MURDER IN PLAIN SIGHT

What would happen if an Amish teenager were accused of murder?

The contrast between a peaceful, pastoral countryside dotted with barns and crisscrossed by horse-drawn buggies and the gritty, dark city streets of Law and Order popped into my imagination and wouldn’t let go. Who would defend this innocent-looking Amish boy? Imagine a big-city female attorney in a stylish power suit and Italian shoes trudging across a muddy pasture—there she was, the total fish out of water, my protagonist, Jessica Langdon.

MURDER IN PLAIN SIGHT proved to be one of the most interesting, as well as difficult, stories I’ve tried to write. Fortunately I have an attorney daughter-in-law who is only as far away as a quick e-mail. And I started with a treasure trove of knowledge about the Amish and their ways, garnered from a lifetime spent in rural Pennsylvania. But juggling all of this: the mystery, the suspense, the romance, planting the seeds for the second book in the series...well, maybe I was a juggler with one too many balls in the air!

The result of my labors, MURDER IN PLAIN SIGHT, is available now, so look for it at your nearest bookseller or online. Here’s the back cover copy:

MURDER IN PLAIN SIGHT by Marta Perry
HQN Books, December, 2010, 384 pages, $7.99
ISBN: 978-0-373-77472-2

Cover Blurb:

There are secrets buried in Amish country...

Did a sweet-faced Amish teenager brutally murder a young woman? To save her career, big-city lawyer Jessica Langdon is determined to defend him—against the community’s bitter and even violent outrage. Yet without an understanding of Amish culture, Jessica must rely on arrogant businessman Trey Morgan, who has ties to the Amish community...but believes in the boy’s guilt.

Jessica has threats coming from all sides: a local fanatic, stirred up by the biased publicity of the case; the dead girl’s boyfriend; even from the person she’s learned to trust the most, Trey Morgan. Just when Jessica fears she’s placed her trust in the wrong man, Trey saves her life. And now they must both reach into a dangerous past to protect everyone’s future—including their own.

Happy Reading!
Marta

Amish and the Law

When I was doing the research for my latest book, MURDER IN PLAIN SIGHT, which will be out from HQN Books the end of November, I spent a good bit of time sorting out what the society in general believes about the Amish reaction to the law from the truth. In my story, an Amish teenager is accused of the murder of a young woman with whom he was apparently involved. The protagonist is a female attorney from Philadelphia who is brought in to defend him. Amish relationship with the law is a big part of the story, and I needed to know how that would play out from the Amish perspective, so that I could attempt to portray the different reactions.

For the Amish, living separate from the world generally means that while they are very law-abiding themselves, they are reluctant to turn to the law for help. In some instances, outside groups have helped to obtain lawyers to represent the Amish when their beliefs and practices run afoul of government regulations, as in the celebrated school disputes of the 1950s, which went all the way to the Supreme Court. In more recent years, this sort of dispute with the government has resurfaced over requirements to have photo IDs, since the Amish object on religious grounds to having their photographs taken. This controversy boiled up recently in Missouri, with numbers of Old Order Mennonites planning to move to another state if they were required to do so.

The Amish do use attorneys' services to draw up wills, handle real estate transactions, set up business partnerships, etc., but they are unwilling, or at least reluctant, to use the legal system to protect their rights. Unfortunately, this has led to a number of situations in which others have bilked Amish individuals or businesses, knowing that the Amish are unlikely to sue them.

For much the same reason, the Amish in some areas have been the victims of thefts, home break-ins, and vandalism. It may be that the perpetrators are drawn to people they believe will not fight back. In one recent incident, someone had been repeatedly breaking in Amish businesses, apparently feeling that he could get away with it more easily than tackling an English business. One business owner, frustrated at being robbed several times, hid an infrared hunting camera in his place of business, catching the suspect on tape. While the Amish do not believe in taking photos of themselves, their beliefs don't prevent them from taking a picture of someone else, especially if it helps to catch a thief!

Local police in some heavily Amish areas have begun cooperating more and more with the Amish to deal with and prevent problems. They will speak at meetings to educate parents about drug use, for instance. Some meet regularly with the bishops in their area to discuss any issues or problems they see, particularly with young people, so that the church can actively help to address them. In respect to the law, as in so many other aspects of modern culture, it seems the Amish balance on a constantly shifting line to maintain their traditional faith in a modern world.

Time for Squash

By this time of the year, usually the only thing left in gardens around here is winter squash! I love all the different varieties--they are so bright and colorful.

I have several winter squash recipes, but my family's all-time favorite is Butternut Squash Bake. It makes a sweet, custardy casserole, and the raisins add even more sweetness, so that it's almost like a dessert, but oh so good for you!

I made this recipe once for our Norwegian relatives, and encountered an interesting problem in trying to explain winter squash. Apparently their growing season isn't long enough for winter squash to be a common vegetable. I finally had to describe it as being similar to a pumpkin, which I guess is close enough!

And now for the recipe:

Butternut Squash Bake

2 C cooked mashed butternut squash (or acorn or buttercup)

1 C sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/3 C orange juice

1/2 C raisins

1/3 C dry milk

1/2 t salt

1/4 C melted butter

Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased, deep 1-2 quart casserole dish. Bake at 350 until set, about one hour.

Enjoy yet another taste of autumn!

