Swan Creek Series Starters: An Amish Romance Collection Hits Number 1

Thank you to all my readers for making my newest book, Swan Creek Series Starters: An Amish Romance Collection, a Amazon bestselling book in the Christian Fiction Collections and Anthologies category. I know you're going to enjoy the 100 pages of bonus material where I discuss all my Swan Creek stories and what I've learned from my research of the Swiss Amish. 

If you haven't downloaded your copy yet you can do so for only $0.99 at the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PHKLQ5M

Thank you for reading and God bless!

An Amish Romance Collection Like You've Never Seen

Celebrating the release of my newest Amish romance collection today! 

This book, value priced at only $0.99 for Amazon Kindle, features 7 full books plus 100 pages bonus material about the Amish and the making of Swan Creek Settlement.

Take a guided journey with me through the Swan Creek community and learn interesting facts about the Amish. Find out why Amish women wear a kapp, how bishops are elected, where the Amish came from, what's the difference between the Amish and Mennonites, and more in this delightful and informative Amish romance collection.

Get your copy today for only $0.99 or read free with Kindle Unlimited.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PHKLQ5M

Do The Amish Play Musical Instruments?

In one of my books, I Hear Christmas, the main character has a love of music. This story was based on the fact that most Old Order Swiss Amish communities only allow two instruments, the Jew's harp and the harmonica. Anything with strings is strictly forbidden.

I don't usually share my inspiration for my stories but these videos are too good to pass up. I had a lot of fun researching for this book and if you find music interesting you'll enjoy these as well.

If you'd like to hear the wide range of sounds the Jew's harp makes or the history of the instrument, this video is for you. It's kind of long but I find it fascinating. If you get bored, skip ahead to the performance part. The sound is unlike anything I've ever heard. Sort of other-worldly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SpWuseQGys

This video is very short (for those of you like me with data restrictions.) It inspired much of the musical aspect of my story, and I'll admit, some things about the main character. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYLtm9ep6Ng

I hope you've enjoyed a little glimpse of my research for this series.

What do Amish Courting Couples Do Around Christmas?

"What do Amish courting couples do around Christmas?" I asked my Amish born friend once, and then contemplated the answer for a long time.
"They make taffy."
"They make taffy?" I repeated.
"For a couples' get together."

It took a lot of research for this to sink in to my thick skull, but what I found out was both charming and historical.

Years ago here in rural Missouri, a young gal would invite her beau over to help make taffy in the winter when there were less outdoor chores and the weather kept them inside most of the time. But it wasn't all socializing. Making taffy is hard work, as I found out.

First you cook it on the stove, then you let it cool until you can handle it. That's when the fun begins. The couple might sit by the fire in chairs facing each other, and with buttery fingers the young man would grab hold of the taffy in his gal's hands and pull it toward him, stretching it out to incorporate air into the sticky mass, then hand it back to her in a constant rocking motion. It took ten minutes or more before the taffy would begin to get stiffer and be ready to cut. Meanwhile they'd gaze into each others eyes and visit.

The old timers around here will tell you it was a popular practice in these hills years ago, and I think it's really special that the Amish still do it. I love it when the Amish culture of today intersects with my own rural Missouri heritage.

This week I published a mini-collection of three short stories that revolve around one such taffy pulling "frolic" in Swan Creek just before Christmas. Check out Amish Neighbors Book 3 on Amazon Kindle for only $0.99 and free on Kindle Unlimited.

See all of the Amish Neighbors series here.

Have you ever made taffy? Leave a comment and tell us about it. (Especially if it was with your beau.)  ;)

Readers Love The Amish Vow by Tattie Maggard

See what readers have to say about my new novel, The Amish Vow.

"Anyone loving innocent romance and belief in God will enjoy this beautiful and tender story." --Amazon Reviewer

"I could not put it down!" --Goodreads Review

"Beautiful Amish love story." --Goodreads Review

Will she risk everything for a chance at love?

Lena May Wickey flees her Amish home in search of freedom to live her own life, but when the Lord sends the ground to swallow her up and she meets the handsome Wesley Montgomery, the town's veterinarian, she must choose between love and the vow she made to God.

