Book Spotlight (and a Giveaway!): A Season on the Wind by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Suzanne Woods Fisher is one of my fave Amish fiction authors & I’m excited to give you a peek inside her new book A Season on the Wind with an excerpt – and a chance for three of you to win a copy of your own!

A SEASON ON THE WIND
GENRE: Inspirational Contemporary Romance / Amish
PUBLISHER: Revell
RELEASE DATE: October 5, 2021
PAGES: 312

Ben Zook had only two loves in his life: books and birds. In a stroke of good fortune, he’d stumbled onto a way to cobble together those two loves into a career, writing books about rare birds. He was as free as a bird–until a chase for a rare White-winged Tern takes him to the one place on earth he planned to never return: his Amish home in Stoney Ridge.

Desperate for photographs of the elusive tern, Ben hires a local field guide, Micah Weaver, and boards at Micah’s farm, planning to “bag the bird” and leave Stoney Ridge before anyone recognizes him. But he neglected to plan for Micah’s sister, Penny.

One long-ago summer, Penny had introduced Ben to birding, even sharing with him a hidden eagle aerie. That was when she knew true love. She’d always hoped he would come back to Stoney Ridge. Back to his Amish roots. Back to her. The only problem? Ben has absolutely no memory of Penny.

Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher welcomes her readers to the Amish community at Stoney Ridge in this engaging story of discovering just who the rare birds are in life.

Penny Weaver stayed so still that the field sparrow in her yard didn’t seem to know she was there. It was better in the early morning, when she could see the solid color on his proud  chest. In this late- afternoon light, a field sparrow seemed like an ordinary Little Brown Job. After he flew off, she crossed the yard to the old milking stable that her brother Micah had converted into a guesthouse with the help of a few men from their church.

Inside the guesthouse, Penny took one last look around. On a whim, she had cut a handful of late- blooming chrysanthemums from the garden and put them in a mason jar to set on the small table. The guesthouse was made up of two small bedrooms, a tiny but functional bathroom, and a sitting area with a woodstove. Against the wall, near the table, was a kitchenette of sorts: a sink, and a mini refrigerator and microwave with power provided by a generator. It wasn’t fancy, certainly nothing like these Englisch strangers were probably accustomed to. But it was clean, tidy, warm . . . and the strangers had asked the bishop, David Stoltzfus, for a place to stay while birding with Micah. She had to remember that, especially if they were the complaining type. They had asked.

If this worked out, it might provide needed income. The bishop came up with the notion of adding a guesthouse at Lost Creek Farm for birders, to encourage longer guiding trips for Micah than the usual one-day outings. “This could be a good thing for Micah,” David had said. “It could be just the thing to bring him out of his shell. And it’s good for Stoney Ridge too. Micah’s eye and ear for rare birds seems to be God’s means to bring blessings to our town.”

It did seem as if the Almighty was working overtime lately to bring Micah out of the shadows. Last January, he’d spotted a Black- backed Oriole pecking away at Penny’s kitchen feeder. The Black- backed was a stunning cousin to the Baltimore Oriole, but this one lived in central Mexico. It was only the second time the Black- backed Oriole had been spotted in the United States. Ever. That little bird created a major attraction during its two- month stay, drawing bird lovers from all over the country.

As if that wasn’t enough, in early March, Micah spotted a Roseate Spoonbill. While it wasn’t hard to notice— goodness, it stood nearly a yard tall, with pink feathers like flamingos— where Micah had found it was remarkable. An overlooked, hard-to-get-to creek that ran along the northern edge of town. It had been nearly fifty years since the last Roseate Spoonbill was spotted in Pennsylvania. Why it had traveled from Florida— remaining for nearly a month in a creek so insignificant it had no name— was a mystery. Then again, that’s what made birding so intriguing. Birds didn’t always act or play according to the rules.

And now, in mid- November, Penny’s brother had sighted the White-winged Tern, a vagrant bird, rarely seen in all of North America. Suddenly it seemed that birders everywhere knew the name Micah Weaver.

