Marta Perry's Blog, page 15

Where are the bookstores?

Where are bookstores going? Does anyone know? I realized over the winter that several of my favorite booksellers in Hilton Head, where we spend the cold months, have closed. In fact, Barnes and Noble seems to be the only one left thriving. Don't get me wrong--I love Barnes and Noble! I can go in, browse to my heart's content through the mystery and religion sections, check out the latest juvenile books for my grandkids, and have a Chai Latte and an orange scone and eavesdrop on the latest comments from the quartet of older gentlemen who seem to spend all their time there, setting the world to rights.

But I love bookstores, and I hate to see any of them perish. The independent bookstores, in particular, have an atmosphere I cherish. Each one seems to reflect the personality of the store owner, and often the books have been hand-chosen to appeal to his or her clientele. Like B's Books in Punxsutawney, for instance. Punxsutawney is known for its famous groundhog, but the delightful small bookshop across from the park is a treasure, as well.

Or my own favorite hometown bookstore, Cloak and Dragon Bookshop in Bloomsburg. Right on Main Street, it allows you to take up a table in the front window, sip a cup of coffee or tea, read, and watch the world go by on the sidewalk outside. Cloak and Dragon is also "my" bookstore in another sense. Every author needs a hometown bookshop which will keep his or her books in stock, promote him or her at every opportunity, and handsell books. Here I am, with my eyes closed as so often happens when someone points a camera in my direction, with Sharon, the proprietor of Cloak and Dragon, at my most recent signing. This was such a lovely event, and I am always grateful for her support.

Of course I love online booksellers, too. Where would I be without Amazon? In need of a reference book for the work-in-progress? It's only a click away. Want to see the backlist of an author I've just discovered? That's there as well. And since I live in the country, there's a lot to be said for finding the books I ordered on my doorstep in a couple of days!

And then there's the e-reader. We now have a Kindle, and I've fallen in love with it, as well. When I'm sitting in my favorite chair in the evening, can't find anything worth watching on television, don't sense an appeal from the books in my "to be read" pile, a new read is just seconds away with the Kindle. Obviously I'm a devoted reader, and I'm sure you are, too. As far as I'm concerned, the more places I have to buy and borrow books, in whatever format, the better. And I don't want to lose a single one of them! How about you?

SARAH'S GIFT WINNER!

And the winner of the signed copy of SARAH'S GIFT is.......Kristie Donelson!

I'll e-mail you separately, Kristie, so that you can send me your mailing address.

If you weren't a winner, I hope you'll go out and buy your copy soon! If you'd like a signed bookplate for it, just e-mail me with your address at marta@martaperry.com and I'll be happy to send you one.

Blessings,
Marta

Book Giveaway

The latest book in my Pleasant Valley Amish series from Berkley Books, SARAH'S GIFT, will be in stores on March 1st, and I'm so excited about its release that I'd like to give someone the sole copy I have at the moment! (More should be on their way, I trust.)

SARAH'S GIFT is the story of Sarah Mast, a widowed midwife who comes to Pleasant Valley to join her aunt's midwife practice. But things start to go wrong the moment Sarah arrives. Her aunt, the strongest woman Sarah has ever known, has become forgetful, and the birthing center which was supposed to be finished is barely started. Instead of the thriving practice Sarah remembers, her aunt is seeing only a few clients. With the choice of forging ahead or retreating to her former life, Sarah takes a step in faith, offering to pay for finishing the birthing center.

Aaron Miller, Aunt Emma's neighbor, was glad when he heard the midwife practice might close. At least that would force women to go to the hospital for births, instead of dying at home the way his mother had.

Aaron's emotions take a swing the other direction when he meets Sarah and learns she plans to expand the practice. He wants to stay as far away as possible from this disturbing influence in their lives, but when Bishop Mose asks him to take on the job of finishing the carpentry at the birthing center, he finds it difficult to refuse.

Thrown together with Sarah on a daily basis, Aaron can't help but come to admire her strength and caring, even while he wishes she were anything other than a midwife.

The practice begins to thrive as the birthing center goes up, and Sarah's hopes for its future rise, as well. With Aaron and his brothers a daily part of her life, she begins to care about them, but especially for Aaron. She has to deny, even to herself, that she feels anything more than friendship. Her marriage had faltered even before her husband's death, when she'd been unable to conceive, and she won't risk going through that pain again.

But life has a way of interfering with people's plans. When an Englisch doctor tries to put the midwife practice out of business and Aaron's sister goes into labor with no one but Sarah to help, both Aaron and Sarah are forced to confront their secret pain and longing. As trouble thickens around her, will Sarah's confidence in God's gift to her be enough to see her through?

I hope you'll want to visit Pleasant Valley again. You'll have a chance to revisit old friends and meet new ones, and I pray that SARAH'S GIFT will touch your heart.

If you're interested in winning a copy, just comment below, leaving your e-mail address so that I can reach you. I'll pick a winner on March 1st.

Hexel and Mummix and Pennsylvania Dutch

Ever heard of hexel? Or mummix? If so, I'd guess there's some Pennsylvania Dutch in your family tree, as there is in mine. And if you checked first thing on Grundsou Day to find out what Punxsutawney Phil said about Spring, I'm sure of it!

Hexel and mummix are used to describe what most of us would call leftovers--or rather, the dishes that are concocted from them. Being a thrifty people, the Amish and other Pennsylvania Dutch don't like to let good food go to waste, so they find different ways to get one more meal from leftovers.

The main staple of hexel and mummix is leftover meat--beef, ground beef, creamed beef, pork or ham. To the meat is added a variety of ingredients, according to the cook's taste. In other words, Hash!

Here's a simple and easy recipe to start you off:

Mummix:

1 lb ground beef or turkey or venison
1 cup of boiled potatoes, cubed
1 egg
1 small onion, chopped
2 T vinegar
1 T butter
1 T vegetable oil
Salt and Pepper

Heat the butter and cooking oil in a hot frying pan. Mix the other ingredients and add to the pan. Cook and stir until the meat is browned. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of sugar, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Enjoy for breakfast or supper.

Happy eating,
Marta

Amish Wisdom Radio Interview

Amish author Suzanne Woods Fisher is, in addition to writing wonderful books, the host of a web radio show called Amish Wisdom, airing every Thursday at 5:00 Eastern Time. I was delighted to be asked to be her guest, and we taped the show last week. My radio interview on Amish Wisdom will air today at 5 Eastern time at http://toginet.com/shows/amishwisdom/articles/1266

The interview will continue to be available after the initial airing, so if you'd like to hear it, stop by anytime. I had an hour-long discussion with Suzanne about Amish fiction and my books. I was very nervous, but Suzanne made the process easy. I was just getting over strep, so my voice and energy were flagging by the end, but I hope it turned out all right. We discussed both of my series, Pleasant Valley and the Amish Suspense series.

I hope you'll give it a listen!

Marta

Post-Christmas Catch-Up

Are you still trying to catch up after the holidays? If so, you're not alone! We spend so much time and energy preparing for Christmas and New Year's, that we're bound to let something else go, aren't we?
I don't know what you're working on, but I've been playing catch-up with my writing. Currently I'm writing Book 3 in my Amish suspense series, Judgment in Plain Sight. I'm also starting to write a suspense novella that my publisher will make available at eHarlequin.com as a lead-in to the second book in the suspense series, Vanish in Plain Sight, coming in June. And I'm expecting the edits on the fifth book in the Pleasant Valley Amish series, Katie's Way, to arrive on my desk shortly. It's no wonder I get confused at times!
However, the beautiful holidays made the work very worthwhile. We had all six gra ndchildren and their parents here for Christmas. The four girls were angels in the Christmas pageant on Christmas Eve, and the three-year-old was almost an angel. Unfortunately, his mother says he reverted to his normal personality too quickly, shedding his halo even before he reached the pew! Still, the pageant was a lovely reminder of what we were celebrating. Each year we visit Bethlehem anew in the form of precious old carols, well-loved scripture, and a fresh crop of angels with crooked halos and shepherds in bathrobes. Small wonder that I had tears in my eyes.
Christmas mornin g was total chaos, as might be expected with six children ten and under. It seems each one got his or her heart's desire, and no one had a meltdown, which is always a surprise! As for the adults, I think most of our pleasure came from seeing the children's delight. When we have the grandkids around at the holidays, it's such a sweet reminder of when our own children were small. That happens at Christmas, doesn't it? No matter what the present situation is, those memories of Christmases Past come to the surface, bringing both joy and perhaps a few tears. Whatever the memories you had at Christmas, no matter how stressed and busy you were, I hope that you found moments of peace and joy in the celebration of our Savior's birth. Blessings,Marta

