Welcome to Sew Deadly!

Sew Deadly is the new blog newsletter from Marcy Singer, heroine of the embroidery mystery series. This blog will go up every other Wednesday, and we’ll talk about embroidery projects, sites, shops, products, my books and whatever else you want to talk about. If you  have a project you’d like to showcase, please let Gayle know at gayle@gayletrent.com.

Project Showcase

As you may or may not recall, a few weeks ago we took a look at Gayle’s valiant efforts on the angel she was hoping would be the topper for the family’s Christmas tree this year. Well, believe it or not, she has it finished!

Here is the finished needlework on the canvas prior to Gayle cutting it out and putting the backing on. Says Gayle, “I was so afraid I’d ruin it when I cut the canvas, I wanted a picture so I’d at least have something to show for all my hard work!”

But, as you can see below, she was not only able to cut out the angel, she was able to put the backing on it, trim it with beaded lace and turn it into a tree topper.

Okay, so it’s not on the tree yet, but it will be. Hey, it’s not even Halloween yet!

Once again, if you have a project you’d like to showcase, please let us know at gayle@gayletrent.com.

Gayle’s angel was done in tent stitches and also incorporated French knots and Hungarian stitching. Gayle was unfamiliar with Hungarian stitching, so she pretty much had to “wing” it. Pun intended! Still, she was really pleased with how it turned out.

Site Spotlight: Designs by Sick

Designs by Sick allows you to buy embroidery sets or individual designs. Best of all, the site has an alphabetical subject search option where you can find exactly what you’re looking for. Designs by Sick aren’t “sick” designs, so don’t be afraid to check it out! They have some adorable things.

Welcome!

As you may already know, Mondays are Daphne’s designated blog days.  I’ve decided, however, to give her blogs a makeover. Rather than have her post whatever comes to mind on Mondays, I’m going to have her do a bi-weekly newsletter called Killer Cakes. In Killer Cakes, Daphne will provide information about “her” series, cake decorating techniques, famous cake decorators and fabulous cakes. She’ll also preview bakeries, promote cake decorators and share recipes. If anyone has anything to share, please e-mail Gayle at gayle@gayletrent.com.

Dead Pan

Dead Pan is almost here. The book releases next month, and I’m really excited about it. Author Gayle Trent will be heading to Marion, VA to a crafts fair the weekend of the 20-22nd. If you’re in the area, please drop by to say hello. Gayle will have copies of both Dead Pan and Murder Takes the Cake on hand, and the set will be sold at a discounted price.

Other News

Murder Takes the Cake was released in a large-print hardcover edition by Thorndike on October 16, 2009. If you haven’t read this book yet, and the paperback edition isn’t in your library, this is a perfect opportunity to request your library to order a large-print copy. Some libraries have standing orders for Thorndike books, so check with your librarian to see if the library has it already.

If you’d like Gayle to speak with your group (either in person or by teleconference), please let her know by e-mailing her at gayle@gayle.trent.com.

Spotlight: Nati’s Cakes

Nati’s Cakes is located in Located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Although Nati’s Cakes is not currently taking orders, you can check out their gallery of wonderful, scratch-made cakes at Nati’s Cakes Gallery.  All the cakes made by Nati’s Cakes are baked using in house developed cake bases. They are also only baked from scratch using the best fresh ingredients possible. This means that if Nati’s Cakes doesn’t have a cake flavour that takes your fancy, one can be created to meet your requirements.

Flavours include Tahitian Vanilla Butter Cake, Ivory (a Swiss white chocolate mud cake with white chocolate ganache), Caramello (caramel-infused mud cake), Ebony (dark chocolate mud cake), Espresso (coffee-scented dark chocolate mud cake), Jaffa (rich chocolate mud cake which has been baked using fresh oranges, and joined together with dark chocolate ganache), Light Fruit Cake (soft butter cake, lightly enhanced with sultanas, walnuts and glace cherries) and Rich Fruit Cake (a traditional fruit cake, full of sultanas, raisins, currants, dates, glace cherries, orange peel and slivered almonds).

Nati’s Cakes’ luxury collection includes Coco, Coco Caramel Bliss, Tropical Coco, Raspberry Coco, Hazelnut Kiss, Peanut Butter Lover’s Delight and Ebony & Ivory.

Today I’m participating in a mass blogging! WOW! Women On Writing has gathered a group of blogging buddies to write about family relationships. Why family relationships? We’re celebrating the release of Therese Walsh’s debut novel today. The Last Will of Moira Leahy, (Random House, October 13, 2009) is about a mysterious journey that helps a woman learn more about herself and her twin, whom she lost when they were teenagers. Visit The Muffin (http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/blog.html) to read what Therese has to say about family relationships and view the list of all my blogging buddies. And make sure you visit Therese’s website (http://www.theresewalsh.com) to find out more about the author.

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Marilyn Hicks - "Grandmother"

The Grandparent Connection

After having children of my own and seeing my parents with my children, I’m inclined to agree with Bill Cosby who said, “These are not the people I grew up with! These are old people who are trying to get into Heaven!” But does the “grandparent connection,” i.e., the love, the spoiling, the attitudes, work the other way as well? Would a child treat a grandparent differently than he/she would treat a parent?

I asked myself this question as I was giving my eighty-six-year-old grandmother a makeover. Yes, a makeover. If you knew my grandmother, you’d understand. You see, Grandmother has not had a pie life. In fact, she’s had more than her fair share of rough spots. Yet, through it all, she held her head up proudly knowing, as she’d so often been told, that she was one of the prettiest women in town.

