Stories of Love: Cookies and Cheer

Today, we're featuring a Christmas story collection that includes my author friend Amy Clipston's novella "Cookies and Cheer". 

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Book Blurb:

From bestselling authors in the Amish genre come four delicious novellas perfect for celebrating love, joy, and the holiday season. 

Cookies and Cheer by Amy Clipston

As Christmas draws near, Alyssa Byler dreams of a window display for the bakery where she works. When she decides to design and build a sugar cookie nativity scene, all she needs is the right cookie cutters—and handsome blacksmith Kyle Smoker is the one she asks for help. Using Kyle’s handmade cutters, Alyssa creates a striking display that brings more tourists to the bakery than she can handle. And when shoppers request handmade cookie cutters of their own, Kyle finds himself overwhelmed by the demand. As Christmas approaches, Alyssa realizes she’s been too caught up in work to focus on the true meaning of Christmas—and too distracted to explore the feelings she has for Kyle. Together, they put aside the holiday rush and spend their time celebrating the season that has brought them together.

Loaves of Love by Beth Wiseman

As the only girl in a family of eight, Katie Swartzentruber has been left in charge of her family’s bakery while her mother recuperates from surgery. At first, Katie doesn’t think tending to the bakery alone will be difficult. She’s worked alongside her mother for years. But Christmas is coming, and with the holiday comes a flood of patrons, both regulars and tourists. When Katie becomes overwhelmed with the orders she is receiving, she is tempted to move her Old Order family into the modern world by purchasing propane ovens to help with the workload. She finds help from an unexpected source—childhood friend Henry Hershberger, who has harbored a secret crush on Katie for years. He’s been afraid to tell her how he feels, but he’s sure that this Christmas is his moment. As the demands of the bakery only get more intense, both Katie and Henry have to decide what really matters . . . and find the courage within themselves to go after it.

Melting Hearts by Kathleen Fuller

Mattie Shetler is an expert baker, so when her aunt Carolyn begs for help during the busy Christmas rush, Mattie eagerly packs her bags and heads to Birch Creek. What she doesn’t know is that her uncle has also asked for help with the bakery’s new expansion, and he’s asked none other than Peter Kaufman, Mattie’s sworn enemy. As the two work side by side, though, Mattie discovers not all is as it seems. With Christmas just around the corner, Mattie and Peter open their hearts for the greatest gifts of the season: forgiveness and maybe even love.

Cakes and Kisses by Kelly Irvin

Martha Ropp works hard at her family’s bakery, making cakes and pies in preparation not only for Christmas but the many community weddings, including her sister’s. To help during this busy season, Martha’s mother hires Ambrose Hershberger to make deliveries. Martha remembers Ambrose as a gentle giant from her school days, but soon discovers that still waters run deep. The more they work together, the more they want to spend time together outside of the bakery, but both Martha and Ambrose are too timid to make the first move. That’s when the town matchmakers step in.

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Author Bio:

Amy Clipston has been writing for as long as she can remember. Her fiction writing “career” began in elementary school when she and a close friend wrote and shared silly stories.

She has a degree in communications from Virginia Wesleyan University and is a member of the Authors Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, and Romance Writers of America.

She has sold more than one million books and is best known for her Amish fiction. She is the author of the bestselling Amish Marketplace series, Amish Homestead series, Amish Heirloom series, Kauffman Amish Bakery series, and Hearts of the Lancaster Grand Hotel series with HarperCollins Christian Publishing.

Amy works full-time for the City of Charlotte, NC, and lives in North Carolina with her husband, two sons, mother, and six spoiled rotten cats.

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Connect with Amy:
Facebook “Author” Page: https://www.facebook.com/AmyClipstonBooks/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amy_clipston/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmyClipston
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2765728.Amy_Clipston
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-farm-stand-by-amy-clipston
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-clipston

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Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this holiday book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below:

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Romantic Reads: The Cowboy’s Amish Haven by Pamela Desmond Wright

The Story Behind the story The Cowboy’s Amish Haven 

by Pamela Desmond Wright

Cowboys and Amish.

It seemed like an impossible combination. However when my (then) agent suggested the combo, I decided to accept the challenge and write a book incorporating all those themes.

At the time, I was coming off a stinging set of rejections for a book proposal my agent believed had a lot of promise. Alas, except for one revise and resubmit from an editor at Harlequin, there were no takers for the book. Unsure how to fix the problems the editor wanted to address, I put the file aside and began working on the first book in my Texas Amish Brides series.

Wait a minute! Texas Amish? No way, you might say!

