The Amish Baker releases Feb. 19, by Marie E. Bast

Happy February! This month of romance, I’m celebrating the release of my first Love Inspired novel, The Amish Baker.

A child brings them together…                                
Will their differing Amish

beliefs pull them apart?

When his son breaks one of baker Sarah Gingerich’s prized possessions, widower Caleb Brenneman insists the boy make amends by doing odd jobs in her bake shop. A childless widow, Sarah can’t help falling for the boy...or his farmer father. But Caleb is progressive New Order Amish while Sarah holds traditional beliefs. Though they’re worlds apart, are they a perfect match?

 

Please enjoy this brief excerpt:

“The wheels crunched over the rocks as the buggy and Sarah drove out of his lane and out of his life. When he turned, his heart was beating wildly as she disappeared behind the grove of trees.

            What had he done? He didn’t want her out of his life…the buggy stirred up dust that dissolved into nothingness, like his chance for liebe.

###

I grew up on a farm in northern Illinois, not far from Amish country. When my family would drive to town, I’d see Amish buggies and horses. One day, I asked dad why we didn’t have a horse and buggy. To my disappointment, he explained that it was part of their religion to give up modern devices. From then on, the Amish have intrigued me.

Now I live seventy-six miles from Kalona, Iowa, and visit there often. The Amish started to move from Lancaster, PA, to Iowa in 1846 to live a more secluded lifestyle. The different groups in Iowa—the Old Order, New Order and Beachy Amish—have settled in seven Iowa counties. So come along with me in The Amish Baker and meet the Amish of the heartland.

The Amish Baker is available for preorder:

AMAZON         BarnesandNoble            BooksAMillion               Christianbook

Whispering words of hope and healing through complex characters and twisting plots, Marie E. Bast enjoys writing contemporary and historical stories. Her first Love Inspired novel, The Amish Baker, releases Feb. 19, 2019. Married for twenty-seven years, Marie and her husband have two grown sons and one daughter. When she’s not writing, she’s walking, golfing, gardening or spending time with her family.

Visit her website or follower her on social media:

mariebastauthor.com      Facebook     Twitter     Google     Pinterest     

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Finding Thanksgiving by Marie Bast

 

 

I love the holidays and this time of year. It always brings to mind            

how much I have to be thankful for—our family, our health, for
the many blessings, but this year I get to add my first book with
Love inspired. I’m so grateful to the wonderful LI team and all
their hard work to get my book ready for publication. 

But Thanksgiving also goes deeper…

When I set the table with my grandmother’s antique Haviland Bavaria china and mom’s silverware, memories from past years with family come flooding back. One Thanksgiving years ago, it was my turn to host the traditional family dinner. It snowed 15.6 inches in northern Illinois the night before. I had cooked and baked for two days and had tons of food and afraid we’d be eating a 25-pound turkey for a month. They plowed the roads and everyone made it. Now we go to South Carolina for the winter, but my grandson thought he’d send me a reminder of those days.

 

Yet Thanksgiving can be about remembering a family vacation like
the one we had three years ago with our son and his family in Michigan and visiting the dunes and enjoying beautiful Lake Michigan. Two years ago, it was about taking a cruise to Mexico with our other son and his wife.
                                                 

Thanksgiving was also when my husband had bypass surgery, and today I thank the Lord every day that he is here with me.

Yes, Thanksgiving is all these things and much, much more.

Thanksgiving isn’t about just one day, it’s about all the memories, all the good times, all the people, and yes, it’s about the food, too, and about sitting down together and joining hands in prayer and making new memories. It’s about finding all that we have forgotten about…

So what are your memories? Have you found your Thanksgiving?

 
































                                                

 

Finding Your Niche by Marie Bast

Authors all want to get published, but it’s not always easy to find a publisher that’s the perfect fit for our writing. Especially when it’s our first book. I’m a new author with Love Inspired, and therefore, thought I’d share my experience on cracking the code to publication. For those of you who have been trying to capture the attention of an editor or publisher, here is my journey to my first book contract.              

Before

I joined writers’ organizations like RWA, ACFW, SCBWI, Word weavers, and two critique groups. The training and information from these professional organizations and writers were invaluable. Now, I’m going to enlist the aid of my son’s dog, Lola, who has graciously volunteered (after receiving several biscuits) to demonstrate show don’t tell for manuscript makeover. In the creative stage of writing, extraneous little creatures—over-used words, adverbs, prepositions, sentence starters and filler words had weaseled their way onto each page. They made my work-in-process (WIP) look bloated and shaggy—needing a cleanup.       

After

After scrubbing and trimming my manuscripts, they looked professional, sharp, and ready for presentation to editors and publishers. Besides publishing dozens of articles, short stories, devotionals, poetry and prayers, I contributed to four book compilations. Brimming with confidence, I wrote three adult books and five children’s books. Armed with proposals, I attended several writers' conferences. None of them caught a publisher's attention. Disappointed but I was still determined.      

 
Since I enjoyed reading Love Inspired books, I browsed their webpage and found that in February, they often held contests or offered submission opportunities. My first attempt at submission, failed, but I received constructive comments and advice. The next time I entered a contest, I made it through stage one, but rejected at stage two. Then at a writers’ conference, I attended a workshop given by Allie Pleiter. I learned a lot from Allie on how to further hone my work, and it gave me the push to submit to LI again. After submission, the whole process took around a year, but it ended in a contract.

 My advice, don’t give up. Attend writers’ conferences and workshops, find a publisher that you’d like to work with, then read their books and determine if this is the kind of niche or genre you’d like to write. Before you submit, make sure you have trimmed and polished your manuscript until the shaggy spots are gone.    

My first book, The Amish Baker releases March 2019. Have you ever had someone give you that crucial shove to try something one more time?  To get to know me better, visit my blog, follow me on Facebook, or Twitter.