Me, Amish?

My novel Accidentally Amish was partially inspired by a link in my own family history to some of the earliest Amish settlers. I only discovered this a few years ago. In my story, Annie Friesen discovers her own link to history that intersects with someone she never...

Reviews of Accidentally Amish

Wondering about Accidentally Amish? Did you like The Pursuit of Lucy Banning, but you’re not sure if Amish fiction is your cup of tea? Here’s a quick round-up of what some blogging readers are saying. They’ve been surprised at Amish with a new twist....

Where Do Stories Start?

Where do stories start? For me, stories begin with characters. As a writer, a character is likely to pop up in my brain first, then a setting. After that I need the elements of plot—an objective, obstacles, stakes that keep rising. As a reader, also, I tend to attach...

Why I Get an F in Reading

I get an F in reading. You probably do too. I read lots of books. And blogs. And magazines. And online articles. (Newspapers, not so much.) And I get an F. We’ve turned into a culture of scanners. We might read the first two or three lines of a piece of writing....