I want to thank you, Laura, for taking time to answer questions for me. It’s always a joy to learn about other authors and see a glimpse into their writing journey. I recently read The Amish Candy Maker and it was probably one of my favorite Amish books that I’ve ever read. You did a wonderful job with the story, and the conversations between Agnes and Isaac were epic.
Without further ado, here is the interview….ha! That rhymes.
Where do you get ideas for your books?
All I can say is God. He knows what message He wants told and how He wants it done. With The Amish Candymaker, sometime ago there was an Amish Auctioneer who was talked about a lot of facebook. And then he was murdered. But I watched Youtube videos of him and thought it’d be fun to have an auctioneer as the hero in a story. Then a reader/fan suggested an auctioneer story and I met someone who goes to auctions – and since I needed a newcomer to the district for the story, the time had come.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Pray and give it to God. Something I still struggle with.
If I’m not mistaken, you write mostly Amish fiction. Can you tell me what is the inspiration for that?
My maternal grandparents left the Amish. It was fun to learn family history. You can read the fictionalized story in The Amish Wanderer.
What has been your best and worst experiences as an author?
Worst experience was before I was published and a contest judge told me I couldn’t write my way out of a paper bag. Satan still throws that at me. Best, getting letters, cards and messages from people who have been touched or ministered to by my stories.
Do you work one manuscript all the way through to completion before you begin another or do you have stacks of halfway completed manuscripts hiding, waiting for their chance?
Yes and yes. I do have some half-finished manuscripts but they are contemporary (not Amish) romance. But being under constant deadline means I have to work a manuscript all the way through to completion before starting another.
Thank you again for being here, Laura. That contest judge needs his mouth washed out with soap! What an awful thing to say to someone! Not to mention they were dead wrong!
Get your copy here: The Amish Candy Maker
A letter brings him to Mackinac County. Can one woman make him stay?
Agnes Zook has found herself on her own after in small Amish community in Mackinac County after a tragedy took the life of her parents and siblings. Most of the Amish call her “off in den Kopf” (strange) since she’s starting her own business and forging her own way in the community instead of relying on the bishop to take care of her. Since she’s viewed as non-submissive and too-forward for an Amish woman she’s not courted by other young men in the area.
Isaac Mast is on the verge of leaving the Amish church. He’s become a sought-after Auctioneer and has a thriving business, but he feels confined by the strict rules. When his brother is severely injured in a wild fire, Isaac receives a letter from his sister-in-law, begging him to come to Mackinac County to help out while his brother is hospitalized for skin grafts and his wife is with him. They have young children that can’t be left alone. Isaac agrees but is unsure how to manage the children when he has weekend auctions he’s expected to attend. Agnes may be an answer to prayer.
When Isaac and Agnes meet, sparks fly, but everything changes. While neither of them fit within the structures of the Amish faith, could their differences be the one thing that helps them form a deeper connection to their faith . . . and each other?
Author Bio: 
Laura V. Hilton is an award-winning, sought-after author with over twenty Amish, contemporary, and historical romances. When she’s not writing, she reviews books for her blogs, and writes devotionals for blog posts for Seriously Write.
Laura and her pastor-husband have five children and a hyper dog named Skye. They currently live in Arkansas. One son is in the U.S. Coast Guard. She is a pastor’s wife, and homeschools her two youngest children.
When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys reading, and visiting lighthouses and waterfalls. Her favorite season is winter, her favorite holiday is Christmas.
Through the Fire Blogs 
wow, thank you so much!
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