Must-Have Book for Writers

My friend Jeff Gerke, a talented Christian writer and the developer of Marcher Lord Press, has a new book out on writing from Writers Digest Books, and I'm so impressed with this one that I just have to share. PLOT VERSUS CHARACTER is an excellent guide in developing both of these crucial elements in writing. I used his process in developing the book I'm writing now, Judgment in Plain Sight, and it really helped me in integrating a complex suspense plot with character development.

With PLOT VERSUS CHARACTER, A BALANCED APPROACH TO WRITING GREAT FICTION, Jeff Gerke presents an answer to the age-old question of writers: which comes first, character or plot? Whether you love developing complex characters but struggle to find something for them to do, or excel at developing intricate plots, only to find your characters are made of cardboard, you'll find solutions to your problem in Gerke's book.

Gerke's entertaining, friendly style, full of concrete examples, will keep you reading, finding insights you can apply to your story on every page. Whatever the level of your writing skill, this excellent book will help you take your writing to the next level.

If you're a writer, or if there's a writer on your Christmas gift list, I highly recommend PLOT VERSUS CHARACTER by Jeff Gerke.

Christmas Baking

Marta Perry's Rolled Sugar Cookies

Generations of Pennsylvania Dutch women have spent long, tiring, but happy hours come December in baking Christmas cookies. No home would be complete without at least several kinds, but the crowning achievement in Christmas cookie-dom has to be the traditional rolled sugar cookie. Each group, maybe each baker, has its own particular take on how these are to be done. The Moravians typically use confectioners sugar instead of white sugar in their recipes. Sometimes the cookies are baked with a sprinkling of colored sugar, but our family tradition has always been the iced cutout cookie. Shapes vary with the cookie cutters that are available, but stars and trees are probably the most common. My own children loved a particular reindeer cutter, despite the fact that the reindeer legs were very fragile and might break during the icing process.

The following recipe has been popular in my family since before I can remember. My mother made rolled sugar cookies with me when I was a child, and I did the same with my three kids. Now, I'm making them with my grandchildren. The oldest, ten-year-old Bjoern, loftily explains to his younger sibling and cousins, "It's a tradition."

In the photo you'll see Estella, complete with Santa hat, making Christmas cookies with me. This is a special picture for me, because my husband and I were at her house, awaiting the arrival of her little brother, Tyler. We filled in the time making Christmas cookies!

Rolled Sugar Cookies
1 Cup Crisco
1 ½ C sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
4 C flour
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
4 to 6 T milk

Cream the shortening and sugar. Add eggs; beat. Add other ingredients and mix well. The dough may be refrigerated at this point for ease in handling. Roll out very thin on a floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 350 degrees for about six minutes, until very lightly browned.
After the cookies have cooled on a rack, frost them with the following confectioners sugar icing. The children can then decorate still more with icing tubes or colored sugars, if you really want that extra dose of sweetness.
This recipe makes a very thin, crisp cookie that is not overly sweet, contrasting well with the frosting.

Frosting
1 box of confectioners sugar
½ C butter or margarine, softened
3-4 T milk
1 t vanilla

Combine and beat until smooth and creamy.

It's best to let the icing dry a bit before storing the cookies. Then store them in tight containers with wax paper between the layers. I promise, they'll go fast!

CHRISTMAS AND THE AMISH

I'm deeply involved in Christmas preparations right now, as I'm sure you are. Gifts to buy and then wrap, decorations to be put up, cookies and special holiday treats to bake, and Christmas parties and dinners, enough to send an introvert like me into hiding!

