Adding Food to Your Novels

As a compiler of cookbooks and a writer of fiction, I like food in my books. When I created the character, Gideon Miller, for my ex-Amish novel, I knew he had to have foods he liked. Since he's from the Amish country of Pennsylvania, apple butter made sense, and so I showed how he spread apple butter on his toast each morning before heading to work at the auto mechanic shop in Twin Branches, North Carolina (don't look for that on the map; I made that town up). I also let him drink green tea, straying a little from the Amish tradition. He did stray after all; he chose to escape their lifestyle and move to the mountains of North Carolina.

I think showing what a character enjoys eating brings out the fun in a book, as well as makes the men and women in the pages seem human. Food connects us in a fabulous way. Perhaps that's why cookbooks with photos of decadent cakes and latticed pies are so popular.

Speaking of human, Still Life in Shadows is now on audio, narrated by a man.  You can sit back and relax, eat, bake, drive, or garden while listening to the story of Gideon and how he helps dissatisfied youth leave Amish culture and make their home in the English parts of America. You can hear Kiki, the teen who wants to belong, but due to her autism is often misunderstood. You'll meet Ormond, the auto shop owner, and Mari, who works in a tea room where Gideon goes for tea and pie.

If you'd like to listen to Still Life in Shadows and write a review or post something about the novel on your blog, let me know.  I can send you a code to get a free (yes, FREE) audio book.

Simply email me at info@alicewisler.com to get your free audio book!  Happy listening!

If you'd like a print or e-book copy, head over here.

The Desire to Find Home

Sometimes things go away. Sometimes they come back after they go away. My novel, Still Life in Shadows, hadn't gone away, I still had print copies of it lining my bookcase, but the publisher decided to no longer publish fiction. So one day this past summer, the rights for my novel were reverted back to me. No more copies of my novel would ever be printed or available as e-books. The novel had the potential to fade away.

Not that the story would ever fade for me. I'd spent a year writing it and my agent at the time had presented it to Moody Publishing. They'd offered me a contract and assigned an editor to me to get my story into the shape it needed to be. How could I have neglected so many grammatical issues? Thankfully, my editor worked diligently to get the manuscript into tip-top shape and the novel was released in 2012.

The inspiration for the story would never fade either. Many years ago, I'd watched a documentary on TV, Amish: Out of Order, and had been intrigued by the main character, Mose Gingerich. Mose had left his Amish roots, found a community to live in, and later helped other dissatisfied Amish youth who had broken away from their Amish homes relocate into modern society. Something stirred in me and I knew I wanted to write a novel, a tale about people leaving one place and finding another place to belong. I knew the concept that lies in this heart of mine----wanting to belong----because as an American missionary kid growing up in Japan, there were plenty of opportunities to feel displaced. Although born and raised in Japan, to the average Japanese I was considered a foreigner; I often felt the isolation. In my own country of citizenship----The United States----there were numerous times that I felt like an outcast, unable to fit in. Over the years, I've had many discussions with fellow missionary kids and missionary adults about home and belonging, feeling lonely, and being misunderstood.

So with that background, I created my characters and told the story from the viewpoint of an ex-Amish man, Gideon, and an autistic teen, Kiki. Both of them have the yearning to find home, to be accepted, to belong. Both show that life on the perimeters can be a struggle.

The great news is that Still Life in Shadows has been re-released by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas (LPC)! Although it has a new cover, the story of seeking community and a place in which to identify is old, one that has continued for generations.

Perhaps, you, too, have been in a situation where you have felt isolated and desired to be accepted.

This story is for you.

"A touching novel about how an embittered man is forced to face the Amish community he ran away from years ago. Told by a 30-year-old auto mechanic and an autistic teenage girl, Alice Wisler's Still Life in Shadows speaks of the complexities of family, of belonging, and the tricky task of forgiving. . ." - Julie L. Cannon, author of Twang

Read more reviews and order your copy here.

Going Against the Trend

This piece was first printed in Christian Fiction Online Magazine in August 2012.

Going Against the Trend

I’m not Amish.

Or a wanna-be Amish.

I’m not even an ex-Amish.

I went to a Mennonite college for four years, but I’m not Mennonite. I grew up in Japan, but I’m not Japanese. I’ve lived twenty-four years in Durham, North Carolina, eat grits and make my own sweet tea, but I’m not a real southerner.

I’m an outsider. I know what it’s like to look into cultures and subcultures from the outside.

