Wanda Brunstetter’s The Hawaiian Quilt
Extends Summer for Readers
Contact: Nancy Berland
800-308-3169/405-206-4748
Ulrichsville, OH—Just when readers are bidding reluctant farewell to summer, New York Times bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter and daughter-in-law Jean Brunstetter will treat them to a fictional vacation to the south Pacific in THE HAWAIIAN QUILT, a September Shiloh Run Press Amish novel.
In the Brunstetter team’s latest standalone trade paperback novel, once again the authors reveal qualities of the Amish and their lifestyle that readers might not have known.
“After visiting the islands the first time, we quickly realized the Hawaiians and Amish share some of the same basic values,” said Wanda, who has been called “Amish Country’s Most Beloved Storyteller” for her dedication to accurately portraying the Plain People in her stories. “What the Hawaiians and Amish have in common are strong family values, the desire to live a simple life, hospitality, kindness and their passion for quilts.
“We also wanted to show that many Amish enjoy traveling,” Wanda added. “Amish friends of ours had cruised to Hawaii and were valuable resources for our story.”
In THE HAWAIIAN QUILT, 20-year-old Amish waitress Mandy Frey and her three girlfriends travel from Middlebury, Indiana, by train to California, and onward by cruise ship to the various Hawaiian Islands. Back home, Mandy’s long-time boyfriend, Gideon, is not happy Mandy is going on the cruise. Every Amish couple planning to marry must first join the church. Because Mandy has been wavering about making that commitment, he cannot propose to her, and he senses her affections for him are waning.
As the four friends disembark on Maui, Oahu and Kauai, they pair up to visit different sights. While on Kauai, Mandy loses her cell phone. In her frantic search to find it, she and her friend, Ellen, miss the cruise ship’s departure for the Big Island. Stranded and without their luggage or means to book another passage for the balance of their trip, they find temporary lodging at a bed and breakfast owned by a Christian Hawaiian couple.
When a medical disaster strikes the gracious couple, Mandy and Ellen stay for a few weeks to help run their bed and breakfast. There Mandy meets a kind young man who works on his parents’ chicken farm. Their relationship grows and will ultimately test Mandy’s devotion not only to Gideon back home but to the Amish church as well.
Wanda and Jean’s inspiration for THE HAWAIIAN QUILT was Hebrews 13:2: “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
A collector of Amish quilts, Wanda and Jean discovered while in the Islands the similarity between Amish and Hawaiian quilts. Inspired by their find, they wrote into THE HAWAIIAN QUILT a key plot point about a beloved gift the bed and breakfast owners received when they married but lost some years ago.
“While we were on Maui, we purchased a quilt that is very similar to the blue-and-white one on the book cover,” Wanda said. “The good people at Shiloh Run Press are giving away this treasure in a promotion for THE HAWAIIAN QUILT.”
Early print copies of the book will contain entry postcards for the quilt contest. Also, as of the book’s September 6 on-sale date, readers will be able to enter to win the quilt, valued at more than $1,000.
Wanda’s published books number almost 80. THE HAWAIIAN QUILT is the eighth of ten books from Wanda in 2016, the seventh with her daughter-in-law. Earlier 2016 books have been THE RESTORATION, six entries in the writing team’s “The Amish Millionaire” serial novel, and August’s WANDA E. BRUNSTETTER’S AMISH FRIENDS HARVEST COOKBOOK. Also out in September is Wanda’s AMISH QUILTS: Giftable Inspiration with Quilting Tips, with illustrations by her husband, Richard, a professional photographer. Wanda’s historical novel, THE CHRISTMAS SECRET, will be published in October. All books are from Shiloh Run Press.
Wanda’s close relationships with Amish across the country and her husband’s Mennonite family are endless sources of research and inspiration for the stories she writes solo, as well as those with Jean. To date more than 9 million copies of Wanda’s books have been sold.
Novels by the prolific author have appeared on such bestseller lists as the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, CBA, ECPA and CBD. So far this year, two books in “The Amish Millionaire” serial novel have earned the #1 berth on Publishers Weekly’s Religion Bestsellers List and one has topped the CBA’s list. In 2013, RT Book Reviews named Wanda the recipient of the magazine’s Career Achievement Award for Inspirational Fiction.
Wanda and her husband, as well as her co-author, Jean and her family reside in Yakima, Wash. Wanda and Richard spend many of their winters in Sarasota, Fla., which is also a popular vacation destination for the Amish.
To interview the author, contact Nancy Berland, 800-308-3169, Nancy@NancyBerland.com.
Ctrl + click here for a NetGalley review copy of THE HAWAIIAN QUILT