by Beth Wiseman
“I’ll figure this recipe out,” he said, smiling.
Miriam pulled him into a hug, then kissed him. “I love you, Saul Fisher.”
“I love you too, Miriam Fisher.”
Miriam closed her eyes and thanked God for the peacefulness she’d carried with her from Lancaster County.
Acknowledgments
WITH EACH BOOK THAT I WRITE, IT SEEMS THAT THERE are more and more people who deserve a big thank-you. Please forgive me if I forgot anyone. I know there is no way I could share my stories without an abundance of love from family and friends, particularly my husband, Patrick. You’re the best, baby!
To my wonderful sons—Eric and Cory—I dedicate this book to both of you, each so amazing in your own individual ways. Choose wisely in life, try to follow God’s plan, and always know how very much I love you both.
To my family at Thomas Nelson, you guys and gals continue to bless me with your encouragement, hard work, and kindness. It’s more than a job to all of you, and so often you go above and beyond even my highest expectations of what a top-rated publisher should do. I’m so blessed to have you on my team! (BIG hugs to my editor, Natalie Hanemann—love you!)
Barbie Beiler, are you getting tired of being mentioned in every single book. . . lol? Seriously, I couldn’t do this without you. Peace and love to you always, my friend.
Big thanks to my Old Order Amish friends in Pennsylvania and Colorado for helping me to keep each book authentic—and for sharing your recipes with me. Peace and blessings to all of you.
To my mother, Pat Isley, for always being on hand to answer the smallest grammatical question on a regular basis. More importantly, for your encouragement, love, and constant support. I love you very much, Mother.
And everyone should be so fortunate to have a mother-in-law who cooks for them. To the best mother-in-law in the world—Pat Mackey—sending much love and thanks your way!
Janet Murphy, I’ve thought about the way things played out and how you came to work for me. This is a union truly blessed by God. Not only are you a fabulous assistant and publicity coordinator, but I’m also so fortunate to have you as my friend. I hope we make this entire journey together.
To my agent, Mary Sue Seymour—what a great year we’ve had! In addition to guiding my career, we’ve had some wonderful times together. I see more shoe shopping and trips to P.F. Chang’s in our future!
Jenny Baumgartner, some authors dread their line edits, but with you, I know that you will make it as painless as possible, and your great suggestions always make the book so much better in the end. Love and blessings to you and your family. I can’t wait to meet you in person someday, hopefully soon!
Not a day goes by that I don’t recognize God’s hand on my writing. It is only because of Him that I am able to pull together the screaming voices in my head and organize them into a story that I hope both entertains and draws people closer to Him. Thank You.
Reading Group Guide
1. Throughout the story, Miriam is sure that she wants to be Saul’s fraa, but when it finally comes time for her to marry him and leave, she cries on her mother’s shoulder. What are some of the emotions Miriam feels as she enters this new phase in her life?
2. Rebecca has two strong reasons for not wanting Miriam to date Saul. What are they, and do you think Rebecca’s concerns are valid? Or should she have trusted Miriam to make good decisions and not interfered?
3. Shelby is depressed, void of hope, and doesn’t have much faith in the beginning of the story. What are some turning points for her? What and who inspire her to look within herself to seek God?
4. What are some of the things that Shelby loves about life among the Amish? What does she have a hard time adjusting to? What about you? What could you not live without within an Old Order Amish district?
5. Saul is afraid for members of the community to find out about his father’s drinking, fearing his family will be shamed. Do you know of someone who kept a family secret that was perhaps not in the best interest of everyone involved? What was the outcome?
6. What would have happened if Rebecca hadn’t stepped in to help Zeb? How could things have possibly played out differently?
7. At first, Aaron tells Rebecca that they must let Miriam make her own decisions, but his attitude changes when he finds out that Saul wants to leave the district and take Miriam with him. At what point does Aaron confess his true feelings about Miriam leaving?
8. More and more Amish families are giving up their phone shanties. Most of them have phones in the barn or even cell phones. What are your thoughts about the Amish embracing some forms of modern technology, but not others—such as electricity and automobiles?
9. Shelby uses her diary as a way to voice her private thoughts, but she stops writing in the journal after she begins to reconnect with God. Have you ever kept a journal, and if so, was it in addition to or in lieu of communion with God? Or neither one?
10. Forgiveness is a theme that runs throughout the book, and several characters must forgive either themselves or others. What are some examples of this?
11. By the end of the book, Shelby and Jesse have formed a friendship. Shelby is now a member of the Amish community, but Jesse mentions earlier on that he has a curiosity about the outside world and what it would be like to leave the district. Do you think he was just saying that because he thought Shelby would be leaving their community, or do you think Jesse might leave? Or is it normal for him to be curious and casually ponder the idea?
