‘The Beginner’s Quilt’ Author Q&A with Wanda E. Brunstetter

Wanda Brunstetter is an award-winning romance novelist who has led millions of readers to lose their heart in the Amish life. She is the author of over 100 books with more than 12 million copies sold. Many of her books have landed on the top bestseller lists, including the New York Times, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, CBA, ECPA, and CBD. Wanda is considered one of the founders of the Amish fiction genre, and her work has been covered by national publications, including Time Magazine and USA Today.

FF: What inspired the story in your book?
Several years ago I wrote a novel called The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club, which was later turned into a musical play. The book and the play were well received, so I decided to write two more books about the 60 year-old Amish woman who taught quilting classes in her home. After the last book in that series was published, I found myself wondering what Emma must have been like when she was a young woman learning the skills of making beautiful quilts, and falling in love for the first time. And now those questions have been answered in my new book, The Beginner’s Quilt, a prequel to the other three stories about Emma, the expert quilter.

FF: What can you tell us about the main characters in your book?
Emma Bontrager is a young Amish woman who is somewhat of a tomboy and has shown no interest in learning domestic skills. Under her mother’s teachings, Emma has not learned to sew or cook. So Emma is sent to her grandparents’ home in Arthur, Illinois, with the hope that she will learn homemaking skills from her grandmother. Ivan Yoder, the hero of the story, works in his father’s harness shop, but Ivan prefers to spend his time repairing old clocks and hopes he will be able to make it a fulltime job someday.

FF: Which character surprised you the most?
The character who surprised me the most was Marlin, Emma’s grandfather. Although I had a character sketch for him, during the writing process, he said and did a lot of unexpected things I hadn’t originally planned on.

FF: Why do you think storytelling is such a powerful way to share truth?
Readers often compare their own lives to what the book characters are going through. I am often told by my readers that they could relate to an occurrence or a character they had read about in one of my books, and that it helped them deal with a difficult situation they had either gone through previously or were going through at the time they’d read the book.

FF: What can you tell us about your next book?
My next book, which comes out in July 2026, I co-authored with my daughter, Lorine. The title of the book is The Melody of Love, and it’s about a young widowed Amish woman whose son is on the Autism Spectrum.

FF: What kind of research did you do for this book?
Since I am close friends with several Amish families, and know their lifestyle quite well, I didn’t have to do a lot of research on how they would handle certain things. However, since The Beginner’s Quilt is set in the 1960’s, I did have to ask several of my Amish friends a few questions about how certain things were done during that era.

FF: What do you want readers to take away after reading your book?
I hope my readers will learn some things about the Amish way of life during the 1960’s. I also hope that by the time they finish reading the book, they will have a strong understanding of how God can use whatever talents each of us has for His glory.

FF: What are the biggest challenges for you when it comes to writing Amish novels?
Since I know so many Amish families personally, and have for a good many years, I don’t experience many challenges in writing about them. I make every effort when writing Amish-themed novels, to be as accurate as possible. When I do have questions or am in doubt about something specific to the Amish way of life, I’m able to reach out to one or more of my dear Amish friends for answers.

FF: What authors or books have inspired you as an author?
Tracie Peterson, who writes amazing historical stories, has inspired me in so many ways. She’s talented, humble, and diligent about researching every book she writes. I have known Tracie personally for several years, and have read many of her well-written books. I’m thankful that she has a strong faith in God and isn’t afraid to share it with others.

FF: How has your faith or world view impacted the way you tell stories?
I became a Christian at a young age, and my faith and love for Jesus has grown over the years. Through the characters in my books, and the Scriptures shared, it gives me joy to show my readers how God can help them deal with any situation they may have to face.

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