Amish Fiction

Spring has arrived in Middlebury, Indiana, and Amber Wright is optimistic about the growing profit from her collection of Amish shops - until she receives a call that Ethan Gray is dead. Hurrying over to A Simple Blend, she finds a solitary hole in the front window and the store manager lying next to the espresso machine, dead from an apparent heart attack. All the money is still in his register. When Amber hires a young Amish woman, Hannah Troyer, to take over the shop’s duties, the two women become fast friends - as well as amateur sleuths.

One minute, Joanna Schrock was arguing with her parents, and the next, her parents’ lives were claimed in a hit-and-run buggy accident. Her body is broken, but her heart is in even deeper pain—after all, how do you cope with your parents’ deaths when your last words were spoken in anger? After an extended stint in a physical rehabilitation center, Joanna re-enters her Amish life. But nothing is the same—not even her feelings for Andrew Beiler. Joanna has loved Andrew since the age of 12, and her feelings have not changed throughout the years.

Recently widowed after twenty years of marriage, Frances Lehman is only just tasting the freedom and opportunity that her Promise Lodge friends enjoy. So she's not about to be pressured into marriage by her widowed brother-in-law, even if she and her daughter have no real means of support. Much more promising is her new friendship with Preacher Marlin Kurtz, though their respective families don't see their relationship as proper.

Michelle Taylor is not who her new family in Lancaster County believes her to be. The Lapps were looking for their long-lost granddaughter when they met Michelle, and she assumed the identity of Sara Murray. Once homeless and hopeless, Michelle has come to love her new Amish friends and even considers the idea of romance among them. Finding an old blue jar in the barn that is filled with slips of paper containing thoughts, quotes, and prayers by an unknown author becomes a boost to Michelle’s budding faith.

Life on Windmill Farm hasn’t been the same since Julia Lapp’s father has had trouble with his heart. But that doesn’t stop Julia from hoping for a bright future. She has planned on marrying Paul Fisher since she was a girl. Now twenty-one, she looks forward to their wedding with giddy anticipation. But when Paul tells her he wants to postpone the wedding - again - she is determined to change his mind.

Karl Graber is too busy struggling with his hardware store and two young daughters to indulge local matchmaker Rose Yoder’s schemes. After his wife’s death, the thought of loving and perhaps losing another woman holds no appeal. So while he’s relieved to learn he’s not on Rose’s list of potential husbands for new schoolteacher Sophie Eicher, he’s also surprised. Despite himself, Karl can’t help wondering what Rose thinks he lacks—and why outspoken, attractive Sophie has so little interest in marriage.

Joy Lehman has pressed on faithfully since losing her husband, raising their children and running a thriving bakery alone. Even caring for her oldest son, Johnny—seriously injured after a fall—has not shaken her fierce independence. Johnny will walk again, she's sure. Until then, a meeting of the Widows' Club at her home makes it clear that Joy must consider some costly renovations. Her brother-in-law, Uriah, is happy to provide the lumber and the labor—if Joy will accept his help.

Sophie Wittenbauer left her strict Mennonite hometown under a cloud of shame and regret. After a rough childhood, her teenage poor choices harmed others, leaving her with no choice but to change her life. Her entry-level writing job at a newspaper puts her in the right place at the right time to overhear office gossip about a prisoner who has information on a decades-old unsolved crime. While the other reporters write off the tip as the ravings of an angry criminal, Sophie can't ignore it because she knows the name of this prisoner from her old life.

Bridget is devastated when her boyfriend, Amos, breaks up with her, realizing that he had lied to her throughout their relationship. As her despair deepens, her worried parents arrange for her to spend time with her aunt in Ohio, hoping a change of scenery will lessen her heartbreak. As Bridget prays her heart will mend, she meets Isaac and feels her sadness melting away. As feelings grow, an unwanted visitor from her past reappears, begging forgiveness. As old feelings resurface for Bridget, she has a choice to make - go back to a life of lies or stay with a man who mended her heart.

