Shelley Shepard Gray is the beloved author of the Sisters of the Heart series, including Hidden, Wanted, and Forgiven. Before writing, she was a teacher in both Texas and Colorado. She now writes full time and lives in southern Ohio with her husband and two children. When not writing, Shelley volunteers at church, reads, and enjoys walking her miniature dachshund on her town’s scenic bike trail.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
It’s Christmastime at the Brenneman Bed & Breakfast, and everyone is excited about closing down for the holiday.
Anna and Henry will be celebrating their first Christmas as a married couple, and for Katie and Jonathan Lundy, it’s their first Christmas with baby Stefan. Winnie and Samuel Miller plan to stop by as well for a wonderful two weeks of family and rest.
But when two unexpected visitors show up, hoping to stay for Christmas, the family must test their commitment to hospitality. Levi is a widower who lost his wife four years ago and can’t bear the thought of another Christmas alone. And Melody is a young pregnant woman who won’t open up about how she ended up on her own at Christmas at almost nine months pregnant.
Anna, who knows a thing or two about keeping secrets, doesn’t trust her, and strives to find out the truth about these two strangers who have disrupted their holiday. But as the Christmas spirit descends on them all, as well as snow that traps them in the inn, a healing and hopefulness takes over, allowing new relationships to be built, and the boundaries of family to be extended.
If you’d like to read the first chapter of Grace, go HERE.
Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be a writer. When I was in the second grade, I wrote my first poem about a moth. Luckily, I received encouragement from my teacher. During my teen years, I wrote skits that my church teen group performed during special holidays.
It wasn’t until 1980, that I took a course on writing for children and teenagers. I became serious about a career as an author. Soon after that, I began to write stories, articles, poems, and devotionals, which appeared in a variety of Christian publications. Later, I had 5 books of puppet/ventriloquist scripts published. *These books are currently available by contacting me. (wanda@wandabrunstetter.com)
My first novel was released by Barbour Publishing’s book club, Heartsong Presents, in Dec. 1997. I have now written nearly fifty books, with over 4 million books in print. Many of the novels I’ve written are Amish-themed.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Widowed and jobless, Lydia King moves her son and herself to Charm, Ohio, to be close to her mother and help with her grandfather. Menno Troyer, a furniture store owner, is also recently widowed and the father of four energetic boys.
Levi Stutzman, another newcomer to the area, is the only one in his family not handicapped by dwarfism and has dedicated his life to caring for them. As fall colors the countryside, will anonymous gifts left for Lydia bring her hope for a new life and romance, or will another tragedy flood her with infinite despair?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Lydia’s Charm, go HERE.
Watch the book trailer:
MY REVIEW:
Lydia’s Charm is yet another Amish novel in a market that seems to be saturated with them. While not my favorite genre, I don’t mind ‘bonnet fiction’ and usually gain something from each book I read. Lydia’s Charm is somewhat different than many I have read in that it is more character driven and not so focused on the Amish lifestyle and religious rules. With just a few basic changes, this book could have taken place anywhere with other characters.
The three primary characters, Lydia King, Levi Stutzman, and Menno Troyer all live with difficult situations. Lydia and Menno have both recently been widowed and Levi is the only normal sized member of his family. Lydia struggles to get along with her difficult mother, Menno desperately needs someone to help keep house and take care of his four sons, and Levi is afraid that if he ever marries he will pass along the hereditary dwarf gene to his own children. Both men are drawn to Lydia – but for entirely different reasons.
Which man will be there for Lydia as she endures even more difficult times in her life? Will Lydia and her mother discover the person who has been leaving them mysterious gifts just when they need them most? Will there be a happily ever after for any of them? I won’t tell. You will have to read Lydia’s Charm for yourself.
Suzanne Woods Fisher is thrilled to announce the release of The Waiting, book two in The Lancaster Secrets Collection. In The Waiting Jorie finds herself caught between two loves and two lives in this compelling page turner about complex people living the simple life.
The Waiting is the next stand alone story in The Lancaster Secrets Collection and follows in the footsteps of the best-selling,The Choice. The Waiting is in stores now and to celebrate Suzanne is hosting The Waiting KINDLE Giveaway.
