Cobbled Court Quilts Books In Order

Publication Order of Cobbled Court Quilts Books

The “Cobbled Court Quilts” is a series of women’s fiction by American novelist Marie Bostwick. Marie was born the youngest of four siblings in Eugene, Oregon and had a difficult childhood following her parents’ divorce. However, the hard times she spent in the filed taught her hard work, and dignity and offered valuable insights into the minds and hearts of communities and settings she would later write in her “Cobbled Courts Quilts” series. Before she got interested in writing fiction, Marie worked as director for women’s ministries in a church, scheduler for a US senator, administered an even planning business, taught religion, acted in TV commercials, danced and sang in musicals, and worked the Oregon bean fields. She first got interested in writing when she decided to attend a writers’ workshop to avoid playing tennis with her friends while on vacation. At the end of the workshop, the instructor told her that she had the mind of a writer and that she had to publish something. She had always been a voracious reader as a child and had written a screenplay for her favorite play “Camelot” before she was old enough to go to public school. As a high schooler, she wrote a lot of self-absorbed teenage poetry and short stories and even won the English award from the school. Her debut novel was the 2005 “Fields of Gold” that went on to win several prestigious awards and set her on her way to become a notable women’s fiction author. Drawing on themes relevant to women and her love for quilting, she debuted the Cobbled Courts Quilts series with “A Single Thread” in 2008 that spawned several more titles in the still ongoing series. Marie currently lives in Oregon with her husband of thirty-five years, Brad. When she is not churning out her novels she loves attending quilt shows and guilds, spending time with friends and family, cooking, reading, quilting, speaking at writer conferences, and volunteering.

The “Cobbled Court Quilts” series is set in the town of New Bern, Connecticut. The lead in the series is Evelyn Dixon, a quilt shop owner that recently moved into the town from Fort Worth Texas to form a tight friendship with Liza, Abigail Burgess, and Margot Matthews. The novels are wonderful stories about friendship that assert that one door always opens when another closes. The leads go through difficult events such as unexpected divorce and financial difficulties that change their lives forever. For instance, Evelyn gets divorced and is forced to move to Bern, a small tourist town in Connecticut. With a love for quilting it is not long before she meets friends who offer help to get her through some of the most difficult of experiences. The stories are told from the perspectives of Evelyn and the different lead characters in each novel in alternating chapters. The different perspectives to the stories enhance the narrative as the experiences and thoughts of the characters come out better. Quilting which is the single threat of the connection between the friends, often brings them together to share their experiences and help each other deal with hard situations.

Marie Bostwick’s “Cobbled Courts Quilts” series is written in a Debbie Macomber like style as she crafts themes similar to “Blossom Streets” in a contemporary style. The novels focus on themes that women often deal with in their lives including loss, questions of mortality and faith, financial plenty, financial pressures, how to give without losing oneself, the need for friendship, singleness and marriage. Her characters experience some real life struggles though for the most part, the conclusion to the story brings a happy ending. Bostwick seems to assert that while life is hard, fiction can act as an escape from its troubles. The novel are written in a unique style that feels Christian in its gentleness in dealing with weighty issues. While the novels deal with many serious themes the charm of the quilt shop, quilt guild, and small town friendships makes for charming narratives that would make for great fireside or beach reads.

“A Single Thread” is the unforgettable story of four women who bump into each other to have their lives changed forever. New Bern, Connecticut is a long way from her home town of Fort Worth, Texas, but a day is all it takes to convince Evelyn Dixon that the charming town is where she wants to make a new home. Her marriage had woken her up to the realization that she needed to fulfill her lifelong dream of having a quilt shop. She easily finds the perfect location for her business but starting a new life is proving harder than she thought it would. Angry and troubled after losing her mother, Liza is threatening to bring her aunt Abigail’s name into disrepute if she does not join her quilting class. Meanwhile, Margot who is bored to death after she was downsized from her job believes that some little of quilting would be great for making new friends. Stitching their unique creations, Margot, Liza, Abigail, and Evelyn from a sisterhood they never thought they would ever have. Nonetheless, they are grateful for the single threat that binds them in friendship and provides an outlet for their frustrations in life, and a celebration of their happiness and victories.

“A Thread of Truth” the second novel of the series is a heartwarming and poignant story of old friends and new beginnings set in New Bern, a fictional small town of Connecticut. The lead in the series is Ivy Petterman, a woman that just left her husband after several years of marital abuse. She has taken her children and moved to New Bern though she isolates herself in fear of her husband tracking her down. She longs for the support of a fellow human though her many secrets have made her paranoid of any human contact. The job offer she gets from Evelyn the quilt shop owner offers a ray of hope as she starts to let down her guard. But then somebody recognizes her when she is filming a Quilt Pink Day advertising video, and her husband now knows where she is. Hodge is back in her life threatening to hurt her until her friends from the Quilt guild step in offer support and friendship by engaging Franklin a local lawyer. Digging deep, Ivy manages to fight for her children and herself until Hodge goes away defeated, and hopefully never to come back again.