset, frustrated, sad or just feeling out of sorts? The sewing machine? The crochet hook? Paints? Tell me your best remedy.

I’ll pick one commenter out to win a copy of Monkey Wrench.

I’m feeling kind of stressed. Think I’ll go sew.

http://www.territhayer.com











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