Author, Center Stage: Barbara Cameron, Summer's Promise

Today I'm thrilled to welcome Barbara Cameron to my Author, Center Stage series. I first got to know Barbara and her work at Abingdon Press, and it's been a joy to work with her. Barbara has graciously offered TWO signed copies of the book to readers of this blog. Comment below for a chance to win one! Let's start with a description of her new book, Summer's Promise.

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Can she leave everything she knows for love?

Summer Carson has lived near the Amish community in Paradise, Pennsylvania, all her life. Now she's following in her father's footsteps and earning her degree in agricultural science so she can continue his work helping local farmers.In her job at the county extension office, Summer moves between the Englisch and the Amish worlds.

While she sometimes finds herself speaking—and even thinking—in Pennsylvania Deitsch, the transition isn't always easy. But what has come naturally to Summer is her attraction to one of the farmers: Abram Yoder is handsome, steady, and hardworking. He's everything so many of the Englisch men she knows are not. And Summer quickly realizes that she's caught his eye as well.

Can Summer give up the comforts she's always known for a life with this Amish man? And is Abram willing to let her try?

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Sounds terrific! What was the inspiration for this story/what led you to write it?

The Amish and the Englisch interact in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania,, more than they do in  other areas of the country because of the large amount of tourism the area gets. I wanted to explore what happens when a member of each community meets and falls in love. I also wanted to explore what happens when a grown child sees a parent decline in health and has to deal with it. 

What draws you to the Amish?

I’ve been fascinated by the Amish since I saw a buggy roll past by uncle’s farm in Indiana. I was a child and I was so curious about these people who led such a different life from mine.

Books about the Amish and their lifestyle choices continue to be extremely popular with readers, but not all of them accurately portray the culture. What one assumption about the Amish communities would you like to disprove?

Some people view them as odd because they live a harder life than we do—they wonder why the Amish do without electricity which could make things easier. They can’t imagine how anyone can live without things like television.  But the Amish not only don’t mind hard work they embrace it. And their family and community bonds are so much closer than ours because they help each other with work and I feel they communicate so much more than we do because they’re not sitting in front of a television.

In what way does your faith encourage your writing?

My faith keeps me going. Writing isn’t easy even when you’ve been doing it as long as I have. I do believe God put several people in my path to encourage an early interest in writing—an English teacher I had for all four years of high school and a cantankerous but incredibly inspiring city newspaper editor. And my parents took me to church and fostered my religious beliefs. Then the time came when I felt inspired by the way the Amish live their faith every day—not just go to church on Sunday and leave it there. I wanted to write about them and definitely feel God laid a path for me to get published in inspirational fiction. Now I feel writing and faith have become entwined in my life from all these people and events.

If Summer were your best friend in real life, what advice about relationships would you want to share with her? How would you advise her regarding her growing affection for Abram? If you were Abram’s friend and knew his secrets, how would you encourage him regarding Summer? How would your advice differ from that of his best friend in the book?

I really grew to love Summer as a character because she cared so much about her family. But if she were my real life friend I would encourage her to slow down and smell the roses more. She works too hard and worries so much about her mother. I’d tell her she needs to believe she deserves to have a future with Abram. As for Abram, I’d encourage him to talk with Summer more about taking the next step but without giving away the plot I like how he handles the challenge their love faces. I’m not sure he needs my help very much! 

Would Summer’s Promise make the perfect pleasure read for late summer or early fall?

Both! And for Christmas, too, to see how the Amish and Englisch celebrate this the holiday.

What’s your next book?

Thanks for asking! I’ve signed a contract with a new publisher and will be doing a three book series, details to be announced! It’s Amish, of course!

Where can readers find you online?

I’m on Facebook and have a website, BarbaraCameron.com 

And where can they buy Summer’s Promise?

It’s available anywhere books are sold, including these:

https://kregel.christianbook.com/summers-promise-harvest-of-hope/barbara-cameron/9781683700593/pd/700594

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/summers-promise-barbara-cameron/1129722746#/

https://www.amazon.com/Summers-Promise-Harvest-Barbara-Cameron/dp/1683700597

Barbara Cameron, who makes her home in Florida, is the author of five Amish series, four titles for Harlequin and Silhouette, three novella collections, and has sold three movies to HBO-Cinemax. She’s also the author of nonfiction titles on subjects as diverse as wedding budget planning, home decorating, and Robert’s Rules of Order. She’s been on both the American Bookseller Association (ABA) and the Christian Bookseller Association (CBA) bestseller lists and won the first Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award.