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What writing project are you currently working on? ( top )
Presently, I'm finishing up The Telling, book three of the Seasons of Grace series, coming in April 2010.
Were you raised Amish? ( top )
I grew up an Assembly of God minister's daughter in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania—literally, on the second pew! However, my keen interest in Plain culture comes from a close family connection to Old Order Mennonites. My maternal grandmother—Ada Ranck Buchwalter—left the Mennonite community when she married. Many of Ada's family members were Mennonites, so I had Plain relatives on Mother's side.
I am interested in knowing more about your Plain heritage. How much experience do you have with that lifestyle? ( top )
I have lived with Old Order Amish on two separate occasions, while doing continued research on The Heritage of Lancaster County trilogy (The Shunning and subsequent sequels). My connection to the Plain community comes from my mother's Old Order Mennonite heritage. Growing up, I was surrounded by Mother's family at reunions and church gatherings. I remember going to water baptisms and all of us singing without any musical instruments—the rich four-part harmony of voices—happily watching relatives and friends being completely immersed in the Susquehanna River, just as I was baptized later at the age of 12.
What, if any, has the reaction been from the Amish community to your books? ( top )
I have received a lot of mail from Amish people. (Some who have been shunned.) Many ask, "How do you know so much about our tradition and culture?" Others from the New Order Amish have requested that I portray their communities, as well, such as Ohio, Indiana, and other states.
What is the recommended order for reading your books? ( top )
Heritage of Lancaster County (series)
#1 The Shunning
#2 The Confession
#3 The Reckoning
The Postcard
The Crossroad (sequel to The Postcard)
The Redemption of Sarah Cain *
October Song
The Sunroom *
Sanctuary *
Abram's Daughters (series)
#1 The Covenant
#2 The Betrayal
#3 The Sacrifice
#4 The Prodigal
#5 The Revelation
Annie's People (series)
#1 The Preacher's Daughter
#2 The Englisher
#3 The Brethren
The Courtship of Nellie Fisher (series)
#1 The Parting
#2 The Forbidden
#3 The Longing
Seasons of Grace (series)
#1 The Secret
#2 The Missing–NEW!
#3 The Telling–Coming April 2010!
* Denotes "stand-alone" books, not involved in any particular series.
The books Sanctuary and The Sunroom are non-sequential novels exploring different aspects of Amish life. The Redemption of Sarah Cain, the Heritage of Lancaster County series, and The Postcard and The Crossroad 2-book set should all be read prior to the book October Song, which updates the reader on various characters from those books.
I'd like to have an Amish pen-pal like Annie Zook in The Preacher's Daughter. Can you link me up with someone? ( top )
While it is an interesting issue to consider, there are few Amish bishops who would actually allow their young people to correspond with the outside world, no matter how well-intentioned that person may be. As for my involvement, I'm sure you will understand that I am busy writing my next novel and don't have the time to provide a service for linking up non-Amish pen pals with the Plain community.
Is Katie Lapp a real person? ( top )
The story of Katie Lapp was born out of my memories of growing up near Amish farmland. Katie is completely fictitious, yet her character is loosely based on my grandmother's background and circumstance. The subconscious seeds for Katie's predicament in The Shunning were planted early on, when, as a child, I heard the story of my courageous grandmother. The impetus behind the story came thirty years later, after I'd written the first five books of the Summerhill Secrets, also set in Lancaster's Amish country.
Before the Abram's Daughters series, your previous books were all set in the present. What prompted you to write about a different historical time period? ( top )
I have been captivated by the wooded, rural area of Gobbler's Knob which is an actual location in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, just east of Grasshopper Level, also a quaint-sounding, real place. My father would often go to Gobblers Knob to buy the Thanksgiving turkey for our family, and I remember us driving in that area when I was a little girl. Because I knew Gobbler's Knob had changed drastically in the past decades, I wanted to write about it as it was in the late 40s into the mid 60s, which is where the series will pretty much end.
