Many of you know that I am writing Amish-themed fiction now.  It just seemed like a logical way to channel some of what I’ve learned about the Amish through the years.  And, besides, everyone else is doing it!:)  I consider myself a writer first. I’m just a writer who happens to have a lot of experience with the Amish.  Of course, Beverly Lewis is the “grande dame” of Amish-themed fiction.  She sort of invented the genre, and now bunches and bunches of writers (including yours truly) are jumping on the bandwagon.  I’ll be honest, I’ve never read more than excerpts of Lewis’s work. My wife has read one of her books.  It’s just not my favorite genre to read (oh, but I am reading a gripping Stephen King novel now:), but I am enjoying the writing.  Especially once I decided to get into the game myself I didn’t want to bias my writing in any way by reading the work of others.  I didn’t want to be influenced or be accused of parroting the existing formulas out there. I wanted a clean slate and to begin my own style and interpretation of Amish life projected into fiction.  My first work was Rebecca at the Beach, an 88 page novella which you can buy for 99 cents on your Kindle or Nook,  You can also buy it at Amazon  as a hard copy book.  But my first full-length Amish-themed fiction will be out later this year. I doubt it’ll fit into the same mold as a Beverly Lewis or a Wanda Brunstetter (I am a guy writer, after all:), but I’m hoping you all will enjoy it just the same!

In the meantime, a Colorado publication (where Lewis lives) ran a nice interview with her where she talks about the genre she invented. Click here to read it. Do you like her work?  Do you dislike it? Which is your favorite Beverly Lewis novel?

The United States Postal Service has announced that it is once again seeking a rate hike. Stamps would go to 50 cents apiece.  You know, I don’t really care. I use the postal service for so few things that it just doesn’t matter much to me.  The one exception is when I occasionally do “snail mailings” to Amish Cook fans…that does get expensive, so I really don’t do that much anymore. I think the higher stamp cost will simply accelerate customer flight from the USPS in much the same way newspapers hiking their cost has driven folks to the internet.  That will cause more pain for the USPS just like it has for newspapers.  But there IS one group disproportionately impacted by postal problems:  Amish and Mennonites.  I pay almost all bills online now and most of my correspondence, social and business, is through electronic means.  But not the Amish.  They don’t have the option (in the vast majority of cases) of going online to pay their electri…whoa, the Amish don’t have electric:), okay, they don’t have the option of going online to order a magazine subscription, contact their relatives, or pay their taxes..  I’ve noticed the number of Christmas cards Rachel and i have received has been steadily declining (um..I don’t think it’s personal, just a trend) and Amish Cook fan mail has been steadily diminishing.  I don’t think this is because Lovina is any less popular, it’s just that so much of the communication has shifted online.  You have a question for Lovina, you post it online and I can relay it to her.  It’s quicker and cheaper than letters.  Three fan letters for Lovina came in the mailbox today and I consider that a busy day, it used to be that 3 letters was a slow day.  How times have changed!  I just wanted to make this post, though, to call attention to the fact that while many of us are moving away from the USPS, the Amish and Mennonites really can’t. So that’s yet another factor to throw into the mix when our government is weighing what to do with our USPS.  So, what do you think?  Do you still rely on the USPS? Do you care if they slowly fade away?

We had a fun guessing game earlier today where I asked people to guess where these photos were taken.  Eventually some people got the location right.  What gorgeous images these are and this is a special, special place for me.  You’ll read about my stay here in an upcoming book.  These breath-taking emerald hills are outside of Dayton, Virginia home to a hospitable and sprawling Old Order Mennonite community.  The settlement is sandwiched between two mountain ranges.  The land around Dayton is generally flat, but these photos were taken from atop the “Mole Hill”, the worn stub of an ancient volcano, one of the last active “hot zones” on the East coast when it ceased smoldering millions of years ago.  Now the Mole Hill is just a  picturesque place from which to view the pastoral Old Order Mennonite farms below.  Small stores dot the landscape: a buggy shop, harness shop, bakery, and in town is the “Mennonite Mall”, an indoor market where some plain people sell their wares. I’ll write more about Dayton in future posts, but, oh, I will definitely return some day!

This photo is taken from one of my favorite spots in one of my favorite plain settlements.  Can you guess where this photo was taken?  Whoever GUESSES (sheesh, I think some people Google photo-matching technology sometimes for these things, that takes the fun out!:)  it first here will get a copy of my romance novella, Rebecca at the Beach.  Please post your answer here, not on Facebook. Sometimes it gets confusing to have parallel discussions in both places. I’ll tell you more about this favorite spot after we establish where it is.:)