Vannetta Chapman's "A Perfect Square"
There's more to the quaint northern Indiana town of Shipshewana than handcrafted quilts, Amish-made furniture, immaculate farms and close-knit families. When a dead girl is found floating in a local pond, murder is also afoot. And Reuben Fisher is in jail as the suspect! Reuben refuses to divulge any information, even to clear himself of a crime Deborah is certain he didn't commit. So, with her English friend, Callie---fellow sleuth and owner of Daisy's Quilt Shop---Deborah sets out to uncover the truth. But the mystery deepens when an elderly man seeks Callie's help in finding his long-lost daughter, missing since the days of the 1965 Palm Sunday Tornadoes. An old man who has lost his past. A young man who may lose his future. Once again Deborah and Callie find themselves trying to piece together a crazy quilt of lives and events---one that can bring unexpected touches of God's grace and resolve the tragedy that has shaken this quiet Amish community.
Interview With Vannetta Chapman
1 Tell us a little about yourself, Vannetta.
I was a full time teacher for 15 years. During that time, I wrote articles for Christian family magazines while I was learning the craft. After several years of queries (and rejections) I was offered representation by the Seymour Agency, who I'm still with. My agent suggested that I try writing an Amish romance. While I was doing that research, and discussing it with my mother, she reminded me that my grandfather on my dad's side was born in Albion, Pennsylvania--that in fact I do have Pennsylvania German roots. That was the personal connection I needed jump into this genre. My first Amish romance came out in 2010. I now write Amish mysteries for Zondervan, Amish romance for Harvest House, and Amish novellas for Abingdon.
2. Tell us about your most recent book.
A Perfect Square is book 2 in my Shipshewana Amish Mystery series. Readers return to this small town in northern Indiana, where an Amish girl has been found floating in a local pond. Reuben Fisher is in jail as the suspect and refuses to divulge any information, even to clear himself of a crime Deborah is certain he didn't commit. So, with her English friend,Callie---fellow sleuth and owner of Daisy's Quilt Shop---Deborah sets out to uncover the truth. The mystery deepens when an elderly man seeks Callie's help in finding his long-lost daughter, missing since the days of the 1965 Palm Sunday Tornadoes. An old man who has lost his past. A young man who may lose his future. Once again Deborah and Callie find themselves trying to piece together a crazy quilt of lives and events---one that can bring unexpected touches of God's grace and resolve the tragedy that has shaken this quiet Amish community.
3. Why did you choose this particular genre?
Actually it wasn't my idea to pair murder mystery with Amish, that was the brain child of Sue Brower at Zondervan. We had sent her an Amish romance (which Abingdon later bought). She said she liked it but didn't need another romance writer, because she has the fabulous Amy Clipston. She wanted me to write something different--Amish murder mysteries. I was all over that--my fav t.v. programs are 24, The Firm, etc. I like suspense in general, so it's a good fit for me.
4. What was your journey to publication like?
It's been 14 years since I started writing. I had finished my graduate degree, which I pursued because I enjoyed my undergrad degree in English so much I didn't want to stop. I had gone back to school as a 34 year old single mom. I wasn't sure what I'd do with the grad degree, but my advisors assured me it would make me more employable. It did in fact help with my teaching profession, and it certainly helped with my writing. But I graduated with my MA in English in 1999, and my first inspirational book (A Simple Amish Christmas) came out in 2010. I wouldn't say that everyone needs a degree to publish a book, but it helped my skills immensely.
5. What is a couple of your favorite books and what are you reading now?
I'm a huge fan of Stephen King. His most recent book, 11-23-63 is a wonderful example of stellar CRAFT in writing and characters that you care about. In inspirational circles, I like Dan Walsh and Shelley Shepard Gray. For mysteries I like Harlan Coben, Nelson DeMille, and Nevada Barr. Right now I'm reading the Bible-in-90-Days with my church, so it's taking up a lot of my reading time.Great book, though!
6. What are you working on now and can you give us a little peek inside it?
I've turned in Book 3 in my Shipshewana Series: Material Witness (releases in August). I wanted to do something different with each book in this series, so with book 3, I accelerated the plot to 4 days. Fun! Murder to resolution in 4 days. Yeah.Tick-tock. I've also completed 2 books in my Pebble Creek Amish romance series for Harvest House. These books are set in Wisconsin, where the communities are more Old Order. Sweet, lovely people who I very much enjoyed meeting and writing about (A Promise for Miriam releases in July).
7. What advice would you give authors who are on their own journey to publication?
Keep writing. Keep improving your craft. Write another book.
8. Do you have any books or websites that have helped you with your writing that you could share with us?
As far as CRAFT books, no. The best craft books in my opinion are to read good,well-written books. I have enjoyed playing with "The Pocket Muse" by Monica Wood. Filled with fun exercises, I'll turn to a page and plop it into the middle of my book! I've also learned a lot from Margie Lawson's courses and credit her with helping me take my writing to the level where it would be attractive to editors.
http://www.margielawson.com/
9. Is there anything you’d like to tell us we haven’t covered?
Just thank you! And if you think you don't like Amish fiction, please give my mysteries a try. They ARE different. : )
Please let us know where we can find you on the web.
http://www.vannettachapman.com/
http://vannettachapman.wordpress.com/
www.facebook.com/VannettaChapmanBooks
http://pinterest.com/vannettachapman
How to win a copy of Vannetta's "Falling to Pieces" or "A Perfect Square"
1. Be a follower or sign up as a follower of Sleuths and Suspects
2. Leave a comment and tell us if you know what a cozy mystery is.
3. Leave your email so we can get in touch with the winners.
*The authors of this blog are Amazon.com affiliates. Sometimes, we will include links in our blog posts. When visitors to this site purchase items from Amazon.com using links in our posts, the authors of this blog earn a percentage of the sales.
