Sunday, September 27, 2015

The Photograph By Beverly Lewis





Eva Esch and her sisters are in a predicament. With the passing of their widowed mother, Eva's older brother Menno plans to move his growing family into the Eden Valley farmhouse where they all grew up, leaving little room for his three single sisters. Surely, Menno reasons, at least one of them will marry this coming wedding season. Eva does hope to marry, but she isn't sure she wants to give up her sweet shop for the life of a farmer's wife, and she has no other prospects.

When younger sister, Lily, disappears in the night, leaving only a brief note, Eva fears she has been wooed away from the People by an outsider. And when Jed Stutzman, a young Amish buggy maker from Ohio, shows up in Lancaster with a photo of a Plain young woman, Eva's world begins to tilt. She feels powerfully drawn to the quietly charming stranger--but the woman in the forbidden photograph is no stranger at all. . .

Pick up your copy here...






I've had my nose in a book, for as long as I remember. When I was about 9 years old, I started writing my own stories. By sixth grade, I'd hand-written a 66-page semi-autobiographical book titled, "She Shall Have Music."

After I was married and our three children were in middle school, I began submitting articles and short fiction to various magazines.

My first book (Holly's First Love) was published in May 1993, the start of a 14-book series for pre-teen girls. Soon after, my first chapter book was published for 7-10-year-old readers ("Big Bad Beans") which later became part of my 24-book series, The Cul-de-Sac Kids. I wrote another long-running series for girls, titled "SummerHill Secrets," which was set very close to Neffsville, PA, where I grew up--near the heart of Amish country.

But it was the story of my grandmother Ada Buchwalter's shunning by her ultra-strict father and subsequently her old order Mennonite community that nudged me toward writing adult fiction. THE SHUNNING was published in 1997 by Bethany House Publishers, and along with its sequels, has touched a nerve in millions of readers intrigued by the Plain tradition of Lancaster County, PA. The Hallmark Movie Channel will air the movie, "Beverly Lewis's The Confession" on January 19, 2013--the sequel to "The Shunning" movie.

My passion for Amish-related stories continues to keep me up at night, and I'm presently editing the 2nd book (The Bridesmaid) in my new series: "Home to Hickory Hollow," due out September 11, 2012.

When I'm between writing deadlines, I enjoy hiking in the Rocky Mountains with my husband. Cooking from scratch, playing Mozart at the piano, and making family memory albums, as well as traveling to meet my devoted readers during book tours, are some of my very favorite things. I also adore reading biographies and memoirs, as well as classic literature.

I loved this book from beginning to end. This book has what I call surprises, good ones and bad ones.
This book keeps you turning page after page, you are waiting to see if sister is going to be found and if she will return home.
Prayer that's what you hear about in this book!  Such great characters with the exception of Menno ( I was not found of him).
You have to love an Amish book with a lot of great wisdom and a super happy ending.
I gave this book 5 stars and I can't wait for the next book to come out By Mrs. Lewis.
I highly recommend this book as well as all of her books.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher for my honest review.

11 comments:

  1. I'm a huge fan of Beverly Lewis I'm super excited about this book. Thanks Mary for yout great review.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love love love her books !!!!! Blessings DanaGirl

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've read this book and it was great! I have read all of this author's books. I've met her in person twice. She is a very gracious person.

    Great review, Mary!

    Blessings!
    Judy B

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love Beverly Lewis. I'm going to buy this book right now. Thank you for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beverly is one of my favorite authors and I am sure that I will love this book too! Thanks Mary for the review!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh my goodness I love Beverly. I am so excited to read this. Thank you so much Mary.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oooooo My wife is going to love to hear this. Thank you Mary

    ReplyDelete
  8. In my opinion Beverly is the best in Amish. I can't wait to read it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love me an Amish book. Surfing over to buy it now.; Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  10. What an exciting book!! Thanks for your review, Mary, and for the giveaway opportunity!!

    bonnieroof60(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete