Tattie Maggard

Christmas in July Giveaway!

2019-07-17T05:35:00.003-07:00

It's Christmas in July! Thirty sweet Christmas books are free right now to download, including my Amish Christmas book, I Hear Christmas, valued at $2.99.

Works on any device.

But hurry, offer ends July 31st. Please share!

https://books.bookfunnel.com/cleansweetchristmas…/z3wyykevpj

Copperheads, Tornadoes, and Floods, Oh My!

2019-05-03T12:11:00.001-07:00

This week has been so crazy! So I was walking my dog inside a fenced-in area in our backyard the other night and I just happened to have him on a leash. The only reason I had him on a leash is because he’s kind of squirrely and hard to catch and around bedtime he likes to hide under the bed in protest. So I threw a leash on him and out the door we went. Sometimes I’ll let him drag his leash in the pen and if I need to catch him I can always step on the end of the leash but I just happened to still have a hold on him and I was shining the light right in front of his path when I saw a Copperhead still as a stone with its head up looking at us. I was able to pull the dog back away from the most dangerous snake in our area before anyone got hurt. God was looking out for me that night. I certainly don’t have an extra $30,000.00 to pay for anti-venom and even a small bite could potentially kill an eleven pound dog. I’ll be wearing my boots outside after dark from now on. I’m used to checking all around me for bears when I go outside but looking for something small slithering on the ground is new to me. I’ve even found myself shining my light in the trees above me at times wondering if there’s a mountain lion up there, but snakes just don’t seem as likely to me somehow. And people wonder why I stay inside all the time.

Fast forward a day or two and my whole family is sitting in the cellar waiting out the tornado warnings. My daughter and her dog are shaking in terror. My dog fears nothing except being alone so he's running in circles. My husband and I sing to pass the time and lighten the mood. Singing in a cellar is a lot like singing in the shower. The sound bounces off the walls and makes everyone sound like a pop star. Pretty soon there’s a knock on the metal door above us and the neighbor and her little girl join us. It looks like a river flowing through the yard and down the road. They’ve since confirmed 12 tornadoes that day, but luckily our neighborhood was spared. The road, however, wasn’t. The creeks got up and my mother-in-law was unable to come home from work that night and had to spend the night in town. My father-in-law and some neighbors had to drive tractors down to the creek the next morning and fix the huge holes in the road. Everyone was taking pictures to show their boss why they couldn’t get to work on time. We’ve got a few rock piles in the yard that weren’t there before and the run-off is still making its way down the road but no damage done. All a part of living in the Ozarks.

Swan Creek Series Starters: An Amish Romance Collection Hits Number 1

2019-03-08T09:52:00.002-08:00

Thank you to all my readers for making my newest book, Swan Creek Series Starters: An Amish Romance Collection, a Amazon bestselling book in the Christian Fiction Collections and Anthologies category. I know you're going to enjoy the 100 pages of bonus material where I discuss all my Swan Creek stories and what I've learned from my research of the Swiss Amish.

If you haven't downloaded your copy yet you can do so for only $0.99 at the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PHKLQ5M

Thank you for reading and God bless!

An Amish Romance Collection Like You've Never Seen

2019-03-06T08:14:00.004-08:00

Celebrating the release of my newest Amish romance collection today!

This book, value priced at only $0.99 for Amazon Kindle, features 7 full books plus 100 pages bonus material about the Amish and the making of Swan Creek Settlement.

Take a guided journey with me through the Swan Creek community and learn interesting facts about the Amish. Find out why Amish women wear a kapp, how bishops are elected, where the Amish came from, what's the difference between the Amish and Mennonites, and more in this delightful and informative Amish romance collection.

Get your copy today for only $0.99 or read free with Kindle Unlimited.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PHKLQ5M

An Amish Heart by Tattie Maggard and Jacqueline Hopper

2019-02-06T07:50:00.000-08:00

An Amish Heart

I am so excited to share this new release with you. An Amish Heart is the first book my friend Jacqueline Hopper and I have written together and I know it won't be the last. We've already started on a new one this week. Like all of my Amish books, this is a Swan Creek story, and I have a feeling the characters we created in this book are going to pop up again and again.

Sometimes you have no choice but to go home again.

