Bestselling Amish fiction author, Jan Drexler returns with a new book that dives into the Amish community during the Civil War. ‘The Sound of Distant Thunder’ leads readers on a journey through a turbulent time in history and explores how this impacted the Amish faith. It’s a definite must-read for any lovers of Amish or historical fiction.

Drexler sat down to answer a few questions about the inspiration and research involved in writing this story – as well as what is on the horizon for the author…

Q: What motivated you to write about an Amish family during the Civil War era?

A: A big part of my motivation grew out of my fascination with the history of the Civil War. I wanted to look past the timelines and statistics of the war to the stories of the people who lived through that time.

Another part was my experience growing up in an Anabaptist family during the Vietnam era. The attitudes, beliefs, and actions that I witnessed in the young men just a few years older than I was turned into something I needed to explore and understand better.

Q: The Amish struggle with their religious convictions in regards to war. Can you explain their struggles and their belief systems when it comes to war?

A: The Amish call themselves “non-resistant”, which is a bit different from being a pacifist. While the two are similar in believing that war and violence are always wrong, a non-resistant person takes this belief to a more personal level. They will not resist an evil person or deed, even when it is directed against themselves or their loved ones.

During the Civil War, the Amish often found their beliefs put to the test. When the draft was instituted, the Amish as a whole didn’t support it. But the choice of whether to serve or not belonged to the individual. In this first story of the series, I try to present the elements that affected that choice for each of the characters and the consequences of those choices.

Q: What type of research was required for writing The Sound of Distant Thunder?

A: This series has involved extensive research into Amish beliefs and history, Holmes County during the 1860’s, and the Civil War, to name some of the broader topics. I also delved into the daily life of a soldier, trade embargoes between the North and South, how mail was sent between the soldiers and their homes, and if and how Amish men served in the military and under what circumstances. I read diaries, biographies and Civil War histories, and used my experiences of visiting Civil War battlefield sites and museums.

Two of the books I relied on the most in my research were Mennonites, Amish, and the American Civil War by James O. Lehman and Steven M. Nolt, and Unser Leit… the Story of the Amish by an Amish historian, Leroy Beachy.

Q: What do you hope readers gain from reading your book?

A: Besides a satisfying reading experience, I hope readers gain a further understanding of the Amish and their history, and also a deeper understanding of the Civil War, a conflict that still affects our lives today in many ways.

Q: What’s next on your writing to-do list?

A: The second and third books in The Amish of Weaver’s Creek series are at the top of the list, and after that, I’m still looking into possibilities. I’d love to continue exploring how the Amish lived during times of upheaval in the world outside their communities.

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Award winning author Suzanne Woods Fisher will soon release her latest Amish fiction,The Light Before Day. This is the the third book in the author’s Nantucket Legacy series and it will surely please lovers of a good Amish read!

Suzanne Woods Fisher kindly answered some questions about her latest book as well as what she’s working on next. Here’s what she had to say…

The Light Before Day releases October 2nd, 2018. Click here to preorder your copy. 

Q: The Light Before Day is the third book in the Nantucket Legacy series. How is this book different from the two preceding novels?

A: The series’ umbrella has been the historical rise and fall of Nantucket Island. The Light Before Day captures the steep decline of Quaker Nantucket in the mid-nineteenth century after decades as the wealthiest port in the world. Hitty and Henry Macy, children in the Minding the Light, are now young adults, facing dramatic change in the island they love.

Q: You introduce readers to some new characters in your book. Do you have a favorite character?

A: Astronomer Maria Mitchell, who was seeking a comet in this story (and eventually found it), became near and dear to my heart. And of course another favorite is Mary Coffin Starbuck – she’s woven all three books together through the secret in the journal she left behind.

Q: The Light Before Day has some unexpected surprises. What was the inspiration behind your creative plot?

A: My inspiration was the actual historical events that were changing Nantucket in the 1830s and ’40s. Frederick Douglass, a former slave, gave his first public speech at the Atheneum, where astronomer Maria Mitchell worked as a librarian. The Great Fire of Nantucket, a historical event, was where I wanted this story to end. Getting there took some twists and turns.

