Sarah graciously took the time to answer a few questions about her writing and about herself. I hope you enjoy this insight into who she is and how she works. I know that I did!
1. I understand that you actually live in Lancaster County with an Amish
friend part-time. What are the major
differences in your time there and life with your family in NYC? How do you manage those differences?
Not so much anymore. On May 31, 2013, I was diagnosed with breast
cancer and had a lot of issues from my treatment and my first plastic surgeon
did a really lousy job that created eighteen months of corrective procedures.
During that time, I couldn’t drive so it was hard to get out to Lancaster. I’m
hoping to get back into my regular routine of traveling back and forth over the
summer.
I must confess that spending time with my Amish friends in Lancaster
is amazing. When I drive back home, I can feel the peaceful calm slowly
disappearing. Our society is so wrapped up in conspicuous consumerism. Too many
people deal with who has what better than the next person. It’s a
sickness, truly. And I have a theory that the stress of our self-imposed
expectations creates so much pressure that it makes us very irritable. Leaving
Lancaster on a Sunday evening and commuting to NYC the following morning was
very eye-opening. It definitely made me want to move to Lancaster and we were
looking for houses when I was diagnosed with cancer. One day…
2. Because of your personal experiences, are there any insights you have
gained into Amish life that you would like to share with your readers, things
the average person might not have the opportunity to learn?
Each of my novels contains insights that most people would never
experience. For over twenty-five years, I have been directly involved with
multiple generations of different Amish families. That was at least six years
before the movie, The Witness, was released and introduced the Amish culture to
mainstream America.
The biggest insight into Amish life is that they are people…individuals…and,
as such, they are just like you and me. Amish society contains people that are
good, not so good, happy, depressed, loud, quiet, adventuresome, shy. They are
not cookie-cutter people.
I really get upset when someone contacts me about how “all
the Amish have puppy mills” or “all the Amish abuse their children.” Well,
that’s simply not true. Do they have puppy mills? Sure. Do ALL Amish have
puppy mills? Not at all.
One of my dogs, Tobi, is from an “Amish puppy mill.” He was less than
one pound when he stole my heart. He was happy, healthy, and raised in the
house as were the parents. I visited another farm that sells puppies and it was
like a spa: little swimming pools, large grassy play areas, the mothers with
their puppies, nursing in the sun on clean blankets in the fresh air! I would
have liked to live there!
But of course, there is always the people that mistreat the puppies or
overbreed them. Are they ALL Amish? No. I know for a fact that there are larger
and more horrible puppy mills among non-Amish than Amish.
It just goes back to people stereotyping the Amish. One size does NOT
fit all.
3. Would you share with us about your writing process: Where do you write? When do you write? Do you snack while you write?
I can write anywhere. During the nice weather, I’ll
sit down at my husband’s equestrian facility and write at a picnic table
so I can watch the goats, horses, and donkeys. In colder weather, I might go to
the library or, just this past week, I sat in the back of a dance studio, music
blasting and people taking lessons. I wrote over 3000 words in two and a half
hours!
Usually, however, I sit in my library which is attached to our
bedroom. I love being surrounded by books and looking out the picture window at
the trees. Usually I have my little dog, Tobi, next to me. He’s
my writing companion and a great brainstormer!
Actually, when I have to brainstorm, I usually pace back and forth…Tobi
either watching me from my writing chair or, if I’m downstairs in the
kitchen, he’ll follow me.
There is something unusual about my writing process that most readers
do not know. When I start to write a new story, I have an idea in my head. That’s
it. As I sit down to write, I can see the story unfold in my head. It’s
like watching a movie and I write down what I see, hear, smell, and feel. The
story tells me where it wants to go. Sometimes my publishers will ask me a
question about how the book ends and I must drive them crazy when I tell them, “I
don’t know yet. I haven’t seen the ending in my head!”
And as for food…No. I have a very happy condition right now
called “no appetite.” I don’t know if it’s from the chemotherapy or the combination of
medications I’m taking. I usually eat one meal a day with the
family at night. I might grab a piece of fruit in the morning, but that’s
it.
I do, however, drink tons of water. I have a small refrigerator in my
bedroom that is stocked with bottled water.
Between two to three cups of coffee in the morning and at least three
large bottles of water, I can write for hours! And I usually do. I write up to
fourteen hours a day and usually seven days a week. It’s a
passion, not a hobby, for me.
4. Is there anything special, unique, fun, crazy that you would be
willing to share about Sarah Price?
Wow. That’s a loaded question! I wouldn’t
even know where to start! ha ha ha
Let’s see…Don’t ever double-dog dare me to do something…chances
are that I’ll do it—if it’s safe and legal, of course.
There is a lot of craziness that occurs in the life and household of
Sarah Price. We were actually in the running for an MTV reality show because we
have such unusual pets (a house-pig and, at the time, a zebra). But we lost out
to a family with an ostrich…which is mind-boggling since clearly a pig and
zebra are much more interesting.
For the most part, every day is an adventure. I like to have fun and I
love to meet people. I’ll basically talk to anyone which drives my
children crazy. They refuse to go out to stores with me because I stop and chat
to complete strangers.
Although, I must admit, I’m not a big winter fan. I’m
marking off the days until both kids are in college so that my husband and I
can head south to Belize for January, February, and March!
If you
would like to learn more about The Matchmaker and visit other tour stops here
is the link to take you to the Blog Tour List.
About Sarah: