New Books

Love Inspired Classics has just re-released two of my books from the Caldwell Clan series, A Time to Forgive and Promise Forever. It's such a pleasure for me to see the books back in print again after all this time--they were originally published in 2002 and 2003. The Caldwell books were about an extended family living on a fictional South Carolina sea island. My husband and I have been wintering on Hilton Head Island for many years, it's a pleasure to write books that are set in a place I love. If you didn't catch these two stories the first time around, I hope you'll look for this double volume, out now from Love Inspired.

And I'd like to introduce a great book from a writer friend of mine, Kim Vogel Sawyer. Kim has a wonderful gift, and here's what I've said about her latest in reviews:

Kim Vogel Sawyer hits all the right notes in her latest historical romance, A HOPEFUL HEART, Bethany House. With her trademark heartwarming style, Sawyer treats readers to the story of Tressa Neill, a dowryless Easterner sent to the Wyatt Herdsman School in Barnett, Kansas, with the hope of finding a husband, a family, and a life of her own. Tressa's mistakes and misadventures and her valiant efforts to fit in to her new Western community will touch readers' hearts. Sawyer has a gift for transporting readers to another time and place, and they are sure to enjoy this trip to 1880s Kansas in her skillful hands.

Happy summer reading!
Marta

ANNA'S RETURN is out!

I'm so excited that the third book in the Pleasant Valley Amish series, ANNA'S RETURN, is out this coming week from Berkley Books. I really learned to love Anna when she was a rebellious teenager in LEAH'S CHOICE, and I couldn't wait to write her story. It was fascinating for me to develop how Anna had been changed by living three years in the Englisch world and to consider the difficulties involved in re-adjusting to life in the Amish community after all that time.

The characters you met in the first two books reappear here, so you have a chance to see what's happening with them. And we've added something new to the end of the book: a few favorite Pennsylvania Dutch recipes. I hope you'll let me know how you like the story.

Here's a bit about it:

ANNA’S RETURN
June, 2010, Berkley Books

After spending three years in the English world, Anna Beiler has come home. She brings with her a baby girl, which will surely cause a stir since Anna is unmarried. She is also hiding secrets: The baby is not hers by birth, nor does Anna intend to stay. Rather, she desperately needs sanctuary from the child’s violent father. Anna’s childhood friend Samuel, whose slow, thoughtful manner used to frustrate her, seems the only one who truly understands her.

But Anna hasn’t fully faced the consequences of her past, and her mere presence may endanger the ones she loves. Only a true change of heart will allow her to make a new beginning and find her way home.

On the Road Again

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

On the Road from Marta Perry
I've been on the road far too much in the past week, but it was all in a good cause. Over the weekend, I taught at the Pennwriters Conference in Lancaster, PA. What a great event that was! Three days of non-stop talk about writing in all genres is exhausting, but so much fun. The keynote speaker was James Rollins, a NY Times author of science fiction and thrillers. He was very down-to-earth and had us all in stitches with his stories of the elaborate plots he undertook to scare his younger brother--clearly he was a writer in the making even at age eight or so!

I taught workshops in Writing Romance and Creating Dialogue, both of which went well; served on a panel for a Read and Critique Romance group; visited with old friends and made new ones. But when all was said and done, I was relieved to be home again to the peace and quiet.

Last night was another busy one, with a library talk in a small town about forty miles from here. I have to confess that I dragged myself out the door--I have so much to do at home and was still tired from the weekend. But I was more than rewarded for my efforts. That small library is bursting at the seams with activity and enthusiasm, once more assuring me that people do still read and enjoy books despite all the other claims on their attention. The group was so interested and so happy that I had come that I felt ashamed of myself for ever doubting that the trip would be worth it. They talked intelligently about books, telling me what they did and didn't like in inspirational fiction, and in some cases they seemed to know more about my books than I did!

