Tune in on Thursday at 4:00 pm Central! To listen in – go here and just click on the player in the top right corner. This week on Amish Wisdom, my friend, blogger and columnist Rhonda Schrock, will be filling in as host. The topic this week? New Amish fiction! Authors Kate Lloyd and Shelley Shepard Gray will be joining Rhonda to share their new books. Sounds like a delightful show.

Kate and Shelley are both giving away a copy of their books (Pennsylvania Patchwork and Ray of Light). To enter, just {LEAVE A COMMENT HERE} (or email ckrumm@litfusegroup.com if you experience a problem with the comment box). Winner will be notified next week via email.

More about Kate: Author Kate Lloyd is a passionate observer of human relationships. A native of Baltimore, Kate spends time with family and friends in Lancaster County, PA, the inspiration for her novels. She is a member of the Lancaster County Mennonite Historical Society. Kate and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest. Kate studied painting and sculpture in college. She’s worked a variety of jobs, including car salesman and restaurateur.

Be sure to visit Kate’s blog, www.katelloyd.net.

More about Pennsylvania Patchwork:

Seattle native Holly Fisher is smitten by Lancaster County, its simplicity and her long lost relatives. In the sequel to bestselling Leaving Lancaster, Holly embraces the Amish culture, learning to slow down to see what – and who – really matters.

Meeting the family that her mother had kept hidden from her, Holly comes face to face with her real life and blood legacy. She also falls for the charming Zach, a handsome Mennonite veterinarian who is everything she’s ever wanted in a husband: confident, kind, successful, and authentic. And Zach proposes marriage. Is this too soon? Is this the right choice? Mother and Amish grandmother think she’s rushing into too much of a lifestyle change. Holly is in love with Zach and that precludes everything. Until she meets an attractive Amish man. And an old suitor shows up.

Pennyslvania Patchwork is the moving, richly told story of one woman’s heart, her faith and trust, and the choices she makes. Never easy, but one choice can change your destiny.

More about Shelley: Shelley Shepard Gray is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the “Sisters of the Heart”, “Seasons of Sugarcreek”, “Secrets of Crittenden County”, and Families of Honor series. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.

Visit Shelley’s website for more, www.shelleyshepardgray.com.

More about Ray of Light:

Bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray brings inspirational romance to life in this sweet tale of love in the Amish community, Ray of Light, the second installment of her Days of Redemption series.

Roman Keim just wants a break from the family drama at his snowy Ohio home when he heads to an Amish snowbird community in Florida. There he meets Amanda Yoder and her daughter Regina who soon are warming his heart. But will Roman return to Ohio or will he stay and help the young widow embrace a second chance at love?

The author of the series Sisters of the Heart and Seasons of Sugarcreek, Shelley Shepard Gray delivers an honest, tender love story in Ray of Light, featuring the challenges of faith, family, and romance.

More about Rhonda: Rhonda Schrock is the mother of 4 sons, ages 6 to 22. She and her family live in Northern Indiana. She is a telecommuting medical transcriptionist and the writer of the weekly column, “Grounds for Insanity,” which appears in The Goshen News.  A prolific blogger, she appears twice monthly on Suzanne Woods Fisher’s website and writes once monthly for Sherry Gore, author and founder of “Cooking & Such” magazine. Rhonda is also the editor of “Cooking & Such,” and her column is featured there regularly.

You can find her at www.RhondaSchrock.com.

Tune in on Thursday at 4:00 pm Central! To listen in – go here and just click on the player in the top right corner.

Don’t miss this week’s edition of Amish Wisdom. Judy Christie is filling in as guest host extraordinaire and welcoming Amish fiction authors Vannetta Chapman and Kathleen Fuller to the show. Vannetta will be talking about the new book in her Pebble Creek Amish series, A Home for Lydia. Then novelist, Kathleen Fuller will join the show during the second half hour to talk her novel, Letters to Katie.