Why not? There are a few tiny Amish settlements in the Lone Star State, so why not expand it and create the fictional town of Burr Oak? No one said I couldn’t, so I did. Writing up the proposal, I sent it to my agent.

She wasn’t into it. And she dropped me like a stone shortly thereafter.

Agentless, I began the search for a new representative. I soon connected with Tamela H. Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. Instead of seeing the negative, she saw the positive in the project. Soon thereafter, the book was submitted to Harlequin for their Love Inspired imprint.

Determined to prove the project had merit, I kept working on the proposal to turn it into a full manuscript. I was halfway through the book when I had a freak accident and had to go into the hospital for surgery during the height of the Covid pandemic. Barely out of the hospital, I received the news my brother had passed away. Between the accident that almost cost me my life and my sibling’s untimely death, I was thrown into a deep depression. I simply could not function.

After a few months, it began to dawn on me that doing nothing accomplished nothing. I knew to get better, I needed a focus. Writing has always been the way to do that. So, I went back to the book and finished the manuscript. A few months later, the file landed on the desk of Melissa Endlich at Harlequin. Despite the book’s many flaws (and there were many) she found the wheat in the chaff and bought the manuscript. Several rewrites later, the book that had no hope of ever being published was finished. The Cowboy’s Amish Haven releases today (August 24, 2021)!

Oh, and that first project I could not figure out what to do with? I did revise and resubmit. That book sold to Harlequin Love inspired, too!

If you’d like to know more about me and my books, please visit me online at: www.pameladesmondwright.com

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Author Bio:

Pamela Desmond Wright grew up in a small, dusty Texas town. From the time she learned to read, books have been her passion. Beginning with Dick and Jane, progressing through Nancy Drew and then onto romances of all genres, Pamela devoured stories by popular authors. At one time, Pamela was the proud owner of five library cards! 

Pamela won the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award in 2010. She was also a founder of the scam publishers and agents website, The Write Connection, which was transferred to the SFWA through (then) vice-president A.C. Crispin to become Writer Beware. Her experiences with scam agents and publishers was documented in Professor Jim Fisher’s book, Ten Percent of Nothing: The Case of the Literary Agent From Hell.

In 2013, Pam took a break from writing to reassess her career choices. Unable to shake the story bug, she came back to in 2019 with a new focus and vision, fulfilling a promise to write inspirational and wholesome books her entire family could enjoy.

After signing with Tamela H. Murray of The Steve Laube Agency, Pamela sold her first Amish Romance to Harlequin for the Love Inspired imprint. The Cowboy’s Amish Haven will debut in September 2021. Though her characters are often handed difficult challenges in life, they always persevere over the darker times through the power of faith and love.

Like the Amish, Pamela is a fan of the simple life. Her childhood includes memories of the olden days; old-fashioned oil lamps, cooking over an authentic wood-burning stove and making popcorn over a crackling fire at the cabin owned by her grandparents. She also loves needlepoint and has dozens of projects to work on! Someday, she hopes to move into van life, living on the road as a traveling writer.

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Blurb for Pamela’s book, The Cowboy’s Amish Haven: 

Her home and her heart are on the line…

On the same day Gail Schroder’s faced with losing her Amish family ranch, her old crush Levi Wyse shows up on her doorstep. He doesn’t know that when he left ten years ago he’d taken Gail’s heart with him. Now Levi’s her only hope of keeping a roof over her head.

But can this cowboy teach Gail the ropes in time to save her home?

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Buy Pamela’s book on Harlequin, Amazon or Barnes and Noble 

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Connect with Pamela:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamDWrites/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pamdwrites
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pamdwrites/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21154533.Pamela_Desmond_Wright
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/pamela-desmond-wright

My Blog's 10th Year Birthday Bash: Beth Wiseman's book giveaway

Welcome to the second day of my blog's birthday bash!

Please welcome my author friend Beth Wiseman.

She's here to give away three of her books!

    

Enter the book giveaway contest via the Rafflecopter widget the end of this blog post. Only residents of the USA are eligible to receive a signed paperback copy of this author's books. International residents will only receive ebook copies due to costs of mailing books outside of the USA.

Let's learn a bit more about Beth and her books ...

Author Bio:

Bestselling and award-winning author Beth Wiseman has sold over two million books. 

She is the recipient of the coveted Holt Medallion, is a two-time Carol Award winner, and has won the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award three times. Her books have been on various bestseller lists, including CBD, CBA, ECPA, and Publishers Weekly. 