As writers, most of us tend to be introverts. I find it far easier to retire to my office and not speak to a soul for hours on end, but my experiences of the past few days have reminded me that I need that jolt of inspiration sometimes that comes from fellow writers but also from enthusiastic readers.

So, thanks to all the writers and readers who might read this post. You should know that you're appreciated!

Horses, Real and Imagined

ANNA'S RETURN, the third book in the Pleasant Valley series, will be out in less than a month. I just love the cover--I think it's the best yet. The figure in the background is Samuel, Anna's hero. In addition to working in the machine shop owned by Anna's brother, Samuel is known far and wide for his talent with horses. Like the character in THE HORSE WHISPERER, Samuel even seems to know what the creatures are thinking.

We had horses for a number of years while our kids were growing up, and while I learned to love them, I can't say I always understood them. How is it that a creature the size of a horse can become suddenly terrified of a piece of blowing paper? And stubborn! My son had a small dun pony, Ginger, who was the stubbornest animal ever born, I think. Fortunately my son was equally stubborn!

Some might say that the horse is the quintessential symbol of what it means to be Amish in twenty-first century America. By choosing to travel by horse and buggy, to work their fields with horse-drawn equipment, the Amish are making a sacrifice and a decision which impacts their lives every day. A sacrifice, because it takes time and trouble and effort to travel by horse and buggy, which makes each trip a matter for consideration. Is it really necessary? Sometimes I think our lives, and our planet, would be better off if all of us asked ourselves that question.

By choosing to use the horse instead of the car, the Amish are automatically putting restrictions on themselves--restrictions as to how far they will travel, how fast they will go, how quickly the work will be done. Horses symbolize the slower pace of Amish life. In fact, they contribute to that. If you can't jump into the car and drive off to the mall to shop or see a movie, you're more likely to be doing things at home or in the community.

My car may need nothing more than fuel and regular maintenance, but a horse requires much, much more. It must be taken care of every single day: fed, watered, turned in and turned out, its stall cleaned. One can't just park it and walk away, and that constant care for another living creature is a responsibility that must be taken seriously.

I saw a young Amish man one day training a young horse to the buggy, a task that takes endless patience. He had been driving it along the narrow country road, and when it balked at traffic he drew off into a graveled lot and started all over again--working with the animal, getting it used to traffic, patiently repeating the lesson he'd been teaching it.

That endless patience can be one of the gifts of Amish life. It's one I've tried to highlight in ANNA'S RETURN. Writing about it has already been a gift for me, bringing back memory after memory of the 'horse years.' They weren't necessarily all happy memories, but with every incident, there was something of value to be learned, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.

AMISH MIDWIVES

The novel I am finishing now, SARAH'S GIFT, is about an Amish midwife, so I've been deep into research on that topic. Fortunately I have a friend who is a midwife, and through her I've been able to meet others, so it's been a fascinating trip.

In contrast to much of mainstream America, a high percentage of Amish women prefer to have their babies at home, and cite a variety of reasons for doing so. For one thing, having a baby at home can be much less expensive! But more importantly, most Amish regard childbirth as the natural process of a healthy body, not as a medical procedure. After all, they say, women have been having babies with a midwife in attendance for centuries. To them, unless a woman has risk factors that make a hospital birth preferable, having a baby at home is both comforting and comfortable.

Amish midwives typically come to the woman's home to assist in delivery, but there are a growing number of birthing centers in rural areas as well. One midwife I spoke with said that she would much rather go to the mother's home, but that it had become too difficult to do that, especially if two of her mothers decided to have babies at the same time fifty miles apart.

Mary, this particular midwife, now has a birthing center in a typical Pennsylvania farmhouse, which looks so much like a home that women are sometimes surprised to learn that she doesn't actually live there. The only concession she has made in the way of furnishings is to use hospital beds, which allow for greater ease is adjusting position.