Q: The Nantucket Legacy series often references the whaling industry. For Phoebe’s Light and Minding the Light, your research took you to a number of whaling museums. Did The Light Before Day require a different type of research?

A: Much of the research for this book took place in the Nantucket Historical Association library, a treasure trove of trivia. I discovered curious details like the Cent School, disciplinary actions notated in Quaker meetings, and rumors about the source of cobbles for iconic Main Street. The NHA… it’s pure bliss for history buffs.

Q: Have you learned something new about the Quakers after researching and writing the Nantucket Legacy series?

A: Mary Coffin Starbuck is credited with bringing Quakerism to Nantucket. From what I’ve read, she believed the island needed a religious scaffolding. Although she’d been opposed to Quaker theology as a young woman, she later embraced it and became a minister. Quaker values, such as honesty and frugality, contributed to a healthy foundation as Nantucket’s meteoric rise began.

Q: What do you hope readers gain from reading The Light Before Day?

A: A financial windfall landed at the feet of Hitty and Henry Macy, but with it came a loss of personal freedom. All that glitters is not gold is the lesson of this book, even if it is, indeed, gold.

Q: What’s next on your writing to-do list?

A: Soon to release is Mending Fences, first in a new Amish series called the Deacon’s Family. It’s a story of two young adults, recently out of a rehab clinic, who end up in an unlikely place: an Amish farm.

The Light Before Day releases October 2nd, 2018 – Click here to preorder your copy. 

The post Q&A with Suzanne Woods Fisher Author of The Light Before Day appeared first on Christianbook.com Blog.

The Road Home by Beverly Lewis

Releases April 3rd 2018

Bestselling Amish author, Beverly Lewis returns this April with her latest release – The Road Home. Sent from Michigan to Pennsylvania following the tragic death of her Amish parents, Lena Rose Schwartz grieves her loss and the separation from her nine siblings. Beside the fact that Lena has never been so far from home, she hasn’t met the family she will now be living with. But worse than that is having to live apart from her close-knit brothers and sisters. How will they manage without her to care for them–especially six-year-old Chris? And will her new beau, Hans Bontrager, continue to court her despite the many miles between them?

Honeysuckle Dreams by Denise Hunter

Releases May 1st 2018

Here’s a read for all you contemporary fiction lovers out there! After Brady Collins’ ex-wife dies, he receives devastating news—his nine-month-old son Sam isn’t his son at all. And Sam’s wealthy maternal grandparents want custody of the child. Brady knows he’s in for the fight of his life. But regardless of what any blood test says, Sam is his son, and Brady will go to any lengths to keep him. Brady’s attorney tips him off that one major life change would virtually assure him of winning guardianship of baby Sam at the final hearing: an impending marriage. And his friend Hope is willing to step in as the loving and devoted fiance. As Brady and Hope make sacrifices to help each other in their times of need, they risk uncovering a truth neither of them expects to find.

Send Down The Rain by Charles Martin

Releases May 8th 2018

Send Down the Rain introduces us to Allie, a woman still recovering from the loss of her family’s beloved waterfront restaurant when she loses her second husband to a terrifying highway accident. Devastated and losing hope, she shudders to contemplate the future—until a cherished person from her past returns. Joseph has been adrift for many years, wounded in both body and spirit –  just as he resolves to abandon his search for peace and live alone at a remote cabin in the Carolina mountains, he discovers a mother and her two small children lost in the forest. He instinctively steps in to help them get back to their home in Florida – returning to his own hometown in the process. Here he witnesses the accident which launches a bittersweet reunion with his childhood sweetheart, Allie. Will a secret from the past destroy their second chance?

