BOOK CLUB FRIDAY -- GUEST AUTHOR LAURA KAYE

A multi-published author of paranormal, contemporary and erotic romance, Laura Kaye’s hot, heartfelt stories are all about the universal desire for a place to belong. Laura is the author of the bestselling contemporary romance and award-nominated Hearts of Darkness and the bestselling and award-winning paranormal romance Forever Freed. North of Need, a contemporary fantasy romance, is the first in the 4-book Hearts of the Anemoi series. Read more about Laura and her books at her website.

Laura is offering a free e-book of North of Need to one of our readers who posts a comment this week. Don’t forget to include your email address in your comment or check back on Sunday to learn if you’ve won. -- AP

  

Craftiness Runs in the Family

Thanks to Anastasia for hosting me here at Killer Crafts and Crafty Killers! I’m celebrating the recent release of my contemporary fantasy romance, North of Need, a book filled with sweet holiday magic, hot paranormal romance, and unique world building based on Greek mythology! Given all the fun crafts y’all talk about here, I thought I’d share a craft that I’ve been involved with… 

The women in my family have always been into crafts. My mom crocheted afghans and painted pottery from the time I was old enough to remember. Growing up, we had a family tradition on Thanksgiving: the men went to go watch football, and the women gathered around the kitchen table to make an annual craft: ornaments, flower arrangements, gingerbread houses, and jewelry among them.

When I got to my senior year of college and was way ahead on my required credits, I had a semester of coursework to take just for fun. So, I chose an English class on banned books, a historical archaeology class, an extra history class (I was a history major)…and an art class making stained glass windows.

Despite the cuts on my fingers and burning myself with the solder gun, I loved stained glass window making. My first window was huge. I called it Scenes from an Italian Restaurant. And I flew through learning the craft of making a stained-glass window and finishing that window in about eight weeks. I was so far ahead, I finished a second 18”-diameter circular window in the last four weeks of the semester.

And then I took all my tools home and taught my mom how to do it. She loved it so much, she went out and bought tools of her own. Together, we made tons of pieces, and that following Christmas, everyone received pieces of stained glass as a gift! (Some of the below Christmas village pieces are hers, and some mine) About that same time, my aunt got into painting old furniture. Shortly thereafter, the two of them actually started selling their furniture and stained glass at craft shows, and quite a few weekends were spent hawking the family wares in community centers, parks, and at festivals.

I haven’t made a window in quite a long time, but I think of those week nights and weekend days around my mom’s kitchen table making stained glass with fondness. When she died a few years back, I inherited all the pieces she’d made as well as her tools and a box full of glass—it’s all just waiting for me to return to it. Maybe I’ll wait till my seven year old’s a bit older—I can tell already, she’s got the family craft gene in her. And maybe it’ll bring the two of us together the way it did me and my mom…

So, tell me: Has crafting brought you closer with a friend or family member?

Thank you so much for hosting me! As a thank you for your readers, I’m offering this free holiday cookbook released by one of my publishers and featuring two recipes from me! Now, it doesn’t include North of Need heroine Megan’s snow cone recipe in it, but that one’s easy: big cup, spoon, then alternating layers of snow, Hershey’s chocolate syrup, and strawberry Gatorade. Try it! Eees goooood!

Thanks for reading!

Laura Kaye

Thanks for joining us today, Laura. Readers, post a comment if you'd like the chance to win a copy of North of Need, and don't forget to click on the link above for your free holiday cookbook. -- AP