Amish Fiction

Lydia still can’t believe that she is Mrs. Samuel Bontrager. Or that she is 17 with a six-month-old daughter. As Baby Mattie grows fussier by the day, Lydia wonders how she will survive a lifetime of marriage to a man she doesn’t love - at least not in the way she wants. Samuel knows that he and Lydia did the right thing by marrying when Lydia became pregnant. He has even grown to love Lydia, though he never seems able to say the words out loud. What if she doesn’t love him back? After all, she pushes him away whenever he tries to draw closer.

Tabitha Schrock's return to Lancaster County shakes the foundations of her family and community. After her departure during rumspringa and then a recent divorce, Tabitha faces the challenge of reintegrating into Amish society while pursuing her dream of working as a veterinarian. Meanwhile, her sister Amanda, whose own prospects were dimmed by Tabitha's leaving, decides to seize her chance at love by pursuing a man with a shadowed past.

Thanksgiving is Bailey King's busiest holiday weekend. This year promises to be even more hectic, since Bailey's candy shop is providing desserts for Harvest, Ohio's first village-wide Thanksgiving celebration. Yet the event's organizer, Margot Rawlings, is unfazed . . . until she discovers her mother, former judge Zara Bevan, will be in attendance. Zara's reputation as a harsh critic is matched only by her infamy as a judge. No one is prepared when she arrives with much younger boyfriend Blaze Smith. Then Blaze suffers an allergic reaction to something he's eaten and dies on the spot.

Cindy Riehl has watched her brothers and sister find love and happiness in Lancaster County. But as her family has settled down and grown, Cindy has continued to grieve her mother. Since that haunting day, Cindy has struggled to find peace and wonders if the community is the place for her - and if her faith in God will ever be like it once was. When one of the Riehl cows escapes to visit another cow down the lane, Cindy chases after it and meets a handsome Englisher named Drew. As they become friends and eventually much more, she is drawn further away from the Amish community.

Leanna Chupp has always made her own way in her small community of Birch Creek. Though some may call her unconventional - strange, even - Leanna is passionate about her faith. Her unique outlook on life has meant she's never had many suitors pursuing courtship, but she is happy being single and believes she always will be. But when Roman and Leanna find themselves working together again, everything changes. Neither of them fit squarely within the strictures of the Amish faith, but could their differences be the one thing that helps them?

Treva Zimmerman finds herself at a crossroads in life after a heartbreaking failed relationship. Returning to Lancaster County to visit her Amish grandparents and elderly aunt, Treva plans to leave her Plain heritage behind for a fresh start in Alaska. Torn between the expectations of her community and her own desires, she seeks to follow her own path—but all that changes when her aunt Rosene suffers a heart attack. As Rosene recounts her own past, Treva is determined to discover the whereabouts of Rosene’s former sweetheart.

With little left to tie her to her home state of Texas and yearning for a slower life, Yvonne Wilson jumps at the chance to shake things up with a move to Montgomery, Indiana. A dream job awaits her—managing an Amish bookstore for her good friends Jake and Eva. Besides the slow-paced setting and the comfort of beloved books, Yvonne hopes the change will help distract her from the emptiness she feels after the death of her fiancé.

Welcome to a place of unconditional love and unexpected blessings. When widow Rose Schrock turns her Amish farmhouse into a bed and breakfast, she expects there might be problems. The reaction of her cantankerous mother-in-law for one. Disapproval from the church for another. But what she doesn’t expect is that the guests at the Inn at Eagle Hill will spill their problems into her life and into her heart. She also never expects the kind of help and support she gets from Galen King, the quiet and rugged horse trainer next door. Love, Rose discovers, can bloom in the most unexpected ways.

As the orchard overflows with ripe fruit, Ada's creative spark ignites an extraordinary idea: an apple pie contest to unite the community and support a worthy cause. Amidst the rolling dough flurry and warm spices aroma, a surprise visitor arrives, setting female hearts aflutter. As secrets unravel and new connections form, this captivating family saga explores love, faith, and the enduring bonds that hold a family together.

Living in the small town of Heavenly, Pennsylvania, Claire Weatherly has come to admire the Amish for their wholesome, honest way of life. But she also knows that nothing is as simple as it seems - especially when murder disturbs the peace.

It was the early 1900s when Obadiah (Oba) and Merriweather's (May's) parents died tragically, leaving them orphans at ten and eleven years old. When none of their nearby relations volunteer to take them in, they are set on a train to Arkansas to go live on their Amish aunt and uncle's cotton farm. Once there, it didn't take long to discover they would be treated cruelly, no matter what they did. May, always anxious to be a godly young lady, took on more and more responsibility, trying desperately to keep the peace and convince her older brother not to run away.

From the streets of Danang, Vietnam, where a boy falls in with a young American missionary, to fishermen lost off the islands of Honduras, to the Canadian prairies, where a teenage boys infatuation reveals his naiveté and an aging rancher finds himself smitten, the short stories in Here the Dark explore the spaces between doubt and belief, evil and good, obscurity and light.

Three charming stories of new school years and new romance.

Sisters Esther and Lizzie have a new employee, Rose Petersheim, to help them tend to The Peony Inn. But their old matchmaking ways have stayed the same. The sisters focus their efforts on the lovely twenty-five-year-old Rose. Though Rose is witty and outspoken, her nervous chattering makes her the best match for someone calm and good at listening. Someone like Benjamin—the handsome handyman who recently moved to town. But when Esther receives an anonymous love letter and flowers, Rose’s love life is no longer the only one capturing the sisters’ attention.

Evelyn Schrock has dismissed the attempts of every young man in her small Amish community to court her. She’s willing to wait for a suitor who shares her curiosities about life and faith. The only reason Jayce Clarkson is in Amish country hefting equipment for his famous father’s movie production company is for the paycheck. The homestyle cooking at the Peony Inn is a perk though, as is his friendship with Evelyn Schrock.

Ruby Weaver's curly red hair isn't the only thing that sets her apart from her Amish community in 1863. Twenty-eight and single, Ruby doesn't believe a woman needs to be married in order to be happy. Her ailing friend Lovinia Fischer, however, has other ideas and wants Ruby to promise to marry her husband after she dies. Never imagining she'd have to fulfill that vow, Ruby agrees. And she's not the only one. Lovinia has extracted a similar promise from her husband, Gideon.

After the tragic death of her parents, Jonica Muller must return to the Amish community she left in shame. Tasked with settling her father's estate, she plans to keep her visit as brief as possible so she can return to start a life with Ephraim, a widower who has offered her and her five-year-old son the stability of a family.

Sheltered yet adventurous, Betsy Detweiler is on a mission to get out of Kentucky and experience new things in life. She's got a list—a life list. What better place to start than with her friends in beautiful Pinecraft, Florida? From the moment Betsy walks into the Snow Bird Golf Course to sign up for lessons, August Troyer is mesmerized. Betsy is a mass of contradictions—beautiful yet awkward, outgoing yet unsure, joyful yet hesitant. She's like no one he's ever met before, and as the only child of missionary parents, he's met a lot of people.

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?

Providence brings together a mismatched family, giving all three a second chance for love. Only love may never have had such a tough job. Lydia Miller is an anomaly among her Amish people - a single woman in her 30s, running her own store, determined to forge a life on her own. But when Joel Yoder comes into town to sell his property, Lydia suddenly finds all of her hopes and dreams crumbling around her and a new opportunity placed in her lap.