Author Links
Author Q & A
Are any of the holiday
scenes in this book inspired by your own holiday traditions?
Funny you should ask. My
brother puts on a living nativity for his church with sometimes hilarious
results. I’ve added a few of them to my story.
What are the key
elements of a holiday romance?
I think the holiday must
have some special significance to the character. For teacher Sophie, she is
forced to come up with a school Christmas program on short notice at a new
school. The event is the highlight of the Amish community and much anticipated.
Is she up to the task? As things go wrong, can Karl help save the day?
Is it difficult
to come up with a specific Holiday themed novel every year?
Oh my goodness yes.
Amish Christmas themed stories are hugely popular, but the Amish don’t
celebrate the way we do. No trees or lights, only small gift exchanges.
Portraying the Christmas spirit really comes from inside the characters.
Do you decorate
your writing room when you are writing a holiday book?
No, the Christmas story
I’m working on is usually due 6 to 8 months before the holiday. My office is
where I work but I do bling out the rest of home for the holidays.
What is the best
gift you've ever given? Recipient's reaction?
I hid clues around my
home and let my daughter and my grandchildren search for them in a scavenger
hunt. When all the clues were gathered, they assembled them into a picture of a
fishing lodge in Montana. Then I sent them on an all-expense paid road trip the
following summer. They were thrilled and talked about making the trip for
weeks.
What is the best
gift you've ever received?
The year I moved back to
the farm to take care of my elderly dad after my mom passed away, I got to
spend many hours with my youngest brother who managed the farm for our dad.
Being eight years older, I had moved away before he left grade school. It was
wonderful getting to know him. That Christmas he gave me a gold and silver
heart-shaped necklace to thank me for taking care of our father. I was
overwhelmed. He’s not a hugger but he got hugged that night.
What’s next for
you?
Amazingly, another Amish
Christmas story. Christmas on His Doorstep releases on November 29th
from Harlequin’s Love Inspired line.
“Oh, Karl. Yoo-hoo!”
Karl Graber cringed at the sound of Rose Yoder calling his
name. He was in no mood to deal with her this morning.
After burning the oatmeal at breakfast, he discovered his
renter had moved out in the night without giving notice or paying his back
rent. Now Karl was going to be late getting to the store because his buggy
horse was limping.
He pretended he hadn’t heard Rose. Maybe the elderly Amish
woman who claimed to be the most successful matchmaker in Harts Haven would go
pester some other poor fellow.
Bent over Checker’s front foot, Karl noticed that a stone
lodged between the horse’s steel shoe and his hoof was the gelding’s problem.
“Hallo, Karl! I must speak with you.”
The tenacity of the eighty-four-year-old romance peddler was
another difficulty Karl had to face this morning.
“I’m not interested in meeting your latest hopeful,” he
muttered under his breath.
If the stubborn stone would come out, he could be on his way
before the elderly woman reached the end of the block and crossed the wide
street.
“Daed, Granny Rose is calling you.” His six-year-old
daughter, Rachel, stood up and waved. Rose wasn’t related to Karl, but due to
her advanced age most of the children in Harts Haven called her Granny.
“She’s coming this way,” Clara informed him from the front
seat of the open buggy. His ten-year-old daughter wasn’t any more excited to
see Rose than Karl was. She suspected the same thing he did. Rose was on a
matchmaking mission.
“Hallo, Granny Rose,” Rachel shouted happily. “We’re taking
our puppies to the store so someone can buy them. Would you like to see them?”
The offending stone popped loose. Karl dropped Checker’s
hoof. “Got to get the store open, Rose. Can’t take time to visit.”
When he spun around, it was already too late. She had
reached the buggy ahead of him. How did someone her age move so fast? She
didn’t even look winded.
“Guder mariye, Karl. I’m so glad I caught you. There is a
chill in the air this morning, isn’t there?”
It was the second week of November. Of course the air was
cool. Rose hadn’t intercepted him for idle chitchat. He moved to step around
her since she was blocking the buggy door. “Customers will be waiting for me.”
Rose didn’t budge. Other than picking her up and setting her
aside, he had no hope of leaving until she finished having her say. He resigned
himself to hearing who she thought would be perfect for him this time. As if
any woman could take the place of his Nora.
“Did you find us a new mother?” Rachel’s hopeful tone
stabbed his heart. Rachel was too young to remember much about the mother who
died when she was three. She only knew other children had both mothers and
fathers, and she wanted the same thing.
Clara scowled at her sister. “We don’t need a new mother.
Ours is in Heaven. No one can replace her.”
Clara understood. She was old enough to remember what Nora
had been like. A sweet, gentle, bright and loving woman. The world was a darker
place without her.
Rose’s cheerful expression softened with sympathy. “I’m
still looking for someone special to join your family. Clara is right. She
won’t be your mother. Instead, she will be your stepmother, but she will love
you and take care of you as if you were her own.”
Rachel sighed. “I hope you find her soon.”
“That’s enough, Rachel,” Karl said. “What do you want,
Rose?”
“I’m here to tell you about the new teacher. She arrived
yesterday. She and her sister are staying at the inn for the time being. They
are Grace Sutter’s nieces from the Amish side of her family.”
Grace was another elderly widow, Old Order Mennonite, and
co-owner of the Harts Haven Inn along with Rose and Rose’s widowed daughter,
Susanna King. The trio were all fond of meddling. A single man stood little
chance of remaining unattached in this Amish community unless he avoided the
widows. Rose’s knowing smile put Karl on his guard.
Rachel clapped her hands. “Yay, the new teacher is here. Now
I can go back to school and be in the Christmas program. I hope I get to be an
angel like Thea and Miriam Bachman last year. Their mother made the most
beautiful wings for them.”
Rose grinned. “Your teacher’s name is Sophie Eicher. Her
sister is Joanna. They are lovely young women.”
“Also single and hoping to find husbands in Harts Haven. I
know what you’re doing, Rose. Not interested!” If his cutting tone didn’t drive
his point home, maybe his scowl would.
Rose puffed up like an angry little hen. “Don’t take that
tone with me, Karl Graber. For shame.”
He was thirty-two years old, but she made him feel like an
errant toddler. “I’m sorry.”
She inclined her head. “You are forgiven. I stopped to tell
you we are hosting a welcome party at the inn on Saturday so folks can meet
Sophie and her sister. Would you kindly spread the word?”
He eyed her suspiciously. Where was the catch? “Sure. What
time?”
“We’ll start at noon, but folks can come and go as they
please.” She turned to his daughters. “I know you girls must be excited to go
back to school.”
