Hello!

I'm back from Colorado, and I gained a ton of great information as I move forward with the Land of Canaan series.  If you want to read about my trip, click HERE.  Please consider subscribing to my personal blog.  I'll be giving away cookbooks and other items I brought back from Colorado.

I learned a lot about the Amish folks living in Colorado, and I met with two different families while I was there.  There are 32 Amish families living in Monte Vista (San Luis Valley) broken down into two districts.  One bishop leads both districts, and since worship service is every other Sunday, the bishop alternates between districts--so he is holding worship every Sunday.  This same bishop also oversees the 8 families that are in Westcliffe, but since he is already leading worship every Sunday, a minister in Westcliffe leads the group.  

My fictional town of Canaan is located about ten miles from Monte Vista, which is about how far the real Amish community is from Monte Vista.  These folks have migrated to the area from Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, and most recently Delaware.  The first to arrive set the standard for everyone else...meaning that if the first folks arrive in black buggies and wearing a certain type of prayer covering, then everyone adapts to their ways.  In both Monte Vista and Westcliffe, the overall dress resembles Amish from Ohio, as opposed to the heart-shaped prayer coverings worn by women in Lancaster County.  Like Lancaster County, buttons are allowed on the men's shirts while women use snaps or pins for their clothes.  

There were many similarities between the Pennsylvania Amish and the Colorado Amish, but I was educated about some of the differences.  For example, my Amish friend in Monte Vista is from Missouri.  She wanted to talk to me extensively about the rumschpringe (running around period that starts at 16).  They do not encourage or even allow their young folks to 'run around'.  There is no turning the other cheek, so to speak...which is the way it was described to me in Pennsylvania.  My friend has 9 children.  

When I heard the phone ringing in my friend's house, I asked her about it.  She said the ringer is in the house, so they can hear when the phone is ringing in the barn.  While we chatted, she had two little ones on her lap,and her older daughters were busy baking us cookies and serving coffee.  It was a super delightful visit--our second visit--and my friend has offered to read each manuscript prior to publication to make sure things stay authentic to this new group of Colorado Amish folks.

In Westcliffe, I met with another couple.  In some ways, this family was WAY more progressive than other Amish families I've visited with and know in Pennsylvania.  This family migrated to the area from Iowa.  Daed had a fax machine in the house and was packing a cell phone.  They also had a phone ringer in the house, but the phone was in the garage.  They lived in a beautiful home with far more decorations than I've seen in other Amish homes.   They have 10 children, 2 of whom chose not to be baptized.  Daed runs a construction company and hires a driver almost daily. 

Both the women I chatted with had read Plain Perfect before I arrived.  My Monte Vista friend explained to me about the difference in the way the rumschpringe was described in the book, which of course was for Lancaster County Amish.  BUT, my friend in Westcliffe had a completely different issue with Plain Perfect.  And so did her husband.  In Plain Perfect, my favorite character--Jonas--occasionally has a cigar and hides it from Irma Rose.  NO, NO, NO...they told me.  No one in their district would EVER smoke, and they wanted to make sure that my books based in Colorado made that clear.  I told them that smoking a cigar in Lancaster County is something that some of the men do.  NO, NO, NO...they wanted to make sure I was clear on the fact that no one in their area smokes cigars.  These are just a couple of examples. 

Solar panels are something else you don't see much of in Lancaster County, but they were very popular in Colorado because the state has so much sun! 

I'm armed with way more information that I can share in this space, but I think it is going to be really fun for the reader to learn about these new Amish groups in Colorado.  Seek Me With All Your Heart--book #1 in the Land of Canaan series--will release in October 2010, and I can't wait for you to read it!  If you haven't seen the book trailer, here's the link.  BOOK TRAILER FOR SEEK ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART.

Hope you all have a blessed week!!