FAQs and a Giveaway for The Amish Quilter

One of my primary love languages is giving gifts—including gifts to my readers! That’s why I’m so excited to announce three fun new drawings for prizes given in celebration of the release of The Amish Quilter.

Starting today, you can enter to win this gorgeous quilted apron plus a copy of The Amish Quilter. Then, each Wednesday for the next two weeks, I'll open up drawings for the other prizes shown in the photo above. 

Here's how it'll work...

WEDNESDAY, MAY 16  
The drawing is now open for an Amish Quilted Apron and an autographed copy of The Amish Quilter. To sign up, scroll down to the Enter to Win button at the bottom of this post and give it a click. You can enter between now and midnight ET on June 4^th. Winner announced on June 6^th. 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23
The drawing will open for a Fill-in-the-Blank Pennsylvania Dutch-Style Family Tree Poster and an autographed copy of The Amish Quilter. Sign up between noon ET on May 23^rd and midnight ET on June 4^th. Winner announced on June 6^th.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 30 
The drawing will open for an Amish Quilted Potholder and an autographed copy of The Amish Quilter. Sign up between noon ET on May 30^th and midnight ET on June 4^th. Winner announced on June 6^th.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE  6 
Winners will be announced for all three drawings.

Series Roundup

The Amish Quilter is the 5^th book in the Women of Lancaster County series, which I co-wrote with Leslie Gould. In case you’d like a “refresher” on all five, here’s a rundown…

The Amish Midwife – A dusty carved box containing two locks of hair, a century-old letter regarding property in Switzerland, and a burning desire to learn about her biological family lead nurse-midwife Lexie Jaeger from her home in Oregon to the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country. There she meets Marta Bayer, a mysterious lay-midwife who desperately needs help after an Amish client and her baby die.

Lexie steps in to assume Marta’s patient load even as she continues the search for her birth family, and from her patients she learns the true meaning of the Pennsylvania Dutch word demut, which means “to let be” as she changes from a woman who wants to control everything to a woman who depends on God.

A compelling story about a search for identity and the ability to trust that God securely holds our whole life―past, present, and future.

The Amish Nanny – Amish-raised Ada Rupp knows it’s time to make a commitment to the faith and join the church, especially if she wants a future with the handsome Amish widower Will Gundy. 

But when she has the chance to travel to Switzerland as the caregiver of a young child, she leaps at the opportunity.

Anxious to learn more about her forebears, Ada enlists the help of a young Mennonite scholar named Daniel, but even as she develops feelings for him, she cannot get Will from her mind―or her heart. At a crossroads, Ada must decide what she is willing to give up from the past in order to embrace her future.

The Amish Bride – Ella Bayer and Ezra Gundy are in love and hope to marry someday, but she's Mennonite and he's Amish. Though both Plain, one of them will have to forsake what they believe to embrace another way of life.

Hoping some distance will cool the relationship, Ezra’s family sends him to work at an Amish dairy farm in Indiana. But Ella disregards what her family wants and follows Ezra. In short order she finds a place to live, a job in a bakery, and an unexpected but budding friendship with a handsome Amish farmhand, Luke. 

When a family tragedy forces Ella back to Pennsylvania, she must face all she’s been running away from. And once she has made peace with those around her, she has an important decision to make: Whose Amish bride will she become―Ezra’s or Luke’s?

The Amish Seamstress – Izzy Mueller is an exceptional listener and gifted caregiver. She’s also a talented seamstress. As the young woman sits with her elderly patients, she quietly sews as they share their stories. She’s content with her life until circumstances reconnect her with someone she once loved. Zed Bayer, a Mennonite, is not what her family is hoping for in a spouse, and his creative interest in filmmaking is definitely at odds with her Amish upbringing.

As Izzy is swept up again in Zed and renews her friendship with his sister, Ella, she begins to ask questions about her own life―her creative longings and historical interests, her relationships and desire for romance, and most importantly, her faith. What is the path God has for her? Can she learn from the past of both her family’s and Zed’s―or must she forge a completely different future of her own?

The Amish Quilter – Linda Mueller lives an orderly, uneventful existence, content to divide her time between creating the beautiful quilts for which she is known and working at an Englisch fabric shop.

Idealistic to a fault, Linda has never found a man worth marrying—until she meets Isaac Mast, a newcomer to Lancaster County and a talented painter. As they bond over their respective crafts, Linda is drawn to Isaac's kind ways, humble spirit, and intriguing personality, and soon the seams of her carefully-constructed world begin to loosen.

With Isaac's help, she explores the story of her late grandmother, also a gifted artist. But when an astonishing truth comes to light, Linda faces a grave decision, one that could destroy any hope of a future with Isaac. Will their dreams of a life together completely unravel? Or can she find some way to stitch them back together again?

Frequently Asked Questions

Q - Does this series need to be read in order?

A - Yes and no. Each book stands on its own and can be fully understood and enjoyed without having read the previous books. On the other hand, reading the books in order should make the whole experience more fun, because that way you avoid learning spoilers about the earlier books. (For example, if you start at Book #2, you'll find out the answers to the mystery pursued by Lexie in Book #1.)

Bottom line, the books can be read in order or out of order. It's up to you and your reading preferences.

Q – Where can I find a family tree that shows how the various characters are related?

A – Click here to see the family trees of the Lantz and Gundy families. There is another family tree you may want to check out as well, but it contains spoilers for The Amish Midwife, so don’t peek at it until after you’ve read that book. You can find the link to that family tree here.

Also, come back to this blog next Wednesday for a handy new chart that clarifies how the main characters in all five books are connected to each other.

Q - Does this series come in large print or other versions?

A – Yes, the books in the Women of Lancaster County series are available in paperback, e-book, Large Print, Book Club Editions, and Dutch translations. They are not yet available in audio.

Enter the Drawing

Are you ready to enter the drawing for the Amish Quilted Apron and an autographed copy of The Amish Quilter? If so, then simply click on the Enter to Win button, below, fill out the brief form, and be sure to check back on June 6^th when the winner will be announced. Good luck!