Journalist Philip Bradley can't forget Rachel Yoder, the blind Amish woman he met while on assignment in Pennsylvania. He is determined to find a cure for her and to get to know her better. But before Rachel can move on in her life, she must first confront traumatic memories. Can their growing love survive the vast gulf between their different worlds and Rachel's agonizing road to recovery?

Bubbles Yablonsky is in trouble. Her exposé of corruption in Lehigh’s social heights has infuriated the local paper’s editor, so she’s still a fulltime hairdresser and only an occasional reporter. Her freeloading ex is back on her sofa after his socialite wife threw him out, her daughter’s in love, and her mother thinks she’s Jackie Onassis. Plus, Bubbles’ chastity vow is not yet broken, which means sexy photographer Steve Stiletto’s heart has remained just out of reach....

Amish-raised Ada Rupp knows it’s time to make a commitment to the faith and join the church, especially if she wants a future with the handsome Amish widower Will Gundy. But when she has the chance to travel to Switzerland as the caregiver of a young child, she leaps at the opportunity.

Rose Kauffman pines for prodigal Nick Franco, the Bishop's foster son who left the Amish under a cloud of suspicion after his foster brother's death. His rebellion led to the "silencing" of their beloved Bishop. But is Nick really the rebel he appears to be? Rose's lingering feelings for her wayward friend refuse to fade, but she is frustrated that Nick won't return and make things right with the People. Nick avowed his love for Rose - but will he ever be willing to sacrifice modern life for her?

Making rugs for Simple Gifts has taught Loretta Riehl that an unassuming pattern can reveal surprising depth. People, too, have a way of defying first impressions. Drew Detweiler came to Willow Ridge under a cloud, but the handsome craftsman has gained the community's respect for his upholstery skills and commitment to making amends for his mistakes. As her new brother-in-law's twin, he's joining the family for dinners and Sunday visits at the Riehl house, and Loretta can't deny enjoying his attentions.

It seems as if everyone is falling in love in Birch Creek, including Abigail Schrock. But when heartbreak descends on her already fragile world, she can’t help but feel that if she’d only been a little prettier, she could be on her way down the aisle. To make matters worse, Abigail’s two sisters have found love, and all Abigail can seem to find is the chocolate she has stashed away in the pantry.

At age 73, Laura Kauffman knows she is closer to the end of life than the beginning. If God willed it, she would join her beloved late husband soon. Even so, Laura wonders what purpose God might have for her in this winter of her life - and why this season seems so lonely. Widower Zechariah Stutzman is facing his own barren season, despite the great-grandchildren swirling around him. With his Parkinson’s worsening, he had no choice but to move in with his grandson’s family, though now he feels adrift and useless.

Isaac and David never thought they'd go back to the Amish world. But when Isaac's younger brother is stricken with cancer, they don't hesitate to return. Their relationship is on the rocks after insecurity and fear drove a wedge between them in San Francisco, and David is determined to make things right. Yet if they thought navigating "English" life was confusing, being back in Zebulon is even more complicated. Their families are desperate to bring them back into the fold, and pressure from the community builds.

David and Isaac have found happiness in each other's arms. In faraway San Francisco, Isaac's brother Aaron helps them explore confusing "English" life and move beyond the looming shadow of their Amish roots. For the first time, David and Isaac can be openly gay, yet they struggle to reconcile their sexuality with their faith. At least they don't have to hide their relationship, which should make everything easier. Right?

All Emily wants is a fairy-tale romance with a man who loves her. But Amos refuses to be tied down to one woman, breaking Emily’s heart. As she tries to forget her first love, Harley Fisher tries to win her heart. Emily is intrigued with handsome Harley but mistakes his shyness for disinterest, allowing Amos to smooth talk his way back into her life. While she knows Amos will never change, she longs for marriage and children.

When Rebecca Kauffman's older sister, who left the Amish community when she was a teenager, dies in an automobile accident, Rebecca is left custody of her two modern non-Amish teenage nieces, Jessica and Lindsay. Will she be able to reconcile the two worlds in her home - or will the clash of cultures tear her world, including her marriage, apart?