Beth and her husband are empty nesters enjoying country life in south-central Texas.

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Back Cover Copy for A Beautiful Arrangement:

Can Samuel and Lydia find love in their marriage of convenience? 

Lydia still can’t believe that she is Mrs. Samuel Bontrager. Or that she is seventeen 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. 

When Lydia and Samuel introduce their mutual friends Beverly and Joseph to each other, they are as envious as they are delighted to watch their friends fall in love. But just as Samuel thinks Lydia might be softening to him, she gets involved in investigating the mysterious past of a local homeless woman—a curiosity that threatens to drive the couple further apart. 

The third and final novel in the Amish Journeys series by bestselling author Beth Wiseman explores how wounds from the past must come to light before they can hope to heal. 

“A Beautiful Arrangement has so much heart, you won't want to put it down until you've read the last page. I love second-chance love stories, and Lydia and Samuel's story is heartbreaking and sweet with unexpected twists and turns that make their journey to love all the more satisfying. Beth's fans will cherish this book.” —Jennifer Beckstrand, author of The Petersheim Brothers series 

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Back Cover Copy for Hearts in Harmony:

Their love of forbidden music brings them together, but it could be what tears them apart.

Musical prodigy Levi Shetler hasn’t touched a piano since he secretly played one many years ago. His strict Amish community forbids instruments or the singing of any music not in their approved songbook. Levi asks God often why music tempts him when playing an instrument isn’t allowed in his world.

One person knows Levi’s talents: Mary Hershberger, the girl who promised years ago to keep his secret. Mary comes from a more liberal district than Levi, but she’s facing family troubles of her own. The mutual care for an aging Englischer, Adeline, reunites Mary and Levi as young adults. They realize that, despite their differences, they have a shared love of music—and a shared confusion about whether their talents are God-given gifts or temptations luring them into the Englisch world.

The couple realizes they must compromise or part ways, but a tragic accident shakes their decision. Both Mary and Levi will need to reconcile what they love with what their hearts say is right.

“Beth Wiseman has penned a poignant story of friendship, faith, and love that is sure to touch readers’ hearts.” —Kathleen Fuller, author of The Middlefield Family novels

“Beth Wiseman’s Hearts in Harmony is a lyrical hymn. Mary and Levi are heartwarming, lovable characters who instantly feel like dear friends. Once readers open this book, they won’t put it down until they’ve reached the last page.” —Amy Clipston, bestselling author of A Seat by the Hearth

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Back Cover Copy for Listening to Love:

Falling in love can only mean trouble for an Englisch girl and an Amish boy… unless there’s another way for them to listen to their hearts.

Englischer Natalie Collins looks forward to Friday night suppers at Levi and Mary Shetler’s house every week: delicious food, wonderful conversation with her Amish friends, and, best of all, the presence of Levi’s older brother Lucas. Natalie and Lucas have become best friends despite their different backgrounds. They share a love of books, and he is teaching her about God in a way that she can understand.

But the closer they become, the more opinions everyone seems to have. Levi and Mary, Lucas’s family, and even Natalie’s mother—whose own life is a mess at the moment—have concerns about their relationship. Why can’t everyone understand that it’s possible to just be friends? Besides, they couldn’t be together even if they wanted to be. Lucas would never leave the Amish faith, and Natalie is Englisch and pursuing a degree in veterinary medicine.

But when a terrifying accident happens, Natalie and Lucas are forced to confront their true feelings and decide if they can stay true to themselves and each other.

This sweet Amish story is the second in the Amish Journeys series by bestselling author Beth Wiseman.

“I always find Beth Wiseman's books to be both tenderly romantic and thought provoking. She has a way of setting a scene that makes me feel like I'm part of an Amish community and visiting for supper. I loved the title of this book, the message about faith and God, and the heartfelt romance between Lucas and Natalie. Listening to Love has everything I love in a Beth Wiseman novel—a strong faith message, a touching romance, and a beautiful sense of place. Beth is such an incredibly gifted storyteller.” —Shelley Shepard Gray

"Listening to Love is vintage Beth Wiseman...clear your calendar because you're going to want to read this one in a single sitting.” —Vannetta Chapman, author of Shipshewana Amish Mystery Series

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Connect with Beth:

You can find Beth at Fans of Beth Wiseman on Facebook where she interacts with readers and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bethwiseman.

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Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below: 

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Let Love Bloom: A Courtship on Huckleberry Hill

Interview with Jennifer Beckstrand, 

author of A Courtship on Huckleberry Hill:

Alexis: Why did you title your book “A Courtship on Huckleberry Hill”?

