THE MEMORY QUILT

Happy New Year and welcome back to the blog! I hope 2024 will be a year full of magic, dreams come true, health and many blessings for you and your families. 🌟

Thanks so much for joining me for another author interview, the first one of the year! This time I’m happy to host author Lori Keating who is also one of my Kids Book Crew teammates! 🥳

I’m thrilled to share the great news about her soon to be published picture book The Memory Quilt. It will release on January 9th, 2024 published by Monarch Press, so just in a few more days!

I’ve had the chance to read an advance reader (ARC) of this book and it’s very heartwarming and sweet, while at the same time it touches on a difficult topic for children which is the death of a dear friend. I think this is a book that is truly needed in homes, schools, and libraries as a good resource for those hard conversations that sometimes must to be had with kids who are going through hard and scary life situations; or to show them how they can support others who might be facing these type of experiences.

A bit about The Memory Quilt:

Grace grieves for her neighbor, Jason, who was more like a big brother to her. After Jason passes away, Grace hasn’t seen his parents smile. So she searches for the perfect honor gift and thinks a memory quilt could be just the thing.

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Now, on to our interview:

M. Lori, welcome to the blog and congratulations on your soon to be released debut picture book! Can you share which 3 words would you use to describe The Memory Quilt?

L. Friendship, grief, and hope.

M. I agree that those words are perfect to describe this book! Now, can you tell us what inspired you to write this story and how you came up with the title?

L. During a dinner with friends, they shared the poignant story of their son’s passing and how his brother repurposed his clothes into memory quilts for the family. This gave me the inspiration for The Memory Quilt story. The title was an obvious choice, as it perfectly encapsulated the essence of the story.

M. I’m sorry about the loss of your friends, Lori; but at the same time it’s wonderful to witness that their difficult and heart breaking experience inspired something beautiful like your book that will be able to help children going through similar situations.

Can you tell us what was your favorite scene to write?

L. My favorite scenes I wrote are the ones where Grace shares her memories of Jason, each memory associated with a specific season.

M. Lori, can you share your path to publication with this book?

L. My path to publishing The Memory Quilt began with my debut novel, Butterfly Ink, which is set to release in June of next year. Despite initial rejection after submitting the story to various agents, I eventually discovered Monarch Press through a fellow critique partner who had recently signed with them. After submitting my manuscript, my publisher, Jen, requested a full copy and offered me a publication deal shortly after. Two months later, I discovered that Jen was also starting a new imprint, Caterpillar Books, which focuses on picture and chapter books. I submitted several stories to her, and she ultimately chose The Memory Quilt for the first publication.

M. I’m so glad it worked out for you, Lori! And congrats on your novel, too! That’s amazing news! You’ll have to come back to the blog and talk to us about that. Thanks so much for your time and for sharing about your beautiful story with us. I wish you a lot of success with The Memory Quilt and with all your future projects. Cheers!

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LORI’S BIO

Lori is a sun-loving writer living it up in Southwest Florida with her awesome hubby and daughter. Her love for storytelling first sparked in the fourth grade when she won the top prize in a young author’s competition. When she’s not weaving words or creating art, Lori
treasures moments with her loved ones, watching the ocean waves roll in. She’s a globetrotter at heart, and in her downtime, you’ll find her cozied up with a book, lost in a world of adventure.

Twitter: @LoriMKeating

Instagram: @LoriMKeating

Website: https://www.lorikeating.com

Thanks for reading.

M

Cover photo by Erik McLean