This week on Amish Wisdom: Mennonite and Amish Fiction with Nancy Mehl and Jennifer Beckstrand

This week on Amish Wisdom we'll be welcoming back two fiction writers to chat about their latest releases. The first half hour we'll hear from Nancy Mehl. She'll be sharing about, Unbreakable, the new book in her Mennonite series, Road to Kindgdom. We'll also hear how Nancy's feeling "inspired" by the Mennonites this spring. Then during the second half hour Jennifer Beckstrand will be joining the show. She'll be giving us the scoop on Miriam's Quilt, the third book in her Forever After in Apple Lake series, about three cousins who find love in Amish country. Fun.

Both authors are giving away copies of their books. Be sure to leave a comment here (or email ckrumm@litfusegroup.com if the comment box isn't working). Winners will be notified next week via email.

More about Nancy: Nancy Mehl lives in Wichita, Kansas, with her husband Norman and her very active puggle, Watson. She’s authored fourteen books and is currently at work on a new series for Bethany House Publishing. All of Nancy’s novels have an added touch – something for your spirit as well as your soul. “I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing,” Nancy says. “God is number one in my life. I wouldn’t be writing at all if I didn’t believe that this is what He’s called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan for your life, and there is nothing you can’t overcome with His help.” Readers can learn more about Nancy through her Web site: www.nancymehl.com or her blog. She is also active on Facebook.

More about Unbreakable: Gentle and unassuming, Hope Kauffman has never been one to question the traditions of her Mennonite upbringing. She quietly helps her father run Kingdom Quilts and has agreed to the betrothal he arranged for her with the devout but shy Ebbie Miller.

Despite the attempts of Hope and other Kingdom residents to maintain the status quo, changes have already begun to stir in the small Mennonite town. The handsome and charismatic Jonathon Wiese is the leader of the move to reform, while Ebbie insists Kingdom must remain true to its foundation. When Hope’s safety is threatened by a mysterious outsider, she can’t help but question what she’s always been taught about the Mennonite tradition of nonviolence.

As it swiftly becomes apparent the threat Hope faced is only the beginning, the town that’s always stood so strong finds itself divided. With tensions high and their lives endangered by an unknown enemy, will Hope and the people of Kingdom allow fear and division to break them or will they draw on the strength of the God they serve?

Nancy is also giving away a Kindle Fire and hosting a Facebook Party on March 5th. Click the button for details. 

Unbreakable by Nancy Mehl Kindle Fire Giveaway

More about Jennifer: Jennifer Beckstrand is the author of three novels in the Forever After in Apple Lake series, aboutthree cousins who find love in Wisconsin's Amish country. Miriam's Quilt is the third book in the series, following Kate's Song and Rebecca's Rose. Jennifer has a degree in mathematics and a background in editing. She has won two writing contests and serves as the PAN liaison in her Utah RWA chapter. She and her husband have six children and live in Utah.

Learn more about Jennifer at her website: www.jenniferbeckstrand.com.

More about Miriam's Quilt: Miriam’s Quilt is currently in the top 50 Religious Fiction books on Amazon. In Miriam’s Quilt, Miriam Bontrager has loved Ephraim for as long as she can remember. But when scandal rocks Miriam’s family, Ephraim decides that she is not worthy of him. Heartbroken, Miriam vows to never again trust anyone with her affections. But will she surrender her heart when a man of simple faith and gentle ways shows her how to love again? Seth Lambright has always found Miriam pretty, but she’s also too stuck-up to pay him any notice. That is, until she comes to his stable after Ephraim’s devastating rejection. Spending time with Seth’s horses gives Miriam comfort and helps her mend, but her presence nudges Seth dangerously close to falling in love. Unable to ignore the way Miriam tugs at his heart, will he risk everything to show her that there is more to love than the pain of bitter memories?

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Comments
  1. karenk says: Comment

    Posted on: 02-19-2013 @ 10:00 pm EST
  2. Rita Clements says: I would really love to win these books! Thank you for the opportunity to win them!!

    Posted on: 02-20-2013 @ 12:31 pm EST
  3. Kristie D. says: I have read some Nancy Mehl and LOVED it. I read the Harmony series and it was GREAT. I don't usually read mysteries but I really liked this series. I have never read anything by Jennifer Beckstrand but I'm always looking for a new Amish fiction author. Take care! Kristie from Ohio. kristiedonelson(at)gmail(dot)com Thank you.

    Posted on: 02-20-2013 @ 6:31 pm EST
  4. Brenda Welch says: I would love to read these books! Cant wait for the show Thanks Suzanne. bbwelch@windstream.net

    Posted on: 02-21-2013 @ 8:33 am EST
  5. Karen Schulz says: I already have Nancy's book, but would love to win Jennifer's! Thanks for this opportunity. aregeetee5162@yahoo.com

    Posted on: 02-21-2013 @ 12:20 pm EST
  6. brendacougar1@yahoo.com says: would love to win these books

    Posted on: 02-21-2013 @ 12:37 pm EST
  7. Connie Saunders says: 2 terrific authors = Double treat! Would love to win!!

