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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2009 > April > 05 > Entry
sizzling Amish fiction…
The Christian publishing sector is one of the few bright spots in publishing these days. One of the most prolific authors in Christian fiction is Beverly Lewis. During the past 15 years she has published more than 80 books.
Lewis grew up in the Pennsylvania Dutch country and she is best known for her books which depict the everyday lives of the Old Order Amish of Pennsylvania. She has just published “The Secret,” the first book in her “Seasons of Grace” series.
“The Secret” is the story of Grace Byler, a young Amish woman in Bird-in-Hand, Pa. Like many modern Amish, Grace is experiencing the world outside of her tight-knit community. She has a part-time job at Eli’s Natural Foods.
Grace isn’t married yet and she reflects that “being single was a concern for any young Amish woman. But I supposed it wasn’t the worst thing not to have a husband.” She lives with her family and she is becoming increasingly puzzled by her mother’s mysterious behavior.
Her mother appears to be troubled and while Grace is curious she is also somewhat reluctant to snoop into the reason because “yet as much as I longed to be privy to my mother’s secrets, something told me I might come to wish I never knew.”
The simplicity of the Amish lifestyle is lovingly depicted here. But that simplicity doesn’t make their lives any less complicated than those of us who might think that we live on the cutting edge of technology. Grace’s mother is deeply troubled by something. Her father wants to pretend that everything is as it should be.
Lewis does a marvelous job of capturing the merging of cultures that defines the Amish community in our midst. At one point a character observes that “the GPS indicated how many feet she had to travel before turning. She marveled at this cool technology while her car followed the horse and buggy.”
These books juxtapose this clash of cultures. The Amish venture into the modern world while still maintaining their stability and their deep religious convictions through simple lifestyles which preserve their beliefs despite the buzzing static of the high tech world around them.
Lewis, who now resides in Colorado, has a devoted fan base in this region. She is one of the most industrious authors around. Most authors do one or two book signings per day. On current book tour of Ohio and West Virginia, Lewis is conducting 32 book signings in a mere nine days. That is amazing.
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: confessions of a galley slave
Comments
By TRS
April 7, 2009 11:05 AM | Link to this
Thanks for the heads up - the Amish are most interesting people. As you note Christian publishing is better than other sectors. It has a built in following but I think it goes beyond that as there are also some great authors, many of which whose stories are fictional, but based on the cultures of the day and of course Christian principles. A few which come to mind include Randy Alcorn’s book “Safely Home” about Christian persecution in China and recently “The Shack” by William Young was an excellent thought provoking read. Also Francine Rivers is an excellent writer.By Rick
April 5, 2009 12:16 PM | Link to this
Thanks, Vic, I have always been fascinated by the Amish. I will definitely add her to my author list.By ron
April 5, 2009 11:30 AM | Link to this
and when’s the last time you saw the words “sizzling” and “amish” in the same sentence?