Jennifer: All the Huckleberry Hill books have “Huckleberry” in the title. Even though Sam and Elsie are often at odds with each other, it’s definitely a courtship as they learn to trust each other and work together.

Alexis: Who is Sam Sensenig? Describe his looks, personality, and heart. What motivated Sam to take on the parenting role for his younger siblings?

Jennifer: Sam is tall with curly, light brown hair and blue eyes. Even though he’s in his early twenties, he’s got a lot of responsibility at home. His father is dead, his brother is disabled, and his mother is frequently bedridden. Sam feels a profound obligation to care for the farm and his family because he’s the oldest son and everyone relies on him. He’s quick to jump to conclusions and get angry, especially in defense of his brother Wally, who lost his foot and lower leg in an accident several years earlier. There is no one more loyal than Sam, though sometimes his loyalty is misplaced. If he can see past his own mistaken assumptions about the teacher, they might both be able to help Wally—and fall in love.

Alexis: Who is the schoolteacher in this story and why is she bullying Sam’s disabled brother? Who is Elsie Stutzman? Describe her looks, personality, and heart. How has Elsie’s stubborn streak gotten her into trouble in the past and how is it affecting her present?

Jennifer: Elsie Stutzman comes to Wisconsin to teach at the one-room schoolhouse where Sam’s siblings attend school. Elsie is petite, dark-haired, and feisty, and her strong opinions got her in trouble at her last school. Elsie is not one to back down from a fight, especially when one of her students is concerned. Elsie thinks people have coddled Wally for too long, and she’s determined to treat him like any other child. Wally isn’t happy when Elsie expects more of him, and he makes Sam believe that the teacher is bullying him. Sparks fly when Sam confronts the teacher!

Alexis: Sam and Elsie have a clear mutual attraction but are clearly at odds. Is there hope for a budding romance between these two stubborn hearts? Why or why not?

Jennifer: There is definitely hope, as soon as Elsie can convince Sam that she wants what’s best for Wally. When Sam realizes that Elsie is on his side, it doesn’t take long for him to fall head over heels.

Alexis: Who is Mammi and what role does she play in this story?

Jennifer: Mammi is the Pennsylvania Dutch word for grandma. Elsie’s eighty-four-year-old mammi, Anna Helmuth, loves to find matches for her grandchildren, but she certainly has a hard time getting Elsie and Sam together in this book.

Alexis: What do you love most about writing Amish fiction? 

Jennifer: I love the strong faith and enduring family ties of the Amish. They have chosen to live simple lives in order to bring them closer to God. We could all use a little simplification.

Alexis: What makes this story special to your heart?

Jennifer: A Courtship on Huckleberry Hill is a story of hope and faith and not giving up on someone, even if they’re hard to love. I have a friend who was born with half a leg, and her persistence and determination have always been an inspiration to me. It was truly gratifying to write about Wally coming to realize his worth and potential as a human being.

Alexis: What role does your characters’ faith in God play in this story?

Jennifer: Faith in God permeates Amish daily life. Everything that happens is seen as God’s will. Sam has to learn to put his faith in God instead of piling so much on his own shoulders.

Alexis: What was the most challenging part and the most rewarding, of writing this book?

Jennifer: The most challenging was getting Wally’s disability right without stereotyping him. The most rewarding was seeing the final product. Hopefully, this book gives hope to others and encourages them to never give up.

Alexis: What do you want readers to remember most about this story? Why?

Jennifer: I want them to realize the power we each have to affect other people’s lives for the better. And, I want them to thank a teacher. Teachers touch so many lives, but they’re the most underappreciated group in the world.

Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Jennifer!

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Author Bio:

Jennifer Beckstrand is the RITA-nominated, award-winning Amish romance author of The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series and The Honeybee Sisters series for Kensington Books. 

Jennifer has always been drawn to the strong faith and enduring family ties of the Plain people and loves writing about the antics of Anna and Felty Helmuth and the Honeybee sisters’ aendi Bitsy. 

Jennifer has published nineteen books. She has a degree in mathematics and a passion for Jane Austen and Shakespeare. 

Jennifer and her husband have been married for thirty-four years. They have six children and six adorable grandchildren, whom she spoils rotten.

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Book Blurb: 

There's nothing Huckleberry Hill, Wisconsin’s irrepressible eighty-somethings Anna and Felty Helmuth like better than a challenge. And the chance to matchmake their feisty granddaughter is their most delightful task yet…

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. . .