We'll have fourteen people around our Christmas dinner table--but that is nothing compared to the numbers when an Amish family gathers for their holiday celebration. Because of the large families and the fact that extended families typically live close to each other, a Christmas family gathering might have sixty or eighty people!

Usually that large family gathering is not held on Christmas Day. Instead, celebrations are spread over a longer period. Some families might have their get-together on Second Christmas, the day after Christmas which is usually reserved for visiting friends and relatives. Other might choose to have a family celebration on New Year's, or some other day that works well for the entire family.

As for that gift list of mine, which sometimes seems to be getting out of hand-- The Amish give gifts to each other during the holidays, but they are typically small items, often something that is handmade for the recipient to treasure. Most Amish schools have a gift exchange, and in areas where home schooling is more popular, the children who are home-schooled might get together and exchange names for a holiday party. And of course, the teacher must receive a gift--again, usually something handmade or baked.

Most Amish do not take their children to see Santa, although some do, depending upon the particular community, and Santa doesn't leave presents under a tree, since there is no tree. But it's common for children to receive small gifts on Christmas morning, followed no doubt by other gifts as they visit, or are visited by, their grandparents.

The fact that they don't put up a tree doesn't mean that there are no signs of Christmas in an Amish household. Here in Pennsylvania, with our strong Pennsylvania Dutch traditions, it's common to see greens and candles in the house as the season approaches. The children may pounce on every Christmas card that arrives, eager to add it to a string or tape it to a door frame so that everyone can enjoy it each time they pass.

The school Christmas program is a huge part of the celebration in Amish communities which have their own schools. The children spend excited weeks preparing for the presentation, which is done in English. Teachers may spend even more time, collecting the poems, readings, and songs which the children will learn! The poems and readings focus on the meaning of the season, often stressing the importance of having an attitude of thankfulness and the joy of doing for others. By the time every scholar's parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, and other relatives file into the one-room school, it's crowded with an uncritical audience ready to enjoy every minute of the program, even the occasional error or forgotten line!

And what would Christmas be without baking? Most families have their special Christmas cookie traditions, and during the days and weeks before the holiday, the house is filled with those special aromas which say Christmas in any language.

Wishing you all the joy and peace of the season,
Marta

MURDER IN PLAIN SIGHT

What would happen if an Amish teenager were accused of murder?

The contrast between a peaceful, pastoral countryside dotted with barns and crisscrossed by horse-drawn buggies and the gritty, dark city streets of Law and Order popped into my imagination and wouldn't let go. Who would defend this innocent-looking Amish boy? Imagine a big-city female attorney in a stylish power suit and Italian shoes trudging across a muddy pasture—there she was, the total fish out of water, my protagonist, Jessica Langdon.

MURDER IN PLAIN SIGHT proved to be one of the most interesting, as well as difficult, stories I've tried to write. Fortunately I have an attorney daughter-in-law who is only as far away as a quick e-mail. And I started with a treasure trove of knowledge about the Amish and their ways, garnered from a lifetime spent in rural Pennsylvania. But juggling all of this: the mystery, the suspense, the romance, planting the seeds for the second book in the series...well, maybe I was a juggler with one too many balls in the air!

The result of my labors, MURDER IN PLAIN SIGHT, is available now, so look for it at your nearest bookseller or online. Here's the back cover copy:

MURDER IN PLAIN SIGHT by Marta Perry
HQN Books, December, 2010, 384 pages, $7.99
ISBN: 978-0-373-77472-2

Cover Blurb:

There are secrets buried in Amish country...

Did a sweet-faced Amish teenager brutally murder a young woman? To save her career, big-city lawyer Jessica Langdon is determined to defend him—against the community's bitter and even violent outrage. Yet without an understanding of Amish culture, Jessica must rely on arrogant businessman Trey Morgan, who has ties to the Amish community...but believes in the boy's guilt.

Jessica has threats coming from all sides: a local fanatic, stirred up by the biased publicity of the case; the dead girl's boyfriend; even from the person she's learned to trust the most, Trey Morgan. Just when Jessica fears she's placed her trust in the wrong man, Trey saves her life. And now they must both reach into a dangerous past to protect everyone's future—including their own.

Happy Reading!
Marta