When I write a book, it’s important to me to create a setting that readers can connect with—a place, a feeling, an aura that enables them to create an image in their heads (with help from my words) so vivid, they actually feel as if they are wherever the main character happens to be in […]
This past Sunday we spent a WONDERFUL day at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. It was our first time visiting the zoo and we were thrilled that we went! It was neat to ride an elevator up the entrance, which was more than perfect for me and my flip-flop loving self. We were able to […]
Growing up in the 70s (gee! that sounds soooo long ago!), television was limited to a handful of channels and there weren’t that many programs for children. The Internet hadn’t been invented yet and cell phones were decades away from infiltrating our lives. So what did children do in their spare time? Play and read. […]
Because I enjoy exploring Amish history and rooting my stories in situations the Amish wrestled with in the ways they interact with the outside world, I find myself drawn to tidbits that are “firsts” in Amish history. Here are the first ten entries into a list I suspect will be ongoing. 1. 1564: First publication […]
I have an Amish friend in Pennsylvania whom I call from time to time when I need to check my facts about the Amish. Her name is Priscilla. She has three little girls and a husband who does housework, and she occasionally owns a cell phone. I say occasionally, because she gets a cell phone […]
When the Amish arrived in Pennsylvania in Colonial times they likely did not look much different than the thousands of other German immigrants who came. They dreamed of leaving religious intolerance behind and carving farms out the Pennsylvania landscape to build self-sustaining lives where their faith could take form in everyday actions. The Amish have […]
My son, who has always been a geography buff, has gotten me hooked on a History Channel show called “How the States Got Their Shapes.” (We’re watching on Netflix if you want to check it out.) One of the humorous features is when the host asks people who live in a state what they know […]
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…..lots of books to share! WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group is giving away Four copies of Christmas in Apple Ridge by Cindy Woodsmall to four lucky readers. This should put you in the Christmas mood! Good Luck:) Contest Rules: Simply leave a comment on this post below to be entered. Contest starts today […]
I just finished reading Love Finds You In Lancaster County Pennsylvania by Annalisa Daughety.This book follows Amish-born Lydia Ann Raber and Englisher Caroline Demarco who forge an unlikely friendship when they meet in Lancaster County. Lydia Ann is a character from this author’s previous book Love Finds You In Charm, Ohio. You do not have […]