When Real Life Collides with Amish Fiction… With Guest Author Tracy Fredrychowski

Hello Everyone! Debby Giusti here.

I'm thrilled that Amish Fiction Writer Tracy Fredrychowski can be with us today. Many of you have enjoyed not only her past blogposts but also her delightful stories, and I'm sure you're eager to hear more from her today. As you probably know, Tracy hosts the Buggy Talk Podcast where she interviews many of the Amish writers I enjoy reading. Be sure to check out her site, but first, join me in welcoming Tracy to Seekerville. Today she's sharing deep from her heart! 

When Real Life Collides with Amish Fiction…

A deadline doesn't care that your life has become an emotional rollercoaster or that the Lord decided to take your daddy home on Christmas Eve. All it cares about is ensuring you make your publish date.

 

If you're an author, you might know right where I'm coming from, or if you're a reader, let me take you for a walk through what it looks like when tragedy happens in the middle of writing a book. Even if that means you write a heart-warming story about death and the transformation of a family sitting at your daddy's deathbed. 

 

It's been a whirlwind of emotions over the last six months. When a cancer diagnosis comes to someone you love, you never know how you'll react when the time finally comes. I'm sure many of you have faced challenges like this, and my heart goes out to you. 

 

My daddy left this world on Christmas Eve, and I will forever be grateful he played a big part in making me who I am. In the above picture, he dressed as an Amish man to make me smile. He might not have understood my love for writing Amish fiction (mainly since we lived near them, and to my dad, they were just people like us), but he loved me, and that was all that mattered. 

 

And while he passed away before I finished my latest release, the emotions I felt at his passing helped me write some incredible heart-wrenching scenes. Barbara's Amish Truth Exposed is about a family's determination to stop generational sin. While the story is fictional and does not resemble my father or family, a parent's death produces the same pain and loss.

 

So, I continued to write when circumstances fought hard to keep me down. It was the faithfulness of my readers who cheered me on so I could keep going. I was emotionally overwhelmed with gratitude that so many of my friends and readers understood my lack of involvement in so many things. 

 

It took a few beautiful words from my sweet daughter that helped me process the many things that attacked our family this past year, and I hope they will do the same for you…

 

"Our circumstances do not define our faith; our faith defines our events. So, while I am allowing myself to process the tidal wave of yuck life that brought so many people around me and me, I can't help but be incredibly thankful. I have been blessed beyond measure. I can see firsthand God bringing beauty from the ashes. I feel a closeness to Him and a dependency on Him that I can't say I would have without the past. That alone is immeasurable. I am entering this year with a tribe of people Jesus has genuinely sent. I am so thankful for the body of Christ, for the endless prayers and support, for the willingness to allow us to be transparent without judgment, and for His truth that speaks to my heart daily.

 

So be sad, be thankful, grieve, and pray. But don't let your feelings or circumstances lie to you about who God was, is, and always will be."

Laura, Tracy's daughter…

 

So, please, my friends, let's strive to be refreshed and renewed and eagerly await what the Lord has in store for us as we leave the past right where it belongs…in the past!

 

 

As you read Barbara's Amish Truth Exposed – Book 4 of the Amish Women of Lawrence County, I pray you will see a story full of pain, hope, and love that withstands some of life's most challenging circumstances.

Will this shame-filled believer ever allow God to heal her broken heart? Or will she carry the burden of her lie alone, permitting history to repeat itself?

Barbara Wagler is filled with shame over dishonoring her husband’s memory. While the young Amish woman is devastated after her husband of five years dies in a farming accident, she is left to raise their sons alone. When her first love, Joseph Wagler, returns to Willow Springs, can they bury the past, or will widower Roy Mullet from Sugarcreek stir up trouble in Barbara and her sister Susan’s life?

Still struggling to allow herself happiness, Barbara sets out on a journey to reveal the truth of her mistakes. But her honesty leads her to question God’s ultimate promises and her father’s sordid past.

Can this woman continue to lie to herself, or will she find the courage to boldly go to God and allow him to lead her on a path of deliverance?

Barbara’s Amish Truth Exposed is the inspirational fourth book in The Amish Women of Lawrence County series of women’s fiction novels.

If you like spiritual explorations, real-life challenges of emotional bravery, and basking in God’s light, then you’ll adore Tracy Fredrychowski’s exploration of hope.

Preorder the eBook at a discounted price here. Releases March 30^th

 

Preorder paperback with a bonus here.

 

Connect with Tracy Fredrychowski, Author, in the following ways:

 

Website – https://tracyfredrychowski.com

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tracyfredrychowski/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/tracyfredrychowskiauthor/

Private Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/tracyfredrychowski/

BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tracy-fredrychowski