Sam is nearly at the end of his rope caring for his ailing, widowed mother, working their farm, and raising his siblings. He'll admit Elsie’s ideas are bringing Wally out of his angry shell—but why does she have to be as stubborn as she is pretty? Yet as it turns out, Elsie has taught Sam something about himself as well. And he’ll do whatever it takes to make up for his mistakes—and win her heart forever.

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Connect with Jennifer:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenniferbeckstrandfans
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jenniferbeckst1/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jennifergbeckst/
Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/2I7wcQf
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.beckstrand/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-beckstrand

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Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below: 

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Book Boyfriends: Laura's hero

Interview with Caleb, hero of Laura Hilton's book Love by the Numbers:

Laura: Caleb, glad to have you stop by. You are working as an accountant for Judy’s Gift Shop. Can you tell me about it? Is this your normal job?

Caleb: No, it’s not. Judith is my mother’s best friend. She’s Mennonite and going on a mission trip and needed someone to balance the books since the woman she hired to manage the shop in her absence doesn’t do math. It gives her a headache. Can you imagine? But all I have to do is balance the books and make deposits and pay the bills while Judith is gone. Nothing too strenuous.

Laura: What is your real job? 

Caleb: I’m Amish. I work on a farm and help my dad with the chores. That is my real job. But we have a cuckoo clock business on the side, dad calls it a hobby, but it brings in more money than the farm. But we enjoy designing them and decorating them. Judith sells them in her gift shop. 

Laura: How would people describe you? 

Caleb: Shrug. Boring, stick in the mud, vanilla ice cream eating, math whiz… should we make it nerd? 

Laura: Can you tell us about your family? 

Caleb: My dad is a preacher, and I have five sisters. No brothers. One sister is married. The others are younger than me. We live in a big farmhouse with a wrap-around porch, a swing, and surrounded by Mom’s flower gardens. We also have a big garden. 

Laura: Are you involved in a relationship with a girl? 

Caleb: No, but I am thinking about what kind of woman I’d like to date. Someone sensible, practical, and a hard worker, who is safe. I need someone safe because there’s this other girl… (shakes head) Her name’s Lydia…

Laura: Tell us about Lydia. 

Caleb: I met her at a wedding of a mutual friend. She’s beautiful, twinkling and seems to have glitter floating around her. Totally unsuitable. Not at all practical. She’s...exciting. Tempting. And well…She’s allergic to math. Which is why I’m doing the accounting. She’s Judy’s niece, which is why she’s the manager while Judy is gone. I need to stay far away from her. But…I can’t. Because Mom and Judy have devised this plan to make me be near her…With the bookkeeping and introducing her to people in the community. You know. 

Laura: What is your biggest fear? 

Caleb: Laughs. Well, Lydia. Sparkle. Glitter. Happy girls. They are trouble. Make that T.R.O.U.B.L.E. But wow, what I wouldn’t give to go out with her just once.

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Author Bio: 

Laura V. Hilton is an award-winning, sought-after author with over twenty Amish, contemporary, and historical romances. 

When she’s not writing, she reviews books for her blogs and writes devotionals for blog posts for Seriously Write. 

Laura and her pastor-husband have five children and a hyper dog named Skye. They currently live in Arkansas. One son is in the U.S. Coast Guard. She is a pastor’s wife, and homeschools her two youngest children.

Laura enjoys reading and visiting lighthouses and waterfalls. Her favorite season is winter, her favorite holiday is Christmas.

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Book Blurb for Love by the Numbers: After her fiancé dies in a buggy accident, Lydia Hershberger is invited to Jamesport to manage her Mennonite aunt’s gift store while her aunt and uncle are on a mission trip. While there, Lydia gets acquainted with her aentie’s best friend, Bethel Bontrager, and her grown son, Caleb. 

Lydia is surprised to find herself drawn to handsome clockmaker, Caleb Bontrager. But in spite of an instant flame of attraction between them, he doesn’t seem interested. In fact, pesky Caleb treats her like he doesn’t even like her.

Bright and sparkly. That’s Caleb’s first impression of Lydia. He’s always been attracted to sparkly things. In fact, his affinity for those things, and the trouble they can cause, are exactly why he’s determined to change his ways and settle down. With Lydia’s aentie gone, he is handling the books for the gift shop and is forced to spend too much time in her presence.

When God offers Lydia a second chance at love and family, will she take it? Or will the secret Caleb harbors cause her even more heartbreak? 