The Weaver’s Daughter by Sarah E. Ladd

Releases April 10th 2018

Loyalty has been at the heart of the Dearborne family for as long as Kate can remember, but as misguided actions are brought to light, she learns how deep her father’s pride and bitterness run, and she begins to wonder if her loyalty is well-placed. Henry Stockton, heir to the Stockton fortune, returns home from three years at war to take to the helm of the family business.  He embraces his grandfather’s plans to modernize the family’s wool mill, ignoring the grumblings from local weavers. Henry and Kate have each been warned about the other, but they soon realize they must come together to find a way to create peace for their families, their village, and their souls—even if it means risking their hearts in the process.

To The Moon and Back by Karen Kinsgbury

Releases May 29th 2018

From Karen Kingsbury comes a brand-new love story in the Baxter Family collection about two people who lost their parents in the same national tragedy – the Oklahoma City bombing. Brady and Jenna shared a deep connection and single day together at the memorial – but after that Brady never saw Jenna again. Every year, he leaves a note for her at the memorial, hoping he might find her again. A chance meeting means Ashley Baxter Blake meets Brady who makes it her mission to bring the two together. But will it work? And will her family understand?

A Breath of Hope by Lauraine Snelling

Releases April 3, 2018

Nilda Carlson has been trying to save enough money to go to America for months, so when a letter from Einar and Gerd Strand arrives, offering to pay her ticket, she jumps at the chance. Her younger brother Ivar accompanies her, and they can’t wait to join their brother Rune and his family in the northern forests of Minnesota. Their relatives Signe and Rune welcome them warmly, as does Gerd Strand, but their uncle Einar doesn’t seem to like anyone. Nilda soon finds work helping a young widow with her children, and is introduced to their schoolteacher. Now her world is beginning to grow…but Nilda still wonders what happened to make Einar so unhappy. When a tragedy lays the truth bare, the Carlsons and Strands will have to come together like never before and become a true family.

No One Ever Asked by Katie Ganshert

Releases April 3rd 2018

The latest book from Katie Ganshert challenges perceptions of discrimination and prejudice with the story of three very different women. When an impoverished school district loses its accreditation and the affluent community of Crystal Ridge has to open their school doors – the lives of three women converge. Camille Gray is the wife of an executive, mother of three, long-standing PTA chairwoman and champion fundraiser. Jen Covington is a career nurse whose painful journey to motherhood resulted in adoption. 22-year-old Anaya Jones is the first woman in her family to graduate college and a new teacher at Crystal Ridge’s top elementary school. This story explores the implicit biases impacting American society, and asks the ultimate question: What does it mean to be human? And, why are we so quick to put labels on each other?

Pelican Point by Irene Hannon

Releases April 3rd 2018

How important can one old lighthouse be? Ex-Army surgeon Major Ben Garrison thinks it’s an eyesore, a burden he’s inherited and can’t wait to trade off. But Marci Weber, editor of the Hope Harbor Herald, holds a very different view. Sparks fly as the two go head to head over the fate of the lighthouse. But when they start to cooperate, a different kind of fire ignites. And as they work together, might Hope Harbor heal the hearts of these two romance-wary souls?

The Accidental Guardian by Mary Connealy

Releases April 3rd 2018

Trace Riley is the self-appointed watchdog for a wilderness trail, having been the lone survivor of an attack years before. Deborah Harkness now saved her younger sister and two toddlers during the attack and now finds herself at the mercy of her rescuer. Trace offers the only shelter for miles around and agrees to take them in until she can safely continue. Working to survive the winter and finally bring justice to the trail, Trace and Deborah find themselves drawn together–yet every day approaches the moment she’ll leave forever.

The Kremlin Conspiracy by Joel C. Rosenberg

Now Available

With an American president distracted by growing tensions in North Korea and Iran, an ominous new threat is emerging in Moscow. A czar is rising in the Kremlin, a Russian president feverishly consolidating power, silencing his opposition, and plotting a brazen and lightning-fast military strike that could rupture the NATO alliance and bring Washington and Moscow to the brink of nuclear war. But in his blind spot is the former U.S. Secret Service agent, Marcus Ryker, trained to protect but ready to kill to save his country.

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