12. Saul is driven to live in the outside world and be a chef in a fancy restaurant. Besides his love of food and cooking, how does this external desire reveal what is truly inside of Saul? Is he a caregiver by nature? Does he enjoy pleasing others?
Amish Recipes
Overnight Blueberry French Toast
12 thick slices of bread, cut into 1" cubes
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, cut in ½" cubes
1½ cups blueberries (fresh, frozen, or canned)
12 eggs
3 cups maple syrup
2 cups milk
Place half the bread cubes in a buttered 9" x 13" baking pan. Distribute all the cream cheese on top. Add remaining bread cubes and blueberries. Set aside. In a bowl, beat the eggs, syrup, and milk; pour evenly in the pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Then cover with foil and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 20 to 30 minutes (longer if necessary) until golden brown. Serve immediately.
Cheddar Meat Loaf
3 eggs
½ cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup quick oats
½ cup onions, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 dash black pepper
1 lb. ground beef
Sauce
cup ketchup
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
1½ tsp. yellow mustard
In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and milk. Stir in cheese, oats, onions, salt, and pepper. Add beef and mix thoroughly. Place in a pan. Mix ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard; pour over meat. Bake uncovered at 350° for 45 minutes.
Stromboli
Dough
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2½ cups bread flour
Filling
1 lb. cheese, diced
½ lb. ham, diced
½ lb. salami, diced
2 Tbsp. spaghetti sauce (or cream of mushroom soup)
1 medium onion, diced (optional)
Topping
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 16-oz. jar spaghetti or pizza sauce
In a large bowl, mix all the dough ingredients. Wait 5 minutes, then divide dough into six equal parts. Roll each into a circle. Each stuffed stromboli will have a top and bottom circle of dough. On three of the circles, place of the cheese and meat in the center, making sure to leave an empty edge all aro
und, then add the onion and sauce. Cover each with a plain dough circle. Pinch edges to seal tight. Sprinkle tops with seasoned salt and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Brush each with butter, top with sauce, and serve.
Author to Author
THE THOMAS NELSON FICTION TEAM INVITED OUR authors to interview any other Thomas Nelson Fiction author in an unplugged Q&A session. They could ask any questions about any topic they wanted to know more about. What we love most about these conversations is that they reveal just as much about the ones asking the questions as they do the authors who are responding. So sit back and enjoy the discussion. Maybe you’ll even be intrigued enough to pick up one of Golden’s novels and discover a new favorite writer in the process.
BETH WISEMAN: Hi, Golden. First of all, I’d like to tell you how much I enjoyed In the Shadow of the Sun King. As someone who knows very little about seventeenth-century France, I found the details to be fascinating, plus it was just a wonderful story. Can you tell us how you came to write your Darkness to Light series?
GOLDEN KEYES PARSONS: The series is based on my family genealogy set in seventeenth-century France. They were French Huguenots (Protestants) who were being persecuted for their faith by the Catholic government of Louis XIV and had to flee their homeland.
I had no knowledge of my strong heritage of faith until I ran across a published genealogy of the Clavell family packed away in a box. The family history had gotten buried through the years and forgotten. My mother never spoke of it, so I’m assuming that she didn’t know either.
BETH: How closely do your books follow your family’s history?
GOLDEN: Very loosely. I didn’t have access to many concrete facts, so I used bits and pieces of our family’s story to flesh out the fictional story line.
For example, in the first book, In the Shadow of the Sun King, the time frame is fifty years earlier than when my ancestors fled France, but my editor thought we should incorporate the very colorful character of Louis XIV. However, my family did live in southern France around Grenoble. And they did flee to Switzerland. A Francois Clavell actually was sentenced to the galleys. And so on.
The second book, A Prisoner of Versailles, probably follows the story of the literal Clavell family the least. However, King Louis really did send spies into Switzerland to bring Huguenots back into France. He did have a sweetheart from his youth, who people say was his true love, but he was not permitted to marry her. So like all historical novels, the thread of factual history runs through them.
The concluding book in the series, Where Hearts Are Free, tells the story of the Clavell family in this country, settling in Central Pennsylvania in the Schuylkill Valley, which they did. The property is still farmland, and there are pictures on my website of those farms. My ancestor, whose name was Louisa, not Madeleine, truly had to sell her sons to redemptioners to pay for their passage over. And her husband was washed overboard with all their money, so she arrived in this country a widow, and then had to sell her children as indentured slaves. I cannot imagine what a strong, courageous woman she must have been.
BETH: What’s next for you as far as writing?
GOLDEN: I have a book set during the Civil War in Texas coming out in the fall of 2011 to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. I loved doing the research on this one. I learned so much about our state that I didn’t know. The title is His Steadfast Love, and it deals with torn loyalties of a young woman between her Southern family and her sweetheart, who is a Union officer.