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Buy Laura's book on Amazon

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Connect with Laura:
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Laura-V.-Hilton/e/B004IRSM5Q
Blogs - http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com/ 
http://lauravhilton.blogspot.com/
Facebook - http://bit.ly/2DSNviI
Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/vernetlh/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Laura_V_Hilton

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Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below: 

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Cozy Christmas Reads: Laura's story

Interview with Laura Hilton, author of The Christmas Admirer:

Alexis: What inspired you to write The Christmas Admirer? 

Laura: My publisher was interested in another Christmas story, this one set in Jamesport. I had two characters left unclaimed at the singing after a wedding in The Amish Wanderer. One of them had her story told in Love by the Numbers, coming in February. I wondered at the other girl’s story and started writing it.

Alexis: Did you go on a research trip for writing this story? If not then describe what you did to make it believable. 

Laura: I did go on research trips. I went to Jamesport initially when I researched for The Snow Globe and took pictures. And I went to a glassblowers shop in Springfield, Missouri to research that. 

Alexis: Benaiah Troyer is an interesting name for your story’s hero. How did you create it? 

Laura: Benaiah is a biblical hero who became King David’s bodyguard. He has quite an interesting background and like King David has killed his own share of lions. 

Alexis: Describe Benaiah. What’s he like? 

Laura: Share his personality, passion and flaws. Benaiah is the artistic type. Quiet, yet strong. He loves creating, he loves his family, but he doesn’t have enough faith that God will care for his needs—let alone everyone he’s responsible for. I know I can relate and I’m sure others can. 

Alexis: Susanna King is the heroine of your story. What’s she like? 

Laura: Describe her personality, looks and heart. Susanna is driven. She wants what she wants and she will try to do it by hook or by crook. Which puts her and Benaiah and her father at odds because she’s butting heads with them. She has honey blond hair, greenish-grey eyes and is average height. 

Alexis: Why does Benaiah love Susanna? 

Laura: Benaiah has loved Susanna since they were twelve and she helped him memorize lines for the Christmas play. They were best friends growing up which grew naturally into love. 

Alexis: What is it about Benaiah that draws Susanna into a relationship with him? 

Laura: She admires how he always put her first, how he treated her and her grandmother, and like I said, their friendship grew naturally into love. 

Alexis: Why does marrying Susanna feel like “an elusive dream” to Benaiah? 

Laura: His parents died, leaving him responsible for four younger sisters and his grandparents. He has a very limited income, little money for extras, and his home is a rundown rental. He doesn’t want to give up her life of ease and plenty to live in his reality of hardship. Not only that, but Susanna’s dad, a widower, is remarrying and moving him—and Susanna—to another state.

Alexis: How has the pain of Benaiah’s past shaped his present? 

Laura: It made him grow up and put the needs of his family before his own. 

Alexis: Why is Susanna’s “greatest desire” to marry Benaiah? 

Laura: They’ve been together since they were twelve. They’ve courted since they were sixteen. They were promised to be married in the fall the year his parents died and changed it. Her love for him didn’t die. But she had to convince him she was willing to do whatever was necessary to win him.

Alexis: What are the unique roadblocks that Benaiah and Susanna face on their journey to happily ever after? 

Laura: Susanna’s dad is moving to Iowa, Benaiah is losing everything—including his job since he works for Susanna’s dad—and his home, and reality is scary. 

Alexis: What is the significance of gingerbread houses in this story? 

Laura: I read a story once that included love potions and out of curiosity I looked up the ingredients. They are basically almost the same as for gingerbread. And since it is Christmas and a gingerbread house is a tradition in our family, that was a fun addition. It also worked into the faith message on Susanna’s part. 

Alexis: What was your favorite part of writing The Christmas Admirer? Why? 

Laura: Benaiah and Susanna were such fun! Being madly in love but being forced apart yet together added tons of tension. 

Alexis: What do you want your readers to remember most about this story? 

Laura: The faith message is up to God, but what I came away with is God is bigger than the strongest lions you may face.

Alexis: What is your favorite Christmas holiday treat (food or beverage)? Why? 

Laura: My maternal grandma came from the Amish and she had these wonderful old fashioned sour cream cookies. I love them. We make some every year. 

Alexis: Do you have any closing comments? 

Laura: Thank you for joining us, I hope you have the Merriest of Christmases with you and yours. 

Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Laura! Merry Christmas!

~*~
Author bio: 

Laura V. Hilton is an award-winning, sought-after author with almost twenty Amish, contemporary, and historical romances. 

When she’s not writing, she reviews books for her blogs, and writes devotionals for blog posts for Seriously Write and Putting on the New. 

Laura and her pastor-husband have five children and a hyper dog named Skye. They currently live in Arkansas. One son is in the U.S. Coast Guard. She is a pastor’s wife, and homeschools her two youngest children.

When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys reading, and visiting lighthouses and waterfalls. Her favorite season is winter, her favorite holiday is Christmas.

~*~
Book blurb for The Christmas Admirer:

Benaiah Troyer has loved Susanna King for as long as he can remember, but when his parents died in an accident a year ago, he broke up with her—for her own good. After all, he was now the sole caregiver for his three younger sisters. What woman would want to put up with that?  

Still, against his better judgment, he can’t help leaving her a gift now and then, anonymously addressing her name in big block print, just to catch a smile. Roses one month, maple syrup candy another; and maybe this time, something special for Christmas. 

Susanna has never gotten over losing Benaiah, but now the clock is ticking. Her father is selling his glass-blowing business, remarrying in January, and moving to Iowa with his bossy wife-to-be. 

Angry and frustrated, Susanna realizes she’s left with three options: one, go with Daed to his new home with a new mom; two, stay in Jamesport, Missouri, as an old maid; or, three, the best yet, flush out her mysterious secret admirer. 

But how could she be with anyone else when her heart is still with Benaiah? 

~*~
Connect with Laura:
Blogs - http://lighthouseacademy.blogspot.com/ , http://lauravhilton.blogspot.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Laura-V-Hilton/161478847242512
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/vernetlh/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Laura_V_Hilton

~*~

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Spring into Love: Laura Hilton's story

Let's welcome Laura Hilton to the blog! She's a familiar face around here but today she's going to share an excerpt from her book The Amish Wanderer. Here's the book cover:

Here's a review of her book that she selected to share with you today, followed by an excerpt:

A Valentine’s Day release Amish romance, sweets with a definitive kick, January 30, 2017 (Source: Amazon) by Harold Wolf

This review is from: The Amish Wanderer (Paperback)

Laura V. Hilton puts a buggy horse gallop into this story opening. A story hook as gripping as a horse’s bridle. A young gal falls down a hayloft ladder, swiftly followed by a wanderer but former heart-throb, while her Bishop-Daed is hospitalized awaiting possible imprisonment. Ach, sounds more like “Fanny Hill” or “Peyton Place,” ain’t so?

From that start this Amish adventure escalates excitement and incorporates innocent fun, leading rather predictably to romance. But actually the joy in relationship is as much in the “getting to” as the “I do,” ain’t so? Getting readers to the finale is another ingredient where Hilton excels.

There’s vivid, frightening action too, difficult reading, emotionally jarring. There’s tenderness to balance, and the mysterious encounter, and a . . . well, “The Amish Wanderer” is a fully packed picnic—and I devoured it. I enjoyed this ARC Amish book so much I just had to announce it to all Amish genre-loving readers. Laura Hilton NEVER writes “typical” Amish novels. “The Amish Wanderer” incorporates several Jamesport community characters from “The Amish of Jamesport” novel series (also recommended reading).

~*~
Excerpt from Chapter One of The Amish Wanderer:

November 

An unidentified sound, loud in the relative silence, jarred Bethany. Her blue pen made a squiggly line across the page in the fat little notebook where she wrote her thoughts. Maybe she should’ve found a more secluded place than the hay pile beside the loft ladder, but she rarely was disturbed. She raised her head and listened.

Nothing, except the squeak of the wood doors in the back of the barn as her younger brother, Timothy, put the cows out to pasture. The soft lowing of cows. The clucking of free-range chickens.

Hopefully, he was too busy to notice she’d left—and wouldn’t look for her.

But there it was again. From somewhere overhead. A sound that didn’t belong. A creak and a thump.

Hopefully, it wasn’t Hen. She’d hear if he were out of jail, ain’t so? A thread of fear ripped through her, unraveling the tiny bit of peace she’d been able to find.

Bethany capped the pen, shot to her feet, and hid the notebook under a loose piece of wood in the floor. Then she scampered up the ladder to the lower loft.

Nothing.

She climbed higher, to the upper one, some thirty feet from the ground.

Peeking over the edge, she scanned the open floor. And… there… someone was wrapped in the old ratty blanket Daed kept in the barn for strays, as he called them. Mamm called them wanderers. She wouldn’t be happy to learn one bedded down in their loft while Daed was gone—incarcerated, of sorts, in a mental hospital, after he tried to kill all the black cats in their district.

