Consider the Sunflowers

Consider the Sunflowers paints a colourful picture of life on the home front during World War II and after. As the story begins, it's 1940 and Tina Janz doesn't want to marry the man her pious Mennonite parents have chosen for her. He's as boring as turnips compared with the dashing half-Gypsy Frank Warkentin.

Obsessed with Frank, Tina leaves her job in Vancouver and marries him. However, her joy is soon overshadowed by loneliness on Frank's farm in the prairie community of Coyote, Saskatchewan.

When Frank shuns local Mennonites because some of them scorn his mixed parentage, Tina feels torn between her Mennonite heritage and her husband. Their son's death drives the couple farther apart. Then Tina's former Vancouver boyfriend shows up, setting off a series of events that send her and Frank stumbling toward a new understanding of love, loyalty, faith, and freedom.

"A must-read for those who appreciate a good love story enhanced with adventure, humour, and historical accuracy." –Ray Wiseman, columnist and author

"The novel effectively evokes many aspects of Mennonite life in the 40s, and moves well." –Helen Martens, author and professor emeritus at Conrad Grebel (Mennonite) College

Elma Schemenauer was born in a Saskatchewan community like the fictional Coyote. "As I grew up," she says, "I sank deep roots into prairie life and the traditions of my extended Mennonite family." After teaching for several years, Elma moved into a publishing career in Toronto. She's the author of many books including Yesterstories, Russia, Jacob Siemens Family Since 1685, Victoria, and Hello Vancouver. In 2006 she and her husband relocated to Kamloops, British Columbia. There she writes, blogs, and walks on grassy hillsides that remind her of her prairie roots.