This week is the start of Charlotte’s virtual book tour with
Goddess Fish Promotions. During her tour, she will be awarding a $50 Amazon or
Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky winner. To be entered
for a chance to win, use the form below.
To increase your chances, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter
there, too.
Drawing
upon her experiences in Jamesport, the largest Old Order Amish community west
of the Mississippi, longtime Missourian Charlotte Hubbard writes of simpler
times and a faith-based lifestyle in her Seasons of the Heart series. Like her
heroine, Miriam Lantz Hooley, Charlotte considers it her personal mission to
feed people. Faith and family, farming and food preservation are hallmarks of
her lifestyle. She’s a deacon, a dedicated church musician and choir member,
and when she’s not writing, she loves to try new recipes, crochet, and sew.
Charlotte now lives in Minnesota with her husband and their border collie.
Here’s an
introduction to Harvest of Blessings:
The tranquil
little town of Willow Ridge is facing a startling challenge. Wealthy Nora Glick
Landwehr is determined to make it her home again—and put her past to rest. Cast
out by her own family, Nora can’t reconcile with Old Amish ways or her strict
father. But she’ll do anything to help her community embrace the future . . .
and make amends to the daughter she had to give up. She certainly has no time
for her reckless new neighbor Luke Hooley. They disagree about almost
everything. And how can she trust him if he always seems to believe the worst
about her? Somehow, though, his unexpected support and passionate heart are
helping her find her own way in faith. And Nora will discover that even in the
face of insidious lies and unyielding judgment, God creates unexpected chances
for forgiveness—and love.
Here’s a special
excerpt from the novel:
As Miriam pulled seven loaves of
bread from the oven early Saturday morning, she savored the silence of the
Sweet Seasons kitchen. This time before her partner Naomi Brenneman and her
waitresses arrived was always her chance to think things through, and the past
twenty-four hours had given her quite a lot to consider.
Lord, I hope You’ll hold Nora and
Lizzie and Wilma and Millie in Your healin’ hands, she prayed as she measured
flour for the day’s pie crusts. And I hope You’ll open Gabe and Atlee’s hearts,
as well. But Your will be done.
Miriam chuckled, at herself mostly.
It seemed that telling God what to do rather than asking Him was an easy habit
to fall into. Her visit with Nora yesterday, followed by the unfortunate scene
with Gabe in the dining room, had made her think a lot about whether some of
the Old Order ways came more from men’s insistence on control than from
consulting God about the right way to handle their childrens’ mistakes. In some
districts, expressing such an idea out loud might be considered reason for
requiring a member to repent. But that didn’t stop a lot of Plain women from
wondering if things couldn’t be different. Kinder. More loving.
“Miriam, when I die and go to
heaven, please God, I believe it’ll smell a whole lot like your kitchen,” came
a voice through her open window.
Miriam laughed. “Tom Hostetler, I
believe you’re beggin’ for a sample,” she called out. “My stars, I can’t think
you’ve already milked your cows.”
“I get up earlier when I’ve got a
lot on my mind.”
“Jah, I know all about that.” As the
bishop walked in, Miriam gestured toward a tall stool near her work area. “And
between you, me, and this countertop, my heart’s achin’ for the Glick women.
Every one of them had their lives turned upside down sixteen years ago when
Gabe sent Nora away, and now they’re goin’ through it again.”
Tom smiled ruefully. “I knew you’d
see it that way, just as I could’ve predicted Gabe’s reaction when Nora asked
for his forgiveness,” he murmured. “That’s where the fish bone gets caught in
my throat. She did ask. And her father flat-out refused to even give her the
time of day.”
“And then there was Hiram, appearin’
from outta nowhere to get right in the thick of it,” Miriam said with a
grimace. She passed Tom a serrated bread knife and went to the refrigerator for
a stick of butter. “Somebody’s gotta see if this bread’s fit to eat. Might as
well be us.”
Tom chuckled and selected the round,
golden-brown loaf nearest him. “How much do ya recall from all those years
ago?” he asked as he positioned the knife on the bread. “Hiram was the bishop
then, and Gabe and I were preachers, with your Jesse servin’ as our deacon.”
“It was all so hush-hush. Nora’d
already been gone a week or so before I realized it,” Miriam replied in a
far-away voice. “Wilma looked like she’d been hit by a truck, and
wouldn’t—couldn’t—let on about the details Gabe forbade her to discuss. So we
were left to assume that Nora was pregnant. Then, when Atlee and Lizzie
suddenly had a red-headed baby—as newlyweds, without her bein’ pregnant—that
pretty much told the tale.”
“Gabe insisted that the less folks
knew, the less they could gossip—and other girls wouldn’t follow Nora’s sinful
path.” He slathered butter on a generous slice of dense, grainy bread and
handed it to Miriam. “And while Hiram and Jesse and I went along with that
age-old strategy, I wondered what would become of Nora . . . how she would ever
join the church or reunite with her family.”
He paused to close his eyes over a
big bite of bread. “But I was the youngster—hadn’t been a preacher very long,
so I didn’t make waves,” he went on. “Eventually the whole episode faded away,
and Millie grew up as Atlee and Lizzie’s child.”
“Well, our days of sweepin’ it under
the rug are over. Mmmm,” Miriam murmured as she took a big bite of the warm
bread. “Your fresh butter almost turns this bread into dessert, Tom.”
“Nah, it’s your way of puttin’ the
ingredients together that makes it special,” the bishop insisted.
Social links:
To buy the book:
Harvest of Blessings -- Seasons of the Heart, Book 5
Zebra (February 24, 2015)
ISBN-13: 9781420133097 •• ISBN-10: 1420133098
Click on these links to buy this book now!
• The Book Depository •• Amazon •• Barnes and Noble •
• B-A-M •• Chapters •• IndieBound •• Powell’s •• Kensington Books •
Ebook: • Kensington Books •• Kindle •• Kobo •• iBooks •
Harvest of Blessings -- Seasons of the Heart, Book 5
Zebra (February 24, 2015)
ISBN-13: 9781420133097 •• ISBN-10: 1420133098
Click on these links to buy this book now!
• The Book Depository •• Amazon •• Barnes and Noble •
• B-A-M •• Chapters •• IndieBound •• Powell’s •• Kensington Books •
Ebook: • Kensington Books •• Kindle •• Kobo •• iBooks •
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteIt's an intriguing excerpt!
ReplyDeleteTrix, vitajex(at)Aol(Dot)com
Great excerpt, thank you.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering what made you switch away from writing historical romances?
ReplyDeleteThis really sounds like a sensitive and unique story. Enjoyed the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteLisa, thanks so much for featuring my book and an excerpt on your blog today!
ReplyDeleteKaren H, you ask a good question! I began writing historical romances in the 90's because that's what I loved, and that's what I could sell, and that genre was very popular at the time. When Amish books became popular--and after I wrote my faith-and-family series, Angels of Mercy--the editor of that series asked if I could write Amish books because now THEY are all the rage. My answer was yes!
ReplyDeleteI am glad Charlotte Hubbard wrote historical romance and now Amish romances. They are both my favorite genre. I have read many of her books and love them !
ReplyDeleteOh, that made me hungry! Fresh bread and butter - yum
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your shout-out, Deanne!And Ekkie,you might just find a recipe for bread (or other goodies) you like on my website or in the back of the books in this series--they all feature a recipe section!
ReplyDelete