Glass Blowing and The Christmas Admirer
Right before my youngest son joined the Coast Guard we went
on a short mini-vacation to Springfield, Missouri, actually going farther north
almost to Kansas City to see another Amish community near there in Osceola.
There is a cheese factory there and my son wanted to try some of their cheeses
– such as a ghost pepper cheese. Too spicy for me.
But upon the return to Springfield, Steve read about a glass
blowers shop in the downtown area. We found the address and went to visit it.
It is owned by an older gentleman and his son. They had a display area set up
where people could see their wares and buy them and then a work area where the
son mostly worked, and talked about how the fire needed to be so hot, and
showed us how he worked and made things. As we watched, he made a lovely
flower, a lily, in different colors of glass, green, white, pinks.
It was fascinating.
And I got to thinking what if…
So I did some more research. Asked questions. Probably drove
them nuts. But when Whitaker House indicated they’d be interested in a
Christmas novel, I proposed one about a glass blower.
The story is set in Jamesport, Missouri, and while
completely stand alone, it does have some continuing characters from other
books I’ve written set in Jamesport. If you are interested, the books set there
are:
Amish Books set in
Jamesport, Missouri:
The Snow Globe
The Postcard
The Birdhouse
The Amish Firefighter
The Amish Wanderer
The Kissing Bridge (part of Springs of Love collection)
The Christmas Admirer
Gingerbread Wishes (part of A Plain Thanksgiving
collection--November 2018)
Love by the Numbers (February 2018)
I haven’t read any books about an Amish glass blower, but
that’s not to say they aren’t out there. I haven’t read all the Amish books
available. Jamesport is an area that is more tourist-oriented than the books
set in Seymour / Webster County Missouri. They give buggy tours, have bed and
breakfasts, open their homes for visitors to eat supper with them, and have businesses.
All Amish districts are different and the rules vary
depending on the bishop and preachers. Some are more liberal and some more
conservative. Some keep themselves distant and don’t welcome attention from
non-Amish and some embrace it. While Jamesport is not as touristy as some
districts in Lancaster Pennsylvania or in Ohio, it is much more so than others.
The Christmas Admirer
 |
| Click on the cover to go to Amazon |
Susanna has never gotten over losing Benaiah, and hopes he’s
her secret admirer, but now the clock is ticking. Susanna’s father is
remarrying in January and his wife-to-be doesn’t want to leave her Amish
community and family in Iowa .
So when Susanna’s daed sells his glass-blowing business to his right-hand man,
Benaiah, she’s left with three options: 1) Go with Daed to his new home with a
new frau and step-kinner, 2) Flush out her mysterious secret admirer, or 3)
Resign herself to life as an old maid. She doesn’t want to follow Daed where
his new frau is leading him. And number three isn’t happening. Marrying Benaiah
is her greatest desire—but he broke her heart, and now he treats her like a
pesky younger sister. Can she make him see her as a woman, one who could stand
by his side as he cares for his family?
As Christmas approaches, Susanna and her friends start
making gingerbread houses for select members of the community. Susanna plans
for hers to go to Benaiah’s family. But while her gingerbread may find a
home—will her heart?
Laura V. Hilton is an award-winning, sought-after author with almost twenty Amish, contemporary, and historical romances. When she’s not writing, she reviews books for her blogs, and writes devotionals for blog posts for Seriously Write and Putting on the New.
Laura and her pastor-husband have five children and a hyper dog named Skye. They currently live in Arkansas. One son is in the U.S. Coast Guard. She is a pastor’s wife, and homeschools her two youngest children.
When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys reading, and visiting lighthouses and waterfalls. Her favorite season is winter, her favorite holiday is Christmas.
visit
my blogs: http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com/ & http://lauravhilton.blogspot.com/
twitter:
@Laura_V_Hilton
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/vernetlh/
Comments
Post a Comment