Seymour, 52, known for her starring role in TV's "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," and movies such as "Live and Let Die" and "Somewhere in Time" also is an artist, author and fashion designer of both clothing and home furnishings.

She kicked off a 12-city tour to promote the Jane Seymour Home Collection and her children's clothing collection "This One "n That One" last weekend in Des Moines. Other tour stops include Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Tenn., and Jackson, Miss.

During her Des Moines stay, Seymour gave numerous media interviews, attended a cocktail party at Younkers Valley West, a breakfast at the Younkers Tea Room downtown and a book reading at Younkers Merle Hay.

Seymour shrugs off her busy schedule.

She says she simply enjoys painting and someone else handles the framing, shipping and selling.

She clearly relishes her role working with a design team to create the St. Catherine's Court Collection of home furnishings inspired by her 14th century manor house in Bath, England. The collection includes an elegant assortment of china, glass, giftware, linens, bedding and decorative accessories. She's quick to point out that items start at $8 and can easily be mixed and matched to suit anyone's style and tastes. I bought three picture frames to add to my collection.

"Everyone has a sense of being creative," Seymour said. "This gives people hundreds of options. They can absolutely create something that is theirs."

As for writing a series of children's books with husband James Keach, the stories are inspired by the couple's 7-year-old twins and four other children. The books are designed to teach lessons such as sharing and compromise. "In Fried Pies," the twins can't agree on what to have for lunch. In "Splat," father cat Big Jim reluctantly agrees to let the kittens play with mom Lady Jane's paints. He warns them not to get paint on themselves or the floor. After he settles in for a nap, the twins diligently coat him in a rainbow of paint. The books also now include a new female kitten character which was not inspired by the family. During Saturday morning's story time, Keach joked that Seymour just hadn't had this baby yet as she vigorously shook her head "no."

Seymour, Keach and the twins have recorded versions of the stories to sell with the books. The recording was done in the studio at St. Catherine's Court, and Seymour said the experience helped her sons improve their reading skills. During our interview, she quickly shifts gears and tells Christine Knipple, who's part of the crew traveling with her, that they should add a small tape recorder to the "This One "n That One" collection so other children can similarly hone their reading skills.

Seymour also released a book this spring aimed at an older audience. "Remarkable Changes: Turning Life's Challenges into Opportunities" is a collection of life stories from 20 people that illustrates how they dealt with a major change in their lives ranging from losing a job to poor health to coping with the death of a family member.

Back on the design front, Seymour's constantly working with her team to create new items for the children's clothing line (including a Christmas dress that would satisfy my 6-year-old niece who picks her dresses based on their twirl ability), and she's developing a holiday collection of porcelain dolls that will look like Seymour in period costumes - Elizabethan, Edwardian, Victorian, 1950s-style, etc.

Seymour's not done with acting either.

She'll begin filming a movie for Court TV next year based on the true story of a woman who felt bulldozed into making a bad jury verdict and then fought the system to overturn the verdict. She's also planning to collaborate again with "Somewhere in Time" co-star Christopher Reeve in a love story/thriller that will explore the reality of life for a quadriplegic. Reeve's working with Seymour and Keach on the script and will co-star in the film with Seymour. Keach will direct. And Seymour says she'd be happy to do more Dr. Quinn movies if CBS asks. Here's hoping the network executives will.

©IowaLife Columnists
S. Hansen: