Fresh Pick for Friday, April 18th, 2014 is JEDIDIAH’S BRIDE by Rebecca Kertz #InspirationalFriday Brides of Lancaster County 2 Harlequin Love Inspired April 2014 On Sale: March 30, 2014 221 pages ISBN: 0373878842 EAN: 9780373878840 Kindle: B00GPDUTQ6 Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Inspirational Fiction Amish, Inspirational Fiction Romance, Amish Buy A Copy Amazon.com Kindle BN.com Powell’s Books Indiebound Jedidiah’s Bride by Rebecca Kertz A Place of Their Own When handsome stranger Jedidiah Lapp saves her twin brothers’ lives, Sarah Mast offers him her heartfelt thanks. And a cherry pie! But she never expects to see him again. When they meet once more at Sunday services, Sarah begins to feel something special for him. Jedidiah is eager to know the blushing beauty, and asks permission to court her. Soon, he can see Sarah as part of his future. But her family is in Delaware, his in Pennsylvania. Dare he ask her to leave all she knows behind for him and build a life in Happiness, Pennsylvania? A simpler life and a love that enriches Previous Picks

I often think back fondly of my very first book-signing. I had just published a romantic suspense geared to the literary/library market. So the binding and packaging were top-notch—it would truly hold up to heavy wear-and-tear. And the cover photo was imbedded in the hardback cover, beneath the paper jacket. The only problem was the list price of $27.00 for an absolute “nobody” of a writer. I was so tickled with getting published that I scheduled a signing at my local independent bookstore. (Borders and Barnes and Noble kept asking: Who did you say you were?) This was an adorable shop in a valley surrounded by ski slopes and quaint art galleries. Unfortunately, it is now out-of-business. I send out dozens of publicity postcards to my family, friends, neighbors and business acquaintances. I paid for ads in my local newspapers and tried every avenue of free publicity I could find. The day of the event I wore my new dress and took extra time with hair and make-up. I brought a tray of cookies and fruit tarts from the nearby bakery. The store owner had a fire lit with a comfy armchair for me to greet my “fans.” And in…

Every so often, I get this huge craving for ice cream. It doesn’t last long but I never remember that as I’m buying three gallons of ice cream at the grocery store on the day it hits. So then I have three half-opened containers just growing ice crystals in my freezer for the next month or two until the craving comes around again. It’s a vicious cycle. My newest novel, PAIGE TURNED, just released this month and one of the things that came up for my character as I was writing it was the cycle of forgiveness. Paige is faced with a lot of both who she is and the pasts of the people around her. She has to let go of a lot of the expectations she had of herself and her future and she’s put in the position of making a lot of major life decisions because of letting go of those expectations and truly forgiving. It’s so easy to grow up thinking your life will turn out a certain way. But there are so many things about my life that are so much better than what I expected! I always hoped to have kids but being a…