BEHIND THE BOOK: Welcome Marsha Hubler

About Marsha:

Marsha Hubler, author of the best-selling juvenile fiction KEYSTONE STABLES SERIES, has a master’s degree in education and lives in central Pennsylvania “Dutch” country, highly populated by the Amish and Mennonite, who have been a valuable firsthand resource for her latest project, THE LOVES OF SNYDER COUNTY, a series about the Amish and Mennonite folk in the beautiful Susquehanna Valley. She had also owned horses over a twenty-year period, therefore knows her horse facts in and out. With such a background, her fiction series presents the Amish and Mennonites of Snyder County in a warm and personal way. She has 16, soon to be 17, books in print. Visit her at www.Ihubler.com

About  Love Song for Louelle 

Twenty-five-year-old Amish Louellen Friesen falls in love with forty-year-old Englishman Dr. David McAndrew, a widower with two children, for whom she cleans house in Mapletown, Snyder County, PA. There’s only one problem. Louellen is already married. Well past the “marrying age” at twenty-two, Louellen Stolzfus had wed Amish man Eli Friesen three years prior, mostly because of pressure from her family. Eli, also in his mid-twenties and in danger of being “passed over,” had married Louellen for one main reason, to have sons. Louellen has some love for Eli and sets out to be the best wife. However, after three years there are no children. Louellen is devastated, and Eli becomes bitter, feeling trapped in a marriage that has produced no offspring even though he knows that he has the medical problem, not his wife. He ignores her needs, and their wedded life is nothing but a disappointment to both. What should Louellen do? Turn her back on her husband and her Amish Ordnung? Should she leave, become “English,” and marry Dr. McAndrew, a man who has promised her the moon?

And now, Behind the Book:

Living in Snyder County in central Pennsylvania the last forty-some years has afforded me the luxury of observing the Amish and Mennonite lifestyles both from a distance and up close and personal. I have several Mennonite friends who had offered home care to my ailing elderly mother before she passed away in 2010, and two of these gals still help me with housework. I also live just a few minutes from a farmers’ market, where many Amish and Mennonite frequent regularly. Thus, over the years I’ve become acquainted with their lifestyles, many of their customs, and religious beliefs.

My church supports M.A.P. (Mission to Amish People), a Christian work that seeks to share with the Amish the truths of God’s Word concerning salvation and the way to gain eternal life in heaven. I receive regular newsletters from the organization that sends Bible lessons to thousands of Amish families and helps Amish who leave their Ordnungs to find a place to live and employment in the English world.

A great misconception believed by the “English” (That’s us!) is that the Amish, because of their strict religious lifestyle, are bound for heaven. Unfortunately, many of the Amish fiction books published today lead the reader to believe that the Amish beliefs are an acceptable way to God. But many Amish don’t know that salvation is through God’s grace, a gift, and not of their own works. The vast majority of Amish are bound by tradition and most live in apprehension and uncertainty, hoping that obedience to their local Ordnung’s rules will gain them favor with God and will allow them into heaven.

Thus, from my personal contacts and in-depth study of the Amish beliefs, I felt led to write THE LOVES OF SNYDER COUNTY SERIES. Volume one and two, BACHELOR’S CHOICE and TEACHER’S PET, are light romances, with the main characters Mennonites who believe in salvation by grace alone. Volume three, LOVE SONG FOR LOUELLEN, is a flashback and deals with the parents of the main characters in the first two books. The parents are Amish but discover the truth in the Bible that belief in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is the only true way to heaven. They accept Christ as their Savior, reject their Ordnung’s beliefs of working their way to heaven, are shunned, then leave their Amish community and join a local Mennonite church.

Through writing this series, I’ve learned so much about the Amish and Mennonite folks. Although both are a gentle, nonresistant people, most Amish do not have joy or peace in their lives because they work so hard to please their Ordnung, never knowing if their good works attain favor with God, who seems so removed. On the other hand, Mennonites who have accepted Christ into their lives have a sweet inner peace that reflects in their faces and in the kindness they show to each other and to us English as well.

It’s been a wonderful experience writing this series. I can only hope and pray that the truth of the scriptures in the three volumes challenges the reader to consider his/her own eternal destiny and embrace the truths of God’s Word: “For by grace are ye saved by faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

LINKS:

URLs for my Social Media Sites

WEBSITE: http://www.Ihubler.com

AUTHOR PAGE AT AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/author/Ihubler  

MY WRITERS’ TIPS & AUTHORS’ BLOG: http://Ihubler.wordpress.com/

MY LOVES OF SNYDER COUNTY FAN PAGE ON MY BLOG: http://Ihubler.wordpress.com/the-loves-of-snyder-county/

MY HORSE FACTS’ BLOG FOR MY FANS: http://horsefactsbyIhubler.wordpress.com/

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/Loves.of.Snyder.County?ref=hl

PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/Ihubler/

GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/?auto_login_attempted=true

Note to Readers: I made an unexpected trip to the hospital. I'm okay now, and thanks for your patience!