Jodie Bailey
A note from the Author: Well, I’m a regular ol’ person. Who just happens to write. A lot. Probably more than I should. I firmly believe that God created me to be a writer. From the time I learned how to string letters together into words I’ve been making up stories. Believe me… I have a very rich imagination. I used to think I was weird; now I know God just put me together that way. I can’t even watch commercials without expanding them into stories in my head. I am humbled and honored all at the same time that God looked down from heaven on me and said, “Jodie, do what you love.” Wow… how awesome is that?
I have always loved to write. I have stories that I wrote when I was in first grade. I used to sit at my grandmother’s yellow electric typewriter for hours, banging out my own little stories. When I was eleven, she bought me a typewriter of my own (It was 1984, okay?) and I would write and write on it. I wrote stories out by hand, and they ran to hundreds of pages. I got my first computer when I was eighteen, and the first thing I did was write a story on it. I wrote for school. I wrote for fun. I wrote for my friends. I’d get them on the phone and make up stories for them. (I earned the nickname “Dreamweaver” for that one. Nobody calls me that anymore, but it still stands as the coolest nickname I ever had.)
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Taryn McKenna believes she’s easy to forget. Abandoned by her parents and left behind when her high school sweetheart joined the army, she vows to never love again and throws herself into her love for the outdoors and the pursuit of a college degree—something no one else in her family has ever accomplished. Her goal, as a young teacher in the hills of North Carolina, is to leave a legacy in the lives of the middle-schoolers she teaches. When Taryn’s grandmother Jemma, the only other person who ever held her close, has a heart attack that reveals a fatal medical condition, Taryn is corralled into helping Grandma work on a final project—an Irish chain quilt that tells the story of her history and the love Jemma knows is out there for Taryn. As the pieces of the quilt come together, Taryn begins to see her value. Can she learn to believe that God will never leave her behind even though others have?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Quilted by Christmas, go HERE.
MY REVIEW:
Quilted by Christmas is a charming love story filled with memorable characters, especially Taryn’s feisty grandmother Jemma. Set in North Carolina during the weeks leading up to Christmas, the story brings to light how our decisions can affect our life and those of others for many years to come.
The man Taryn loved has returned home after twelve years away in military service. Because of one huge secret made out of good intentions and because of the advice of others, Taryn wants to avoid Justin as much as possible. Due to a bit of manipulation by Jemma and subsequent events, Taryn and Justin are forced to spend more time together than she had planned. Their relationship seems so comfortable, just like old times that Taryn finds herself hoping for the impossible. Will Justin hate her if she reveals her secret?
Quilted by Christmas reminded me of the old axiom that begins with “Oh what tangled threads we weave…” So many decisions were made based on wounds inflicted by other people and so many secrets were kept – not only by Taryn. I loved the way Taryn learned to trust the Lord with her secrets and eventually learned the power of truth and forgiveness. I also liked the family quilt history and how the quilt Taryn and Justin worked on together eventually forced the truth out into the open. Quilted by Christmas is a perfect novel for the coming holiday season.