She heard a noise outside and peeked out the window. The sound of a car coming up the long, steep drive always startled Penny, so different a sound than the gentle clip-clop of a horse pulling a buggy.

Opening the door of the guesthouse, she spotted the dark brim of Micah’s hat as he peered around the edge of the barn. She let out a sigh. That boy. Nearly nineteen and still so shy. He was as gentle in nature as he was tall in height.

She hoped David was right to add this whole venture of hosting birders at Lost Creek Farm to Micah’s field guiding. She hadn’t slept well last night, tossed and turned, anxious. It wasn’t typical for Penny to feel unsettled, which only made her even more uneasy.

She smoothed down her apron, tucked a stray strand of hair inside her prayer cap, took a deep breath, and crossed the yard to greet the guests. A small man climbed out of the driver’s side of the car and waved his arm, smiling.

“Welcome. You must be the man coming to find the bird,” Penny said. An awkward silence followed. Something seemed off. What had she done wrong?

“Um, my name is Natalie Crowell. My cousin is the birder.”

Oh no! Penny realized this man was actually a woman with a startling haircut. Crewcut-short like a man’s, spiky on top, white-blonde. “Welcome to our farm. Lost Creek Farm. It’s where my brother Micah and I live. Micah is the field guide you’ve come for.  And I’m Penny.” She was babbling now, nervous, embarrassed.

Out of the passenger side of the car, another person emerged and popped his head over the top of the car. “I’m the one you were told about. Don’t feel embarrassed. People confuse us all the time.”

“Very funny,” Natalie said. She pulled her big purse out of the car and turned to Penny. “Ben’s my cousin, but we look nothing alike.”

That did not need pointing out. Ben had longer hair than Natalie’s— thick, dark brown, wavy. He raised his arms onto the top of the car, folding them, leaning forward slightly as he cupped
his elbows, and as he did, Penny’s stomach dropped.

“The name’s Ben Zook. I’ve come to see that White-winged Tern that everyone in the bird world is buzzing about. I sure hope it’s not a one-day wonder.”

Penny’s heart gave one huge thump and then started beating wildly.

It was him.

Her Ben Zook.

Even after two decades, she would know him anywhere.

She’d always known that one day, somehow, somewhere, they’d meet again. And here he was. He was here for a bird.

Of course the Lord would entice him back home with a bird. A rare bird. Just as birds found their way back over land and sea, so God had found a way to bring Ben Zook here.

Ben walked around the car to greet her, holding out his hand to her. His movement was quick, graceful, and Penny suddenly remembered that was his way. He was tall, so tall she had to raise her chin to see his eyes. He was so fine to look at that she couldn’t help but stare at the sheer wonder of him. His deep voice made Penny think of a waterfall, fast- moving and fluid, unable to hold on to yet so mesmerizing.

Ben Zook was standing just a few feet away from her!

Still dumbstruck, she gazed at him, then at his offered hand. Do something, Penny! Pull yourself together. But she couldn’t budge. His eyes registered no recognition of her. Not a flicker. Penny could see she was a complete stranger to him. Eyes couldn’t lie. And still, she couldn’t move a muscle.

Ben dropped his hand with an awkward smile, then turned away to take things out of the car. He opened the trunk to pull out suitcases, handing one to his cousin. He paused, leaned one
hand against the car, swayed a little, and suddenly folded to the ground like a rag doll.

Suzanne Woods Fisher, A Season on the Wind
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2021. Used by permission.

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Suzanne Woods Fisher is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than 30 books, including The Moonlight School and the Three Sisters Island, Nantucket Legacy, Amish Beginnings, The Bishop’s Family, The Deacon’s Family, and The Inn at Eagle Hill series. She is also the author of several nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace and Amish Proverbs. She lives in California. Learn more at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com and follow Suzanne on Facebook @SuzanneWoodsFisherAuthor and Twitter @suzannewfisher.

Revell is offering a print copy of A Season on the Wind by Suzanne Woods Fisher to THREE of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read A Season on the Wind by Suzanne Woods Fisher?