The Fortune Quilt [Kindle Edition]

Lani Diane Rich (Author)

Book Description

"Accept the book with the amber spine.
Return the frog. Take the cab.

What the hell kind of advice is that?"

When Tucson Today segment producer Carly McKay visits the quirky artist’s community of Bilby, Arizona, to do a story on a psychic quiltmaker, she receives an odd reading... and her life falls apart in eerie harmony with what the quilt foretold. Her best friend professes his undying love; her show gets canceled; and the mother who disappeared seventeen years ago appears on their doorstep, getting instant forgiveness from the entire family... except Carly.

Carly rushes off to Bilby to return the cursed quilt, and then surprises herself; she stays. She rents a cabin, gets a job, and meets an artist who shows her new ways to look at life, and love. Can she run away and start a new life, or should she go back and stitch her old one back together?

And why is it so hard to get a straight answer from a psychic, anyway?

“Funny and completely involving! Carly is one of those rare characters who is both appealing and confused enough to actually fit in with the rest of your friends.”
– Jane Espenson, writer and executive producer,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gilmore Girls

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This vibrant novel from Rich (The Comeback Kiss) shows that chick lit can deal intelligently with fate, family issues and romantic relationships. Carly McKay, a 29-year-old TV producer in Tucson, Ariz., comes from a loving Catholic family—a great dad and two sisters—all of whom have been scarred by the wife and mom who abandoned them 17 years earlier. On assignment from Tucson Today, Carly travels to Bilby, a small town revitalized by a thriving artist community, to interview Brandywine Seaver, a hip psychic quilt maker. Brandy gives skeptical Carly a quilt and a reading, telling her that her mother's not dead and that "[e]verything's about to change." When her mother's shocking return confirms Brandy's reading and she also loses her job, an angry Carly returns to Bilby to give back the "Quilt of Evil." She ends up staying in order to reimagine her life, and in the process discovers new love and the courage to take charge of her destiny. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

When television producer Carly McKay interviews psychic quiltmaker Brandywine Seaver, little does she know that her life is about to take a dramatic turn. She is skeptical of Brandywine's reading until her predictions start coming true in rapid succession. First, Carly loses her job. Then, her mother returns 17 years after she abandoned the family. Her best friend confesses his love for her. The coincidences are all but overwhelming, and soon Carly is looking for answers from Brandywine and seeking refuge in the psychic's tight-knit artists' community. Carly forms a new circle of friends and even begins a promising relationship with photographer Will, but she is wary of confronting the troubles that originally drove her away. This novel is more sentimental than some of Rich's earlier novels, like Time Off for Good Behavior (2004) and Ex and the Single Girl (2005), but it offers the same quick humor. Even skeptics like Carly will find themselves hoping for a happy ending, and Rich certainly delivers. Aleksandra Kostovski
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 355 KB
• Print Length: 262 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0451220277
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: StoryWonk Publishing (July 14, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005DFC16S
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,919 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Story March 14, 2007

By D. Faith

Format:Paperback

The Fortune Quilt, when I first heard the title, didn't appeal to me because I thought there was a quilting theme, which really doesn't interest me. But, I had always heard great things about Lani's books, so I did a bit more investigation when it came closer to release date. I'm so glad I didn't just pass this one by based on a misconception of the story.

The Fortune Quilt had everthing I'm looking for in a chic lit/women's fiction book. It had great characters who, in spite of the length of the story, had depth and were well developed. It had humor, romance, angst, strong family connections, and a fantasy/paranormal element that didn't seem unrealistic. I laughed hysterically and cried all within a couple of pages of each other.

I did have only one real issue with the story, although not enough to rate it only 4 stars. It was not long enough, and I only say this because I loved the story and the characters and just wanted more. I gravitate towards series books because If I love the characters I don't like to let them go. I was also worried that Carly working in the art supply store was just going to be an obvious plot device to get her and Will together, but it turned out that it wasn't used in that way, which I was glad of.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves reading women's fiction books that invoke many different emotions. I can't wait to start reading Lani's other books!

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Another gem by a great author November 5, 2007

By Tracy Vest TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Skeptical Carly McKay grew up far too quickly when her post-partum depressed mother fled the family 17 ears earlier and at 12, was left in the caretaker role of her younger siblings. Now a Tucson news magazine producer, Carly arrives in the artist commune of Bilby to do a human interest story on Brandy Seaver, a woman who creates elaborate quilts while also providing the owner with a glimpse of their future. Ever the cynic, she balks when Brandy offers her a quilt and vision of her own, mostly since it doesn't make sense. Then odd things start to happen - her best friends and cameraman professes his unrequited love; the station owner flees the country and takes all the assets with him, leaving her out of a job; and most shocking of all, her mother returns and her family seems to embrace this return much to Carly's shock. Giving her family an ultimatum, she packs up her possessions and roams around not sure what to do, then lands on Brandy's doorstep to have it out with the medium. Instead she stays awhile to recharge her batteries and re-imagine her future with the quirky and very inclusive residents of Bilby. A future that might include a certain artist she met at her sister's wedding...

One thing you can always count on with a book written by Lani Diane Rich is to be thoroughly entertained, whether it is chick lit or spicy romance. Carly's self-deprecating humor stands out - I just loved her "Godfather" comments during her reading. I was resistant to reading this since I don't care for books that are leveled in fantasy, magic, and all that jazz. But I'm sure glad I took the chance, because once again, I found myself mesmerized by Rich's witty storytelling.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars This Quilt was Destined for Carly! October 22, 2008

By N. Barnes

Format:Paperback

Carly is a television producer that is put on a story about a psychic quilt maker. While visiting her during an interview, Brandy, the quilt maker, reveals that she gets inspired to make quilts for people, but that she has no idea who they are for or why she's so inspired to make them. Sometimes it takes years for the person the quilt is made for to show up and in Carly's case, that exactly what happened. Brandy gives her a quilt that she made a few years ago and gives her a psychic reading that neither fully understands and then suddenly, Carly's life begins to change and she thinks it's the quilts fault and sets out to confront the quilt maker.

We are treated to a little bit of magic in the development of the psychic aspect of the story, but it isn't overdone. We are introduced to a few romantic possibilities for Carly and we watch her make some poignant discoveries about herself and her family.

This was almost more "romance" than "chick lit" but it definitely had chick overtones. I enjoyed the psychic twist and I understood Carly's strong reaction to her mother's return to their lives. I think Rich is skilled at story development - I didn't even realize that it was the same author, as I have also purchased A Little Ray of Sunshine and The Comeback Kiss, based on the storyline and I'm glad to see that Rich is the author because I know the stories will be good and that I will enjoy them as I did The Fortune Quilt.

More About the Author

I'm Lani, and I'm a writer, a teacher, and a mom. I live in Syracuse, NY with my husband and two daughters. My favorite color is yellow, and I have a thing for polka dots that borders on the ridiculous.

I wrote my first book, "Time Off For Good Behavior" during NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month, fifty thousand words in the thirty days of November - and was the first previously-unpublished author to publish a NaNoWriMo manuscript. It's a very specific niche, but it's all mine. "Time Off" won the Rita Award for Best First Book, and I went on to publish another seven solo novels and one collaboration. So, apparently, it wasn't a fluke. I find that comforting.

At the moment, I'm writing magical romance novels as Lucy March. I'm still Lani on the inside; it's a publishing thing. If you'd like to learn more about what I'm doing now, visit LaniDianeRich.com, LucyMarch.com, or StoryWonk.com. And thank you!