Stephanie Reed's Blog: Plain and Simple Blog - Posts Tagged "amish"

Today I will mail copies of The Bargain to a contest winner and some family members. Last night I had the bright idea of mailing them out from the setting of The Bargain, which is Plain City, Ohio. Plain City is partly in Union and partly in Madison County, roughly northwest of Columbus. In 2005, when I first interviewed the woman on whom I based Betsie Troyer, only nine Amish women remained from a once-large population. Today only five Old Order Amish women remain. Where did all the rest of the Amish go? Many moved to find cheaper land. Columbus and its rapidly expanding suburbs have gobbled up land and driven up prices since the 70s. Also, many of the former Amish still live in town, but nowadays they're Beachy Amish, or some say Beachy Mennonite. If you keep your eyes open, you can see many of the old Amish names on business signs. If you're really curious, you can take a drive along Amish Pike and see where many used to live. The Amish cemetery on Amish Pike tells the rest of the story.

I'm always curious about how authors see their own characters, how about you? Here's your chance to see the real-life inspirations for Betsie Troyer and Michael Sullivan. Are the book characters the people pictured? No. Do the characters look like these people to me? Yes! These are the photos that I shared with Kregel when we discussed the cover concept. Want to see? Hop over to Relz Reviews for a Character Spotlight. Don't forget to enter to win a Kindle Fire plus a copy of The Bargain! http://relzreviewz.com/character-spot...

US residents, if you've been waiting for another chance to win The Bargain, now's your chance! Head over to Maria Morgan's blog http://www.mariaimorgan.com/catching-.... Leave a comment by midnight Eastern Standard Time, Thursday, November 14, 2013 and you will be entered to win. If you don't live in the US, take this ISBN 978-0825442155 to your local library and request that they purchase The Bargain. That way you read it free and everyone wins!

Save me an hour on Thursday 11/14 at 5 PM EST. I'm excited to be a guest on fabulous chef Sherry Gore's live podcast, Amish Wisdom! We'll chat about The Bargain (win a copy!) and cooking. If you've never listened to a podcast before, it's easy! Just go to the link and click the Live on Air gold arrow above Sherry's pretty photo. Guess who's up in the second half of the show? Beth Wiseman! It's going to be lots of fun, so tell your family dinner will be a little late and join us! Link: http://toginet.com/shows/amishwisdom/...

What’s a better bargain than FREE? All day you can get The Bargain for free on Amazon Kindle: http://ow.ly/r62rR, Barnes and Noble Nook: http://ow.ly/r62Q8, and Google Play: http://ow.ly/r6317.

The Not Quite Amish, that is! Read my first guest post, Harness Lessons-- Amish Style here: http://notquiteamishliving.com/2014/0...

I received a huge surprise in the comments: I heard from a reader who knew the real-life Betsie Troyer, main character of The Bargain, as a girl. She found my post through a Plain City, Ohio Facebook group and shared a memory of 'Betsie' that is priceless. Don't miss out!

Through December 1, enter to win a free copy of The Bachelor, Book Two in my Plain City Peace Series. Enter here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/en...

12/8-12/12, get Plain City Peace Book Two The Bachelor for $1.99 for Kindle, Nook, and Google Play! Treat yourself to a little stocking stuffer after long days of Christmas shopping, decorating, or just regular life. But hurry! Ends Friday! Here's the Kindle link: http://www.amazon.com/Bachelor-Plain-...

Merry Christmas! Here's your chance to win a copy of The Bachelor. Just go to Sharon Srock's blog, read my interview, and comment by answering the question. Easy peasy! One winner, good luck! http://womenofvalleyview.blogspot.com...