The Christmas Quilt

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

The Christmas Quilt

Abingdon Press (October 15, 2013)

by

Vannetta Chapman

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A Word From The Author:

I hold a BA and MA degree in English, and I am proud to be represented by Mary Sue Seymour, AAR. I have published over one hundred articles in Christian family magazines, and have received over two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups.  I am honored to be a member of Romance Writers of America, American Christian Fiction Writers, and Faith Hope and Love.

I live and teach in the Texas hill country with my husband, cats, and a rather large herd of deer. Our four children have flown the nest; however, we are fortunate that they all live close enough to visit.

I have always felt that my faith was at the very center of who and what I am, and I am thrilled beyond words to be able to now write about something that is so near to my heart. At various times I have served as a pianist, teacher, church secretary, and worship team member. While living in the Dallas area, I served as an adjunct professor of English Literature at Dallas Baptist University. When we moved to a small town in Central Texas, I continued teaching for a few years, but I now write full-time and I play the keyboard in our church’s praise band.

My grandfather was born in Albion, Pennsylvania, and I am currently researching whether I might have Amish roots.


ABOUT THE BOOK


Annie's life is deliciously full as the Christmas season approaches. She helps her husband, Samuel, attend to the community's minor medical needs. She occasionally assists Belinda, the local midwife, and most days, she finds herself delivering the buggy to her brother Adam. Annie’s sister-in-law Leah is due to deliver their first child before Christmas morning, and Annie is determined to finish a crib quilt before the boppli arrives. With six weeks to go, she should have no problem . . . but God may have a different plan. Leah is rushed to the English hospital when the infant arrives early, and Annie discovers the Christmas quilt may hold a far greater significance than she ever imagined.


If you would like to read the first chapter of The Christmas Quilt, go HERE.


Margie's Comments: The Christmas Quilt is another delightful addition to Abingdon's Quilts of Love series and another well-written book by Vannetta Chapman. I love the fact that the characters are the same as the ones in A Simple Amish Christmas. It was nice to spend time with old friends again. The characters, as in all of Vannetta's books, are well-developed and real, facing very real situations. I love the family feel to the story as it deals with family and family relationships. The spiritual thread running through this book is also well done and gives the reader, along with the characters, a different look at the Christ child, outside the traditional Christmas story. And the Christmas quilt is an extension of what Annie and Leah learn. An excellent, heartwarming read.

For Your Christmas Reading

Writers tend to rewrite well-known songs and poems, especially at Christmas time. So I'm posting a few links today for your holiday enjoyment.

First, my friend Ane Mulligan wrote a "wish list" based on "The Twelve Days of Christmas." You can find it here.

Two posts at Novel Journey will interest you. The first in this year's interview with the author of the poem, "'Twas the Night before Christmas." The second is last year's interview with Charles Dickens. You can find that here.

Finally, from one of my online critique partners, friend, and treasurer of HIS Writers, my local ACFW chapter, Donna Schlachter. She wrote the following with her face-to-face crit partners:

'Twas the Night before Deadline"

Twas the Night Before Deadline.
Twas the night before deadline And all through the town
Every writer was writing, their heads were bent down
O'er the keyboard, the ARC's, over every notepad
How could they have missed it? Could it be all that bad?
The editors were snoozing, all snug in their beds
Not thinking of writers who were losing their heads
And agents were dreaming of spending their dough
As off to the bank with their checks they would go.
But up in the attics and down in the dens
Authors were shaking their heads and their pens
Not sleeping, not eating, their bodies would waste
Away to a skeleton, as they wrote in haste.
And still on they labored, refusing to sway
Resisting the impulse to just throw away
The words carefully crafted, the plot so inspired
Wondering, really, were three subplots required?
Yet knowing this isn't all about a book
A tome of their making, if that's what it took
They could write in their sleep, dash off in a dash
And laugh all the way to the bank with their cash.
But this was about God's will, His plan for each one
To come to know Jesus, His firstborn, His son.
And how each life changed is a life that's reborn
And that's why they write through the night, to the morn.
Now, Mary, now Jerry, now Paula and Sal
Here, Connie, and Cathy, and Debbie, and Val
On Steven, and Randy, and Stuart and Bill
Relinquish this book to your Father's Will
To the top of the slush pile,
To the top of the stack
This book is a winner
There's no turning back!
So write till it's written, and toil til it's done
The story that God wants, in praise of His Son
No matter the hour, no matter the cost
Any labor of Love for your Lord is not lost.
Then send it to others to rip it apart
And give it back to you, though broken in heart
With comments and red ink and strike throughs within
And know that it's better than it's ever been.
And when someone asks you if you wrote this book
You have my permission to give them the Look
And tell them with straight face and conscience intact
"It's the book that God wrote through me, and that is a fact."
If they should question your solemn intent
If they require a further statement
Just tell them it's better than you could have writ
Because it's endorsed by the Holy Spirit.
Know if it's never on a book store shelf
That this book is not about you or yourself.
This book is about your heed to the call
Of the Lord on your life, of the Lord on your all.
Twas the night before deadline, and all through the town
Tired writers were able to lay their heads down.
They'd done all their work, they'd done all they could
They slept soundly knowing God called it "good".

Christmas Memories

We're having our ninth Geary family get-together in Colorado. We've been meeting every other year since 1992. My sister, Kathy, surprised us with a DVD of pictures from the previous eight Christmases. Lots of laughter at the big hair of the early nineties, outdoor wear, and memories. And a few tears since this is our first Christmas where we're all together without Mom.

Bittersweet. But thankfully we continue to make more memories . . . and adding pictures to the ones we already have. We have great times when we're together.

Please share any Christmas memories you have in the comments.