P.L. Gaus's Blog: From Ohio's Amish Country, page 2

Stars for Lydia, An Amish-Country Mystery

Well folks, I have finished the publishing work on my end, by submitting Stars for Lydia to the various e-reader vendors. Each vendor takes a different amount of time before they actually offer the book for sale, so please be patient for a little while longer. Amazon-Kindle seems to take the longest, but it will be available sometime within the next week or so, I am sure. For you who have long been watching for news of this tenth story, I can only say that the publication process has been quite a battle for me. I finally decided just to publish it myself, as an e-book. It seems that was the only way the story was going to become available. If you are not familiar with e-readers like Kindle and Nook, you can still read the story, because once it is up and running on all of the available e-readers, your local library should be able to help you obtain the book. I have dedicated the story to the fans of the Amish-Country Mysteries, because you have most suffered through the long wait for this story. All of my English regulars are back at last, and there is a new cast of Amish characters from the Schwartzentruber sect. I hope you will let me know what you think of the novel, once you have read it.

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My Tenth Amish-Country Mystery

In a few short hours, I will submit my tenth Amish-Country Mystery as an e-book to the following platforms: Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes&Noble’s Nook, Walmart’s KOBO, plus Apple, Tolino, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Playster, KOBO Plus, Overdrive, Bibliotheca, and Baker&Taylor. So that’s a big HOORAY! The novel is titled: Stars for Lydia, and it is set among the Schwartzentruber Amish, the most conservative of all the Anabaptist sects in Holmes County, Ohio.

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More Website Troubles and News About My Tenth Novel

I have some more news about my website, and my tenth Amish-Country Mystery. The website was deeply hacked sometime last year, and we have been working to bring it back to a good operating condition. This has required us to install security measures, and I have gotten an SSL certificate from my hosting agency. This means that my website is now completely secure. It also means that instead of http://, I am using https://. My new website address is: https://plgaus.com. Also, the address https://www.plgaus.com can be used. I am sorry for the troubles, and I hope you will continue to visit the site.

Other news will soon be available about my tenth Amish-Country Mystery. I have been facing long-term difficulties with various publishers, and I have concluded that my vision for the novel is not going to match theirs. I am considering putting the book out, finally, as an e-book that will be available on e-readers worldwide. This will include Kindle for Amazon, Nook for Barnes&Noble, and KOBO for Walmart, among several others internationally.

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My Website is Working Again!

Hello to all my fans and friends of The Amish-Country Mysteries.  My website, which has not been operational for quite some time, is working again, and I am so happy to be able to report this.  Look for more news here, soon, about progress on publishing my tenth novel, Remnants.  It is about the Schwartzentruber sect, the most conservative of all the Amish churches.

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An Amish-Country Colt and His Mother

Can you see the napping colt in the hay?  Perhaps not at first glance.  The mare is so striking that you probably didn’t notice the little fella on the ground.  Travel in Holmes County, Ohio, is fun because of sights like this one.  It’s a heavy tourist area for good reason.

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Fine Amish Draft Horses – Holmes County, Ohio

Holmes County, Ohio, is definitely horse country.  Here is a beautiful set of draft horses, taking a rest in the evening.  We can’t drive a quarter mile in Holmes County without seeing splendid animals like these.

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An Old Order Amish Woman with Her Barefooted Son

Would you care to make a guess about the specific Old Order of the Amish to which this woman and her son belong?  It may be the Schwartzentruber order, but they are usually dressed entirely in black.  Still, I am certain that it is one of the more conservative of the Old Orders.  The heavy bonnet was long and black, and the little boy was barefooted that day.  And it was quite hot.  We tend to mistakenly romanticize Amish culture, but sometimes we just have to admit that it is a very hard lifestyle.  I am often astonished by the level of commitment that it takes to live this way.  My tenth novel, nearing completion, addresses some of these difficult aspects of the most conservative of the orders.

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The Old and The New – Amish Shoppers in The City

Here is a mother with two of her children, shopping in the city.  These three are clearly not of the oldest Order Amish.  They may be Mennonite, or even New Order Amish of some variety.  It would be impossible to tell, without asking them directly.  There are probably a dozen various sects that fall into this category.  The woman in shadow however, at the top and right edge of the photo, is definitely an Old Order Amish person, dressed entirely in black.

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Stacking Hay Bails in Amish Country

Amish farmers have been taking in a good crop of hay lately in Holmes County, Ohio.  Here a ten-year old lad drives a team of draft horses, while others gather and stack the bails of hay on a wagon.  English boys of that age probably dream of driving cars.  Amish kids?  They dream of handling a team of Belgians.  I’d bet that they also dream of cars, sometimes, too.

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Author Events for the Summer of 2017

I have posted my speaking events for Ohio this summer under the ‘EVENTS’ tab on my website (www.plgaus.com).  These are for Wakeman, Willard, Lakewood, Wooster and Mt. Vernon, at various times.  If you live close to one of these, I’d be very happy to see you there.  I will have books for sale and for autographing, and if you get me started, I have a thousand stories to tell about my travels in Holmes County over the past forty years.

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