Howdy friends. If you’re wondering why it’s been a while since you heard from me, I’ve been having major website problems. Ack! I’m hoping you receive this, but it would help me tremendously if you commented below so that I know it’s going out to everyone. So what’s this about a new release? Yes! The Amish Christmas Secret released earlier this month, …
With school starting back in most areas, I thought I’d share with you a few things I’ve learned about Amish schools. School are still mostly one-room schoolhouses. A local farm will donate a corner of the property and families within 1-2 miles will help to build the structure as well as pay for the teacher’s salary (which is small). Remember, …
We had an awesome discussion during our last post regarding the Amish and their general health. If you missed that, you can read it here. Many of you followed up with this question: Don’t the Amish deal with a higher incidence of genetic diseases? That’s a good question, and I’m sure knowledgeable people have written entire books analyzing the topic. I’ll …
I can’t think of two words that are more lovely and more lovely TOGETHER. As the fields around me fade to browns and grays, I look back over my Amish pictures and what jumps out? QUILT GARDENS. When we were in Shipshewana this summer we were delighted to discover the Quilt Garden Tour. Free, spread across 7 communities in …
This week I made plans for my first trip to Shipshewana, Indiana. I’m so excited that I’m doing little cartwheels around my desk (which is quite a sight). Shipshewana is the setting for my Zondervan books, Shipshewana Amish Mystery Series. I’ve done quite a lot of research on Shipshewana of course, and I’ve now written 1/3 of the first book. …
The more deeply I delve into Amish society, the more I find connections between “their” world and “ours.” One landed on my front lawn last week. I’ve never witnessed an Amish barn raising, but certainly it’s one of the most fascinating aspects of Amish life. The idea that all of your neighbors show up and literally RAISE your barn in …
It FEELS like a birth when you send a manuscript out into the world. Yesterday I was thankful and ecstatic to complete A SIMPLE AMISH CHRISTMAS, and yes I did a bit of a snoopy dance as I mailed it off to my lovely editor at Abingdon Press. I adore this book, and I hope you will too. [wpvideo a5taWPLi] …
We recently had a NEEDLEWORK FESTIVAL in my little town, and of course I had to stop by. Immediately it started me thinking of my Amish friends, of my manuscript, of how some things bind us together across the miles and generations. I believe quilting is one of them. Of course I have quilts made by my mother, my grandmother …
I received a study from my editor this week. I wish I could post the entire thing here! The main point of the study was the steady rise in readership of Amish fiction, and what draws readers to the genre as a whole. As a genre it’s been going strong for more than 15 years. So what gives? In a …