Piecing together a story

CEDAR RAPIDS - Sandra Dallas is not a quilt novelist.

'That's a very specific genre,” she explains.

'I'm just a novelist that happens to like quilts.”

Dallas, a New York Times best-selling author, will be in Cedar Rapids on Friday to promote her latest novel, which does in fact involve a quilt.

'A Christmas Quilt” is set in 1864 Kansas when the main character's husband enlists in the Civil War. When he goes off to fight in the war, Eliza sends a special quilt she made along to keep him warm through the winter months.

'It's a story about how women bond in difficult times,” Dallas says. 'Men are the heroes of war, so we are always writing about the men of war. But it was just as hard for the women they left behind.”

Dallas, who has been dubbed 'a quintessential American voice” and has won many awards over her 25 year writing career, said she often includes quilting circles in her stories because they are a great way to illustrate the connections between women throughout history.

'I like using the quilt circle as the focus for a group of women, as a vehicle in my writing,” she says. 'Plus there are some 27 million quilters out there and reading is their second favorite activity. They are a wonderful, loyal market.”

While Dallas is not a quilter herself, she has always enjoyed them for their artistry and collects doll quilts to this day.

Dallas is also a history buff, having enjoyed learning about the Civil War in particular even as a child. She prefers to write historic fiction, but her dozen novels aren't just lighthearted examinations of the past. Dallas' works explore hard hitting issues such as rape, murder, desertion, infidelity and death throughout that history.

'When I start a book I often decide on an historical time period first,” she says. 'I don't write modern stories because I don't want to write about cellphones and computers.”

'But if I do too much research it gets in the way of the story. So I read ten or so books on the time period before I sit down to write myself. But the nice thing about writing fiction is that you can make up some facts,” says Dallas. 'I can't say the South won the Civil War but I can make up the name of a hotel my character might stay in.”

Dallas said she is looking forward to her visit in Iowa, not only because she gets to connect with readers, but also because the local Barnes & Noble store has been a long time supporter of her work and she has enjoyed past visits.

'When you are writing you are writing in isolation,” she adds. 'Only my agent sees my work before I send it to my editor so I don't get a lot of feedback. When I do readings I meet people who remember things from my books or hold one of my books against their chest and tell you how much the book meant to them.”

Having started her career as a journalist - working as reporter for Business Week in the Rocky Mountain region - Dallas said it was a wonderful background for what she does now, which she admits is an unexpected career. 'I never intended to be a fiction writer.” But after writing a number of non-fiction books on Western history, she decided to give fiction a try. Now Dallas' publisher has recently released the 20th anniversary edition of The Persian Pickle Club, perhaps her most acclaimed title. And last month, Dallas published a book for younger readers called Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky, further expanding her reach to readers both old and young.

And just last week Dallas sat down to write her next novel. Although she wasn't ready to talk about plot or whether this story would include a quilt, it's safe to assume that readers are already looking forward to it.

Author visit

' What: Sandra Dallas will talk and sign books

' When: 7 p.m. Friday

' Where: Barnes and Noble, 333 Collins Rd. NE, Cedar Rapids

' Cost: Free