The cats lived. They had nine lives, ain’t so? But Daed was institutionalized and his assistant, the one who actually carried out Daed’s deranged wishes, Hen Stutzman, was locked up in jail awaiting trial for arson. As if a man should be punished for obeying crazy orders. Well, they had been horrible things, so it was warranted.

And here she’d thought Hen came around so often to see her. Though she’d come to dread his visits.

Her head, and heart, were permanently bowed in shame. Now no one would ever come calling.

Especially if they ever found out… Nein. They couldn’t. She’d never tell.

Life would never be the same.

Okay, maybe that was a bit overly dramatic. But still…

Bethany’s eyes burned. She blinked to clear the watery haze.

What were they going to do with Daed gone?

A black Amish hat covered the face of whoever slept up on the hay-strewn floor of the loft. His body was swaddled like a newborn boppli in an effort to keep warm, most likely. Almost like Baby Jesus in the manger. Except it was a man. Not a boppli.

And definitely not Hen. This man was taller and much thinner. Relief flooded her.

She started to descend the ladder. It wouldn’t do for a vagabond to discover her alone, almost in the loft with him. Not even if something about it reminded her of the live nativity scenes she’d seen downtown at one of the Englischer’s churches.

Little Lord Jesus asleep in the hay… The tune ran, uninvited, through her thoughts.

A board on the ladder creaked and snapped under Bethany’s weight. She dangled, her feet flailing, from the top of the ladder. Too far to fall without breaking something. Or killing herself.

Why hadn’t she noticed the crack in the wood when she’d climbed up?

She let out a strangled cry when her fingers started slipping from the worn wood. The man blasted upright, his hat falling away to reveal shocks of sun-streaked light brown hair. He struggled free of the blanket, and half-crawled to the edge of the loft.

“Are you okay?” His warm, callused hands closed around hers.

His hand was strong. Warm. Work-roughened. She glanced at his fingers, curled around hers. Unexpected sparks shot up her arms. It had nothing to do with her life hanging in the balance. Or maybe it did. She looked down at the floor thirty feet below again. And whimpered.

“Grab my hands. I’ll pull you up.”

Up. In the loft. Alone with him?

Nein.

Clinging to him seemed a gut idea though. And if it’d save her from falling…

Her shin made contact with the broken rung a moment before her tennis shoe found another ladder rail. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she held. “I’m fine.” Now. She pulled her hands free one at a time and lowered herself. A step. Two. Three…

He stepped out onto the ladder and started down after her.

Nice looking… Wait. He followed her? She needed to find her brother. Or call for him. “Timothy!” There was safety in numbers. Sidetracked watching his quick descent instead of concentrating on her own in her hurry to escape, her feet slipped off the rung. Her hands caught only slivers and—

~*~
Author bio:

Laura V. Hilton is an award-winning, sought-after author with almost twenty Amish, contemporary, and historical romances. 

When she’s not writing, she reviews books for her blogs, and writes devotionals for blog posts for Seriously Write and Putting on the New.

Laura and her pastor-husband have five children and a hyper dog named Skye. They currently live in Arkansas. One son is in the U.S. Coast Guard. She is a pastor’s wife, and homeschools her two youngest children. 

Laura enjoys reading and visiting lighthouses and waterfalls. Her favorite season is winter, her favorite holiday is Christmas.

~*~
Book blurb for The Amish Wanderer: Bethany Weiss has been fascinated by Silas Beiler since he spent a couple of years in Jamesport, Missouri, before he and his family moved to another Amish community. They hadn’t kept in touch, but she hasn’t forgotten the friendly young man who brought her lemonade and took her home once from a Singing years ago. When she finds a man sleeping in her family’s barn, like Jesus sleeping in the hay, she is stunned to recognize Silas. He’s left the Amish and is backpacking across the country. She talks him into staying, at least until after Christmas.

Silas’ family has never been happy living in one area for long, and their vagabond ways are wearing on him. He’s lived in Amish communities all over the nation, moving whenever his daed became disgruntled with the leaders, and he’s looking for some sense of stability. His intentions are to make it back to Pennsylvania and stay with his Englisch onkle and his family—and pursue an education. Will Bethany be the one to bring Silas in from the cold? Or will he continue on his way to his extended family and become Englisch?

~*~
Buy Laura's book: Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble ~ CBD 

~*~
Connect with Laura:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Laura-V.-Hilton/e/B004IRSM5Q
Blogs: http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com/ & http://lauravhilton.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Laura-V-Hilton/161478847242512
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/vernetlh/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Laura_V_Hilton

~*~

Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of Laura's book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below:

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