BETH: How does your faith play a part in what you write?
GOLDEN: My faith is what and who I am. At no point in my books did I ever stop and say, “Guess it’s time to add a little faith message here.” In fact, there were a couple of times that I had to go back and tone it down a bit from sounding too preachy. I love to write about the realities of life and then show how God redeems those situations.
BETH: As authors, we know that there is no “typical” day, but how do you prefer to outline your day, given a choice? Do you prefer to write in the mornings or in the evenings? How many words do you push for?
GOLDEN: My brain works better in the mornings as far as writing content goes. Then I work on editing and marketing in the afternoons. A historical runs 90,000 to 100,000, words, so I try to do a chapter a week. My chapters usually run around 3,000 words. Sometimes I make it and sometimes I don’t, but if I keep that schedule, I’m pretty much on track. When I get closer to deadline, sometimes I’m writing 2,000 or more words a day.
BETH: If you weren’t writing in this time period, what other type of novel would you be interested in writing?
GOLDEN: I love all historical. I used to think I would only want to do European historicals, but since writing in the colonial period in America and now the Civil War book, I’m kind of changing my mind. I’ve enjoyed them all. I’ve written some biblical fiction. I’d like to do a time travel novel.
BETH: What is the most important concept that you hope readers walk away with after reading one of your books?
GOLDEN: That God is faithful and will always make a way for us, if we trust Him.
BETH : I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series. Where can readers find out more about you?
GOLDEN : At my website: www.goldenkeyesparsons.com. Thanks, Beth. I enjoyed the interview.
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The New Land of Canaan Series
An Excerpt from
Seek Me With All Your Heart
EMILY STOOD BEHIND THE COUNTER OF HER FAMILY’S country store, watching as the tall man walked down each aisle, the top of his black felt hat visible above the gray metal shelving. First thing that morning, he’d strolled in and shot her a slow, easy smile, white teeth dazzling against bronzed skin. He moved slowly, sometimes glimpsing in her direction.
Emily twisted the strings on her apron with both hands and tried to slow down her breathing. Her heart pulsed against her chest as she glanced out the window toward her family’s farmhouse in the distance. Where is Jacob? Her brother knew she didn’t like to be left alone in the store, and he’d promised to be right back.
Their community was small, and all the members in the district knew each other, which was the only reason Emily agreed to work in the shop. But this Amish man was a stranger. And Amish or not, he was still a man.
Emily jumped when the man rounded the bread aisle toting a box of noodles in one hand and a can in the other. With the back of one hand, he tipped back his hat so that sapphire blue eyes blazed down on her. As he approached the counter, Emily clung to her apron strings and took a step backward.
“How come everything in this store is messed up?” Tiny lines creased his forehead as he held up a can of green beans with a large dent in one side. Then he held up the box of noodles. “And this looks like it’s been stepped on. It’s mashed on one side.” He dropped them on the counter, then folded his arms across his chest and waited for her to answer.
He towered over her. Emily stared straight ahead, not looking him in the eye. The outline of his shoulders strained against a black jacket that was too small. Her bottom lip trembled as she turned her head to look out the window again. When she didn’t see any sign of Jacob, she turned back to face the stranger, who looked to be about her age—maybe nineteen or twenty—which didn’t make him any less threatening. His handsome looks could be a convenient cover up for what lay beneath. She knew he was not a married man since he didn’t have a beard covering his square jaw, and his dark hair was in need of a trim.
He arched his brows, waiting for her to respond, looking anything but amused. Emily felt goose bumps on her arms, and chills began to run the length of her spine, even though Jacob had fired up t
he propane heaters long before the shop opened that morning.
“This is—is a salvage store.” Her fingers ached as she twisted the strings of her apron tighter. “We sell freight and warehouse damaged groceries.” She bit her lip, but didn’t take her eyes from him.
“I can’t even find half the things on my list.” He shook his head as he stared at a white piece of paper. “What about milk and cheese?”
“No, I’m sorry. We mostly have dry goods.”
He threw his hands in the air. Emily thought his behavior was improper for an Amish man, but raw fear kept her mouth closed and her feet rooted to the floor.
“Where am I supposed to get all this?” He turned the piece of paper around so she could see the list.
Emily unwrapped the strings of her apron and slowly leaned her head forward. She tucked a loose strand of brown hair underneath her kapp.
“What’d you do to your hand?”
Emily glanced at her hand, and a blush filled her cheeks when she saw the red indentions around her fingers. She quickly dropped her hand to her side and ignored his comment. “You will have to go to Monte Vista for most of those things. People usually come here to save money, just to get a few things they know we’ll have for a lesser price.”