“Craft time is me time”–Claire Baxter, author of DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN (with a giveaway!)

Author Claire Baxter talks about getting back to crafting…

I’m so excited to be invited to guest post here at Becky’s blog. Have you seen her beautiful quilts?

I’ve recently resurrected my passion for crafts which had faded as I became busier with writing and lost touch with all the other creative activities I’d enjoyed. Eventually, my only creative outlet was writing.

When I was asked to produce all the decor for a vintage-style wedding, I was only too happy to dive back in. I’d been thinking for some time that I needed a hobby, something that would be therapeutic and take me away from the laptop computer – which sometimes almost needs to be surgically removed – and I don’t know why I waited so long because now that I’ve rediscovered craft, especially sewing, I’m well and truly hooked, and happier for it.

Craft time is me time. It’s therapy. It stills my mind and satisfies my hands. I’m sure that many of you know exactly what I mean. I enjoy the time spent immersed in a project, and the satisfaction I get from crafting can’t be measured.

I’ve just made lots of vintage-style floral bunting for the wedding. It’s made up of simple triangles, it’s true, but I’ve enjoyed making it so much. A large part of the fun is in selecting the fabrics, all of which I adore and many of which have been sitting in my fabric box for years, longer than I care to think about, but I saved them because I loved them and now they have a new lease of life.

I’m keeping all my floral fabric scraps because I plan to do some crazy patchwork where irregular shaped pieces of fabric are sewn together to create a thing of beauty. Quilting is another craft I want to try. I can’t believe I’ve never done any quilting. I adore Becky’s butterfly quilt and would love to try something similar.

Thanks for allowing me to post here today!

Thank you, Claire! The bunting is beautiful–and such a great use for fabric on hand! (I have a little bit of that. 😉 Thanks so much for your kind words about my quilts. That butterfly one was a lot of work, but it was worth it!

Read all about Claire and her new book below!

Author Bio:
Claire Baxter writes contemporary romantic fiction. Her short stories have been published in commercial women’s magazines around the world, while her novels have been translated into 20 languages, and nominated for the Romance Writers of Australia’s Romantic Book of the Year Award, the Booksellers’ Best Awards, the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards, and the Cataromance Reviewers’ Choice Awards (winner, Best Harlequin Romance). Claire grew up in England, but for more than 20 years has called Australia home. She considers herself lucky to live near one of Adelaide’s beautiful beaches where she loves to walk and think up stories.

Author Website: http://www.clairebaxter.com
Author Blog: http://lovecatsdownunder.blogspot.com.au/
Author Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ClaireBaxterAu
Author Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ClaireBaxterAuthor
Author Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/374466.Claire_Baxter
Newsletter: https://madmimi.com/signups/79268/join

Book Title: Down Among the Dead Men
Author: Claire Baxter
Release Date: July 14^th, 2014
Genre: Romantic suspense

Book Synopsis:
WhenCaitlyn ventures into the rough, tough world of the South Australian opal fields on a mission to find her estranged father she instead discovers a half-sister she knew nothing about and learns that her father is missing and suspected of a crime.

Dale is a former city lawyer-turned-lapidary hiding out in Minagoona after death threats endanger him and his daughter. When Caitlyn approaches him for help finding her father, he’s reluctant, but attracted by her determination to right the wrongs dealt to her family. His sense of justice is very much like hers, but when his daughter’s life was threatened by men who wanted him to break the law for them, he fled to protect the child he loves.

Still the more Dale gets to know Caitlyn, the more he realizes he can’t let her go up against organized crime on her own—which is exactly what she proposes when she sets out to clear her father’s name. No matter what, he’ll do his damnedest to keep her safe—even if it means exposing himself and his daughter to the men who want to kill them…

Goodreads Book Link

Amazon Buy Link

Barnes & Noble Buy Link

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Schedule:

July 14

Book featured at 3 Partners in Shopping
Interviewed at Toot’s Book Reviews

July 15

Book featured at Escape by Fiction

July 16

Interviewed at Review From Here
Book featured at The Dark Phantom

July 17