Amish novelist Linda Byler spins a heartwarming tale set in Amish country at Christmastime. Annie and Fannie are ten-year-old twins and the youngest of twelve siblings. Life is busy with so many living under the same roof, and though the twins love their family, they often feel overlooked. It's no fun being bossed around by older siblings and Mam is often stressed and always strict. As Christmas approaches, the twins have the added burden of practicing for their little Amish school's play, but what they're really passionate about is getting a pony or horse. Oh, what they would give to have a horse of their own to ride and groom and care for. It's all they can think about. Well, that and the way their thirty-year-old brother Mike is swooning over fancy Miriam. Will he ever get up the courage to ask her to be his girlfriend? Delightfully sweet and brimming with the details of Amish life, this Christmas tale will leave readers smiling over the simplicity of Amish...

David Stolzfus and Anna Fisher have been best friends as long as they can remember. Sure, it was a bit unusual in the Amish community for a boy and a girl to be so close, but nobody questions it with David and Anna—it has just always been that way. They live on neighboring farms in Lancaster County, they walk to school together (with all their siblings) every day, and when David learns to drive a pony, Anna is the first one to ride with him. Their lives are intertwined, the way the borders of their properties are joined by the Pequea Creek. As they approach their teen years, everyone just assumes David and Anna will date each other. It is obvious the way Anna admires David's brilliant mind, and of course David would be honored to have a wife from a family that was so well respected in the community. Plus, she is cute and funny and sincere; what else would he be looking for? So when David and Anna deny any romantic inclinations, their cheeks red with embarrassment, most...

Bestselling Amish novelist Linda Byler's third book in the Buggy Spoke series for young readers Lizzie is nine years old now and adjusting her new home in Jefferson County. There's so much to get used to—a new school, new friends, new ways of dressing and speaking. Mostly Lizzie loves her new life, but it's not easy getting used to so many changes at once. Perhaps the hardest part is growing up itself. Suddenly her older sister Emma expects Lizzie to "act her age," but what does that even mean? Is it wrong to want to splash in slush puddles, play games with friends, and run through the woods? Lizzie wants to be a good girl, but it's confusing to know when it's ok to have fun, how she should pray, and why she still does naughty things. Mam and Dat seem to have enough money now—there's plenty of food and the kids even get extra special Christmas gifts. Mam smiles more and Dat seems more relaxed. But when Lizzie and Emma wake up to a room full of smoke,...

How long will Edna have to wait for the love of her life? For years, Edna Miller has found herself drawn to Emery Hoschtettler with an attraction she can explain no better than she can put a stop to it. Other suitors come and go, but none make her feel the way she feels around Emery—that incredible floating feeling, as if she was walking on air, mixed with a painful desperation to be ever nearer to him. Despite the fact that Emery seldom seems to pay her much attention, she decides it would be unfair to marry anyone else when her heart longs only for him. He hasn't seriously dated anyone else either, so perhaps he's just waiting for the right time to ask her . . . By the time Edna is twenty-nine, most of her family and friends have given up hope of her ever marrying. Why she didn't give that nice man Jonathan more of a chance was beyond them. Sure, he had a bit of a limp from the tractor accident, but he was kind as could be, not to mention wealthy. Was she...

Bestselling Amish novelist Linda Byler spins a sweet tale of heartache, disappointment, and ultimately hopes fulfilled at Christmastime. Liz had been in love once, had even been engaged. In fact, the wedding had been planned, the barn cleaned, and the celery was set to be harvested to make the traditional wedding soup. Just two weeks before the day she was to exchange vows with her beloved, he changed his mind, and that was that. The humiliation was almost as bad as the heartbreak. The whole community had celebrated her engagement, had participated in the wedding planning, had started giving her advice on keeping a home and raising children. When the wedding was canceled, no one knew what to say. She had to bear the pitying looks and awkward glances for many months. She vowed never to be such a fool again, never to trust her heart to a man who could just up and leave her with hardly an explanation. She'd rather be an old maid than go through that again. Years...

This final book in The Long Road Home trilogy is full of unexpected twists. The redemptive ending will leave you smiling for days. As May settles into family life, she has so much to be grateful for. Yes, there are plenty of challenges as she continues to heal from the demons of her past, but her loving husband and sweet children are the greatest earthly gift she could ask for. And having Oba in their home is almost more precious than she could have imagined . . . at least, if it weren't for his ongoing anger and hardness of heart. May's children are steadily growing older, and eventually they begin to face relationship struggles of their own. Can May help them navigate the turbulent waters of young love? And will Oba's heart ever soften enough to find love, or will he always face loneliness and despair? This is the final volume in a unique Amish romance that tackles heavy issues of abuse, racism, and the damage done when a community puts reputation over faith....

A heartwarming Christmas romance set during the Great Depression It's 1931 and times are tough for the Miller family who are raising eight children in the midst of the Great Depression. When Eli Miller passes away unexpectedly, Emmy has no idea how she'll make ends meet. The Amish community rallies around her and the children, as is their custom, but as days turn into weeks and then into months, Emmy's friends and neighbors return to their own routines and seem to expect Emmy to do the same. Emmy knows she needs to stay strong for the children and figure out a way to keep everyone warm and clothed and fed, but she is heartbroken and exhausted. She reminds herself that God will provide, but every day feels like an uphill battle. Emmy immerses herself in the tasks at hand, rallying the children to help with harvesting and canning so they'll have something to eat over the winter. When did the kids become so unruly? How is she supposed to love and discipline them...

