Area ‘quilting mystery’ author releases sequel | News
The novel “Quilt City Murders” instilled a mystery in Paducah last February. The sequel, Quilt City: Panic in Paducah, also stars narrator Hadley Carroll, a character that resonates with readers.
Tomorrow from 2-4 p.m., author Bruce Leonard will be signing copies of his books at the McCracken County Public Library during an Authors’ Spotlight. Both Hadley Carroll Mysteries and his “Quilt City Cookbook” will be available.
Also featured in the Author Spotlight are local authors Richard Parker and Jayne Moore Waldrop. All three authors’ books are available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
As of press time, Quilt City Murders has had 333 five-star reviews on Amazon since its release in February. Panic in Paducah, released last month, had 49. Many reviewers self-identified as quilters, some living in Paducah.
One called Hadley “lively, intelligent”. Another called the story “quilting cosy” — a detective subgenre featuring amateur detectives and muted violence.
Leonard said he was pleased with the way Hadley was received by the fans.
“I’m glad that women are responding to their strength, their resourcefulness, their honesty and their vulnerability,” Leonard said.
“I created a character who fights hard for what she believes in and sometimes isn’t treated well. In the responses to Facebook ads that I have, you see women saying, ‘Go on, Hadley.’ ”
He continued, “I’m usually my harshest critic, but total strangers enjoying something I’ve created on a blank screen cheer me up – that people will buy the book and promote the life of Hadley Carroll. “
One Amazon commenter wrote, “I’m glad Hadley finally met a good man.” In “Quilt City Murders,” Hadley finds her fiancé’s body under Paducah’s transition dock downtown. In the sequel, her dating life improves as she starts a publication, enters politics, and investigates murders and other crimes.
Leonard, a former Sun reporter, covered the National Quilt Museum and interviewed women quilters in 2017-18. He said female critics helped the first novel because he expected an audience of “95% women”.
“I only had female beta readers,” he said. “I wanted the right voice. (My readers) had arguments about this plot point or that, but no one said, ‘Wow, he’s got the wrong voice.’ ”
Although Leonard’s novels will appeal to fans of quilt cozies, he considers them “cozies with attitude.” Charm and camaraderie are present on the sides, but so are drug abuse, misogyny, corruption and racism.
He said one fan summed it up nicely: “Thank you for treating us like adults.”
“I really liked that comment,” Leonard said.
He told The Sun that in order to become a novelist he would have to learn “to live with self-doubt”.
He’s not alone. Fans of the fantasy genre may be familiar with George RR Martin and a Gordian knot, which he describes with a chaotic plot timeline.
After publishing “Quilt City Murders” with a traditional publisher, Leonard self-published, formatted and marketed the sequel and the “Quilt City Cookbook” after writing and self-editing.
“I’ve reached out to hundreds of quilting guilds; It’s time consuming, but the proof is in the pudding,” he said. “There is so much to do from a marketing perspective; You can fall into this dark well and never come out. I do my best to write 1,000 to 1,500 words a day. If I do that, I think it builds a career.”
He also learned to quilt.
“I’m not going to pretend I’ll ever be a good quilter; I’ve learned that time is better spent writing.”
Leonard owned and operated The Blues Bakery in Ventura, California. These recipes later became the “Quilt City Cookbook” narrated by Hadley.
He is releasing a third Hadley crime novel, Quilt City: Measure Once, Cut Twice, next year and has an outstanding contract for four audiobooks. In 2023, he releases a tougher story – the Los Angeles-based “Hard Exit,” told by a depressed private investigator.
A native of Los Angeles, Leonard lives in Murphysboro, Illinois with his wife Sedonia Sipes, his “best critic”.
He said he misses Paducah after it became an unexpected inspiration.
“I looked around and realized that Paducah is well above his weight in the arts,” he said. “I’ve lived in other cities this size, and they don’t have venues like the Carson Center and the (Market House) Community Theater.”
Leonard’s books will be available at his public book signing on Saturday. They are also available at the National Quilt Museum; With love, from Kentucky; pages turned; JCCB Vendors and the Yeiser Art Center.