When did you first start writing? ( top )
I dearly loved books (thought of them as my friends). I suppose I became a writer through years of keeping diaries, and writing letters and short stories—by the mere act of writing. At age four, I dictated my first poem to my mother. While in sixth grade, I penned my first "long" story (77 pages on a yellow-lined tablet). Eager for avenues of expression, I was either writing or playing the piano.
How do you create a story? ( top )
When I begin thinking through a new book, the protagonist (main character) always emerges first. The dilemma or plot line and subplots usually will follow soon after, but it's always the character that grabs my attention. I've never been one to outline meticulously, so part of the delight of writing—the true enjoyment—is discovering what will happen next.
Do you outline your books before writing or "wing it" as you go? ( top )
I do both. I outline so that I know the beginning, the middle, and the end and then the fun begins as I find my way to all those points along the way. Getting up in the morning to find out what is going to happen to my characters is a lot of fun for me...and for my family, as well, who are very supportive of my writing journeys. I come to each chapter fresh—something like a reader does, eager to know what will take place.
What is your favorite and least favorite aspect of writing books? ( top )
Breathing life into characters and painting word pictures with settings are some of my favorites. Juggling story lines and keeping a time line are more tedious, but I can't say there is any one aspect that I find dreadful. Deadlines (my own writing schedule, as well as my editor's) can be difficult, especially because I have family responsibilities. And I have other interests besides writing books, which include literary organizations I am involved with, making family scrapbooks, playing the piano, and hiking in the woods or the foothills. I also have a few close friends, so I always want to have time for them.
As an experienced novelist, what advice would you give to a beginning writer who hopes to become published someday? ( top )
Forever and always—read! And I suggest reading the very best of literature...the old classics to start. Read the kind of story you'd like to write. As for the actual writing, don't worry about perfection at first. Take your time, get the story down, then rewrite and fine-tune later. And, yes, spelling and grammar do count! There are many wonderful reference books for new writers. Ask the reference librarian at your local public library for help in locating books to point you in the direction of publishers who may be interested in your work.
What kinds of struggles do women who read your books have? ( top )
My readers are not only women, but men, too. Many readers have shared with me that they struggle with life losses—financial ruin and hardship, loss of loved ones through death, divorce, separation, also the death of a young child, as well as soul-searching aspects such as absolute truth, how to know if God truly exists, where is God when life splinters apart to nothing...important issues to be sure.
How does reading your books help readers understand such life-struggles, or, at least, how to cope with these trials? ( top )
I pray that my books are a help on various levels. For one thing, due to the character-driven nature of my novels, my "story people," in many ways, are searching for universal truths, just as readers are. My hope and prayer is that the books I write will offer a faith-based solution to the problems of the human condition. Each of us must deal with the problem of pain and suffering, trials and tests on some level through the span of our lives. My stories offer the hope of the Gospel, that there IS a compassionate, personal God who sees our dilemma, and He cares and understands—and no evil force can separate us from that kind of God-love. It is a true gift, unconditional and available to anyone whose heart is open to divine truth.
What would you write if there were no barriers to prevent it? ( top )
Precisely what I believe God is nudging me to...in short, the type of books I'm currently writing. I'm quite passionate about what I do—creating characters who "live and breathe" in my readers' hearts and minds, and in mine, as well. I write out of a tender heart toward the Lord, and as long as He gives me something to say, I will answer the call.
Are you surprised at your readers' response to your books? ( top )
Oh, my...yes! One of my greatest joys is hearing from readers who say my stories have touched them significantly—even changed the direction of their lives. So many have written to me: teens in West Africa, men and women of all ages in America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and Central America...people whom the Lord is meeting on a personal level, where they are spiritually, emotionally, physically. Most of all, I hope readers might come to know the Lord Jesus in a more intimate way through having discovered God's unconditional love in my books—to experience just a taste of the height and width and breadth of His love for each of us. |
