Saying Goodbye...

I finished this book recently and found it

to be a WONDERFUL, heartwarming book.

It's about life, love, losing love, friends,

family and...of course, fabric and quilting.  I read it

in a day...I couldn't put it down =)

I met the sweet, fun-loving and spunky lady

who wrote this book and thought it

would be fun to interview her...

You just know you will have fun getting to know her too!

me - How long ago did you start sewing and/or quilting?

Billie Jo - I flunked sewing  in Mrs. Bennett’s class ( 1965)  I didn’t enjoy measuring and lining up the fabric to make sure the seams met.  It was many ..many years later  that I encountered opportunites  (through my husband at the time ) to do contract work at home .. So raising 7 children and one on the way I would sew late at night making bags for BROWNING SPORTS.  As I look back.. Now.. I don’t know if I was stupid or crazy.. Maybe both.  It was then that my husband and I opened to fabric shops one is Heber and one in Payson.  I loved being around fabric .. Blending colors into a memory for someone is awesome.  There is a indescribable bond with women who love the joy that fabric brings to your crazy day.  Fabric is like a sedative.

me - What made you want to write this book? Have you always liked to write?
Billie Jo - I started writing when I was about 12yrs. Old.  My Mother  was widowed when I was two years old. I had three older sisters. I was home a lot by myself as I grew up, because my Mom was our only provider.  I loved playing “house” and pretending I was a stranded queen in the old oak tree. I had quite the imagination  so before long.. I started writing little thoughts then I was in a terrible sleighing accident on Lindsay’s Hill in Heber.  The decision had to be made rather to apputeate  my leg.  My Mother bless her heart refused to let the Doctors proceed. I ended up in a cast for six months and I lived with my oldest sister for about a year. She helped me to heal and walk a bit .  I had a lot of time so I would write little short stories  to help pass away the day.  The story in my book has been in my heart for many years.. But I had to wait to write it, I started many times but then stopped because it was a painful part of my life and I didn’t feel like I was ready to share it yet… not even to myself… I knew I had a message to share with other women and I wanted them to know that we are never alone in our journey’s…. there’s always someone to listen.. Someone who cares.. Someone who doesn’t even have to speak and yet the bond is there.   Friends who make our journey priceless!

me - What words (choose 2 to 5 words) might describe you? And why?
Billie Jo - "Sense of Humor"… ( I always try to find the light side of life )
"Service Oriented" - I love to make another’s burden lighter.
"Alcoholic"-gottcha… I love my diet coke with 3-squirts of cherry everyday..( I know.. I know.. But hey.. It’s my addiction! )
"Mysterious" I have experienced so many happenings in my life that is surreal and I would never deny them.

me: What’s it like "walking for a day” in shoes?
Billie Jo - Walking in my shoes might be boring for some and a little to much for others. I’m a early riser.. I walk each morning for one hour. I cater to my daughters and my son’s ( 8 total ) one estranged.. He doesn’t realize what a great Mom I am. ( He’s missing out ) I have 21 grandchildren to adore and hug and kiss. I have a hubby who I pamper so he will pamper me back. I dream of winning the lottery or the Publishers Clearing House.. What’s up with that..? They send me a card telling me I’ve been trying for six years.. Helllllo I know that!  I also, sew Sassy Bags.. ( that’s a whole different story ) but one I would love to share! I'm one who goes and creates and shares all the talents that God gives me! I live my life with a Thankful Heart.


me - Where do you get your idea for your book?
Billie Jo - The idea for my book is my life story with a few twists


me: Do you speak the ideas into a recorder? Did you have certain times that you would write?
Billie Jo - My mind was a open recorder.. Where ever I would go or if I had a minute to spare the book would play and replay in my mind.. I was just so stuck because I didn’t love the main character but yet I needed to be fare to him in my book. That is when I met a great woman when I moved to Clinton. She was an editor and had just finished writing the book “Come Autumn” . I told her how mind boggling the process was and she told me to find a picture of a man I could love and let him be my husband in the book. The man on the cover is a man I could love for a very long time. She offered to edit my book and so the gate OPENED after being closed for so many long years.. fifteen years to be exact is how long the book as been stored in my little head.


me - Do you have a special studio/office/place that you like to write?
Billie Jo - I write in my office in the early morning hours when life all over the world is just waking up!
me - How long would you guess it took for your book…to go from idea to “in the marketplace”?
Billie Jo - It’s very hard to get published.. So many talented  people out there in the world .. It is hard to find a place to fit. My editor encouraged me to self-publish. I took her advice because I knew I wanted to market my book in Quilt Shops because there is a special bond between us women who love fabrics.

.........there are TWO more questions to finish this interview...these last two FUN questions are on
Billie Jo's blog...please, visit her here --->  http://bjfromtheheart.blogspot.com/

When you visit her and find the last two questions...you will also find she has a Giveaway!  YEP
a real....rootin'-tootin' GIVEAWAY. 

Billie Jo is a relatively new blogger and would love to have visitors, comments, and maybe...some new followers? 

Visit her and then, come back and leave a comment...
What other dream does Billie Jo have with regards to even more possibilites for her book?