Leave a comment and enter below for a chance to win a copy of Jan Drexler’s new book, “The Sound of Distant Thunder.”

Winner will be announced in the next Author Spotlight feature. Congratulations to Cindy Duez for winning Melody Carlson’s book, “A Christmas by the Sea.”

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From the talented pen of Jan Drexler comes a brand-new Amish series set against the backdrop of the Civil War.

War threatens everything the Amish Community in Weaver’s Creek, Ohio, holds dear, including a young couple’s future. Katie Stuckey and Jonas Weaver are both romantics. Seventeen-year-old Katie is starry-eyed, in love with the idea of being in love, and does not want to wait to marry Jonas until she is eighteen, despite her parents’ insistence.

Twenty-year-old Jonas is taken in by the romance of soldiering, especially in defense of anti-slavery, even though he knows war is at odds with the teachings of the church. When his married brother’s name comes up in the draft list, he volunteers to take his brother’s place. But can the commitment Katie and Jonas have made to each other survive the separation?

Drexler puts her characters to the test as they struggle to reconcile their convictions and desires while the national conflict threatens to undermine and engulf their community.

What is one thing you’ve learned the hard way so others don’t have to?

I’ve learned to be a daylily.

Some people are like oak trees – their roots grow deep and strong, establishing themselves in one community early and never moving away. Other people are like me – a daylily that gets transplanted every few years.

Our family moved twice between the time I was born and when I turned five. Twenty quiet years followed, but then I got married. Since my husband and I started our lives together more than thirty-six years ago, we have relocated an average of every five years (and no, we aren’t a military family!)

My second move in 1962

Daylilies adapt easily to transplanting. I’ve learned how to get to know a new city well by going to garage sales and exploring different routes to shopping and the library. I’ve learned how to find a new church home by browsing websites and knowing which questions to ask. I’ve also learned how to get to know my neighbors – the best way is to start a Christmas goodie exchange! No matter where God has taken us, these three techniques have helped this daylily take root.

Will I ever be an oak tree? With my husband’s recent retirement, that is a possibility, but we’ll have to wait and see what God has planned for us!

Purchase a copy of The Sound of Distant Thunder
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Jan Drexler brings a unique understanding of Amish traditions and beliefs to her writing. Her ancestors were among the first Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren immigrants to Pennsylvania in the 1700s, and their experiences are the inspiration for her stories. Jan lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband, where she enjoys hiking and spending time with her expanding family. She is the author of several Love Inspired historical novels, as well as Hannah’s Choice, Mattie’s Pledge (a 2017 Holt Medallion finalist), and Naomi’s Hope.

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