    Posted on: 02-21-2013 @ 2:13 pm EST
  8. apple blossom says: thanks for the program. I have Unbreakable but would love to be in the drawing for Miriam's quilt. thanks ABreading4fun [at] gmail [dot] com

    Posted on: 02-21-2013 @ 2:32 pm EST
  9. Name Brenda says: Comment Love this program can't wait for todays talk please enter my name in the give away thank you strawberriesof57@yahoo.com

    Posted on: 02-21-2013 @ 3:22 pm EST
  10. Katie Johnson says: I would love to be entered in the drawing. johnsonk133@yahoo.com

    Posted on: 02-21-2013 @ 4:03 pm EST
  11. NameElizabeth Dent says: CommentI I would love to win Mariam's Quilt . Please enter me in the give away. Thanks. lizd225(at)gmail(dot)com

    Posted on: 02-21-2013 @ 4:58 pm EST
  12. karenk says: thanks for the chance to read this wonderful novel. karenk/kmkuka at yahoo dot com

    Posted on: 02-22-2013 @ 12:39 am EST
  13. Jeanette says: Commenting I really enjoy all books I have read about the Amish. I see Amish folk on a regular basis where I live

    Posted on: 02-22-2013 @ 1:50 pm EST
  14. Melinda Tollie says: I haven't read either book but would love to win one of them. Please enter me into the drawing. blkrose49@hotmail.com

    Posted on: 02-23-2013 @ 6:01 pm EST
  15. Marilyn Holje says: Have the winners already been chosen for "Miriam's Quilt?

    Posted on: 02-27-2013 @ 7:56 pm EST
  16. jacqueline g t says: Love reading these novels - a kinder easier read. Would love to get the chance either to win the book or the lovely quilt. Thank you

    Posted on: 03-02-2013 @ 8:33 am EST


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Schedule of Guests

May:

16: Sherry Gore guest hosts | Summer in Lancaster with Joel Cliff of www.padutchcountry.com and the Sensationalization of the Amish with Brad Igou

23: Tricia Goyer - Amish Fiction

30: Erik Wesner

June: 

6: Kate Lloyd - Amish Fiction

13: Dan Walsh - how fiction impacts with real marriages

20: Plain Weddings with Sherry Gore, Maryann Kinsinger, Sharon Lavy, & Rhonda Schrock

Suzanne's Latest Releases

A New Home for Lily (Available now!)

Book 2 in The Adventures of Lily Lapp series.

Change is all Lily faces when her family moves to an Amish community in Pennsylvania. She has to make new friends, settle into her new home—which she thinks is ugly—and adjust to another new baby brother. (Still no sisters!) Even worse, a boy at school, Aaron Yoder, enjoys tormenting poor Lily. There are some bright spots about Lily’s new home—she has a wonderful teacher, and her relatives have moved close by. But there are a few lessons Lily needs to learn about starting over. 

Be sure to visit Lily's interactive website.

The Lesson (Available now!)

Book 3 in the Stoney Ridge Seasons series

In her wildest dreams, spunky and impulsive nineteen-year-old Mary Kate Lapp never imagined herself behind a schoolteacher’s desk. A run-in (literally) with the schoolteacher compels her to act as a substitute teacher, just as her restless desire to see the world compels her to apply for a passport . . . just in case. The only thing of interest to M.K. in the sleepy Amish community of Stoney Ridge is the unexplained death of a sheep farmer that coincided with the arrival of a mysterious young man into the community. Frustrated that no one takes the crime seriously, she takes matters into her own hands. Unfortunately, as tends to be the case for M.K., she jumps headlong into trouble.

Life with Lily 

Book 1 in The Adventures of Lily Lapp series.

Life with Lily is the first book in the ‘Adventures of Lily Lapp’ series. Lily is six in this story, just starting first grade in a one-room schoolhouse in upstate New York. Her parents are busy building a farm, and soon animals join the family—Jenny the cow and Chubby the miniature horse. A baby brother arrives, too, which Lily has mixed feelings about. (She wanted a sister!) Aside from a mischievous friend like Mandy Mast, Lily is happy at school and even happier at home. Trouble is brewing at the schoolhouse and change is on the horizon for Lily and her family.

Click the Adventures of Lily Lapp badge to visit Lily's interactive website. Geared toward children of all ages the Lily site is loaded with fun, games, downloadable coloring pages, Mama's recipes,a way to ask Lily questions...and more! Check it out by clicking on the pix...and be sure to watch the fabulous trailer about Lily!   

The Haven 

Book 2 in the 'Stoney Ridge Seasons' series

From Publisher’s Weekly:

“Popular Amish romance novelist Fisher (The Choice) continues her Stoney Ridge Seasons series with a stand-alone tale focusing on Amos Lapp’s middle daughter, Sadie. Fisher’s style is light and engaging. Her setting may be a simple Pennsylvania Amish community, but the struggles of faith, trust, and forgiveness are common to a wide-ranging audience. Moral elements are so deftly woven into the plot that most readers will learn the lesson before realizing there is one.”

When Sadie Lapp steps off the bus in Stoney Ridge after being in Ohio for the winter, she is faced with a decision–one that goes against her very essence. Yet it’s the only way she can think of to protect a loved one.

