Serena

About Serena

https://www.serenabmiller.com

Posts by Serena Miller:

September 23, 2014

Finders Keepers

It is my favorite time of year again. September! The Swiss Festival in Sugarcreek, Ohio is happening this weekend (September 26-27) and I intend to be there on Saturday from 6 to 8 pm, signing books at the Gospel Shop at 112 Main Street. At 8 p.m. if the weather holds, there will be a showing of the movie right in the middle of downtown Sugarcreek. For those who watched Love Finds You In Sugarcreek, Ohio, you’ll recognize the Swiss Festival from the scenes shot in the midst of it last year. For the most part, those were not actors you saw in the background, but real people enjoying themselves at the festival as the crew shot around them. People frequently ask me to recommend places to go see while in the area. Here’s one place I always stop by. Finders Keepers, 100 E. Main Street which is just a few doors down from the Gospel Shop. It’s owned by “Big Mike” Schario and his business partner, Mitch Joseph from Canton. If you’ve seen the Love Finds You in Sugarcreek movie, you’ve already met Mike. He’s one of the actors (big guy, red shirt) who threw the stone in the […]

July 15, 2014

Raising “Preacher’s Kids”

SerenaUncategorized 3

As most of you know, I write novels about the Amish. At the beginning of my career, I visited Abram and Leah’s Old Order Amish home for dinner. Abram is an extraordinarily spiritual man who speaks openly about God and grace. He is also an extremely social person and seemed delighted to have company. The invitation had come through mutual friends and so this was the first time I had ever met Leah. She was quiet and seemed to be deep in thought as she prepared our dinner. It was early days in my research of the Amish and I thought perhaps this was just the way of Amish women. Quiet. Pensive. Allowing their husbands to carry the conversational ball. Abram was well-read in the Bible and he and my minister husband were having a discussion about Bible translations while Leah silently worked, and I tried, quite awkwardly, to help in her unfamiliar kitchen. I didn’t know if Leah was resentful of the fact that we were there and was just being an obedient Amish wife, or if the woman was depressed out of her mind. Our conversation was halting and stilted. After we’d eaten and were sitting around watching […]

May 21, 2014

Drive-in Time!

SerenaLove Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio (film), Uncategorized 3

Last Saturday evening, June 14, I watched hundreds of people enjoy an old-fashioned drive-in movie. The Village of Sugarcreek hired a company to construct a temporary drive-in theater in the same area where the Swiss Festival is conducted each year. I didn’t even know there were companies that did such a thing, but it turned out to be a brilliant idea. The screen was large and worked perfectly, the sound was wonderful, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves immensely. People spread picnics out on blankets, set up lawn chairs, or simply parked their cars and rolled down their windows. For two hours before the movie started, I had the privilege of signing books with two of my favorite actresses in the world. Annie Kitral (who played Aunt Lydia) and Marianna Allachi (who played Aunt Anna) gave readers an extra thrill by sitting beside me and also autographing each book. It was SO funny to see people’s faces when they recognized the two women–but it didn’t happen immediately. I’d sign a book, and then pass it down to Annie/Aunt Lydia. I’d ask the customer “Do you know who this is?” And whoever was standing across the table from me would stare at […]