The first book in a new Amish romance series by beloved novelist Linda Byler, an active member of the Amish church. With her copper red hair and inquisitive personality, Mary is an anomaly in her Amish community in western New York. She tries to join in the fun with the other youth as they gather for hymn singings and games, but she finds it all rather dull. None of the young men are interested in her and she's even less interested in them. With each passing year, she feels more and more out of place and stifled by life as a misfit in a rural Amish community. When her aunt comes for a visit and suggests she return to Lancaster with her to help manage her bakery, Mary sees her opportunity for the change she's desperately craving. But her parents forbid her to go, her father convinced that leaving the family for the busy life of Lancaster will lead her down a path of destruction. Mary is deeply distressed, wanting to honor her parents' wishes and also knowing she...

Wrap yourself up in this cozy Amish romance as you follow three intertwining love stories at Christmastime.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.When a late autumn snowstorm leaves Lydia trapped alone at the schoolhouse without heat, it is none other than Jesse who comes to her rescue. He helps bring her safely to his house, where Lydia is embraced by the Stoltzfus family. The joy and warmth of their home awakens a sort of longing in Lydia's heart, a loneliness she...

Amish novelist Linda Byler spins a heartwarming tale about an Amish widow trying to survive in colonial America. Paula has been cursed since birth—or so her mother told her for as long as she could remember. Her life is plagued by bad omens and disaster waits at every turn. Still, nothing could prepare her for the loss of three of her children, and then her husband. A recent immigrant to America, now a single mother of two, and dealing with severe anxiety, Paula faces a long winter of trials and heartache. When Paula's younger daughter becomes seriously ill, Paula sets out on foot through the deep snow to get help. Along the way, she encounters another recent immigrant from Germany—a man who quickly becomes a great help and comfort. But Paula's fears of more tragedy threaten to derail their budding relationship. Besides that, the floundering couple find themselves in trouble with the church. And Paula's headstrong eight-year-old daughter is determined...

Amish novelist Linda Byler spins a heartwarming tale set in the early 1800s at Christmastime. It's 1823 and life is not easy for fourteen-year-old Henry. With an alcoholic father, it's up to Henry to provide for his younger siblings. His mother, Caroline, tries her best, but she's physically and emotionally exhausted. There never seems to be enough food to go around, and their home beside the Juniata River in Pennsylvania is hardly up to the task of sheltering them through the cold winter months. When Henry's father leaves the family and then passes away, Caroline sinks even deeper into depression. While working at the local hotel, Henry discovers a young Indian woman who has been kidnapped by travelers. He attempts to rescue her, which changes the trajectory of his life. Then, unexpectedly, Caroline's parents arrive from Ireland. They've become anabaptists since Caroline left the home country, and now they're fleeing persecution. Caroline is relieved to see her...

When Emma leaves the security of her Amish community for a job in North Carolina, she finds herself navigating choices, circumstances, and a relationship that she never could have imagined. Follow as she struggles to reconcile her faith and her complicated feelings in this romance by bestselling Amish writer Linda Byler. Emma had had plenty of offers for marriage. Several young men had noticed her smooth auburn hair, her quick intellect. But at twenty-six years of age, she was still single, much to the bewilderment of her Amish community. "She's just too picky," they said, and she supposed they were right. When she becomes a nanny for an English (non-Amish) family along the coast of North Carolina, her world opens up in exciting—and confusing—ways. Not only is she getting used to life outside the safety of her Amish culture in Lancaster, but she finds herself spending a great deal of her free time with Ben, the handsome older Amish man who is working as...

The first in a new series about an independent Amish woman and her struggles in career and romance. Susan Lapp is a hardworking Amish woman in her early twenties. She enjoys the financial independence that working two jobs—as a housecleaner and at the local deli in Lancaster—affords her. And based on her sisters' tumultuous experiences with their husbands, she has no interest in dating or marriage. She's perfectly content with her life as it is, thank you very much. When Susan's best friend Beth begins to date Susan's brother Mark, the couple is determined to play matchmaker for Susan. Susan begrudgingly agrees to humor them and soon finds herself caught between an undeniable attraction for one of Mark's coworkers and her unflinching commitment to staying single. Soon, her complicated feelings take her in directions she once couldn't have imagined. She experiences hardship like she never has before—homesickness, miserable weather in a place that...

The second book in The Long Road Home series, a unique and gripping Amish romance trilogy set in the South at the turn of the century. At the end of Banished, Clinton has died and May is left to fend for herself in a city where she knows almost no one and has no way of earning a living. Not knowing where Oba had wound up and realizing she can't return to her uncle's home after all he'd put her through, she decides to journey to the Amish community where she spent her first years, before her parents' died. Perhaps the relatives who once turned her away had had a change of heart and would be willing to take her in or help her get settled on her own. After being shuffled from home to home, May finds a welcoming friend in Clara. Clara is single, having long since sworn off romantic relationships. She doesn't trust men, and it doesn't take her long to realize May had her own painful past, though for some time she doesn't know the full extent of what May suffered....

The final book in the New Directions series delves into the complexities of a blended Amish family. Are love and faith enough to navigate through relationship tensions, homesickness, and tragedy? Susan has been in Wyoming long enough to feel at home, but instead she finds herself still struggling to adapt to the dusty landscape, the different customs, and life so far from family. She knows she should be appreciating the big, beautiful log home that Isaac built, but sometimes even that feels like a burden—so much of it to clean, and Isaac always traipsing in with his muddy boots and clothes smelling of diesel. But those are just the surface problems. The real struggle is the same as it has been since the day she married Isaac—the long hours he spends away at his logging job and the way his son Titus seems to loathe her presence in their lives. Titus is growing quickly, coming closer to manhood every day. He's working with his father finally, always torn...