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| Amish garden, Shipshewana, Indiana |
One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is “How did you
become interested in the Amish?” Since I’m new to Love Inspired, I thought it
would be fun to share that story here.
My first agent was Mary Sue Seymour. I had written several
books, and she’d pitched them to publishers. We always ended up in the top 3
books they were considering, and then they’d pass. I couldn’t figure out what
was going on!
Finally Mary Sue wrote me an email and told me that I should
write an Amish book. This was in 2009, and there were a lot of Amish books
coming out--even more than now. She had publishers calling her asking for more
Amish! I thought about it a few minutes and then told her “No.” I was so afraid
to tell my agent no, but as I explained to her, we have no large Amish
communities in Texas, only a very small one in Beeville and they don’t even
have a store to visit. I’d never met an Amish person!
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| Amish school, Cashton, Wisconsin |
Mary Sue wrote me back and said she understood. Then she
wrote me another email, this one quite long, explaining that I could learn,
research, visit, and then write that book. I prayed and fumed and worried and
tossed and turned that night, and then finally I decided that if she was going
to be my agent I should accept her advice--so I said “Yes!” That was the 9th
book I’d written, and the first book we sold. Abingdon Press bought it, and A
Simple Amish Christmas released in 2010 and was a huge success.
Since then I’ve published 4 novellas and 16 Amish books
(romances and mysteries), including my most recent with Love Inspired, A Widow’s Hope. My husband and I have
visited a lot of Amish communities in the last 9 years--communities in Indiana,
Ohio, Wisconsin, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma. I’ve met a lot of Amish
folks, and I feel fortunate to count them as my friends. I’ve learned a lot,
and I’m so glad that Mary Sue pushed me beyond my comfort zone.
What about you? Have you ever done something that scared you
just a little and then changed your life in some way? I certainly never saw
myself becoming an Amish author! (PS--I would love you to stop by my webpage and look around. You can do so here or follow me on Facebook here.)
Posts
Yes, when I started writing Christian fiction. Thanks for sharing about your research.
ReplyDeleteHi Margaret. Thanks for commenting!
DeleteI lived near Amish communities in Ohio and Pennsylvania and always enjoyed shopping at their farmers' markets. My Ohio grandmother was of German descent and cooked foods similar to what the Amish eat. In addition, my husband and I lived in Germany for three years while he was in the military so I was drawn to the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect as well as the heute Deutsch the Amish use in their worship services. All of that to say that I was eager to include an Amish community in my Military Investigations series and then went on to write the Amish Protectors series that is out now. For me, it's been a nice fit.
ReplyDeleteLove your stories, Vannetta. You've made the transition seem so natural.
Oh, Debby. I'm a little jealous. :) I would love to live near or in Amish country. But I do have all these hunky old Texans hanging around, so it isn't all bad.
DeleteNice to read how you got your start writing Amish, Vannetta! The scariest thing for me as a writer was several years ago when I first decided to try my hand at historical romance. I never thought I could handle the in-depth research historical fiction requires, but I found I actually enjoyed it and eventually wrote two 3-book series. I'm back to writing contemporary romance now, but at least I know that if a new idea for a historical should come my way, I don't need to shy away.
ReplyDeleteHi Myra. I so admire historical authors. After all, I just make stuff up. Oh sure, there's a little research involved, but I don't have to research every little details. :)
DeleteLooking forward to reading your LI. Amish is here to stay :)
ReplyDeleteHi Pamela. Thank you, and I agree. :)
DeleteWhat a great story. I’m glad your agent pushed you, too. Mary Sue was an amazing woman. So glad you are writing for LI Amish. I never dreamed I’d write Amish either and yes, writing that book was a scary, challenging time for me.
ReplyDeleteHi Lenora. MSS was definitely amazing. She was small in size but mighty in spirit!
DeleteWhat a wonderful testimony, Tricia. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete