Footsteps on the porch reminded him that he was not alone. Ruby stepped to his side, her eyes searching his face. “What did the doctor say? Lovinia is going to recover, isn’t she?” Gideon shook his head, not trusting his voice. He swallowed. “He said her heart is weak.” Ruby pressed her fingers to her lips. “It can’t be. He could be wrong.” “I would like to believe that, but I know she is suffering–” His voice broke. She had been ill for years, and he hadn’t noticed. He had been too wrapped up in his own work, believing that her tiredness was a passing thing. “I don’t know how to tell the children.” “You should go to her, first.” Ruby said. “I’ll care for the children, but you need to be with her.” Ruby wiped away a tear that trickled down her cheek, pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth. The corners of her mouth quivered, but she gave him a smile. “Lovinia needs you now. She needs you to be strong. Let her know that you and the children will be all right after she’s gone. She worries about you.” Gideon glanced toward the upstairs window. The…

It’s the final day of our Fall Slow Cooker Recipe Potluck! We’ve enjoyed following along with all of these great authors, their new books, and delicious slow cooker recipes. Comment below for a chance to win yet another book! And be sure to take a look back at all of the fun we’ve had all week:  Day 1 with Elizabeth Goddard  Day 2 with Soraya Lane Day 3 with Laura Lee Guhrke Day 4 with Jenn Burke  *** Autumn: Time for Comfort Food The mornings are crisp now in central Pennsylvania, and the mist hangs in the valleys for an hour or so after the sun makes its way over the mountain ridges. Leaves have begun to turn, orange pumpkins fill the roadside stands, and we bring in the last few tomatoes and winter squash from the garden. At a time like this, with winter not far off, my thoughts turn to comfort food. And for comfort food, what could be better than a slow cooker? Comfort food forms a large part of any collection of Pennsylvania Dutch recipes. The farmers, both Amish and English, who settled in these fertile valleys felt the need for plenty of carbohydrates to keep…

The question I get asked more than any other is: How do you come up with ideas? The answer is through interesting news stories that I’ve tucked away. After all, truth is always stranger—or more memorable–than fiction, right? Here’s an example: Years ago, I heard an amazing story about a pastor and a church in Texas. On a Sunday morning, Bishop Aaron Blake challenged his small congregation with a powerful question. “Brothers and sisters,” he said, “there are about 30,000 children in the foster care system in Texas and nearly a half a million in the U.S. Who will stand with me to defend, care, and support abused, abandon, and neglected children in our community?” After a brief moment of silence, one lady rose to her feet. “Pastor,” she said, “I will.” Then another family stood up, and another, and another. Twelve years later, their Texas county has more than enough foster families to meet the need. That story inspired the plot for my novel Stitches in Time. The new and improved Luke Schrock, now a deacon, poses the same question to the Amish church of Stoney Ridge. Schoolteacher Mollie Graber is the first to raise her hand. Weeks later,…

Against the odds, the oak sapling took root in our backyard that was filled with scrub pine trees and overrun with bramble. Despite the strong growth of the underbrush, the oak sapling, with its tiny trunk and even tinier branches, pushed upward, reaching for sunlight from high above. It was a decent height, maybe five feet, but scraggly and skinny. A canopy of other trees and thicket kept the sapling in the shade and depleted its soil of nutrients. Vines of various kinds wrapped around it, using it to gain a height of its own. But it didn’t die. It also didn’t thrive. It reminded me of a vine of poison oak more than an oak tree. Its sickly trunk bent and twisted, always jetting out and then reaching up, clearly trying to find a way to reach life-sustaining sunlight. At the time our backyard had a blind fence enclosing a half-acre of mostly scrub pines and thicket. We’d left it that way for over ten years because our youngest son asked us to. He loved being outdoors as well as the feel of “deep woods.” It seems he spent half of his childhood in that space. As children do,…

Thank you for hosting me for a guest post on Fresh Fiction to celebrate my new release, Vow of Silence. I’ve been fortunate for the opportunity to write a few different genre’s, but hands-down my favorite and the most difficult to craft is romantic suspense. I akin writing romantic suspense to putting together a mental jig-saw puzzle. Every piece needs to fit just perfectly, or the picture won’t come out right. For a pantser like myself, this is an especially difficult task, but it’s also incredibly rewarding. When I wrote Vow of Silence, I didn’t even know who the killer was until I was 2/3 done with the book. Sometimes I’m just as surprised as my readers at how a story evolves itself. Most of all, I think my favorite part of writing romantic suspense is the thrills and chills. For me, a great book is one that gives the reader goosebumps—both the good kind and the bad. Vow of Silence delivers both. Readers who are familiar with my work would agree that I’m known for writing the thrills. Who doesn’t love a good, steamy sex scene? But today, I want to focus on the chills. My favorite part of…

One of my favorite movies is a British romantic comedy called About Time. Here’s the plot: When the males in a certain family reach the age of twenty-one, they’re given the special ability to travel through time and re-set the clock. They get a free pass, a re-do. Doesn’t that sound awesome? To erase the effect of a sharp word, a joke that fell flat, or avoid a misunderstanding. If I had that special time-travel ability, I’d be revising and editing my life a dozen times a day. Have you ever wished you could turn back the clock and have a second chance at something? Luke Schrock in Mending Fences sure did. He’s back in Stoney Ridge after a long stint in rehab, coming face to face with all the poor choices he’d made before he left. Bishop David Stoltzfus wants Luke to make a list of all those he harmed so he can make amends. They’re step 8 and 9 of the Twelve Steps Program, he told Luke, as he handed him a paper and pen. Reluctantly, Luke wrote down four names and put down the pen. “There. Done.” David pointed to the paper. “Keep going, Luke,” he said….