Both authors are giving away a copy of their books. Leave a comment {HERE} for a chance to win (or email ckrumm@litfusegroup.com if you’re having a problem with the comment box). Winners will be notified next week via email.

More about Judy Christie: Judy Christie committed to write her first novel when she turned fifty – and her seventh novel, “Sweet Olive,” will be published this year. Like many writers, she started keeping a diary when she was nine – and still has all of them.  She loves to talk about reading and writing and how to slow down and enjoy each day more.

Judy is the author of the Green series of novels set in the fictional North Louisiana town of Green.  “Downtown Green,” the most recent, is No. 5 in the series.  Publishers Weekly has given Judy’s work a starred review, and Library Journal has compared the Green series to Jan Karon’s Mitford series and Philip Gulley’s Harmony series.

She also wrote the award-winning “Wreath,” a novel about a 16-year-old girl who is determined to finish high school after her mother dies – and lives in a Central Louisiana junkyard to do so.

Judy loves to help busy people slow down and enjoy life more and has written the popular Hurry Less Worry Less nonfiction books, including “Hurry Less Worry Less for Moms.”

She loves to visit with readers from her green couch and blogs at www.judychristie.com. Follow her on Twitter @judypchristie.

More about A Home for Lydia: A Home for Lydia, the second book in a new romantic series from popular author Vannetta Chapman, centers again on the Plain community of Pebble Creek and the kind, caring people there. As they face challenges to their community from the English world, they come together to reach out to their non-Amish neighbors while still preserving their cherished Plain ways.

Aaron Troyer simply wants to farm like his father and grandfather before him. But instead he finds himself overseeing the family’s small group of guest cabins nestled along the banks of Pebble Creek. That also means he must work with the cabins’ housekeeper, Lydia Fisher.

Lydia is the most outspoken Amish woman Aaron has ever met, and she has strong opinions about how the guest cabins are to be run. She also desperately needs this job. Though sparks fly between boss and employee at first, when the cabins are robbed, nothing is more important to Aaron than making sure Lydia is safe.

Together they work to make the vacation property profitable, but can they find out the identity of the culprit before more damage is done? And is Lydia’s dream of a home of her own more than just a wish and a prayer?

More about Kathleen: I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, and now make my home in beautiful Geneva, Ohio. I’ve been married to James for 19 wonderful years (really, they have been wonderful!) We have three terrific children, three dogs, and an overwhelmed cat. We have also raised cattle, pigs, and chickens at various times over the years. We would have gone into the goat business, but I had to draw the line somewhere. I started writing in 2000, and published my first short story a year later. Since then I have authored several short stories, novellas, novels, and have done a lot of freelance non-fiction work. I have also worked as an editor. I have a Masters degree in Special Education, emphasis on teaching the blind and visually impaired, and a Bachelors in Early Childhood/Elementary Education. I have taught all age groups ranging from age 4 to age 21. A few of my favorite things: my relationship with Christ, chocolate (of course!), autumn, a satisfying book, good friends, a sense of humor, people who don’t take themselves seriously, haunting melodies, NFL football, and did I mention chocolate? Learn more about Kathleen at her website, http://kathleenfuller.com

More about Letters to Katie: Everything changed between them the first time he called her Katie.

Katherine Yoder has loved Johnny Mullet since the two were children, but he’s never returned her affections.

Now Johnny is trying to forge a new life for himself by purchasing a farm and building a business of his own. But times are tough, and he soon learns that he can’t take anything for granted—especially Katherine.

Before Johnny has the opportunity to tell Katherine his true feelings, she’s struck by a serious illness. While Katherine struggles to recall recent memories of Johnny, a surprise visitor comes back into her life, claiming that his letters speak of a history and a future for the two of them.

With the two men vying for her attention and her memory still elusive, Katherine has never felt so torn. But will the solutions to both Johnny’s and Katherine’s problems lie in places neither one has ever considered?

Tune in on Thursday at 4:00 pm Central! To listen in – go here and just click on the player in the top right corner.

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. 

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?