Suzanne Woods Fisher Guest Post and Book Giveaway!

Welcome to my blog Suzanne!  It is an absolute honor and pleasure to have you here today! You are an amazing author. Your latest book, The Imposter, sounds like a wonderful book and I am happy to be able to have you here to share a little bit about it with my readers.

Book Blurb: The Imposter

Katrina Stoltzfus thought she had life and love all figured out: she was going to marry John and live happily ever after. Those plans started to crumble when her father moved the family to Stoney Ridge, then completely collapsed when John decided to marry someone else. Katrina is devastated. How could she have felt so loved, yet been so deceived?

As she struggles to face a future without him, a widow asks for her help to start a new business and Katrina quickly agrees. She needs time to heal her broken heart, to untangle her messy life, to find a purpose. What she doesn't need is attention from Andy Miller, a farm hand who arrives at the widow's farm just when help is most needed--and who always seems to say the right thing, and be in the right place, at the right time. Is Andy for real, or too good to be true? Deceived once before, Katrina is determined to keep her feelings in check. 

When a cascade of events is set in motion by some surprising information, the little Amish church is turned upside down. Soon, everyone has a stake in the outcome, and the community struggles to find the best response to an imposter in their midst. Can they forgive even the most deceitful deeds?

Suzanne, thanks so much for being here today. The Amish are an utterly private people. How have you been able to do your research?

It’s not easy! But one contact will lead to another, and another, and another. Here’s an example: I was asked to speak in a public library in Iowa. I asked the librarian if she knew of any Amish people in the community who might be willing to talk to me. She gave me the name and mailing address of one Amish woman who loved to read. I wrote to this woman and gave her my phone number. She called as soon as she received my letter, we set up a meeting, and I had a wonderful visit in her home with her entire family. She’s from one of the most conservative groups among the Amish—(as in…no indoor plumbing!). it was a great privilege to be invited into this woman’s home. But it all started with the librarian. 

As an author, you’re known for doing your homework with the Amish people. How are you able to gather stories and details to make your books seem more real?

Through on-site visits to Amish communities—and a variety of them, too, in different states. There’s nothing like being there! Besides the contact with Amish families, it also helps me find details that add credibility. I just returned from a trip to Pennsylvania and Ohio. At one point, I pulled the car over and videotaped the rustling sound of the dried cornstalks in the wind. That’s the kind of detail I glean by being on-site, including different times of the year. In the winter, the vistas are wide open, unending. In summer, with corn so high and plentiful, you can’t see very far! It’s almost claustrophobic.   

A common phrase of David Stoltzfus was, “Everybody begins somewhere.” What was the starting point of your spiritual journey?

My spiritual journey has been like climbing a spiral staircase—it’s grown deeper and deeper through the years, but I can’t see the end and I can’t remember the beginning. Some steps have been deep, some shallow. Certainly, I can point to people and events that caused my faith to grow in leaps and bounds. And times when I’ve slacked off and sat down, rather than kept on climbing. Definitely a more fruitful, satisfying journey when I keep going!

Which one of your own books is your favorite?

Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World. It’s non-fiction, but it was my “foundation” book to write about the Amish. My knowledge and insights grew in enormous ways, and I’m still benefiting from the research and relationships developed to write that book.

Right this minute, what books are sitting on your bedside table? 

I’m re-reading Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis, and I downloaded a guide to read along with it, to better understand it. What a treasure!

  

I would like to thank Suzanne so much for taking the time to share some of her thoughts with us.  It was such a pleasure to be able to share this post with all of you.

Suzanne is offering a signed copy of her latest book, The Imposter to one lucky reader.  Please leave your comment below and be sure to leave your email address in a safe method so that we can contact you if you are the winner!  Last day to enter will be Oct. 8th.

You can get your copy of Suzanne's book the Imposter at Amazon.com and Christianbook.com.

Suzanne Woods Fisher

The Imposter, book 1 in the ‘Bishop’s Family’ series (releases October 5, 2015)

Published by Revell Books

www.suzannewoodsfisher.com