It doesn’t matter how many times I visit Amish country in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I learn something new every single time. Very often, that new-to-me thing finds itself into the plot of the next book in my Amish Mystery series.
Take for example the Christmas season. During one of my research trips, I learned that many one-room schoolhouses inside the Amish community host an annual Christmas program. In the days leading up to the program, the children learn poems, songs, and skits that they will perform in front of their families. The majority of the content is religious in nature, but it’s also not out of the realm of possibility to hear Santa Claus mentioned in a song or two. The classroom is also spruced up for the big event with simple paperchains and homemade snowflakes.
Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?
Sure enough, as I drove home to New York, thinking about everything I’d learned, I knew I wanted to visit the notion of an Amish school’s Christmas program via my series’ characters. And how better to explore it than through the eyes of Detective Jakob Fisher and his memories of growing up inside the Amish community…
A Christmas Mourning, my brand new E-short story, is now available wherever you buy E-books. It’s a mystery, of course, but this time it involves a missing heirloom and an enduring truth about family, love, and the power of forgiveness.
Thank you, Destination Amish, for letting me visit with you today. And I wish all of you reading this, a very Merry Christmas!
~Laura Bradford
Laura is giving one lucky reader the chance to win an ebook copy of A Christmas Mourning!
To enter, leave a comment. For an EXTRA chance share this post and leave a comment if you do.
Giveaway starts today, Monday, December 7th and ends Monday, December 14th.
Laura Bradford is the national bestselling author of the Amish Mysteries and the Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries (written as Elizabeth Lynn Casey) with Penguin Random House. The Emergency Dessert Squad Mysteries will be added to the mix in 2016. Laura is a former Agatha Award nominee, and the recipient of an RT Reviewer’s Choice Award in romance. Laura enjoys making memories with her family, baking, playing games, and catching up with friends. To learn more, visit her website: www.laurabradford.com and/or her author page on Facebook.