Wanda E. Brunstetter is a

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

in the

Amish romance Amish romance is a literary subgenre of Christian fiction featuring Amish characters, but written and read mostly by evangelical Christian women. An industry term for Amish romance novels is "bonnet rippers" because most feature a woman in a bonne ...

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

, with more than 10 million books sold. Her books have been on the

New York Times Best Seller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

. Brunstetter is based in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Biography

Brunstetter grew up in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

. Her parents disapproved of her wish to be an author when she grew up; her father called her "a dreamer." She was 60 years of age when her first book was published in 1997,Ayer, Tammy
"Yakima author finds niche with chaste tales of Amish romance"
''Yakima Herald'' 27 February 2016 and she would have to wait another three years before her second book was accepted by a publishing house. Brunstetter worked as a typist for the government and met her husband through work while he was stationed at Fort Lewis. Brunstetter's husband, Richard, who grew up in a

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

church, was the catalyst for her interest in the

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...

. Brunstetter has always tried to portray the Amish culture accurately and uses her personal connection to the Mennonite community for research for her books. She and her husband have two children. In 1980, her mother asked her to take a

correspondence course Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

on writing and afterwards, Brunstetter began to sell work to children's magazines and religious publications.

Work

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' writes that Brunstetter has a "trademark gift of storytelling." Her dialogue includes phrases from the Dietsch language. In addition to her adult Amish fiction, she also writes for middle-grade readers. She has published cook-books about Amish cooking which include facts about the Amish.

Organizations and affiliations

* Romance Writers of America * American Christian Fiction Writers * Northwest Christian Writers Association

Awards

* Retailers Choice Award (2006) – Won for ''The Storekeeper’s Daughter'' * Retailers Choice Award (2011) – Won for ''Lydia’s Charm'' * Author of the Year for ''Family Fiction'' magazine (2011) * ''Single Titles'' Reviewers’ Choice Award (2013) – Won for ''The Tattered Quilt'' * Career Achievement Award for Inspirational Novels for ''RT Book Reviews'' (2013)"2013 Inspirational Award"
''RT Book Reviews'' 2013. * ''Single Titles'' Reviewers’ Choice Award (2014) – Won for ''Woman of Courage''

Bibliography

Amish series

Brides of Lancaster County

# ''A Merry Heart'' (1997) # ''Looking for a Miracle'' (2001) # ''Plain and Fancy'' (2002) # ''The Hope Chest'' (2002) * ''Brides of Lancaster County'' (2012) (4-in-1 collection of entire series)

Brides of Webster County

# ''Going Home'' (2004) # ''On Her Own'' (2007) # ''Dear to Me'' (2005) # ''Allison's Journey'' (2005) * ''The Brides of Webster County'' (2008) (4-in-1 collection of entire series)

Daughters of Lancaster County

# ''The Storekeeper's Daughter'' (2005) # ''The Quilter's Daughter'' (2006) # ''The Bishop's Daughter'' (2006) * ''The Daughters of Lancaster County'' (2011) (3-in-1 collection of entire series)

Sisters of Holmes County

# ''A Sister's Secret'' (2007) # ''A Sister's Test'' (2007) # ''A Sister's Hope'' (2008) * ''Sisters of Holmes County'' (2009) (3-in-1 collection of entire series)

Indiana Cousins

# ''A Cousin's Promise'' (2009) # ''A Cousin's Prayer'' (2009) # ''A Cousin's Challenge'' (2010) * ''Indiana Cousins'' (2011) (3-in-1 collection of entire series)

Kentucky Brothers

# ''The Journey'' (2011) # ''The Healing'' (2011) # ''The Struggle'' (2011) * ''The Kentucky Brothers Trilogy'' (2013) (3-in-1 collection of entire series)

The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club

# ''The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club'' (2012) # ''The Tattered Quilt'' (2013) # ''The Healing Quilt'' (2013) * ''The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club Trilogy'' (2015) (3-in-1 collection of entire series)

Love Finds a Way

# ''Blueberry Surprise'' (2012) # ''Grandma's Doll'' (2012) # ''Matchmaker 911'' (2012)

Discovery

# ''Goodbye to Yesterday'' (2013) # ''The Silence of Winter'' (2013) # ''The Hope of Spring'' (2013) # ''The Pieces of Summer'' (2013) # ''A Revelation in Autumn'' (2013) # ''A Vow for Always'' (2013) * ''The Discovery Saga Collection'' (2014) (6-in-1 collection of entire series)

Prairie State Friends

# ''The Decision'' (2015) # ''The Gift'' (2015) # ''The Revelation'' (2016)

Lopsided Christmas Cake

(with Jean Brunstetter) # ''The Lopsided Christmas Cake'' (2015)

Amish Millionaire

(with Jean Brunstetter) # ''The English Son'' (2016) # ''The Stubborn Father'' (2016) # ''The Betrayed Fiancee'' (2016) # ''The Missing Will'' (2016) # ''The Divided Family'' (2016) # ''The Selfless Act'' (2016)

Amish Cooking Class

# ''The Seekers'' (2017) #''The Blessing'' (2017) #''The Celebration'' (2018)

Historical series

Brides of Lehigh Canal

# ''Kelly's Chance'' (2004) # ''Betsy's Return'' (2007) # ''Sarah's Choice'' (2010) * ''Brides of Lehigh Canal'' (2012) (3-in-1 collection of entire series)

Standalone novels

* ''Lydia's Charm'' (2010) * ''White Christmas Pie'' (2008) * ''Women of Courage'' (2014) * ''The Hawaiian Quilt'' (2016) (with Jean Brunstetter)

Novella collections

* ''Love Finds a Home'' (2011) * ''Love Finds a Way'' (2012) * ''Log Cabin Christmas'' (2013) * ''Twice Loved'' (2013) * ''The Westward Christmas Brides'' (2014) * ''Sweet Surprise'' (2014) * ''A Time to Laugh'' (2014) * ''The Christmas Secret'' (2016)

Children's books

Rachel Yoder

# ''School's Out'' (2007) # ''Back to School'' (2007) # ''Out of Control'' (2008) # ''New Beginnings'' (2008) # ''A Happy Heart'' (2008) # ''Just Plain Foolishness'' (2008) # ''Jumping to Conclusions'' (2009) # ''Growing Up'' (2009) * ''Look Out, Lancaster County'' (2011) (4-in-1 collection of books 1–4 in series) * ''Growing Up in Lancaster County'' (2011) (4-in-1 collection of books 5–8 in series)

Double Trouble

# ''What a Pair!'' (2012) # ''Bumpy Ride Ahead'' (2012) # ''Bubble Troubles'' (2013) # ''Green Fever'' (2013) # ''Humble Pie'' (2014)

Standalone novels

* ''The Wisdom of Solomon Lapp'' (2009)

Upcoming

* ''The Farmers' Market Mishap'' (June 2017) (with Jean Brunstetter) (#2 in Lopsided Christmas Cake series) * ''The Blessing'' (August 2017) (#2 in Amish Cooking Class series) * ''The Beloved Christmas Quilt'' (September 2017) (with Jean Brunstetter and Richelle Brunstetter) (novella collection of 3 stories) * ''Amish Millionaire'' (November 2017) (with Jean Brunstetter) (6-in-1 collection of entire Amish Millionaire series)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunstetter, Wanda E. 1930s births Living people American women novelists American romantic fiction novelists American women romantic fiction writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers People from Yakima, Washington Novelists from Washington (state) Writers from Tacoma, Washington