Author Wanda E. Brunstetter’s books are wildly popular, have been on numerous bestsellers lists, and have won many very prestigious national awards. I’ve done book signings with her and can tell you she has a huge following of devoted readers. She enjoys writing about the Amish because they live a peaceful, simple life. Wanda’s interest in the Amish and other Plain communities began when she married her husband, Richard, who grew up in a Mennonite church in Pennsylvania. Wanda and Richard take every opportunity to visit Amish communities around the country and have become friends with several Amish families. Wanda hopes her readers will learn to love the wonderful Amish people as much as she does. Wanda has written more than 25 novels, as well as several hundred articles, stories, poems, and puppet plays. She’s also written an Amish devotional and an Amish cookbook!

Nikki:  When did you first feel “called” to write and how did that evolve into the writing life?

Wanda:  I had an interest in writing even when I was a child and wrote poems and skits, but it wasn’t until I took my first writing course in 1980 that I knew I was “called” to write. After finishing the course, I sent my first fiction story to a Mennonite Sunday school take-home paper, and it was accepted. From that point on, I submitted and had published hundreds of stories, articles, poems, and puppet plays. In 1990, after taking another writing course, I felt “called” to move away from shorter pieces of work and write fiction novels. In 1997, I had my first novel published.

Nikki:  How has writing deepened your spiritual journey?

Wanda:  Just like real people, the characters in my stories are faced with a variety of problems—physical, emotional, or spiritual. I believe that there’s an answer to all life’s problem, and it’s found in God’s Word, the Holy Bible. So, in order to find solutions to my fictional character’s problems, I have to delve deeply into the Scriptures to find appropriate verses that will help my characters find answers and grow spiritually. During this process, my spiritual journey with God is always strengthened. Sometimes, the very thing my character needs to learn is exactly what I need to learn. During the writing process of each of my books, I find myself praying for guidance, understanding, and wisdom, so that whatever I write will be what God wants me to write.

Nikki:  Tell us something most people don’t know about you and would be surprised to learn.

Wanda:  Most people don’t know that I grew up as an extremely shy child, and after I learned ventriloquism during my young adult life, it helped me break free from shyness and showed me that I could have fun doing something I loved.

Nikki:  What is it about your writing style that readers tell you draws them to your books?

Wanda:  My readers tell me that they can relate to my characters and immerse themselves in my storylines because I write from the heart, with a passion for the people I’m writing about. I truly believe that in order to write a good story an author needs to have a love and passion for the characters/theme she is writing about. 

Nikki:  Tell us one of the high points of your career and what it meant to you?

A. One of the high points of my career was last year when my Amish-themed novel, The Storekeeper’s Daughter, won the 2006 Retailer’s Choice Award for Women’s Fiction.

Nikki:  If people want to follow your writing journey, where are you on the Internet and what appearances do you have scheduled this year?

Wanda:  My Web site is www.wandabrunstetter.com and my book signing schedule is posted on the Main Page. It will be updated throughout the year as my signings and speaking engagements are scheduled.

Wanda’s latest release: A Sister’s Secret

Sneak Peek - 

Putting her rumschpringe days behind her, Grace Hostettler returns to her Amish community in Holmes County, Ohio, and becomes engaged to upright Cleon Schrock. But then she runs into Gary Walker, an English man who knows enough about her former life to destroy her future. Can God bring anything good out of Grace’s secret past?

A Sister’s Secret, will be available in Christian Bookstores and online at www.christianbook.com by May 1, 2007. This is Book 1 in the Sisters of Holmes County series, which is set in Holmes County, Ohio.

About Nikki:

Nikki Arana is an award-winning author living in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She is the recipient of the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award for Women’s Fiction, The Beacon Award, and the Jessie Cameron Alison Writer of the Year Award. You can follow her writing journey at www.nikkiarana.com.