One Grand Prize winner will receive a Kindle preloaded with Suzanne Woods Fisher titles and a Amazon.com gift certificate! The Prize Pack (valued at over $185.00) includes:
A brand new KINDLE, Free 3G, 6″, Latest Generation
The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher
The Waiting by Suzanne Woods Fisher
A $15 dollar Amazon.com Gift Certificate
To enter, simply click on the icons below to fill out the entry form, then tell 5 or more friends about the contest. Oh, and enter soon! Winner will be announced on October 28th at Suzanne’s Lancaster Secrets Book Club Party.
Join Suzanne for the Lancaster Secrets Book Club Party on October 28th! She’ll be announcing the winner of the The Waiting KINDLE Giveaway, hosting a book club discussion of The Waiting and The Choice, and giving away copies of both books and HEAPs of readerly prizes! Be sure to join us on Thursday, October 28th at 5:00 PM PST (6:00 MST, 7:00 CST & 8 EST) at Suzanne’s Author Page.
Set during the Vietnam war, The Waiting primarily features members of the Zook family and Jorie King, a close friend and neighbor. Jorie’s life is somewhat on hold as she waits for Ben Zook’s return from Vietnam. Although hoping to marry, the pair parted on less than ideal terms. Meanwhile Jorie has taken on the job of teaching the local Amish school, with a board that holds great expectations of her abilities. Caleb Zook, the oldest member of the Zook siblings, has his hands full with running his deceased parents’ farm, caring for his own wife and child as well as his younger brothers. When multiple tragedies strike in close succession and he is elected as a new minister, Caleb is nearly overwhelmed with grief and stress.
To the casual reader, it may seem that the author has given her characters an inordinate amount of problems to bear. But when you think about it, real life can actually be that way at times. Sometimes it seems as if we can’t overcome one thing before several more are heaped on top. I felt that the characters and situations in The Waiting were both believable and realistic. The plot was interwoven with both highs and lows, joy and grief, love, anger, hate, and an all abiding faith in God. One thing I particularly enjoyed about the story was that it was unpredictable. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, an unexpected twist would change everything. This is one book you just have to read for yourself.
This book was provided for review by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Amish and Awaiting True Love
Will she ever find the love that she’s been looking for in her Amish community?
From author Suzanne Woods Fisher, who has written extensively about the Amish in books like Amish Peace and Amish Proverbs, comes The Waiting, an endearing fictional story about an Amish girl, looking for love.
Jorie King has been waiting for Benjamin Zook to return home to Lancaster County so they can marry. When news arrives that Ben has been killed, Jorie finds comfort in the friendship of his brother Caleb. That friendship ripens into love, and it seems that they are meant to be together.
But when the unexpected happens, their worlds are turned upside down once more. Will Jorie trust God to lead her into the arms of a new man?
A multifaceted story about complex people living the simple life, The Waiting is the second book in the Lancaster County Secrets series. Readers will find themselves transported into the world of the Amish and deeply invested in these wonderful characters.
Available October 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Suzanne Woods Fisher is the CBA bestselling author of The Choice, The Waiting, Amish Peace, and Amish Proverbs. Her interest in the Anabaptist cultures can be directly traced to her grandfather, W. D. Benedict, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Benedict eventually became publisher of Christianity Today magazine. Suzanne is the host of a radio show called Amish Wisdom and her work has appeared in many magazines. She lives in California.
Since 2000, Shelley Sabga has sold twenty-six novels to numerous publishers. She has written a seven book contemporary series for Avalon books. She also published The Love Letter, a western for Avalon. Five Star Expressions published Suddenly, You in February of 2007. This novel is a historical western set in the mountains of Colorado.
Shelley has written nine novels for Harlequin American Romance. Cinderella Christmas, her first novel with them, reached number six on the Waldenbooks Bestseller list. Her second book with them, Simple Gifts won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice award for best Harlequin American Romance of 2006. The Mommy Bride, was chosen by Romantic Times Magazine as one of their TOP PICKS for May, 2008.
Under the name Shelley Shepard Gray, Shelley writes Amish romances for Harper Collins’ inspirational line, Avon Inspire. HIDDEN and WANTED the first two novels of her ‘Sisters of the Heart’ series, were chosen to be Alternate Selections for the Doubleday/ Literary Guild Book Club. FORGIVEN, book 3, has received glowing reviews. Avon Inspire is releasing four novels by Shelley this year.
