The Bridesmaid by Beverly Lewis

"Three times a bridesmaid, never a bride."-- Cora Jane Hurtz

Joanna Hurtz is 24 and single, which, by Amish standards, is just a step away from spinsterhood. There is nothing wrong with Joanna, she just hasn't met the right young man. In the meantime, girls all around her are getting married and Joanna is losing hope.

Then, one day, she is sitting on the beach in Virginia (I had no idea that the Amish liked beaches) and she meets a wonderful Amish man named Eben Troyer, and they hit it off. One thing leads to another, and they agree to write to each other when they return to their respective communities. End of story. Right???

Heck no. Complications arise, patience is tested, and new love interests are introduced. Joanna's character and integrity come into question as her secret writing life is exposed and she must, above all, hang on to her faith-- that God gave her a gift and will help her find a way to use it.

As always, Beverly Lewis writes in her warm, engaging, style. She has a way of painting sunsets on the beach that make you feel the sand between your toes. I loved seeing the community of Hickory Hollow through the eyes of Joanna Kurtz, a quiet soul who proves that still waters really do run deep.

Please read on for more about this wonderful book.

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Bridesmaid Bethany House Publishers (September 11, 2012) by Beverly Lewis

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Beverly's first venture into adult fiction is the best-selling trilogy, The Heritage of Lancaster County, including The Shunning, a suspenseful saga of Katie Lapp, a young Amish woman drawn to the modern world by secrets from her past. The book is loosely based on the author's maternal grandmother, Ada Ranck Buchwalter, who left her Old Order Mennonite upbringing to marry a Bible College student. One Amish-country newspaper claimed Beverly's work to be "a primer on Lancaster County folklore" and offers "an insider's view of Amish life."

Booksellers across the country, and around the world, have spread the word of Beverly's tender tales of Plain country life. A clerk in a Virginia bookstore wrote, "Beverly's books have a compelling freshness and spark. You just don't run across writing like that every day. I hope she'll keep writing stories about the Plain people for a long, long time."

A member of the National League of American Pen Women, as well as a Distinguished Alumnus of Evangel University, Lewis has written over 80 books for children, youth, and adults, many of them award-winning. She and her husband, David, make their home in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, and spending time with their family. They are also avid musicians and fiction "book worms."        

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Latest in Chart-Topping Amish Fiction from Beverly Lewis

Twenty-seven-year-old Joanna Kurtz has made several trips to the altar, but never as a bride. The single young Amishwoman is a closet writer with a longing to be published something practically unheard of in her Lancaster County community. Yet Joanna's stories aren't her only secret. She also has a beau who is courting her from afar, unbeknownst even to her sister, Cora, who, though younger, seems to have suitors to spare.

Eben Troyer is a responsible young Amishman who hopes to make Joanna Kurtz his bride--if he can ever leave his parents' farm in Shipshewana, Indiana. Yet with his only brother off in the English world, intent on a military career, Eben's hopes for building a life with his dear Joanna are dimming, and patience is wearing thin. Will Joanna ever be more than a bridesmaid?

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Bridesmaid, go HERE.