In honor of the release of my debut novella, I have invited each of the other authors in the collection to write a post about the inspiration for their story. Today, I’m pleased to share a post from Pegg Thomas, author of In Sheep’s Clothing.
When I was invited to write for this collection, it took me a bit to come up with a story because the connection between the stories was so loose. The brides all needed a first name that was also a flower. That was it. After that, the sky was the limit … which inspired me to write about something that is near and dear to my heart.
I learned to knit at the age of nine in 4-H. That was my introduction to what we now call the fiber arts. At age sixteen I was raising and showing rabbits in 4-H when I saw my first angora rabbit. Even better, the lady holding the rabbit was spinning the fluffy rabbit’s hair on a spinning wheel. I knew I had to try this. I took lessons, learning to spin on an antique great wheel. I was hooked. I saved my money and bought my first spinning wheel later that year and my first pair of angora rabbits.
Fast forward a bunch of years when my son started 4-H. He showed rabbits and then moved up to sheep. We spent a lot of years together raising sheep, sitting in the barn freezing while awaiting the births of lambs, doctoring sick sheep, shearing sheep, showing sheep … doing all things sheep. Those were wonderful years, but like kids tend to do, he grew up and moved on. To horses. But that’s another story.
Yarrow Fenn, the heroine in In Sheep’s Clothing, is a spinner and weaver. The hero, Peter Maltby, is a journeyman at the fulling mill. Don’t know what a fulling mill was? Well … there’s a good reason to read the book! And then there is Meadowsweet, an orphan lamb who does her best to steal the story.
To celebrate the release of A Bouquet of Brides collection and my story, In Sheep’s Clothing, I’m giving away one of my signature shawls. To enter, subscribe to my newsletter. I’ll be drawing for The Meadowsweet Shawl at the end of January.
Pegg Thomas lives on a hobby farm in Northern Michigan with Michael, her husband of *mumble* years. A life-long history geek, she writes “History with a Touch of Humor.” When not working or writing, Pegg can be found in her barn, her garden, her kitchen, or sitting at her spinning wheel creating yarn to turn into her signature wool shawls.