RACHEL'S GARDEN releases!

I'm so happy to announce that RACHEL'S GARDEN, the second book in the Pleasant Valley Amish series from Berkley Books, will be in stores on March 3. This second book in the series takes place about a year after the events of LEAH'S CHOICE, and if you read that one, you'll have a chance to re-visit the people and places of that story. However, RACHEL'S GARDEN does stand alone as a story.

Here's a bit about the new book:

It has been almost a year since the Amish community of Pleasant Valley lost Ezra Brand to a tragic accident. Since then his wife, Rachel, has struggled to raise their three children and run their dairy farm.

Rachel's friends and family have come forward to help--Rachel's friend Leah, who is now married and expecting a child; Ezra's brothers, who work on the farm; and Rachel's parents, who are no strangers to grief after their only son, Johnny, left the Amish community. But their constant advice, hoever well-intentioned, puts undue pressure on Rachel. And when Gideon Zook--Ezra's best friend, who survived the accident--asks her permission to build the greenhouse that Ezra had always promised her, she finds his presence too painful a reminder of the past.

As spring turns to summer, and Rachel puts her heart into growing the flowers and plants that have always brought her joy, can she discover the courage to make her own choices...and embrace new beginnings?

May I ask a favor of you? If you read the book, please let me know what you think of it. And if you enjoy RACHEL'S GARDEN, you could help me by placing a favorable comment or rating about it on www.amazon.com and/or www.christianbook.com. Those reviews do make an impression on others!

Best,
Marta

Following A Dream

People are always asking small children, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" How did you answer that question? Usually I said I wanted to be a mommy or a nurse or a teacher. But what I really wanted to be was a writer.


It all started when I was eight. My mother took me to the library, and I picked out a new book, The Secret of the Old Clock. The adventures of Nancy Drew captivated me. Most little girls, when they reach the end of the book, want to be Nancy Drew. Not me. I wanted to be the person who wrote that terrific story.


So why couldn't I say that when people asked me what I wanted to be? I guess because I didn't know any writers. I'm not sure I even realized that writing books could be a career. Or maybe it was because I feared that was a dream that would never come true.


Amanda Bodine, in my book, HEART OF THE MATTER, out this month from Love Inspired, has reached the age of thirty--one of those milestone birthdays when people take stock of how they're progressing toward their dream. She's still single, without a serious boyfriend in sight. She's working as a reporter, but the serious stories she longs to write elude her. Worse, her new boss, Editor Ross Lockhart, seems convinced that she's a frivolous Southern belle who can't cover anything more important than a local dog show. She longs to prove herself, but when Ross finally seems ready to give her a chance, she learns it's only because he wants to get close to her family to write an expose on their family secret. It's time for Ross Lockhart to learn that the most important thing--the heart of the matter--is love and family. Without that, all the success in the world isn't important.


Like me, Amanda has a dream, but that dream is one she may have to sacrifice in order to save her family. I hope you'll like this second installment in The Bodine Family series, and be on the watch for Adam's story, A GUARDIAN'S HONOR, coming in July.

And I also hope that whatever your dream may be, you'll find the courage to pursue it with all your heart.

Blessings,
Marta

Amish Schools

Leah Beiler, in my November book, LEAH'S CHOICE, was an Amish schoolteacher. Despite the fact that I was already familiar with Amish schools, I found myself doing a great deal more research in order to make the scenes set in the actual schoolroom as realistic as possible.

Most people are aware that Amish children only attend formal school until they complete the eighth grade. The Amish feel that by that time, their children will have gained enough formal education for the lives they are expected to lead--lives of worthwhile work, sharing, cooperation, and humility in obedience to God. In most Amish communities, children attend an Amish one-room school, provided and cared for by the parents, taught by an Amish teacher who is usually an unmarried woman. The emphasis in the classroom is on cooperation, rather than competition, with each child encouraged to achieve his or her own best.

Parents are very involved in their children's schooling, dropping in for unannounced visits to observe, helping the teacher with special events, hosting lunches and picnics for the young scholars. Fathers also serve on the school board, meeting regularly to decide on school matters and caring for the maintenance of the school. The community also donates or raises all the money required for the school and teacher. In my county in central Pennsylvania, the local

Amish hold an auction three times a year to provide money for the schools in this area. The auctions have grown to be large, popular events, with many non-Amish eager to attend and bid on everything from farm equipment to home-baked goodies.

Since children speak Pennsylvania Dutch at home, they usually don't learn English until they start school. I was amused to find, at one school, that the teacher used the Dick and Jane primers--the books I used when I learned to read in the four-room schoolhouse I attended as a child. In addition to English and reading, the children also concentrate on spelling, geography, and arithmetic. Each classroom usually has a small library. The Little House on the Prairie books and Little Women are particular favorites among the children.

