Blog Archives
The Art of Quilting
My Sister’s Quilt is a collection of interwoven stories where generations of women, connected through quilts and memory, discover how love, loss, and legacy are sewn into every stitch of their lives. What first inspired you to connect quilting with storytelling and memory?
Quilts have been in my life since I was a child, from my grandmother to my sister, who is a quilter. I spent time in the Amish community, where women still gather together to finish quilts by hand.
Each story feels both distinct and interconnected. How did you approach structuring the collection to maintain that balance?
The book had to be connected story to story and quilt to quilt to make the book work. I have to admit it was not an easy thing to accomplish, and I spent a lot of time with rewrites to make the book and stories flow for the reader.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I want to show the readers how far back the art of quilting could be found, how quilts were used in the Underground Railroad. Quilting tells a story; it is art, and its beauty is unbelievable. If you own a quilt, you hold history.
The book spans different time periods. Was there one era that was particularly meaningful or challenging to write?
Each time period was meaningful, and it was so much fun to tell a story, including a piece of history often ignored or forgotten.
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My Sister’s Quilt: A Collection of Short Stories presents quilts as silent witnesses to history, identity, and resilience. Each story is stitched with meaning-threading together lives across generations and continents.
From a quilt that crosses oceans to return to a woman who had forgotten it existed, to coded patterns aiding the Underground Railroad, these stories span eras of struggle and strength. Some pieces honor those who never returned from war. Others raise awareness through the artistry of AIDS memorial quilts or share quiet lessons passed down by grandmothers. A young entrepreneur reimagines quilting with a gothic twist, while a devoted sister supports her famous author sibling from the background.
My Sister’s Quilt is a moving tribute to love, loss, and the unbreakable threads that bind us-where the past and present live in every stitch, and history still speaks. In every square, a story unfolds. In every quilt, a legacy lives on.
Where Dark Things Rise
Where Dark Things Rise tells the haunting story of Gabe, a teenager struggling with grief and religious trauma after a supernatural force kills his parents. Set in 1980s Appalachia, the novel follows Gabe as he tries to piece his life back together with his grandparents and navigate a town plagued by fanaticism, dark folklore, and real monsters. Along the way, he crosses paths with Mina, a girl trying to escape the weight of her own upbringing, and Reverend Ezra, a sinister preacher who seems tied to the evil hunting Gabe. The book weaves elements of Southern Gothic, horror, and coming-of-age drama into a dark, deeply emotional tale.
The writing is lush but never showy, filled with poetic moments that sneak up on you. Clark builds atmosphere so well it almost hums. Like creaky trailer park porches, whispers in the woods, gospel music swelling under the hum of something ancient and terrible. The dialogue feels natural, especially between the kids, and there’s this aching honesty in how trauma, poverty, and faith twist together in the rural South. But where the novel really hits its stride is in the quiet moments like Gabe holding a cassette tape like it’s sacred, or Mina sketching herself invisible in the mirror. Those scenes made me remember what it felt like to be young and stuck and full of strange hope.
Some of the villains, particularly Reverend Ezra, felt theatrical at times, like he belonged to myth more than flesh. I was more interested in the real horror: the abuse, the gaslighting, the warped religion passed down as salvation. Those were the moments that chilled me. The supernatural parts worked, but they shined brightest when grounded in human hurt. The Red Wolf was terrifying, but the scenes that really stuck with me involved trembling hands, loaded silences, and kids carrying too much.
Where Dark Things Rise is a bold, tender, and eerie ride. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes their horror layered with heartache or who grew up in a place where the Bible was both shield and weapon. If you liked Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon or The Fisherman by John Langan, you’ll feel at home here. This book broke my heart in places and then lit it on fire.
Pages: 357 | ASIN : B0F674VWWZ
A Wee Problem
Katerina Langley’s A Wee Problem is a deeply emotional and gripping story told from the perspective of a young livestock guardian dog named Wee. The book follows Wee and her family as they struggle to survive on a neglected farm, navigating threats from humans and predators alike. As their small world collapses, the story blossoms into a powerful tale of resilience, sacrifice, and growth. It’s part coming-of-age, part survival saga—told with heart, teeth, and muddy paws.
What got me right away was how alive the writing felt. The opening chapter throws us into the harsh reality of Wee’s life. The author captures emotions—fear, hunger, loyalty—with raw, physical language. It’s not poetic. It’s not polished. It’s real. And that makes it powerful. Langley doesn’t just want you to read about these dogs—she wants you to feel the dirt in their fur and the ache in their bellies.
Then there’s the emotional weight of the relationships. Wee and her brother Fur bicker and play, but they rely on each other in a world that’s turned cruel. Their mother is a complex figure—loving, strong, but breaking under the weight of loss and danger. That moment when she sends Wee and Fur running while she stays to face the coyote was gut-wrenching. I had to stop reading for a second. And when she returns, bloodied and barely alive, it doesn’t feel like a victory. It feels like the cost of love. Langley’s writing in these scenes is at its best: urgent, heartbreaking, stripped bare.
There’s also a slow burn of hope beneath all the struggle. Wee’s growth from a frightened pup to a determined survivor is subtle but moving. Her decisions get braver. Her thoughts get sharper. This book makes you care. You don’t just want these characters to survive. You want them to be okay. And that’s what sticks with you.
I’d recommend A Wee Problem to anyone who loves stories about animals, survival, or family. Especially readers who can handle the raw stuff—the loss, the violence, the quiet despair. This isn’t a fluffy farm tale. It’s tough. It’s tense. But it’s also full of heart. Langley has written something that feels lived in and loved. It’s not just a story about dogs. It’s a story about fighting to hold onto what matters when the world stops caring.
Pages: 413 | ASIN : B0DS52P491
A Place Called The Way
A Place Called the Way by Corrine Ardoin is set in the fictitious Pine Valley in the early 20th century. It’s a sweeping drama that follows the births, lives, and deaths of the inhabitants of a small rural town known as ‘The Way.’
This novel is the third in Ardoin’s Pine Valley series. The main protagonist is Jim Hart, a man who was physically abused by his uncle as a child in the event that left both physical and emotional scars. As a result of his trauma, his life is blighted by depression and a self-harming habit. As a result, he tries to commit suicide, lets the only woman he ever really loved slip through his fingers, and even loses the right to call his son, ‘son’. The Way is a haven and a blessing for some residents; it seems to offer only a curse for others. Yet, ultimately, it offers hope.
At the beginning of the book, Ardoin helpfully provides a detailed description of the connections from one character to the next. The reader will need these signposts if they want to keep track of the story and the complicated relationships between all the individuals. The characters’ relationships ebb and flow through the novel as they face their own personal challenges and heal from their past experiences.
As the book is named for the town, it’s a nice touch that it’s presented almost as another character, with deep flashbacks interspersed throughout that examine its history. The town’s mysterious healing powers and history give it its own personality adding to the reader’s experience that the town is its own character and just as important as the people residing in it. At one point, I mistakenly thought the main story was just background to a plot twist that never came. However, the strong personal story of the characters and their experience with the town made this novel enchanting.
A Place Called the Way is a coming-of-age novel set in a small rural town with a long tradition of helping the inhabitants heal from their past. Fans of soft-focus historical drama will enjoy it for its sense of community and the complexity of its interpersonal relationships.
Pages: 208 | ASIN : B09WZYQPNS
LITERARY TITAN 