By Debby Giusti
Writing Amish suspense is an exciting
challenge. I just submitted Amish
Christmas Secrets, the fourth book in my Amish Protectors series for Love
Inspired, to my wonderful editor, Emily Rodmell. Amish Rescue, book three, will be available in April and book four
will follow in October. The series features three sister who face danger in the
North Georgia mountains. Two of the sisters are trafficked. The other sister searches
to find them and ends up captured as well. All three of the women rely on Amish
heroes to help them survive and outsmart the bad guys who try to do them harm.
When writing the stories, I drew from my
association with the Amish while living in Ohio and Pennsylvania as well as
research trips I’ve taken to various Amish locations. I particularly enjoyed visiting
Holmes County, Ohio, last August. While there, I stopped by The Budget office in Sugarcreek.
 |
Founded by John C Miller in 1890, The Budget
at that time had 600 subscribers and a yearly subscription
cost of 50 cents. |
The
Budget
is a newspaper that, according to their masthead, serves The Amish-Mennonite Communities Throughout the Americas. The weekly
National Edition, to which I subscribe, features news submitted from local
correspondents in 950 Amish or Mennonite communities around the US and Canada.
International communities in Israel, Africa, England and Ireland are also represented.
The 40-plus page publication includes recipes, a listing of benefit auctions
and fundraisers, showers and cards of thanks in addition to obits and
advertising. A Local Edition is also available and features news from Holmes
and Tuscarawas counties along with the correspondence found in the National
Edition.
 |
An Amish home open for tours. Notice
The Budget on the propane-fueled lamp table. |
The
Budget
is a great resource. From its pages, I learn when farmers plow and plant their
fields, what they’re raising and weather conditions and how the weather impacts
their crops. I’ve learned about cutting ice from the frozen lakes for their ice
houses and fund raisers, such as mud sales to benefit their fire departments. The
correspondents share details about social gatherings, weddings, births and
deaths.
 |
| Amish farm in Holmes County, Ohio. |
The Amish and Mennonites frequently visit
families in distant locations, which is noted in the newspaper. When I need to
create an Amish character, I scan The
Budget to find that perfect name for my hero or heroine or secondary
character. It also provides the locations of Amish communities across the
country that I can visit or include in my stories. The Budget gives a glimpse into the Amish way of life with their
love of family, their sense of community and outreach and their trust in the
Lord.
 |
| A buggy ride in Holmes County, Ohio. |
Have you read The Budget? If so, you might know that the youth in Tustin,
Michigan, held a “work bee at LaMar Millers’ to cut firewood and do some
sewing.” That same day “men were working on getting the roof on Elmora’s washhouse.”
Mrs. Henry Detweiler wrote from Atlantic, Pennsylvania, that the Mullets “lost
their buggy horse. He had gone to get the benches on Sat. and had just come
home when the horse fell over and died. It must have been a heart attack, or
was it old age, as it was already 24.” In Carrier Mills, Illinois, “the Ervin
Yoder family gathered at Samuels’ for their annual butchering.”
Whether you’re a writer or a reader, have you
found unusual resources that provide helpful information for your writing or
other line of work?
Wishing you abundant blessings,
Debby Giusti
Amish
Rescue
By Debby
Giusti
Hiding
with the Amish
Englischer Sarah Miller escapes her captor by hiding in the
buggy of an Amish carpenter. Joachim Burkholder is her only hope—and donning
Plain clothing is the only way to keep safe and find her missing sister. But
for Joachim, who’s just returning to the Amish, the forbidden Englischer is trouble.
Trapping her kidnapper risks his life, but losing Sarah risks his heart.
The Littlest Target
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