About the Book

Book: A Brighter Dawn

Author: Leslie Gould

Genre: Amish Romance

Release date: March 28, 2023

Ivy Zimmerman is successfully navigating her life as a young Mennonite woman, one generation removed from her parents’ Old Order Amish upbringing. But when her parents are killed in a tragic accident, Ivy’s way of life is upended. As she deals with her grief, her younger sisters’ needs, the relationship with her boyfriend, and her Dawdi and Mammi’s strict rules, Ivy finds solace in both an upcoming trip to Germany for an international Mennonite youth gathering and in her great-great-aunt’s story about Clare Simons, another young woman who visited Germany in the late 1930s.

As Ivy grows suspicious that her parents’ deaths weren’t, in fact, an accident, she gains courage from what she learns of Clare’s time in pre-World War II Germany. With the encouragement and inspiration of the women who have gone before her, Ivy seeks justice for her parents, her sisters, and herself.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Leslie Gould (www.lesliegould.com) is a Christy Award-winning and #1 bestselling author of over 35 novels, including four Lancaster County Amish series. She holds an MFA in creative writing and enjoys studying church history, research trips, and hiking in the Pacific Northwest. She and her husband live in Portland, Oregon, and are the parents of four adult children.

More from Leslie

The historical thread of my dual-time novel A Brighter Dawn is set in Nazi Germany from 1937 to 1939. During that period of time, Germany incorporated Austria, mandatory registration of all Jewish property began, and concentration camps opened. Then came the Night of Broken Glass—the anti-Jewish pogrom in Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland. Soon following was the German occupation of Czechoslovakia before the Nazis invaded Poland in September 1939.

My main character, Clare Simons, is a Mennonite young woman from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who is staying with her uncle and cousins in Frankfurt, Germany. She doesn’t follow current events much and struggles to balance the Nazi propaganda her uncle and oldest cousin believe with the events unfolding around her. Slowly, she begins to see the truth behind the Nazi lies.

One thing that broke up the narrative of the heavy events I researched and wrote about? The food.

When I traveled in Germany with my husband (who had lived there during his Army service years ago), I marveled over the scenery, became engrossed in the history, and definitely enjoyed the food. My background is Swiss, so it wasn’t that the food was unfamiliar. It was just at a level I hadn’t experienced before!

As I researched what Clare would fix for meals, I pored through cookbooks. For added inspiration, hubby and I ate at German restaurants. Jägerschnitzel (seared pork with gravy). Rinderbraten (paprika and caraway spiced beef roasted in red wine gravy). Wienerschnitzel (breaded and fried pork loin with warm potato salad and a vegetable remoulade.)

I noted food in research books, documentaries, and films. The entrees became focal points in the stories, including rabbit stew, a Christmas goose, and Sauerbraten with Spätzle and red cabbage. So did the desserts, including trifle and Black Forest cake.

When I visited Germany with my hubby, one of the things I really loved was stopping in a café for Apfelkuchen (apple cake) and coffee in the afternoon. In one scene in A Brighter Dawn, when Clare and her cousin Lena stop for coffee, they order apple cake too. Then, in another scene, Clare bakes an apple cake for the family of the nearby Jewish grocer who will soon lose their property.

Below is a recipe for a simple and dense German apple cake (which may have originated in Poland and been influenced by a Jewish apple cake recipe).

The food in A Brighter Dawn doesn’t take away from the narrative, but it is a reminder that a nurturing soul, such as my character Clare, can stand against the lies of an evil regime.

German Apple Cake

Ingredients

• 1 cup salted butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup white sugar
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ½ to 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 5 cups apples—peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (to soften apple slices before baking, place in a microwavable dish with a lid and microwave them with a Tablespoon of water for 3–4 minutes)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×13 cake pan.
2. Beat butter and eggs with an electric mixer until creamy. Add sugar and vanilla; beat well.
3. Stir together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Slowly add flour mixture to egg mixture; mix until combined. The batter will be very thick. Fold in apples and walnuts by hand using a wooden spoon. Spread batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 45–50 minutes. After 30 minutes, put a sheet of foil over the top of the cake to keep it from burning. Cool cake on a wire rack.

