Wanda Brunstetter ~ Revisited

“When I write my first novel, it will be about the Amish,” Wanda Brunstetter told her husband of 45 years, and she was right. In December, 1997, her first novel was released by Barbour Publishing’s book club, Heartsong Presents. The book did so well her publisher asked for a collection called Lancaster Brides. Since then, she’s had several more novels and novellas published, many of them with Amish themes.

“Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be a writer. When I was in the second grade, I wrote my first poem about a moth. Luckily, I received encouragement from my teacher. During my teen years, I wrote skits that my church teen group performed during special holidays.”

It wasn’t until 1980, that I took a course on writing for children and teenagers. I became serious about a career as an author. Soon after that, I began to write stories, articles, poems, and devotionals, which appeared in a variety of Christian publications. Later, I had 5 books of puppet/ventriloquist scripts published.”

* These books are currently available by contacting her at wanda@wandabrunstetter.com

Wanda’s husband, Richard, grew up in a Mennonite church in Pennsylvania. It was through his friend's employer, an Amish man, that Wanda first fell in love with the peaceful, simple way of Amish life.
“People often misunderstand who the Amish are,” Wanda told me in a recent telephone interview. “They see a white cap and think Amish, when in reality the cap might signify German Baptist or Mennonite.”

When I asked Wanda how she was able to tell the difference, she laughed.

“You move among them often enough and you learn to tell them apart. Their clothes, for example, are often a giveaway. German Baptist or Mennonite women might have a fine print to their clothing. Amish women do not. Their dresses are always plain, solid colors.

Caps, too, are very different from state to state, community to community. I was in Ohio once, and spotted a woman wearing a cap particular to the Amish community near my husband's hometown in Pennsylvania. I approached her and asked if she was from Lancaster County. She was, and like me, was simply visiting in Ohio. She and her husband invited us to stay with them. We became good friends.”

It was experiences like these that fostered Wanda’s own love for the Amish, who has even conducted book signings in various homes of Amish friends.

“I received a wonderful compliment from a woman who attended one of my book signings,” said Wanda. “She asked me to sign my book to a man—the bishop of their church in that Amish community.”

That meant a lot to Wanda, as was made evident to me by the warmth in her voice as she recounted the tale.

“I’ve always been drawn to the Amish. I really can’t explain why,” she said, though Wanda does admit that having “plain” relatives, discovered through a collection of old family photos, may explain the strong pull.

When I asked Wanda about the persistent Amish theme, she said, “I was never worried about being branded an “Amish” writer. I always knew I would fall into that category and stay there.”

Though a few novella historicals and one contemporary followed her Lancaster series, Wanda was only too happy to return to her Amish books saying, “that’s where my heart lies.”

It does indeed. Her newest book, White Christmas Pie, scheduled for release from Barbour Publishing in September 2008, proves it.

“I did an Amish cookbook last year, and I have another one coming out next fall. In need of a few more recipes, I put an ad in an Amish newspaper and the responses flowed in. Some time later, a young Amish woman contacted me with a recipe for White Christmas Pie. Neither I nor any of my Amish friends had ever heard of it before. Unfortunately, I had long since submitted my book to the publisher. Still, this woman’s story lingered in my mind.

She was a young woman, just recently coming out of illness. I felt horrible that I would not be able to use her recipe, so I contacted her. After learning of her circumstances, I promised to use her recipe. . .someday.

Soon after, Barbour contacted me and asked for a Christmas book, a stand alone. Based on a story I’d heard, I decided to write about a young man, abandoned by his father, who is raised by an Amish couple. That’s when the pieces of the puzzle fell together, and I knew that I would use the recipe for White Christmas Pie. It’s the recipe that brings the young man and his father back together.”

Just hearing Wanda recount the story made me hunger for a bite of the mysterious White Christmas Pie.

“I always try out the recipes I put in my books,” Wanda said, laughing. “Only this time, I didn’t have the time, so I asked my daughter to make it. The picture of the pie on the cover is the actual pie she made. It has special meaning to me.”

A common theme in many of Wanda’s books, I quickly learned. The Quilter’s Daughter contains a scene where a young man perishes in a fire. Comforted by the scriptures Wanda used, a woman contacted Wanda to tell her she, too, had seen her son burn to death. Before reading Wanda’s book, she’d been unable to heal, to overcome the helplessness she’d felt.

“I’ve received a lot of emails over the years,” Wanda said, “from people telling me how my books have touched them. That’s one of the things I hope to accomplish through my writing. I want to help people through their problems, to show them that with God by our side, we can get through anything.”

That dedication, along with her desire to accurately portray the Amish way of life, is what has made Wanda such a favorite with her readers.

Wanda and Richard have two grown children -- Richard Jr., married to Jean, and Lorine, married to Bil, and six grandchildren -- Jinell, Madolynne, Rebekah, Ric, Philip, and Richelle. To learn more about Wanda, go to http://www.wandabrunstetter.com/.