The Things I’ve Done for Amish Research by Patricia Davids
If you want to be a writer, or you are a writer, you have to be prepared to do some research. I always knew that. Happily, I love research. Spending hours and hours in the library, pouring through old books, finding out wonderful obscure facts. That is fun.
As it turns out, sitting in the library will only get you so far when it comes to writing realistically about something you aren’t familiar with. Take the Amish. There is still a lot I don’t know about the Amish even after 12 books in my Brides of Amish Country series. Their culture is so diverse that what works for an Amish romance set in Ohio won’t necessarily work for a story set in Pennsylvania.
Because I didn’t want a dozen books about farmers and quilters, I had to investigate businesses run by Amish families. There are many. I’ve been to visit an alpaca farm, ridden in a buggy, sat behind a draft horse in a wagon, took a tour of a printing press company and museum. I’ve visited a fabric shop and quilt store in an Amish community, visited with Old Order Mennonite women at a family run cafĂ©, spent hours talking to my nephew’s wife about being nurse-midwife, and I even interviewed the cutest small town sheriff ever. (If I get arrested, it will be in Council Grove.) I have watched a buggy wheel being made in a blacksmith shop and seen a huge sewing machine for making leather harnesses. In all, less than one tenth of what I’ve learned goes into any given book. But they don’t call me the trivia queen for nothing. Just ask me. I’m sure I’ll have an answer and if I don’t, I will make one up. I write fiction, you know.
For my latest book, THE SHEPHERD’S BRIDE, I had the privilege of visiting a sheep farm during lambing season. Talk about hard work, awesome dogs and cute, cuddly baby lambs. I will admit that alpacas have won my heart, but a baby lamb comes in a close second.
So I’m going to open it up to questions here. What would you like to know about the Amish, sheep or even alpacas?
Did you know sheep can be buried under the snow for nearly a week and survive? The heat from their bodies will melt breathing holes. They’ll dig down to grass or eat each other’s wool for food. They can get enough water by eating snow. Boggles the mind.
Wow…sheep are smart! Thank you so much for sharing Patricia. I love alpacas too 🙂 I am happy to announce that Patricia is giving away a copy of The Shepherd’s Bride to one lucky reader. How about that?
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**Contest starts today Monday, April 14th and ends on Monday, April 21st.**
 Finding RefugeÂ
Shunned by the Amish community, shepherd Carl King has given up on his dream for a family. Yet when captivating Lizzie Barkman shows up at the sheep farm where he works, Carl sees the wife he once dreamed of. Lizzie is looking for a new start, for herself and her sisters, and discovers Carl to be a kind and gentle man who cares deeply about the Amish way of life. But he is under the Bann. Is it possible that this forbidden man holds the key to her family’s safety—and the one to her heart?
USA Today Bestselling author Patricia Davids grew up on a Kansas farm with four brothers. After college she began a wonderful career as a nurse. In 1973 Pat wrote a letter to a lonely sailor. Little did she know her talent with words would bring her love, marriage and motherhood.
An avid reader, Pat longed to write a book, but put her dream on hold as she raised a family and worked in an NICU, a place of true miracles. It wasn’t until 1996, after her daughter left home, that Pat began writing seriously. Today, Pat loves to travel, but mostly she enjoys crafting emotionally satisfying romances where love and faith bring two people together forever. She lives in Wichita, Kansas with two dogs, her daughter and her granddaughter and still visits her parents on the farm where she grew up.