When I thought of the Amish I was reminded of delicacies like shoo-fly pie and apple butter. I was mesmerized by the lovely handmade quilts displayed in souvenir shops. Horse-drawn buggies drew me into a land that time seemed to have forgotten. Even so, the whole culture held an eerie feel to me each time I visited Lancaster County with my college friends.

What were these people hiding?

I gave the Amish a rest for some time until one night, my husband turned on the TV. The documentary that he flipped to brought me face-to-face with Mose Gingerich, an ex-Amish man. Mose wasn’t just any ex-Amish, he was assisting other Amish who had left their farmland communities. I grabbed my pen and paper off my bedside table (every author keeps at least a few pads and pens by her bed for when she’s woken with those awesome plots, right?). I took notes. By the time the program ended, I had a story idea. This would not be a bonnet tale sprinkled with German dialect; this would be a story of leaving the Amish. My character, Gideon Miller, would help dissatisfied Amish youth relocate to the mountains of North Carolina (all my previous novels take place in North Carolina; I can’t help it, I’m endeared to this location).

As I plodded along at my computer, I wrote of abuse and struggles my Gideon dealt with growing up in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. I knew I was going against the trend. Certainly, others—even authors in my own writing groups—would scold me for not depicting this peace-loving religion as gentle as the rolling hills of Lancaster County. I might be shunned from publication ever again.

I was willing to take the risk. Another side—a realistic side—needed to be told. I wanted to present a new angle to those hundreds of popular tales of bonnets and black hats. And part of me was angry that while claiming to believe the Bible, Amish told their children that leaving their hats and suspenders meant riding the buggy into the depths of Hell. (I get angry when the Gospel is falsely represented.)

My agent embraced my story. As he sent it to various publishers, he conveyed that a few felt it was a bit risky since it was not the norm for an Amish tale. But all I needed was one publisher to want it. And, one day last fall, Moody Publishers/River North did.

Perhaps you’re like me, wanting to write something different from the “norm”. Perhaps God has placed a story on your heart that you are compelled to create. You try to steer from it, and yet, it keeps tugging at your pen. Your story will not let you go.

Go for it! If we can’t write what we are passionate about, why write at all? Tell a good story, polish it to the best of your ability, and see where it lands. God is in the different, just as He is in the ordinary. As you seek Him and ask Him to guide you, He just might lead you to go against the trend.

Get your copy of Still Life in Shadows now.

~ Alice J. Wisler grew up in Japan as a missionary kid, graduated from a Mennonite college, traveled extensively, worked in a refugee camp in the Philippines, and finally settled in North Carolina. She’s the author of Rain Song (Christy Finalist 2009), How Sweet It Is (Christy Finalist 2010), Hatteras Girl, A Wedding Invitation and now, Still Life in Shadows. Ever since the death of her son Daniel, she’s taught Writing the Heartache workshops and speaks at conferences on the value of writing through grief and loss. Visit her website and join her on her author page on Facebook where she’ll be giving away prizes.

Ex-Amish at the Library

-News Alert-


Date: July 18, 2012

CONTACT: Gina Rozier

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

919-560-0151 or grozier@durhamcountync.gov

Durham County Library Hosts Award Winning Fiction Writer Alice J. Wisler

Program: Meet the Author: Alice J. Wisler
Date: Tuesday, July 31
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St.
Cost: Free and open to the public

About: Durham County Library welcomes Alice J. Wisler as she launches her latest novel, Still Life in Shadows, on Tuesday, July 31 at 7 p.m. at the Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St. A book signing will follow the reading.

In this work based upon the true story of ex-Amish member, Moses Gingerich, the novel‘s protagonist leaves his Amish community, settles in the mountains of North Carolina and helps other Amish relocate to life in modern America. The book captures many of Wisler’s interests: all of her novels revolve around North Carolina settings, and according to Wisler, “…have components of Southern fiction like sweet tea, grits and other things...” She also notes that “...if you find some parts that make you cry, well, that's an added bonus.” This latest work, however, departs slightly from thematic tones found within many of Wisler’s earlier novels. The subject matter in Still Life in Shadows is serious in nature, as it portrays protagonist Gideon Miller helping those choosing to leave the Amish faith and struggling to adapt to a new and unfamiliar modern world.

Wisler was raised in Japan, and returned to the United States where she graduated from Eastern Mennonite University. She has traveled and lived throughout the world, choosing to serve with organizations that minister to people. Through her travels, Wisler acquired experiences as diverse as her characters: She taught English as a Second Language in Japan and in refugee camps in the Philippines, worked in educational nonprofits with disadvantaged children and ran a cake-decorating business. Wisler now teaches grief writing courses to help others cope with the experience of losing loved ones. A Christy Award finalist for “Excellence in Christian Fiction,” Wisler resides in Durham, North Carolina.

