There's Life After Seventy!

Sarah Miller and her sidekick, Sophie, are here to prove it!

In September, C&T Publishing released the first two books of my ten-book Quilting Cozy series: Tie Died and Running Stitches (second editions). To begin, I’d like to give my readers some background about how this series was developed.

I’m a retired geriatric social worker, and during my thirty years of working with men and women facing the issues of aging, I learned a great deal about growing old. Sarah Miller was born out of my desire to share what I have learned. Sarah is the main character in the series and a woman of a certain age who has faced the loss of her husband, her young grandson, her job, and the home where she raised her family. Yet Sarah is a survivor.

The story begins in Cunningham Village, a retirement community in the Midwest, and follows Sarah as she finds ways to make a successful adjustment to this new way of life. From taking classes at the community center to making lasting friendships and even exploring the possibility of a romantic connection, Sarah remains steadfastly determined to continue to be a vital, active woman engaged in life. Although she never expected to become involved in crime-solving, she willingly took on that new role as well.

Being an avid quilter myself, I also wanted to integrate that particular creative expression into the story, and Sarah, always willing to go along with my wishes, took up quilting. She, in fact, makes the quilts (with my help, of course) for each of the book covers, as you will see as you read each book. (You will be able to make the quilts as well, since the instructions are now included.)

Because I wanted to write about quilting and about relationships, I chose the cozy mystery format. A cozy is a light mystery without explicit sex, violence, or profanity. If the crime is murder, it tends to occur out of the view of the reader. Cozies are usually organized around a hobby and a group of friends in a small community who work to solve the mystery. In this series, the hobby is quilting and the community is the retirement village featuring Sarah, her feisty friend Sophie, and their cohort.

I wrote my first book at the age of seventy-five and often question why I waited so long. I love writing, and I especially love my characters, who have become a part of my life. I actually miss them when I’m not creating their experiences. I suspect there’s a Book #11 in my future. I can feel it niggling around up there.

My first two books are currently available at C&T Publishing (Tie Died and Running Stitches). The other eight will be released over the next few months.

I love hearing from my readers, potential readers, and everyone else, so please feel free to drop me a line: QuiltingCozy@gmail.com.

Also please stop by my website and sign up to follow. The website includes additional background information about me, my life, and my books. Also, I post my current quilt projects on the blog and include comments from and about my two adorable shih tzus, Tobias and Casey Jones.

Website and blog: CarolDeanJones

I look forward to hearing from you!

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