“I used to be….” Most often a sentence that begins with those four words is tinged with sadness…a sense of something once treasured and now forever lost. “I used to be one heck of a ballplayer when I was in school,” says the man in a wheelchair. “I used to be a seamstress and sew all my own clothes,” says the woman whose hands are so arthritic she can barely move them. “I used to be the prettiest woman in Saltville,” says my Grandmother.

She doesn’t go many places anymore; but when she does, she wants to look nice. A couple of weeks ago, she was going to a church function so she put on some makeup. According to my mother, Grandmother’s cheeks looked like they were flaming. At my mother’s appalled expression, Grandmother asked, “I have on too much rouge, don’t I?” She then went and washed her face.

I share my grandmother’s pride in appearance, so I empathized with her. I knew she wanted to look as good as she could. I also knew she’d forgotten everything she’d ever known about makeup. So I went out and got all the little goodies women love to play with-from moisturizer to lipstick-and I called and asked Grandmother if she’d like a makeover. Sounding as excited as a child on her birthday, she said she’d love it.

My mother was having a party on Saturday, so I went up an hour early to help Grandmother get fixed up. Again, I was struck by her childlike behavior-wide-eyed, obedient, trusting-as I treated her to a makeover. When I finished, she asked for a mirror. “This is not me,” she said, at first glance. I thought she was disappointed until she elaborated. “I look beautiful.” And she did.

The entire incident made me wonder: Grandparents will go above and beyond for their grandchildren, but will the grandchildren return the favor when they’re grown? It has long been established that as we and our parents age, our roles reverse. What of the roles of grandparents and grandchildren? Do the grandchildren go back and coddle their grandparents, or do they leave them by the wayside?

If, like me, you were given loads of love, called “angel” and taught the value of a Peppermint Pattie®, you should repay that love with love. If you were driven around on country roads in a Dodge Swinger® with the windows down while singing Broadway show tunes at the top of your lungs, you can at least brighten a day or two with a phone call or a card. And what harm would it do you to bring a smile to the face of someone who searched far and wide for the riding toy you rode the wheels off of?

If you only take, soon there will be nothing to be taken. But if you give, there will always be something coming back to you.

Murder Takes the Cake is being released in large-print, hardcover edition by Thorndike on Friday, October 16. In case you’re interested, Murder Takes the Cake is on page 20, the first page of Clean Reads, of the October catalog.

I’m so excited! Dead Pan is being released in November at almost the same time Murder Takes the Cake is being rereleased in hard cover. If you subscribe to my newsletter, stay tuned for an upcoming contest. If you don’t subscribe, sign up so you can get in on the giveaway!

I have to share this link with you from Cake Wrecks about their book tour. Can you imagine having this many people show up for your book signing? How exciting would THAT be?!

Sigh….

By the way, I got my pre-ordered copy of Cake Wrecks: The Book the other day. It’s a gem.

Angeline wants to eat nothing but jellybeans. Year round, from Easter to Christmas, she asks for her favorite treat. But a strange event teaches Angeline that there’s such thing as too much of a good thing!

With colorful, delightful illustrations by Stephen Macquignon, Angeline is sure to win over hearts of young picky eaters everywhere.

Gayle: Crystalee, where did you get your inspiration to write Angeline Jellybean?

Crystalee: I don’t even remember how I came up with the story. I was taking a picture book writing class back in 2007. Our assignment was to write a picture book under 500 words, and that’s what I did. I wrote it in rhyme because I wanted to see if I could write a rhyming picture book. I didn’t even really expect to like it. That’s how Angeline was born. A few rounds of revisions and a submission later, here it is!

Gayle: You’ve never had a food obsession of your own, have you?

Crystalee: Oh yes. *laughs* Angeline loves jellybeans almost as much as I love chocolate. Of course, I have learned to limit my chocolate intake, and I didn’t have to go through the nasty side effects that Angeline did! Angeline is also very strong-willed and has a bit of a temper, which reminds me of a certain little redheaded girl I once knew.

Gayle: Sounds like a terrific book, Crystalee. Thank you for joining us today. To buy your copy of Angeline Jellybean, visit one of these online booksellers 

http://www.amazon.com

http://wwww.barnesandnoble.com

http://www.4rvpublishingllc.com/Store-Books.html

or ask a your local bookseller to order it for you.

Crystalee Calderwood’s first love was reading. She could read before she entered kindergarten. Writing was, naturally, the next step.

For many years, Crystalee focused on poetry. It helped her get through her rocky teen years, and she honed her skills as an English major at Penn State Altoona. In 2006, Crystalee got accepted into the MFA program of her dreams at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA. At Chatham, Crystalee began to think maybe poetry was no longer for her.

“It felt like they were putting me into a box,” she says. “Everything was about ‘Is this going to sale?’ I was expected to write like everyone else, and I felt like I couldn’t please anyone.”

During her very first semester, Crystalee took a class called the Craft of Writing for Children and Adolescents. Writing for kids wasn’t an instant passion for her. In fact, it took a picture book writing class a year later to seal the deal. Crystalee picked up writing for children as one of her emphases, but also continued in the poetry program.

Crystalee is now a graduate of Chatham University and the author of her first picture book, Angeline Jellybean. She is a full time Literacy*AmeriCorps member who teaches computer skills to job-seeking adults. She is currently working on two YA novels and a handful of picture books.

Visit Crystalee online at: 

Blog: http://www.crystaleecalderwood.blogspot.com

Website: http://www.crystaleecalderwood.bravehost.com

And learn more about her book Angeline Jellybean on Saturday.