From the author of the bestselling Amish romance series Forbidden Amish Love comes The Amish Vow, a romance that spans two worlds, English and Amish.

This is a stand-alone Swiss Amish romance novel.

Here's the link so you can check it out yourself. Only $0.99 or Free with Kindle Unlimited.

https://www.amazon.com/Amish-Vow-Romance-Novel-ebook/dp/B07HFH7CLN

New Amish Romance Novel: The Amish Vow by Tattie Maggard

Will she risk everything for a chance at love?

Lena May Wickey flees her Amish home in search of freedom to live her own life, but when the Lord sends the ground to swallow her up and she meets the handsome Wesley Montgomery, the town's veterinarian, she must choose between love and the vow she made to God.

From the author of the bestselling Amish romance series Forbidden Amish Love comes The Amish Vow, a romance that spans two worlds, English and Amish.

This is a stand-alone Swiss Amish romance novel.

This book has been in the making for quite some time. I actually started it a year ago and had to set it aside because the characters had minds of their own and I think I was afraid of where they were headed. When I picked it back up again I realized I should have trusted them to know what they were doing. It's a lovely story. Here's the link so you can check it out yourself. Only $0.99 or Free with Kindle Unlimited.
https://www.amazon.com/Amish-Vow-Romance-Novel-ebook/dp/B07HFH7CLN

New Series - An Amish Rumspringa

Rumspringa, pronounced room-shpring-uh, is the Amish "running around" years. It begins when the youth reach about sixteen and ends in their early twenties when they decide whether or not to join church. It's a big decision. Joining church means living according to the Ordnung, an unwritten set of rules the community must follow for the rest of their lives. This makes Rumspringa an important Amish tradition. 

In my newest series, An Amish Rumspringa, you'll tag along with a group of Amish youth out to see what the world has to offer. They each have different reasons for their journey away from home, and the decisions they make will impact their lives forever. 

Now available in ebook and paperback, exclusively from Amazon.com

Book 1 What Happens In Asheville
Book 2 Stays In Asheville
Book 3 Finding Love In Asheville

Who Are The Swiss Amish And Why Haven't I Heard Of Them?

As popularity for my books grow, I'm getting this question a lot. Just today I answered this on Facebook and decided it was time for a blog post. 

Who are the Swiss Amish? Well, you have to sit through a little history lesson if you want to know. When the Amish and Mennonites first settled here, they came in two waves. The first wave settled in Pennsylvania and along with other German speaking immigrants at the time they eventually formed their own language, Pennsylvania Dutch, a mixture of their German and English. (The other immigrants eventually dropped it and today it's only the Amish that speak it.) They eventually moved to different places, including Indiana. 

Then there was a second wave of immigrants from Switzerland and other places. They moved directly to Indiana and named their settlement Berne (with an E) after their native homeland of Bern, Switzerland. The two groups didn't intermingle. Some time had passed, maybe 100 years or more, but there's a mutual respect between them. They speak different languages and have different customs. 

The Swiss Amish speak a Swiss German dialect so different than that of the Pennsylvania Dutch that when they do get together they speak English to understand one another. The Swiss Amish drive only open top buggies and don't use headstones to mark graves. They also yodel like in the Swiss Alps. Most are more closed off to the world than the Pennsylvania Dutch, and so less is known about them. 

Many authors who write about the Amish of Seymour (a Swiss Amish settlement in Missouri, where I'm from) and other Swiss Amish settlements, they write as if they are Pennsylvania Dutch living in Missouri. Completely false. Some states like Indiana have both Amish groups.

I worked for over two months to find the exact dialect they speak. It's not a written language, only a spoken one, and there is no Swiss Amish to English dictionary you can order from Amazon. The only way is to form friendships with someone who speaks it. 

I've learned so much about the Swiss Amish this year and I share a lot of that knowledge in my newest book, A Christmas Courtship, where three generations of Swiss Amish courtship practices come together to make a touching, yet humorous romance. It's only $0.99 for Kindle, free with Kindle Unlimited, and also available in paperback.