The Amish Way

I'm delighted to suggest a new book for those for love learning about the Amish. THE AMISH WAY: Patient Faith in a Perilous World is written by Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David Weaver-Zercher, whose earlier book about the tragedy at Nickel Mines school, Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy, was a national bestseller.

The Amish Way is a very readable and fascinating look at the distinctive practices of Amish spirituality. The authors discuss how Amish faith is connected to community, family, child rearing, home life, and a host of other topics. In our increasingly busy and fragmented world, I am constantly intrigued by the way everything in Amish life seems to be grounded in their faith. If you want to understand why the Amish can live as they do in the midst of contemporary culture, you won't find a better place to start than this book.

The authors draw on interviews with Amish individuals, Amish publications, and their own firsthand experiences in Amish communities. The book is filled with engaging anecdotes in which the Amish speak in their own words about their lives and their beliefs.

Jodi Picoult, author of Plain Truth, has this to say about The Amish Way: "With detailed personal anecdotes and explanations straight from the Amish themselves, The Amish Way illustrates the simplicity and grace with which the Amish live their lives, and proves that those of us who have our own questions with faith might well learn from their example."

In my own struggle to understand how God wants me to live, I find continuing encouragement in learning how others are answering this same question.

Blessings,

Marta

Fall Delights

If it gets any prettier than these past few days in Pennsylvania, I don't know where it would be, but I'm sure we all think, wherever we are, that our autumn color is the best. We took a drive after church on Sunday to enjoy the colors. Just a short one, we thought, but ended up spending three hours! Around every bend in the road, we found something new to appreciate.

We happened upon a pumpkin festival at a little rural fire hall...pumpkins, pumpkins, and more pumpkins. They were serving lunch, so we had homemade bean soup and homemade barbecued ham sandwiches. So good! The fire companies in our area, all volunteer, do such a great job, and it takes constant fundraisers like this one to keep them going.

And speaking of pumpkins, here are a few of our grandkids enjoying a trip to the pumpkin patch. Georgia seems to have picked one as big as she is!

One of the things I enjoy most about fall is baking all my favorite apple treats. The orchards around here seem to have had a great year in spite of some worries early on about a late frost. So every week a new bag of apples appears on my kitchen counter, beckoning me to make something. After plenty of batches of apple sauce, this week I did my favorite Apple Walnut Cake recipe, and I thought you might like to try it.

Apple Walnut Cake

4 cups chopped apples 1/2 cup of oil 2 t each baking soda and cinnamon

2 cups sugar 2 t vanilla 1 t salt

2 eggs 2 cups flour 1 cup chopped walnuts

Combine apples with sugar and set aside. Beat eggs in oil and add vanilla. Mix flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Add flour mixture and apple mixture to the oil. Stir in walnuts, making sure the batter is evenly moist. Pour into a 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

This is a lovely, dense cake that is very good topped with whipped cream or ice cream. It continues to get more moist as it sits.

I hope you'll take the time to enjoy the beauties of autumn, refreshing your spirit before another winter comes.

Blessings,

Marta

Christmas in the Air

I'm delighted to recommend the latest book by veteran inspirational author and my dear friend, Irene Brand. Irene is a popular writer who has been writing Inspirational Fiction for twenty-five years. She's been involved in the start-up of several inspirational romance lines at different publishers, including Steeple Hill.

LOVE FINDS YOU UNDER THE MISTLETOE is the first anthology published by Summerside Press, and Irene's novella, "An Appalachian Christmas," shares the spotlight with a second Christmas novella in the two-for-one volume. In "An Appalachian Christmas" Irene returns to the beautiful mountain setting she knows so well and has used in many of her previous books. If you're looking for something to put you in the holiday mood, these two stories will definitely do it!

As an added benefit to her readers, Irene is providing a free e-book on her website, http://www.irenebrand.com/. CHRISTMAS: ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL is a lovely collection of quotes, family recipes, traditions, and memories. Just go to Irene's site and download your copy today.

Christmas in October!

My latest story in The Bodine Family series, The Bodine Family Christmas, is coming out in October in a Love Inspired Christmas novella collection, Mistletoe Prayers. I'm so delighted to be partnering with Betsy St. Amant in Mistletoe Prayers. Her novella is The Gingerbread Season, and if you're ready to get into the spirit of Christmas a little early, I hope you'll look for it.

The Bodine Family Christmas is set, like all the Bodine books, in the Charleston, South Carolina area. I was delighted to have the opportunity to write a Christmas book there, since we always make our move south before Christmas, and I've had many happy Christmases in the Low Country. Most of the Christmas traditions mentioned in the story are ones in which we've participated, and the Living Nativity is based upon one held on Sullivan's Island, in which two of my granddaughters make appearances as angels each year!

The Bodine Family Christmas features Annabel Bodine, twin sister of the heroine of Book 2, Heart of the Matter. I hinted in that story that Annabel had a sad romance in her background, so I was able to use that to bring about this story. Here's a bit about it:

Left at the altar on Christmas Eve, Annable Bodine has lost her holiday spirit. When her big brother brings home handsome Coast Guard buddy Travis McCall, can she summon the courage to open her heart to love for the holidays--and maybe for a lifetime?

I hope you'll enjoy my story, and that it will make you think of your own Christmas traditions!