Featuring guest authors; crafting tips and projects; recipes from food editor and sleuthing sidekick Cloris McWerther; and decorating, travel, fashion, health, beauty, and finance tips from the rest of the American Woman editors.

Note: This site uses Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sunday, May 31, 2015

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--GUEST AUTHOR JANICE SEAGRAVES

photo by Rod Waddington
Janice Seagraves grew up with a deep love of science fiction and adventure stories. Always the consummate artist, she traded in her paintbrush for a laptop to write breathless romance novels that takes you out of this world. Learn more about Janice and her books at her website.

Windswept Shore and the Basket Weaver

In my book, Windswept Shores, my heroine is a weaver. I thought this would be a great hobby to help someone survive on a deserted island in the Bahamas and yet a believable aspect of a character.

I’m a craft person myself and took a class in weaving back in high school. It was a lot of fun and a couple of my baskets stayed in the class display for ten years. You have to have strong hands to wrap and tug reeds into place. In the class we also used yarn to wrap around rope and weave colorful baskets, among other materials. I have a small collection of baskets of various sizes and have used them for holding things and I’ve used them at a couple of family weddings, too. 


I have my heroine, Megan, weaving a basket or using a basket with the action in the story. She uses them for everything from holding clothes, gather food, and rinsing mussels. She uses almost any material that’s handy, which is something I learned to do in my weaving class. So many materials are weavable: cloth, rope, yarn, reeds, tall grasses, even pine needles.

Windswept Shores
The sole survivor of a plane crash, Megan is alone on a deserted island in the Bahamas. Then she finds a nearly drowned man. Another survivor, this time from a boat wreck.

With only meager survival skill between them, will they survive these windswept shores and can they find love?


8 comments:

Janice Seagraves said...

Thank you for having me on as a guest today.

Janice~

Unknown said...

Hello Janice, a very sexy and romantic cover. I love the weaving idea for the character. That is such a feminine hobby. No one in my family weaved and I have not seen any classes offered in my small community. I would though take lessons if offered. All the best with your books.

Vicki Batman, sassy writer said...

Hi, Janice! I just returned from Charleston where in the market many of the seagrass basket makers were selling their creations. I love your cover too. Congratulations on your book.

Janice Seagraves said...

Hi JoAnne,

Thank you. :) It is a nice hobby and you get to make your own baskets to store things in.

Try looking at your local hobby stores, some of them hold craft classes.

Hi Vicki,

Oh, how nice. I wish I could have seen them too.

Thank you.

Janice~

Melissa Keir said...

What a wonderful compliment to your talent that your baskets stayed on display for so long! I love the cover of your book and wish you all the best!

Angela Adams said...

What an interesting, and different, premise for a novel, Janice!

Jude Knight said...

Lovely cover, and an intriguing concept, Janice.

Janice Seagraves said...

Hi Melissa,

Thank you.

Hi Angela, Thank you.

Hi Jude, Thank you.

Janice~