Tree Swing Reading

New Amish Fiction from Cindy Woodsmall: "The Winnowing Season"

Cindy Woodsmall is one of the best!  Check out her books if you haven't already!

Title: The Winnowing Season

Released:
April 2013

Publisher: Waterbrook Press

Genre: Amish Fiction

Series: yes, book 2 Amish Vines and Orchards Series

Publisher's Description

 The tornado that devastated Kings’ Orchard pushed Rhoda, Samuel, and Jacob to make a new start in Maine. Are they strong enough to withstand the challenges of establishing an Amish community—and brave enough to face the secrets that move with them?
 
On the eve of their departure to begin a new Old Order Amish community outside of Unity, Maine, Rhoda Byler is shocked to discover that choices made by her business partner and friend, Samuel King, have placed her and her unusual gifts directly into the path of her district’s bishop and preachers. She is furious with Samuel and is fearful that the Kings will be influenced by the way her leaders see her, and not what they know to be true—that Rhoda’s intuition is a gift from God.
 
Jacob King won’t be swayed by community speculation. He loves Rhoda, believes in her, and wants to build a future with her in Maine. But when the ghosts of his past come calling and require him to fulfill a great debt, can he shake their hold before it destroys what he has with Rhoda? Samuel has a secret of his own—one he’ll go to great lengths to keep hidden, even if it means alienating those closest to him. Throwing himself into rehabilitating the once-abandoned orchard, Samuel turns to a surprising new ally.
 
Book 2 of the Amish Vines and Orchards series asks: can the three faithfully follow God’s leading and build a new home and orchard in Maine? Or will this new beginning lead to more ruin and heartbreak?

To find out more about Cindy Woodsmall, check out her website.

Check out book 1 in the series too!

New Amish Suspense from Amanda Flower: "A Plain Scandal"

Doesn't the idea of an Amish Suspense sound intriguing?  I've heard some really good things about this series, so I will definitely be checking this book out!

Title: A Plain Scandal

Released:
March 2013

Publisher: B&H Books

Genre: Amish Suspense Fiction

Series: yes, book 2 in Appleseed Creek Mystery Series

Publisher's Description

  The people of Appleseed Creek in the heart of Ohio’s Amish Country are under attack. Soon after the dust has settled on a buggy accident that turned out to be murder, an unknown assailant begins cutting off the long hair of Amish women and the beards of Amish men.

New to the area, computer specialist Chloe Humphrey may not share their customs, but she is certainly alarmed over these crimes against the Amish and worries how such events will impact her growing number of friends who are more connected to that way of life.

In this small community, when Chloe discovers the body of an Amish businessman who was stabbed in the back and whose beard was cut off, she knows that finding the murderer and restoring peace to Appleseed Creek is as much her responsibility as anyone else’s.

 

To find out more about Amanda Flower, check out her website.

New from Jerry Eicher, "Katie's Journey to Love": 100+ to Watch

Have any of you read books by Jerry Eicher?  He writes Amish fiction that is quite popular. He has a new Amish fiction.

Title: The Survivor

Released:
March 2013

Publisher: Harvest House

Genre: Amish Fiction

Series: yes, book 2 in the Emma Raber's Daughter Series

Publisher's Description

In book two of Amish fiction author Jerry S. Eicher's new Emma Raber's Daughter series, Katie Raber's journey of discovery continues after her mamm's marriage to Jesse Mast. Drawn back from the Mennonite world briefly by the miracle of Mamm's changed heart, Katie finds she can't totally abandon her new Mennonite friends.

Jesse's oldest daughter, Mabel, refuses to accept Katie, creating conflict at home. Ben Yoder, the most popular boy in the community, also begins to attend the Mennonite youth gatherings in his attempt to run away from personal problems.

Overjoyed at the attention Ben pays her, Katie pursues the relationship willingly. When an opportunity comes to travel with her Mennonite friends to Europe to explore the roots of the faith, Katie can't believe how much she is being blessed. Especially after a secret donor pays for the trip.
  
While in Europe, Katie learns the truth about Ben when he is arrested. As her world comes crashing down, she finds healing in her visit to the Alps and the land where her forefathers suffered so much. She returns home determined to mend the bad feelings with Jesse's daughter, Mabel, and to continue on the path to healing without Ben.