Before writing romances, Shelley lived in Texas and Colorado, where she taught school and earned both her bachelors and masters degrees in education. She now lives in southern Ohio and writes full time. Shelley is married, the mother of two teenagers, and is an active member of her church.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Some promises are meant to be broken…
Until Robert Miller met Lilly Allen, his world had been dark. A widower after only two years of marriage, he’d been living in a haze, feeling that, at twenty-four, his life was already over.
But thanks to his friendship with Lilly, he now has new reasons to wake up each day. He knows his connection to her doesn’t make sense. She’s only nineteen, with a past the whole town talks about. Even more, she’s not Amish, like Robert. A marriage between the two of them could never happen.
Lilly’s heart is drawn to Robert, not to his faith. No matter how much she admires his quiet strength and dependability, she doesn’t think she could ever give up her independence and reliance on the modern world. Is their love doomed before it even begins?
Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times best-selling author whose connection with the Amish community has been featured on ABC Nightline and on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.
She was also a homeschool mom. As her children progressed in age, her desire to write grew stronger. After working through reservations whether this desire was something she should pursue, she began her writing journey. Her husband was her staunchest supporter.
Her first novel released in 2006 to much acclaim and became a best seller. Cindy was a 2007 ECPA award finalist, along with Karen Kingsbury, Angela Hunt, and Charles Martin.
Her second book, When the Morning Comes, hit numerous best-sellers lists across the US, including edging into the extended list of the New York Times, coming in at number thirty-four.
Her third book, When the Soul Mends, hit the New York Times best-sellers list, coming in at number thirteen, as well as making the USA Today’s best-sellers list.
Cindy continues to write and release best-selling works of fiction, and she’s also written a nonfiction work with an Old Order Amish friend, Miriam Flaud. The book is titled Plain Wisdom: An Invitation into an Amish Home and the Hearts of Two Women. It will release March 11, 2011.
Her real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Order Amish families enrich her novels with authenticity.
As an adult, Cindy became friends with a wonderful Old Order Amish family who opened their home to her. Although the two women, Miriam and Cindy, live seven hundred miles apart geographically, and a century apart by customs, when they come together they never lack for commonality, laughter, and dreams of what only God can accomplish through His children.
Cindy, her husband, their three sons and two daughters-in-law reside in Georgia.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Love alone isn’t enough to overcome some obstacles.
Lena Kauffman is a young Old Order Amish schoolteacher who has dealt all her life with attention raised by a noticeable birthmark on her cheek. Having learned to move past the stares and whispers, Lena channels her zest for living into her love of teaching. But tensions mount as she is challenged to work with a rebellious young man and deal with several crises at the schoolhouse that threaten her other students. Her lack of submission and use of ideas that don’t line up with the Old Ways strengthen the school board’s case as they begin to believe that Lena is behind all the trouble.
One member of the school board, Grey Graber, feels trapped by his own stifling circumstances. His wife, Elsie, has shut him out of her life, and he doesn’t know how long he can continue to live as if nothing is wrong. As the two finally come to a place of working toward a better marriage, tragedy befalls their family.
Lena and Grey have been life-long friends, but their relationship begins to crumble amidst unsettling deceptions, propelling each of them to finally face their own secrets. Can they both find a way past their losses and discover the strength to build a new bridge?
Learn more about Cindy and her books on her Website.
MY REVIEW:
I have read and reviewed several Amish novels lately and I have to say The Bridge of Peace is my very favorite. Cindy Woodsmall’s characters are painted with a realistic brush that makes them come alive. Although somewhat isolated from the modern world, Woodsmall’s characters are not idealized but experience life with similar emotions to the rest of us. The Bridge of Peace is filled to the brim with love and hate, joy and sorrow, suspense and humor, tragedy and reconciliation. As in the rest of the world, you will find both good and bad people, bullies and peacemakers, and sometimes even one who is mentally disturbed. And through it all runs the constant thread of faith in God. What more can one ask for in a book? My only complaint is that I will have to wait months for the next book in the series.
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, book two in The Lancaster Secrets Collection. In 
. The Waiting is in stores now and to celebrate Suzanne is hosting The Waiting KINDLE Giveaway.
