Christmas is without a doubt my favorite time of year! I can (and do!) listen to Christmas music throughout the year. So, naturally, I love to write stories revolving around the birth of my Saviour, which are usually romance with an Amish setting.
One of my favorite Christmas stories is Unlikely Santa. In the book, a young family deals with a sudden tragedy when they lose both parents. The oldest sibling, eighteen-year-old Shannon, struggles to keep her three younger siblings together. When her five-year-old brother Jaycee mistakes an Amish man for Santa Claus, both families' lives are forever changed. This book sparked three other books in the Unlikely Amish Christmas series and has become a reader favorite.
The book I'm currently writing is a Christmas book, and is book three in my Amish Courtship series. The two main characters have both loved and lost. When one of them receives a letter from a secret admirer proposing a courtship by letters and eventual marriage, their circumstances get interesting. It's a sweet Amish romance, but all of my Christmas books highlight the true Reason for the Season.
What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?
This one is difficult because I pretty much love everything about Christmas. :) But if I had to narrow it down, I'd say that reading the account of Jesus' birth from the Bible and singing Christmas songs on Christmas morning (after a yummy breakfast of chocolate gravy and biscuits!), along with the Christmas Eve candlelight service would be my most favorite traditions.
I haven't quite decided whether I will jump into my Amish Bed & Breakfast series or pen the standalones I've itching to write. It will likely be a combination of both, Lord willing.
Learn to be flexible. The writing and publishing world is ever changing. Just roll with whatever comes your way and remember your reason for writing.
So many things. But learning is part of what helps us grow, so it's all good. As for me, I love the creative control that being an indie author gives me.
For writers? I'd say that you know yourself - what you're capable of, what you're willing to do. Don't put more on your plate than what you can handle. Give yourself strict deadlines and do all you can to meet those, but realize that life WILL happen. Don't be too hard on yourself when it does.
For readers: If you've never read an Amish book before, don't be afraid to pick one up (see the freebie below!) I went years seeing the books and thinking that I wouldn't be interested in them. Then, one day, I decided to pick one up. That was around 2008. Four years later, I began penning my own Amish stories. Here we are, all these years later and I'm still reading (although, not exclusively) and writing Amish romances.
I honestly just never thought they would appeal to me. What could I have in common with them? It turns out, an awful lot. But I'd say the main attraction to Amish books are the simple lifestyles. Somehow, they just bring a sense of peace and calm. And who doesn't need that in this crazy day and age we live in? So, again, I encourage you to pick one up and see if you like it! (See mine below)
Yes! I have nearly fifty Amish stories available, and I offer a couple of my first-in-series ebooks for free! So, if you'd like to check them out, they are An Unforgivable Secret (Amish Secrets, book1) (note, you'll want to have tissues on hand for this series), and The Trespasser (Amish Country Brides, book 1). While these are both part of a series, neither of them end on a cliffhanger and they stand alone well.
An Unforgivable Secret: https://books2read.com/u/4ApnLJ
The Trespasser: https://books2read.com/u/mY6oaP
Newsletter: https://www.jenniferspredemann.com/ When you sign up, you'll receive a free short Amish romance story.)
And one final bonus... If you'd like to be entered into a giveaway for a signed copy of Unlikely Santa, email her at at jebspredemann@gmail.com with the subject line UNLIKELY SANTA GIVEAWAY