Amish Fiction

With his orphaned nephew depending on him, Amish carpenter Eli Troyer moves to Harmony Creek Hollow to start over. And when schoolteacher Miriam Hartz offers to teach Eli, who is hard of hearing, how to read lips, he can’t refuse. Spending time with Miriam forges a bond between them. Can two wounded hearts overcome their pasts to make a family together?

Simon can't stop thinking about the pretty Amish teacher at the local one-room school. But he's ignored the sparks between them because he's so shy. So Simon's little brother, Isaac, takes matters into his own hands. He's determined to give his brother the best Christmas present ever - a date with his favorite teacher. Amish novelist Byler brings her tender humor and skillful observation of family relationships to this holiday story.

Siblings Martin, Kelsey, Beth, and Jonny are as different as can be, but they have one thing in common. They're all longing to reinvent their lives. Raised by their divorced lapsed-Amish father and English mother, they only knew real stability and a sense of family when visiting their Old Order grandparents, Josiah and Sylvia Schrock, in peaceful small-town Millersburg, Ohio. Now, the four want to try living with them and joining their faith—much to the Schrocks' surprise.

Addie Byler may be Apple Creek's resident wallflower, but she knows she has a lot to offer—and much to be grateful for. Raised by her loving grandmother, she lives a life filled with good friends and hard work. Wary of romance, Addie assumes no man will look beyond her glasses and her tendency to talk to her rescue donkey, Snickers—until the day she finds a note from a secret admirer. A prank, most likely. But then, a second note arrives . . .

When Joel and Shani Beck arrive at their new home on Juneberry Lane in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, they're looking for peace. Joel's recently returned from Iraq and is recuperating, and Shani is just happy to have her family back together. They can't imagine any trouble with their Amish neighbors, the Lehmans, but things get off to a rocky start when their son accidently hurts Simon, one of the Lehman boys.

My Amish Story is the story of the last few years of Amish life for the Graber family in the 1990s. It’s about the hurdles of breaking the barriers of centuries, of family circles being broken with no good-byes, of heartbreak and estrangement, and of the transitions and adjustments to a new way of living.

Edna's friend, Verna Bontrager, has a problem. Her outspoken 20-year-old daughter, Myrna, has been fired from her job. Again. Myrna's family really needs her to chip in, but she's clearly unsuited to customer service - not to mention that her sharp tongue scares away any boy who might come courting. But Edna has an idea - and his name is Ezekiel Riehl.

One moment Ben Miller was high up in the rafters at his neighbor's barn raising. The next his foot slipped, and he plunged to his death, leaving behind a young wife and six children - the youngest born four months after his death. Ruth Miller is not alone. Her Amish neighbors help her to make the difficult transition from wife to widow. But while the community has been generous, raising six growing children, all grieving their father's death, is overwhelming.

Esther Zook is starting over after her father's death, piecing together a new life with as much care as she puts into her intricate quilts. When her wayward sister abandons her baby, it throws all those plans for a fresh start asunder. Esther had accepted her status as an old maid - but a mother? And a single one, at that? Not that she hasn't noticed Levi Kiem, the eligible young man who's making repairs in her house. Yet he surely has no interest in Esther as anything other than a friend....

Mary Stoltzfus is 30 years old, splashed with freckles, and unmarried. In her Amish world, that qualifies her to be called an old maid. She is living her quiet schoolteacher life in the Lancaster County Amish community when she gets a surprising invitation in the mail one day. Would she come to Montana to teach?

Eighteen-year-old Arie Kauffman loves to twirl and leap around the barn in her Amish bonnet and dress, practicing ballet moves her English friend taught her. Her parents would be upset to learn that this longtime interest has progressed to her secretly attending ballet classes. Arie even hides her dance skills from her boyfriend, Edwin Chupp, who often invites her to try new things, knowing she has an artistic heart. Her secrecy, however, is causing damage she may not be able to repair.

Jalon Chupp has a past he isn't proud to claim. He's worked hard to overcome his youthful mistakes, and he has recommitted himself to his faith. When he receives a sweet note included in a piece of misdirected mail, he can't help but write back. Soon, the letters he receives from Phoebe are the highlights of his days, and with a hopeful heart, he suggests they meet in person.

Four Amish novellas: Noel Fisher can make entire villages out of gingerbread; why won't she make a few dozen gingerbread cookies for Hunter Darcy? When a widowed, Englisher, Hunter Darcy, asks Noel, an Amish woman, to make a couple of dozen gingerbread cookies for his daughter's class at school, he gets more than he bargained for. Two brothers find romance during Amish wedding season. Meet the Darcy brothers; two modern-day heroes who just happen to be the most sought-after bachelors in town. One visit to the local bakery opens the door for some sweet romance.

Just an innocent bet. Okay, well, maybe a bet to rob the three most virtuous girls in town of their purity isn't exactly innocent, but there's no way we could have known how it would all turn out. How much trouble it would bring. But what the hell were an Amish girl and her sisters doing in the middle of Bright Falls, anyway? I mean, it seemed almost too easy. She was a sheep and I was the wolf, and it was time for me to feast.

When Agatha Lapp's brother and sister-in-law are tragically killed in a buggy accident, Agatha relocates to the new Amish community in Hunt, Texas, nestled in the Texas Hill Country. She's there to make a success of her brother's dream—an Amish B&B. Agatha is friendly, efficient, and capable. She's also a fifty-five year old widow who has learned to be independent. Then she discovers Russell Dixon's lifeless body in Cabin 3. She runs next door where retired detective Tony Vargas lives.

For years Zane Beck and his Amish neighbor, Lila Lehman, were the best of friends. But just as Zane gathered the courage to discover if their friendship could develop into something more, her controlling father arranged for her to be courted by their bishop's son. Zane, heartbroken and frustrated, joined the army, running away from his shattered dreams.

Spirited, forthright, impulsive—everyone told Greta Eicher she'd have to change her ways if she ever hoped to marry. Then her best friend Calvin, the man she thought she would wed, chooses another woman. Now Greta's wondering if the others were right all along. Noah knows it's time to think about finding a wife. When Greta offers to play matchmaker on his behalf, Noah eagerly accepts. After all, no one knows his children better. But none of the women she suggests seem right, because, unexpectedly, his feelings of respect and friendship for Greta have grown into something deeper.

At thirty-two, Ada Yoder is resigned to caring for her three sisters, her ever-impractical father, and their prosperous, but demanding, farm. The last kind of trouble she needs is Enos Hoover claiming that six acres of their land actually belongs to him—and taking steps to prove it. But Ada soon finds that battling Enos's clever strategies is delightfully intriguing—and lighting an impossible spark.

A Courtship for the Amish Spinster A courtship of convenience brings her more than she ever imagined As the last unmarried girl in her family, Eunice Yoder is given an ultimatum—find a husband or full-time job, or move out. Too independent for a suitor and with no one willing to hire such an...

Lydia Beiler loves teaching school in her Amish community in Wisconsin. As a single woman in her fifties, the scent of chalk dust and the feel of a red Bic pen between her fingers is her calling, and she lives it to the full extent. But teaching isn't without its struggles—namely Jesse Stoltzfus, a sixth grade boy who pushes Lydia's patience to the limits. It doesn't matter how many times she makes him stay in from recess; he seems determined to argue everything and distract the other students with his toe tapping and incessant teasing.