Happy Monday everyone! I am thrilled to have Vannetta Chapman back for a guest post to talk all about her new book Material Witness. I enjoyed reading this book so much and can’t wait for you all to read it! Vannetta is graciously offering a copy to one lucky reader so be sure to enter! Good Luck and Happy Reading:)
Material Witness is my third book set in the town of Shipshewana. This time, the story begins on the night before the Fall Crafter’s Fair. You can read more about the actual festival here (http://www.shipshewana.com/festivals.php).
I love fall festivals–the colors, the sound, and of course the food! When you live in Texas, fall is something you pray for. The temperatures drop below 100. We have a little color in the tress, and you know the holidays aren’t far away.
Here’s a brief blurb about the book.
Tragedy strikes on the opening night of the Fall Crafters Fair when a woman is killed in the parking lot of Daisy’s Quilt Shop, and the only material witness is one of Melinda Byer’s boys. The investigation takes a more bizarre turn when detective Shane Black becomes convinced the killer was actually after Callie.
This time it’s a madman loose in the largest crowd of the year, and he’s looking for something or someone. If they can’t figure out what, one of Deborah and Callie’s close circle of friends may be next. Masked identities, antique quilts with hidden messages, an Amish boy whose handicap makes him stronger, one brave dog, and a possible hidden treasure … this time it’s nonstop action, danger, and a dash of romance.
This story is definitely “nonstop.” All of the action takes place over the period of 96 hours–from Thursday evening to Monday afternoon. I thought it would be fun to increase the tension and shorten the amount of time my characters had to solve the mystery and apprehend the guilty party. But more than that, I wanted to show that God works in our lives in mysterious ways, often in ways we would never imagine and can’t begin to understand.
Here’s an excerpt from the beginning.
Nearly an hour later, as Martha guided his chair, Aaron stared
up at the twinkling lights in the trees that lined the sidewalks of
Shipshewana’s shopping district. The artificial lights reminded
him of the stars, and he wondered why the Englischers had bothered
to wrap them around the tree branches.
Perhaps because they lived in town, where Gotte’s lights
weren’t as easy to see.
That’s what his daadi would say anyway.
Today had been very nearly perfect.
He’d received an A on his spelling test in school and a B on
his math quiz. Maybe he could have earned an A, but Jacob and
Joseph had been popping peas at the girls in the next row, and
Aaron had started laughing, which led to wheezing. By the time
he got his breathing under control, time was up, and he hadn’t
been able to finish the last two questions.
It had been worth it to see Annie King squirm back and forth,
trying to pull the peas out from between her dress and her apron.
Aaron liked Annie all right, but she could be a little annoying
at times. He’d told his mamm that once, and she’d explained he
would like girls more when he was older.
That was hard to imagine.
Except for Martha. She was nice, but then again, she was different.
More like his mamm.
“Drat.” His bruder stopped suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk,
causing Martha to nearly trip and pull back on his wheelchair.
It felt like the time he’d ridden his dat’s horse, in the saddle,
and the horse had suddenly reversed. Aaron had fallen, but his dat
had caught him before he’d hit the ground — something they still
hadn’t told his mamm.
“Forget something?” Martha asked.
“Ya. I think I left my wallet at one of the last places we
stopped.”
“When we bought the candy apples?” Martha peered around
at Aaron’s half-eaten apple.
“Maybe. I took it out and set it on the counter of the booth.”
“Wasn’t your cousin Mary Ellen working there?”
“Ya. I’m sure she would have set it aside for me if I did leave
it after I paid.”
Martha pointed to the sack in his right hand. “After that we
bought your new slingshot.”
“True, but I think I paid for that with money out of my
pocket, from the change Mary Ellen gave me. Now I can’t remember.”
Matthew took off his wool cap and rubbed his hand over his
head, front to back, then back to front — something Aaron knew
he did when he was naerfich.
“Matt, you go and see Mary Ellen.” Aaron pulled in a deep
breath, then continued. “Martha, you go and check the slingshot
booth. I’ll wait here with Max.”
“Are you sure?” Matthew glanced from Martha to Aaron and
back again.
“I’m not . . . ,” another deep breath, “going back to the quilting
shop without you.” He reached for Max and gave the dog a reassuring
pat. “Mamm would have both our hides.”
“All right. She told us to be back by dark, and there’s still a
little light left. If we hurry — ”
“We can be there and back in ten minutes.” Martha moved to
the front of his chair, squatted down so she was eye to eye with
him. “Sure you’ll be fine?”
“Ya. Move me to the side.” He glanced over to where a bench
had been placed next to a large shrub. “There.”
“Okay. We’ll be back before you even know we’re gone.”
“Stop worrying.” Aaron looped Max’s leash around his wrist.
“I’m not a . . .”
Matt glanced back over his shoulder, then at Aaron, a smile
trying to win over the worry.
“. . . little kid,” Aaron finished.
“ ’Course you’re not,” Martha whispered.
Candy apples and artisan booths–it’s a perfect fall evening. Until Aaron becomes a Material Witness.
To enter to win a copy of Material Witness simply answer Vannetta’s question:
Describe your favorite thing to do in the fall.
Don’t Forget To: Like or share on Facebook, and leave another comment on this post if you liked or shared. That’s another chance to win!
Contest starts today Aug.27 and ends on Aug.31. Winners will be announced on Saturday. Good Luck!
Vannetta Chapman writes inspirational fiction full of grace. She has published over one hundred articles in Christian family magazines, receiving more than two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather’s birthplace of Albion, Pennsylvania. Her novel, Falling to Pieces, is a 2012 ACFW Carol Award finalist. A Promise for Miriam earned a spot on the June 2012 Christian Retailing Top Ten Fiction list. Chapman writes Amish fiction for Abingdon Press, Zondervan, and Harvest House. She lives in the Texas hill country with her husband.
Links
webpage — www.VannettaChapman.com
blog — http://vannettachapman.wordpress.com
facebook — www.facebook.com/VannettaChapmanBooks, and
pinterest — http://pinterest.com/vannettachapman
youtube — check out my youtube page. It’s at http://www.youtube.com/user/vannettachapman/videos#
Buy link
http://www.vannettachapman.com/material-witness.html