Miss Scarlett's Blog Tour And Giveaway

I have the pleasure today of participating in author Kathy Cano-Murillo’s MISS SCARLET’S SCHOOL OF PATTERNLESS SEWING blog tour and giveaway.

Here’s a brief synopsis of Kathy’s latest release:
Sometimes to find your life's true path, you have to stray outside the lines . . .

Scarlet Santana is never happier than when creating fabulous fashions for women of all shapes and sizes. Now, after years of hard work, she finally has the chance to live her dream and study under the hottest designer in New York. To raise money for her move, Scarlet opens an after-hours sewing school in a local record shop, teaching a type-A working mom whose rigid parenting style is causing her family to unravel and an enigmatic seamstress with a mysterious past.

But as stitches give way to secrets and classmates become friends, the women realize an important truth: There is no single pattern for a good life. Happiness is always a custom fit.

Thanks to Kathy and Brianne from the Hachette Book Group, I have 1 special package giveaway which includes 1 copy of MISS SCARLET'S SCHOOL OF PATTERNLESS SEWING and 1 copy of WAKING UP IN THE LAND OF GLITTER. Please see the end of the post for the giveaway guidelines.

Kathy stopped by to answer a question for me about her writing.

Mason - What was the easiest part of doing research for this book and what was the most difficult?
 
KATHY - The easiest part was building the character of Scarlet. She is overly optimistic and a very hard worker. To her, there are no obstacles, only minor detours. I can relate to her a lot. The story of Daisy de la flora came easy too, I felt like she was by my side for the whole book writing experience!
 
My dad died right before I started writing the book. It was hard because every so often I would stop and remember that he wouldn’t be around to read it and it made me sad. But at the same time, it forced me to address deeper issues with my characters. I ended up changing the plot after my dad died. I’m glad I did, I feel like it has more meaning.

Kathy, thanks for guest blogging here today and sharing the difficult and easy part of writing this book.

For a little background on Kathy. With a life motto of “Crafts! Drama! Glitter!” Crafty Chica Kathy Cano-Murillo is a creative force of nature. A former syndicated columnist for The Arizona Republic, she is the founder of the award-winning website, CraftyChica.com and the author of seven nonfiction craft books and a Web series on LifetimeTV.com. Kathy has a Crafty Chica line of art supplies that are sold nationwide. She also has been featured in numerous media outlets such as The New York Times Magazine, NPR’s Weekend Edition, USA Today, Bust, and Latina magazine. She has shared her crafty ideas on local television, as well as on Sí TV, HGTV, and DIY network.

She has been writing stories longer than she has been crafting. Inspired by Judy Blume and Erma Bombeck, she caught the literary bug in grade school, where she used to draw a picture and then write a colorful story to go with it. It’s a creativity exercise she still practices to this day! Kathy lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her husband, two kids, and five Chihuahuas. This is her first novel.

Now for the giveaway. To enter for a chance at the package, send me an e-mail (mcbookshelf@gmail.com) with “Win Miss Scarlett” in the subject line. Your message should include your name and mailing address. The contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only and no post office box addresses can be accepted. In addition, Hachette advises winners that they will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if they win the same title in two or more contests, they will receive only one copy of the title in the mail. (Winners here have always be great about letting me know if they have already won the book somewhere else so another winner can be selected. However, this announcement is something that has to be passed along from Hachette). And, just so you know, I don’t share the mailing information or use it for any other purpose. The deadline to enter the giveaway for the MISS SCARLETT package will be 8 p.m. (EST) on Friday, March 25.

Here’s an adorable new book trailer for MISS SCARLETT’S SCHOOL OF PATTERNLESS SEWING, enjoy!