People are sometimes surprised that religion is not taught at Amish schools, although the school day begins with a scripture reading. The Amish feel that religion is best taught by parents and the church.

What could be more popular than recess at any school? Usually an Amish school will have a play area outside, and the teacher, who may not be a great deal older than some of her older students, will often join in a game. Even in play, cooperation is valued over competition.

A visit to an Amish school is a trip back to a simpler time. Even though the school doesn't have the latest in technology and many of the things that are considered necessary to a modern educational plant, for the most part it provides its scholars with a solid education that prepares them for the life they're intended to lead.

LEAH'S CHOICE in stores now!

I'm delighted to say that LEAH'S CHOICE is in stores now. It's been an exciting week, as I've done several booksignings and an author talk. But I never get over the thrill of seeing a new book of mine on the shelves at the bookstore.

Here's a bit about LEAH'S CHOICE:

All of Pleasant Valley seems to think the newcomer from Lancaster County would make a perfect husband for teacher Leah. After all, so few new families come to their separate Amish community, and fewer still unmarried men. Daniel Glick is a widower with three young children to look after--clearly he's in need of a wife.

Daniel's past haunts him. Though he cannot miss the beauty in Leah's bright eyes and patient ways, he also sees a reminder of his pain-filled marriage. Leah Beiler, too, has a burden to bear. Years ago, she was engaged to Johnny Kile, and she was heartbroken when he decided to leave the Amish community. since then she has immersed herself in teaching, forgetting any hopes of having her own family. When Johnny returns, seeking reconciliation, Leah must decide between two paths and rely on her faith to show the way.

If you'd like to receive a signed bookmark and my free brochure of Pennsylvania Dutch recipes, just e-mail me at marta@martaperry.com with your mailing address.

APPEAL OF AMISH FICTION

AMISH APPEAL by Marta Perry


No one can doubt the appeal of Amish fiction in today’s romance field. Popular authors are reaching the bestseller list and appearing on television, and even the Wall Street Journal has featured a front page article on it.

The Amish romance flood started, as these things often do, with a single author. Beverly Lewis has been quietly selling her Amish stories for a number of years, with no one in publishing apparently noticing, until she reached so many dedicated fans that she began appearing on the Times list. In short order, Wanda Brunstetter followed her to the list, and then Cindy Woodsmall. Suddenly every publishing house wanted its own Amish author, and Amish series are popping up like weeds in my flower bed.

Why are they so popular? That’s the million dollar question. Based on the letters I receive from readers, I’d say that the books help feed a longing for a simpler lifestyle. Haven’t you ever wished you could get rid of the constant pressure and demand for interaction posed by e-mail, Facebook, cell phones, twenty-four hour news channels, and all the rest? Sometimes it seems that all those things which should be keeping us together are just serving to isolate us. The books allow readers to live for a few hours in a society which gets along very nicely without all those things.

It’s also a society where families tend to live close together, and one in which there’s an instant support system in time of need. So many of us have no close relatives within an easy distance...something that would have been surprising just a few generations ago.

The oddest thing about the craze for Amish books, though, is the fact that this genre has grown up around a culture which does its best to stay out of the spotlight. Maybe that’s why people are so interested in knowing what goes on there. The challenge for me has been to write it real and in a way that I trust will cause no offense to a group of people I admire.

As a lifelong resident of rural Pennsylvania, I’ve always lived in areas where there were Plain People, and my own roots on my mother’s side are Pennsylvania Dutch. I went to school with children who were Old Order Mennonite, and I have friends who grew up Plain. The county where I live in central Pennsylvania has a substantial Amish population. Given all that, the only surprising thing is that it took me so long to begin writing about them!

Awhile back, in the course of an established series for Steeple Hill Love Inspired, I introduced some Amish minor characters, wondering what my editor would say about that. She responded, “You know that Amish thing? Do that more.” Delighted to be able to write about something fascinating in my own back yard, I agreed.

Next up came a three-book suspense series for Love Inspired, set in Pennsylvania Dutch country with, again, Amish minor characters. The art department did a lovely job—buggies on every cover. Then, through a series of events that had to be experienced to be believed, my agent made a three-book trade-size deal with Berkley Books. These are much longer, more complicated stories than the books I write for Love Inspired, and the main characters are Amish. Because of the length and complexity, the stories are more challenging to write, but I love every minute of it. The first book in the Pleasant Valley Amish series will be out in November, and Berkley has already contracted for another three books.

LEAH’S CHOICE, the first book in the new series, will be available in stores and online on November 3, so this seemed the ideal time to begin blogging about my experiences and about the Amish in general. I hope you’ll join me from time to time as we talk about the Amish...and I’m sure we’ll also venture into other topics, like my six beautiful grandchildren, the life of a writer, and whatever else happens to come up.

There will be something new here every week, so come back often.

Blessings,
Marta Perry