Amish Fiction

Romance is in the air, old-fashioned courtship is alive and well, and love is an eternal promise in these three novellas from Beth Wiseman, Kelly Long, and Kathleen Fuller.

Less than a year after her mother's death, Laura Riehl finds herself burying another loved one: her best friend, Savilla, who has died after a brief and sudden illness. Laura feels heartbroken and alone, but her pain is nothing compared to that of Allen, the husband Savilla has left behind. As Laura and Allen face hardships together, their friendship takes a surprising yet comforting turn, and she discovers an attraction she's never felt with her boyfriend, Rudy. Would falling for Allen betray the people she cares about most, or would denying those feelings betray her heart?

Ruth Helmuth has never been rude in her life; trust her to choose the bishop of her Amish community for her first time! Ruth has worked hard to keep body and soul together since her husband, Levi’s, death. She tends her herd of goats, making her living from the milk and fiber she gets from them, all while running a farm and household by herself—and very competently, thank you! How could she imagine the bishop suggesting she should give it all up to another family, who will “make better use of the space”?

These three love-filled holiday novellas will warm the heart of winter's darkness, filling it with the glow of Christmas and the peaceful light of plain gifts.

Rachel Yoder never imagined that her life would take the turn that it did. Being a plus-sized woman in the Amish community made her stand out from the rest of her family as well as the other Amish women in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. As she began experiencing some mild flirting from non-Amish men who patronized her family market, where she worked, Rachel came to other realizations.

Mattie Zook always stands up for what's right—which is why she's been exiled from her Pennsylvania Dutch home to her Aunt Esther's farm. Outraged at local discrimination against the Amish, she's using her rumschpringe to run for town council. Esther can only hope that sensible local farmer Freeman Sensenig will help Mattie—and keep her from going too far. But Mattie is soon finding her new campaign manager all too appealing . . .

Sadie Schrock swore she would never marry. All of her other Amish friends could court and marry—she was content to manage the family business and eventually take it over when her parents are ready to retire. But all of that changes when a reckless driver kills both of her parents and seriously injures her younger sister. With mounting hospital bills adding to the pile of debt her parents left behind, Sadie is left with no choice: She must marry. And not just any man—the man who saw her at her weakest and walked away.

Siblings Martin, Kelsey, Beth, and Jonny are as different as can be, but they have one thing in common. They're all longing to reinvent their lives. Raised by their divorced lapsed-Amish father and English mother, they only knew real stability and a sense of family when visiting their Old Order grandparents, Josiah and Sylvia Schrock, in peaceful small-town Millersburg, Ohio. Now, the four want to try living with them and joining their faith—much to the Schrocks' surprise.

With his orphaned nephew depending on him, Amish carpenter Eli Troyer moves to Harmony Creek Hollow to start over. And when schoolteacher Miriam Hartz offers to teach Eli, who is hard of hearing, how to read lips, he can’t refuse. Spending time with Miriam forges a bond between them. Can two wounded hearts overcome their pasts to make a family together?

Elsie Stutzman's plain-spoken ways got her in trouble once before, so she needs to make a good impression at her new teaching job. But she's not about to let disabled student Wally Sensenig work below his potential. And she definitely won't put up with his hot-headed older brother sabotaging her efforts, no matter how handsome he is....

Hattie Schrock's lively optimism makes her the Widows Club's most outgoing member. The circle has helped her through widowhood—and in building a thriving popcorn shop with her cousin. So when Elsie bets Hattie that she can't help Paradise Valley's most cantankerous man learn to be happier, Hattie tackles the challenge head-on. But what can she do when she finds Christian Beachy is far more complicated—and appealing—than she thought?

In "No Place Like Home", widow Eva Dienner returns home to meet the man her parents always intended for her. After Hurricane Harvey, Sarah Hook returns to the home she fled and back into the arms of Abram King in "When Love Returns". In "The Courage to Stay", Irene Keim seeks a fresh start in the home of her new friends, but when their son comes around, he's determined to push her out. Atlee Shetler is visiting Birch Breek to escape the memories of his late wife and finds the project of renovating a bakery and its owner much more than he's bargained for in "What Love Built".

Caught between a stifling Amish community and an unnerving outside world, a devout young woman on the run is about to become the newest arrival to West Kootenai, Montana. On the day of her sister's death, Rebecca Troyer took her first step away from the Amish. Rebecca had always strayed a little outside the fold - a job at an Englisch bakery, long weekends with non-Amish friends - but nothing could have prepared her family for what she is about to do: Rebecca is abandoning the community to attend nursing school.

Wilma is not a stranger to secrets, but could one big secret be her undoing? With Levi at death's door and Wilma facing being a widow for a second time, what will become of the Baker Apple Orchard? Will Florence seize an opportunity against her husband's wishes?

The sun rises on a quiet June morning in 2009. August Epp sits alone in the hayloft of a barn, anxiously bent over his notebook. Eight women - ordinary grandmothers, mothers, and teenagers; yet to August, each one extraordinary - will climb the ladder into the loft, and the day's true task will begin. This task will be both simple and subversive: August, like the women, is a traditional Mennonite, and he has been asked to record a secret conversation. They have 48 hours to make a life-altering choice on behalf of all the women and children in the colony.

Yvonne Wilson makes the trek from Texas to Indiana with just one goal in mind: to convince Amishman Jake Lantz to sell her client a rare book from his collection. But Jake is as strong-willed as Yvonne. On the eve of his grandfather’s death, Jake vowed never to sell the book, and he intends to keep that promise. But he can’t say more than that, having never read it and not knowing why it was so dear to his grossdaadi.

As Amish widow Emma Yoder contemplates the task ahead, her thoughts center on one: What if she fails? Longing to remove a burden from her family by becoming self-sufficient, Emma has offered to hold quilting classes in her home. But when she sees the patchwork of faces assembled for the first lesson, her confidence dwindles as doubt threatens to take hold.

The Baker/Bruner family looks forward to a new beginning with newborn babies and blossoming relationships. Florence has added another baby to her family and couldn't be happier. Wilma, Ada, and their friends are diligently preparing for Debbie's special day when an unwelcome visitor arrives. Meanwhile, Matthew tries to figure out what he has done wrong in his interactions with women. He makes a bold move to win back a lost love. Will it pay off?

A husband and son abandoned to forge a path alone. A young woman who sacrificed her dreams. How will the God of grace and hope help them find their way? At 19 years old, Old Order Amish Jolene Keim was on the brink of happily-ever-after when everything changed, stealing the future she expected and burdening her with an unbearable decision. For the next 10 years, Jolene throws herself into family life - and then she meets Andy Fisher.

Four Amish novellas: Noel Fisher can make entire villages out of gingerbread; why won't she make a few dozen gingerbread cookies for Hunter Darcy? When a widowed, Englisher, Hunter Darcy, asks Noel, an Amish woman, to make a couple of dozen gingerbread cookies for his daughter's class at school, he gets more than he bargained for. Two brothers find romance during Amish wedding season. Meet the Darcy brothers; two modern-day heroes who just happen to be the most sought-after bachelors in town. One visit to the local bakery opens the door for some sweet romance.