Possible Toppings

Before baking:

Crumble: ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup white sugar, ½ cup flour, 4–6 Tablespoons softened butter. Combine ingredients and evenly spread over the top of cake.

Butterscotch: Sprinkle a package of butterscotch chips over the top of the cake.

Almonds: Sprinkle almond slivers over the top of the cake.

After baking:

Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Drizzle with caramel sauce.

Sprinkle with white sparkling sugar.

            Top with whipped cream.

Interview with Leslie

Share something your readers wouldn’t know about you.

I have a bachelor’s degree in history—one of those liberal arts degrees that some people say are useless. Thankfully, soon after I graduated, I ended up with a dream job with the Southern Oregon Historical Society at the Swedenburg House Museum in Ashland, Oregon. I started out as a volunteer docent, and when the curator became available, I was hired. It was an amazing job. I researched and coordinated exhibits, hosted events, collaborated with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival on projects, conducted downtown architectural walking tours, interviewed scores of the elders in the community, and presented historical programs for school children. It really was a dream job come true. And it’s definitely impacted my writing. My first published novel was set in Ashland, and I’ve incorporated many things I learned during that time into my stories.

What book is currently on your bedside table?

The Winter Rose by Melanie Dobson. It’s a dual-time (also known as time-slip) story with the historical thread set during World War II, one of my favorite genres. A Brighter Dawn, the first in my Amish Memories series, is also a dual-time story with the historical thread set right before World War II started. I’ve just started The Winter Rose, but I love all of Melanie’s stories! I know I’ll love this one too.

What has been your favorite part of the publishing journey?

I really love the rewriting process. Once I have the editorial letter from my editor with suggestions to make the story better, I’m excited to get to work and add and cut and polish and strengthen my characters and plots points. It’s easy to get lost in the story while writing it and lose sight of what isn’t working—like an unlikable character or an implausible plot point.

Does one of the main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?

When I started writing A Brighter Dawn, Johann Mazur—a young Ukrainian man—was a secondary character in the contemporary thread, set in 2014. He’s one of those characters who lands on the page good and kind and likable, so it wasn’t surprising that he kept getting more of a starring role. The contemporary story is about a Mennonite young woman named Ivy from Oregon, while Johann is a Mennonite young man from Ukraine. The backstory for the historical thread includes Ukraine in the 1930s and the Holodomor, the man-made famine created by Stalin that killed millions of Ukrainians, including Mennonites. Fast forward to 2014 when Russia invades Crimea and Donbas, which starts the Russo-Ukrainian War. At the end of the story, Johann knows he’ll be called up to fight against Russia. (There’s more on this thread in the upcoming second book in my Amish Memories series, This Passing Hour.)

Just as I was finishing my first draft of A Brighter Dawn, Russia fully invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Suddenly, Johann’s story became all I could think about as I wondered what his life would be like in another eight years (yes, I had to remind myself my story is fiction). And my entire story became more immediate and real as I grieved for the Ukrainian people and their countless losses through the centuries.

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

All the info you need is at lesliegould.com. Please sign up for my newsletter, where you’ll get all my news first, and follow me on social media! I’d love to connect with you!

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, April 23

Lakesidelivingsite, April 23

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 24

Cover Lover Book Review, April 25

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, April 25

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 26

Lighthouse Academy Blog, April 27 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)

Connie’s History Classroom, April 27

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, April 28

Vicky Sluiter, April 28

She Lives To Read, April 29

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, April 30 (Author Interview)

Christina’s Corner, April 30

Texas Book-aholic, May 1

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 2

Mornings at Character Cafe, May 2

Bigreadersite, May 3

Bliss, Books & Jewels, May 3

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, May 4

Little Homeschool on the Prairie, May 5

For Him and My Family, May 5

Splashes of Joy, May 6

Pause for Tales, May 6

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Leslie is giving away the grand prize package of a paperback copy of A Brighter Dawn and one $15 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/258b9/a-brighter-dawn-celebration-tour-giveaway