Book fair in Ohio’s Amish Country
Last weekend was the Buckeye Book Fair in Wooster, Ohio–the largest annual book event in Ohio and one of the largest literacy fund-raisers in the country. I can’t tell you how much fun I had meeting with readers and signing books. When they opened the doors to the auditorium promptly at 9:00 am. and hundreds of people surged in to browse and buy signed copies from their favorite authors, I was filled with awe! This wasn’t the latest Harry Potter movie, or free lattes at Starbucks…these were books people were hurrying to get their hands on. I must say, as a writer, my heart pounded all that morning and is still a little off beat today two days later. This was the first time I’d been invited to the event to sign A Widow’s Hope, and I certainly hope I’ll be invited back next year.
Afterwards, we drove to my favorite B&B, Simple Pleasures, in Winesburg to spend the night. The innkeeper had invited their Amish neighbors to dinner and chit-chat. And their daughters held an pie-tasting for me with three different kinds of Chocolate Mousse Cream pie. The “winning” recipe along with 3 other pies will appear in The Way to a Man’s Heart, the third in the Miller Family series, coming in July, 2010. Remember, the second in the series, Never Far From Home, will be released late next month. My husband and I slept like babies, and awoke to rolling farmfields kissed by frost and the sound of roosters! I threw some apples to the deer and of course, fed Sam-the-horse apples as well. I cannot imagine a better way to spend the weekend, or a better place to spend it in than Ohio’s Amish Country!
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Hi Mary,
I just want you to know that I loved your two books on the Miller family, and I just finished “Never Far From Home”. You are an excellant Amish author. I’m looking forward to your next book when it comes out. You have me interested what bed and breakfast you go to in Ohio Amish country that you enjoy so much, and is it Amish run? I would love to make a trip up there and stay in an Amish bed and breakfast rather than an hotel. My favorite places to go are in Amish countries across the country. But I grew up in Ohio and now live in MIssissippi, but am longing for a visit to my home state.
Blessings! Diana Lancaster
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Hi Diana,
First of all, thanks so much for your kind words about my writing. People who sit behind computer screens all day love to get positive feedback.
Secondly, the B&B I stay at while visiting Ohio’s Amish Country is Simple Pleasures, on Rt. 62 in Winesburg, Ohio. It is owned by a former Menonnite and her hubby, but it’s run “English.” However, a lovely Old Order Amish family lives on the adjacent farm, and they have opened up their cottage for a non-electric Amish experience. The cottage accomodates up to 4 people, and guests enjoy breakfast at the Simple Pleasures B&B, a short walk (or drive) up the lane. I haven’t had a chance to experience the cottage yet since it’s new, but it sounds like best-of-both-worlds to me. here is the website for the B&B, and she also handles reservations for the Coblentz family.
http://www.simplepleasuresbedandbreakfast.com and toll free 1-877-722-3772
Blessings to you, Diana, and I hope you’re able to come visit us up north. Mary Ellis
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