Book two in the Emma Raber's Daughter series.

To find out more about Jerry Eicher, check out his website.

100+ to Watch: New from Wanda Brunstetter

Wanda Brunstetter debuts a new series: Discovery Series! This is Book 1 of an exclusive 6-consecutive-month release Amish serial novel.

Title: Goodbye to Yesterday

Released: February 2013

Publisher: Barbour

Genre: Amish Fiction

Series: Book 1 of 6-part serial novel, Discovery Series

Publisher's Description

In Goodbye to Yesterday, part one of New York Times Bestselling author, Wanda E. Brunsetter’s The Discovery--A Lancaster County Saga, Meredith and Luke Stoltzfus, an Amish couple, are faced with the greatest challenge of their young lives. Financial struggles. Arguments. A suspected pregnancy. A last-minute trip to Middlebury, Indiana. A deadly encounter at a Philadelphia bus station. Will their love and faith be enough to bring them back together again, against all odds?  Follow their story in this exclusive 6-consecutive-month serial novel.

 

For more information about Wanda Brunstetter, check out her website.

Flying Books Giveaway: "The Silent Order" by Melanie Dobson

It's time to release some of the books that have been flying around my living room looking for a new home. Would you be willing to help them find new owners?

I'm having another book giveaway from now until the end of March here on this blog! There will be a whole variety of different kinds of books!  I hope you'll find some books you like!

Here are the rules:

1.) To enter the drawing for a book, just answer my random question for the day in the comments of the post.

Today's question: What kind of cookies are your favorite?

My Answer: I'm all about warm chocolate chip cookies!

2.) Be reachable by email should you win, so I can let you know.

3.) Enter by March 10, a winner will be selected the following day.

4.) Come back again tomorrow!

Today's book: The Silent Order by Melanie Dobson

Description:

When his partner is murdered, 1920s detective Rollin Wells goes into hiding. Taking refuge in an Amish home in Sugarcreek, Ohio, he works to discover who in the police force is collaborating with Cleveland's notorious mob. But when he befriends a young Amish mother named Katie, will he unearth an even more shocking secret?

INSPY Award Winners Giveaway: "Plain Paradise" by Beth Wiseman

Here is the new giveaway! I am giving away the books that won the INSPY Award, which is an award created by a group of bloggers for "excellence in faith-driven literature"?  Check out their website: http://inspys.com/ for more information.

I will be giving away these books one at a time, so be sure to come back again in a day or two for the next one!

Here are the rules:

A. Post a comment to this post to indicate you would like to be entered for this book.

B. Answer today's random question for fun. (forgot to change it at first again)

Today's question: Do you have an ereader? How do you like it?

My answer: I have a kindle. I like it ok, but I still prefer books in my hand. On trips or running the kids to places, it's really nice to just grab it and run.  And it does save on shelf space.  So there are good things about both for me.

C. If your name is drawn, I will send you an email to let you know. Please respond within 10 days or the winner will be redrawn.

D. Enter by January 24 for this book. Winner to be announced the following day.

E. Come back again soon for more giveaways!

Today's book: from the category Amish Fiction, Plain Paradise by Beth Wiseman.

Description:

Linda’s Amish life seemed like paradise. Until she found out her family had been hiding a secret since the day of her birth.

Josie was just a frightened teenager when she left her baby in the care of an Old Order Amish couple in Lancaster County. Since then, seventeen years have passed and while much has changed, one thing hasn’t. Josie still longs to reconnect with her daughter Linda.

But Linda is unaware of Josie--and living an idyllic life within the Amish community. The bishop’s grandson, Stephen, is courting her and she hopes that he will propose soon. When her birth mother comes to Paradise, Linda finds herself unexpectedly drawn to Josie’s world. Meanwhile, her adoptive parents--and her Amish beau--are trying to understand how this interruption in Linda’s life could possibly be God’s will.

As new relationships begin and old ones are tested, no one’s life will remain the same. In the process of losing and letting go--Linda realizes whose daugther she really is. And as only God can do, something more powerful and far more beautiful is forged within the Daugthers of the Promise community...hope.