The Bishop’s Son – A Story of Struggle, Faith, and Hope – I was thoroughly taken by Kelly Irvin’s The Beekeeper’s Son (first in her The Amish of Bee County series), when the second in this series, The Bishop’s Son, hit my doorstep I could hardly contain my enthusiasm! Once I started reading The Bishop’s […]
If I say, “Amish school,” what do you think of? I’m going to guess that two things pop into your mind. First, that Amish students leave school after eighth grade, and second, that they study in a private one-room schoolhouse with an Amish teacher. These things haven’t always been true. In fact, before the 1950s, […]
When Mercy Rains – Pour It On– Review by Susan Scott Ferrell I’m still new to Kim Vogel Sawyer’s writings, but so far I like what I see! I just finished reading When Mercy Rains (first in The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy) and I feel full – like I just completed a very satisfying meal. When […]
As a writer, I feel a deep sense of responsibility to get my facts right when it comes to the Amish culture. On my last trip to Wisconsin Amish country, I paid special attention to some of the differences among Amish communities. In one community the women tie their kapp strings, in another, they leave […]
Summer is my favorite season. I love summer vacations, summer flowers, and summer projects. It seems like every summer I start out with great expectations of everywhere I will go, everything that I will do, and everything that I will write. In general, I would say I have a seventy-five percent success rate of doing […]
Fall of Poppies – Stories of Love and the Great War by Heather Webb, Hazel Gaynor, Beatriz Williams, Jennifer Robson, Jessica Brockmole, Kate Kerrigan, Evangeline Holland, Lauren Willig, Marci Jefferson William Morrow Trade Paperback; March 1, 2016; $14.99; ISBN: 9780062418548 Barnes & Noble / Amazon / IndieBound / Books-a-Million Top voices in historical fiction deliver an intensely moving collection of short stories about […]
A Reluctant Bride – Don’t be a Reluctant Reader! – Review by Susan Scott Ferrell I have to say, whenever I see that a new book has released by Kathleen Fuller, I have a sense of peace. Silly? Yes. True? Absolutely. I know that every story she tells will make me want to grab a […]
One of the reasons the Amish left Europe was because of the military environment of the sixteenth and seventeenth environments. Their reformist beliefs put them at odds with established churches, and their nonresistant, peace-seeking beliefs put them at odds with the government. For many, emigrating to Pennsylvania seemed like a fresh start that gave them […]
Lorie’s Heart – Where Does It Belong? – Review by Susan Scott Ferrell Amy Lillard was a new author to me when I read her first novel (Caroline’s Secret) in her Wells Landing series. I was skeptical, but was quickly won over. Lillard had teased her readers at the end of Book Two (Courting Emily) […]
Her Brother’s Keeper – A Story of Healing Review by Susan Ferrell It has been so long since I have seen a new release from Beth Wiseman (a full-length, Amish-genre release)! I actually caught my breath when I picked up her newest release, Her Brother’s Keeper, first in her Amish Secret Series. Wiseman fans (and Amish […]