For more information about the program, contact Joanne Abel at 919-560-0268.

Durham County Library provides the entire community with books, services and other resources that inform, inspire learning, cultivate understanding and excite the imagination. For more information, visit your local library or visit us online at durhamcountylibrary.org.

Don't glorify the Amish life

Ex-Amish back on TV with new series


By Janese Silvey of The Daily Columbia Tribune, Columbia, Missouri


Monday, April 30, 2012


A Columbia man who left his Amish roots and now helps others do the same is back on the small screen.


Moses Gingerich is the star of a 10-episode series, "Amish: Out of Order," on the National Geographic Channel. The program airs at 9 p.m. Tuesdays.


Dubbed by the cable channel as the "de facto mayor of the ex-Amish community in Columbia," Gingerich serves as a mentor for Amish teens trying to explore the outside world. He not only helps them escape when they reach out to him, Gingerich also helps them find work and stay out of trouble when they're here. Some ultimately decide to return to their communities, making Columbia a sort of revolving door for Amish.


The latest series highlights the challenges the teens face when they get here. Not only do they struggle with leaving family members and questions of faith; they also have to adapt to a new, modern world.


In tomorrow's episode, for instance, an ex-Amish teenager gets his driver's license but then has a car crash that lands him in the hospital. Making matters worse, according to an online preview, is that he doesn't get support from his family, including his father, who tells him he would have spent eternity in hell had he died.


Gingerich has provided the public with a rare glimpse of Amish life for years. After leaving his own community in Wisconsin, he was one of the stars of "Amish in the City," a one-season reality show that aired on UPN in 2004. Two years ago, he worked with the National Geographic Channel to produce two specials on the Amish life. The main reason Gingerich said he is willing to work with media to highlight his life is to show ex-Amish they aren't alone.


"I wanted to leave the Amish for many, many years and couldn't and wouldn't because I had no support," he said. "No one was there to tell me, 'It's OK.' There are hundreds of thousands of Amish kids in that same boat."


Gingerich's story caught the eye of North Carolina author Alice Wisler, a Christian author who works with Bethany House Publishers. That's the same company that publishes Beverly Lewis, best known for her dozens of novels about Amish life. Wisler said she was inspired by Gingerich's willingness to provide an alternate view of a life she feels has been somewhat glorified.


"There's so much more to the Amish than what people choose to believe," she said. "It was refreshing to hear that he was viewing his Amish life differently than what you usually hear when you're reading fiction about Amish."


Gingerich has since become inspiration for Wisler's latest book, Still Life in Shadows, which revolves around a character who left the Amish and helps others escape, including his brother. The book is set to be released in August.


Gingerich wasn't familiar with the book when asked about it but wasn't surprised. He hears from countless other non-Amish people who have read or watched his story.


"Many people in the outside world can relate to my story about how difficult it was for me to make a jump on my own," he said. "I'm not anything special, I just tell my life story, and it inspires people. And if I can inspire people, why the hell not?"


Reach Janese Silvey at 573-815-1705 or e-mail jsilvey@columbiatribune.com.


This article was published on page A8 of the Monday, April 30, 2012 edition of The Columbia Daily Tribune with the headline "Ex-Amish back on television: Columbia man's efforts followed." Click here to Subscribe.

News for Still Life in Shadows!

The other day while watching the National Geographic Channel, my husband informed me that a new episode of Amish: Out of Order was to air the first of May. With my ex-Amish novel, Still Life in Shadows, about to debut, of course I was interested. As I viewed snippets of other ex-Amish news on the Internet, I came across an article in The Daily Tribune about Mose Gingerich. Mose didn't know it, but he was the inspiration for my novel. Like Mose, my character Gideon Miller, helps Amish youth leave their communities in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania to resettle in modern society. He helps them find employment and offers them an inexpensive place to live.


After reading the article again (I'd come across it once before earlier in the year) I wrote to the journalist, Janese Silvey. She emailed to say she wanted to talk with me the following week. The result? Me and Still Life in Shadows in The Columbia Daily Tribune!

Janese asked if my character was based on the real Mose Gingerich. Of course, Gideon is. Just like Mose, he helps Amish youth who have escaped their old lifestyles.


I'll be watching Mose tonight on NatGeo. I hope you will, too. 10 PM EST is when Amish: Out of Order will air.

Be sure to read the full article with me and Mose.