Mary, also sometimes called Grandma Mary, has been delivering babies for 36 years. For her, this is the most rewarding thing she could do, and she remains close to the couples and the children, sometimes going on to deliver the babies of women whom she delivered. When I asked what her greatest disappointment is, she replied that it was when things went wrong and the patient required hospitalization. That happens rarely, but when it does, she has the patient quickly transferred to a local hospital.

Amish women typically become midwives--"catching babies"-- through their longing to help other women have the kind of birth they want. Though they may receive formal training, much of their education comes in apprenticing to an established midwife.

SARAH'S GIFT, the fourth book in my Pleasant Valley Amish series from Berkley, will come out in March, 2011.

SNICKERDOODLES

I've received several requests recently for the Snickerdoodle cookie recipe, maybe because the Amish women in my books LEAH'S CHOICE and RACHEL'S GARDEN always seem to be baking them. One person who wrote asked if there really were such cookies, or was that a made-up thing!

Yes, indeed, Snickerdoodles really do exist, and the recipe is a favorite one among Pennsylvania Dutch cooks. And the sweet sugar cookies with their cinnamon topping are definitely a favorite among children. My grandkids love them. Why are they called Snickerdoodles, you ask? I have no idea!

Pennsylvania Dutch country is a place where cooks take their recipes seriously, and every little variation of a recipe is carefully saved. I have three or four versions of the Snickerdoodles, but here is my favorite:

SNICKERDOODLES

½ cup soft butter or margarine ¾ cup sugar
1 egg 1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp ground nutmeg ¼ tsp salt
2 T sugar 2 tsp cinnamon

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and beat until fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Blend into creamed mixture to make a stiff dough.

Mix the 2 T sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Shape the dough into balls the size of walnuts. Roll cookie balls in the cinnamon sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet and flatten with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly browned. The cookies will have their characteristic crinkled appearance on top. Remove to cooling rack, cool, and enjoy!

SPRING CLEANING

What is it about the first warm days and the appearance of daffodils in the yard that makes my mind turn to housecleaning, of all things?! A young man's fancy may turn to love at this time of year, but for me, it's the urge to have my house clean, inside and out. It must be something in the Pennsylvania Dutch genes--that's all I can think. When I was a child, my mother treated spring cleaning as seriously as a spiritual ritual. Everyone had to help, and everyone got to share in the satisfaction. And in those days, with a coal furnace, the house got really dirty over the course of a long, cold winter!

Just now, with a book due May 1st and another due August 1st, I have plenty of excuses not to dive into spring cleaning. After all, houses don't get nearly as dirty now as they used to. But the urge wouldn't go away. As a sort of compromise, I started with my office. After all, a clean office will make my work go better, won't it?

I began with sorting out my storage closet. Oh, dear, oh, dear. There were things in there which hadn't seen the light of day in years. I became slightly side-tracked, reading through old magazine stories and wondering whether this or that old manuscript might be re-cycled into a new story. I discovered connection cords for printers long gone and several hundred feet of telephone cable. Wonder what I was saving that for?

Finally, buried in with office supply receipts from 1990 (Tip: you don't have to save records for the IRS for more than seven years, it seems.) I discovered a list I'd made sometime in my first few years of writing. Turns out that my first year of actually selling what I wrote was 19**, and in that year I wrote twelve short stories and sold six for the magnificent total of $185! Somehow, that hand-written sheet brought back all those feelings I had when I sold my very first story. Someone liked my writing enough to pay me for it! Real people would read and perhaps enjoy the story I had created! I was a writer!

Over the years, that excitement sometimes gets buried under deadlines and publicity opportunities and galleys to read and talks to give. But you know what? It's still there. It's just as exciting to sell a book now as it was when I sold that first little story to a children's Sunday School paper. I just need to be reminded of that once in awhile.

So now not only do I have a clean office, I have a renewed sense of purpose about my writing. That was certainly worth a few hours of hard labor, wasn't it? I'm diving into the last few chapters of the current work with energy to spare.

I wonder what I'll find when I start on the kitchen?

Have a great spring, everyone.

Hugs,
Marta