Schoolteacher Gideon Smucker has been crazy about Sadie since boyhood. But his response to her surprising decision undermines his own reputation–and his relationship with Sadie.

College student Will Stoltz is spending the spring at the Lapp farm as a guard for a pair of nesting Peregrine Falcons–courtesy of the Lancaster County Game Warden. Will needs to get his life back on track, but his growing friendship with Sadie threatens his plans.

The lives of these three individuals intertwine, and then unravel as unexpected twists create ripples through the town of Stoney Ridge . . . and through Sadie’s heart.

Once again, bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher intrigues and delights with a story that explores the bonds of friendship, family, and true love. Readers will enjoy every surprise in Sadie’s story as they search for the truth hidden within these pages.

Read an excerpt!

The Keeper 

Book 1 in the Stoney Ridge Seasons series

"The Stoney Ridge Season starts off with characters who are trying to make the right choices, but sometimes with unexpected results. Fisher always brings freshness to her Amish novels. The Amish culture is interesting to read and learn about, but there is also a message: God has plans and those plans may vary greatly from the plans you have." -Romantic Times, 4 Stars

Julia Lapp has planned on marrying Paul Fisher since she was a girl. Now twenty-one, she looks forward to their wedding with giddy anticipation. When Paul tells her he wants to postpone the wedding--again--she knows who is to blame. Perpetual bachelor and spreader of cold feet, Roman Troyer, the Bee Man.

Roamin' Roman travels through the Amish communities of Ohio and Pennsylvania with his hives full of bees, renting them out to farmers in need of pollinators. He relishes his nomadic life, which keeps him from thinking about all he has lost. He especially enjoys bringing his bees to Stoney Ridge each year. But with Julia on a mission to punish him for inspiring Paul's cold feet, the Lapp farm is looking decidedly less pleasant.

Can Julia secure the future she's always dreamed of? Or does God have something else in mind?

Full of the plot twists and surprises her fans love, The Keeper is the first in a new series by bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher. Through touching family relationships and trials of the heart, Fisher's vivid characters grapple with yielding to God's will when it doesn't match their own.

A Lancaster County Christmas 

Jaime and C. J. Fitzpatrick began their married life as most couples do--in love and looking forwardto abright future together. But four years later they've drifted apart and are almost ready to call it quits.

Mattie Riehl was hoping to give her husband Sol the Christmas gift they have both longed for--news that a baby was on the way. But as usual, she is disappointed. The holidays bring an acute awareness to Mattie that her dream of a big family isn't likely to become a reality.

Then a winter storm raging outside blows the Fitzpatricks into the Riehl home--and into a much slower pace of life. Can these two couples from different worlds help each other understand the true meaning of love this Christmas?

Amish Values for Your Family 

For readers who long for strong families that know how to truly enjoy life together, there is much to learn from the Amish. Values like community, forgiveness, simple living, obedience, and more can be your family legacy--without selling your car, changing your wardrobe, or moving out to farm country.

In Amish Values for Your Family, bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher shows how you can adopt the wisdom of the Amish when it comes to family matters. In this inspiring and practical book readers will find charming true stories interlaced with solid, biblical advice about parenting, marriage, and all aspects of family life. As readers get an intimate glimpse into the everyday lives of real Amish families, they will learn to prioritize what's truly important, simplify decision-making, slow down as a family, safeguard time together, and let go when the time comes.

The Search--Book 3 in The Lancaster County Secrets Collection 

Fifteen years ago, Lainey O'Toole made a split-second decision. She couldn't have known that her choice would impact so many. Now in her mid-twenties, she is poised to go to culinary school when her car breaks down in Stoney Ridge, the very Amish town in which her long-reaching decision was made, forcing her to face the shadowed past.

Bess Reihl is less than thrilled to be spending the summer at Rose Hill Farm with her large and intimidating grandmother, Bertha. It quickly becomes clear that she is there to work the farm--and work hard. The labor is made slightly more tolerable by the time it affords Bess to spend with the handsome hired hand, Billy Lapp. But he only has eyes for a flirty and curvaceous older girl.

Lainey's and Bess's worlds are about to collide and the secrets that come to light will shock them both.

The Waiting--Book 2 in The Lancaster County Secrets Collection The Waiting

Jorie King’s life is on hold. She’s waiting for Ben Zook to return from serving in the war as a conscientious objector. Waiting for Ben to settle down and join the church. Waiting to marry him. When news arrives that Ben has been killed, Jorie finds unlikely comfort in the friendship of his brother Caleb. As friendship ripens into love, Jorie and Caleb plan for a life together filled with the promise of a fresh beginning, until the past intrudes.

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.

Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World

You don't have to "go Amish" to make personal peace a reality. Organized around five central themes in Amish life, Amish Peace shows you how you can cultivate a simple life of love, gratitude, and faith in the midst of a very complicated world. It includes real-life stories and examples of Plain People, Amish proverbs, and fascinating facts about Amish communities. Each section also contains questions for reflection and action, outlining things you can do in your own life that "make for peace."