When Susie Yutzy hung up her kapp in pursuit of nursing scrubs, she believed she was done with Swan Creek forever. All it took was a lost little girl and a storm to haul her back into the arms of her ex-beau, putting her career and a certain handsome doctor's interest on hold.
But will Susie's revived Amish heart destroy her Englisher dreams?

You can purchase An Amish Heart for Amazon Kindle for only $0.99 for a limited time.
An Amish Heart link.

Do The Amish Play Musical Instruments?

2018-12-10T08:02:00.000-08:00

In one of my books, I Hear Christmas, the main character has a love of music. This story was based on the fact that most Old Order Swiss Amish communities only allow two instruments, the Jew's harp and the harmonica. Anything with strings is strictly forbidden.

I don't usually share my inspiration for my stories but these videos are too good to pass up. I had a lot of fun researching for this book and if you find music interesting you'll enjoy these as well.

If you'd like to hear the wide range of sounds the Jew's harp makes or the history of the instrument, this video is for you. It's kind of long but I find it fascinating. If you get bored, skip ahead to the performance part. The sound is unlike anything I've ever heard. Sort of other-worldly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SpWuseQGys

This video is very short (for those of you like me with data restrictions.) It inspired much of the musical aspect of my story, and I'll admit, some things about the main character. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYLtm9ep6Ng

I hope you've enjoyed a little glimpse of my research for this series.

New Amish Release - Amish Neighbors Book 4

2018-11-28T15:31:00.001-08:00

Just in time for the Christmas reading season comes Amish Neighbors Book 4!

2 Stories in 1

The Best Gift - Christmas is fast approaching. Can Asa convince Melvin Wickey to accept some much needed help for his family, or is the man too proud for charity?

A Note of Encouragement - Now that Jona's grandmother has passed, can he get rid of her annoying penpal, or will their old letters bring him a sense of peace he didn't know he was missing?

Only $0.99 for Amazon Kindle or read free in Kindle Unlimited.

Amish Neighbors Book 4

What do Amish Courting Couples Do Around Christmas?

2018-11-08T05:01:00.000-08:00

"What do Amish courting couples do around Christmas?" I asked my Amish born friend once, and then contemplated the answer for a long time.
"They make taffy."
"They make taffy?" I repeated.
"For a couples' get together."

It took a lot of research for this to sink in to my thick skull, but what I found out was both charming and historical.

Years ago here in rural Missouri, a young gal would invite her beau over to help make taffy in the winter when there were less outdoor chores and the weather kept them inside most of the time. But it wasn't all socializing. Making taffy is hard work, as I found out.

First you cook it on the stove, then you let it cool until you can handle it. That's when the fun begins. The couple might sit by the fire in chairs facing each other, and with buttery fingers the young man would grab hold of the taffy in his gal's hands and pull it toward him, stretching it out to incorporate air into the sticky mass, then hand it back to her in a constant rocking motion. It took ten minutes or more before the taffy would begin to get stiffer and be ready to cut. Meanwhile they'd gaze into each others eyes and visit.

The old timers around here will tell you it was a popular practice in these hills years ago, and I think it's really special that the Amish still do it. I love it when the Amish culture of today intersects with my own rural Missouri heritage.

This week I published a mini-collection of three short stories that revolve around one such taffy pulling "frolic" in Swan Creek just before Christmas. Check out Amish Neighbors Book 3 on Amazon Kindle for only $0.99 and free on Kindle Unlimited.

See all of the Amish Neighbors series here.

Have you ever made taffy? Leave a comment and tell us about it. (Especially if it was with your beau.) ;)

A Benefit Singing: A Sketch of Rural Missouri Life

2018-10-29T12:22:00.001-07:00

We arrive fifteen minutes before the singing is scheduled to begin and park in the hay field behind the church at about dusk. My daughter and I make our way around to the front doors. We shake hands with the pastor and step inside, but there’s nowhere to sit. We stand dumbly in the aisle a moment and I play with my daughter’s hair, nervously scanning every bench. Many neighboring churches are represented here, and not all of them share the same denomination as the one on the sign out front, but that doesn’t seem to bother anyone. Here we’re all the same, I remind myself. Finally, a lady from our church catches my eye, says hello, and offers to scoot over to make a place for me and my daughter. We’re grateful to have a place on a hard-backed bench with little space between it and the next one.

I’m a people watcher. Maybe it has to do with being a writer, or maybe it’s my way of dealing with the nervousness crowds bring me, but I quickly notice a lot of peculiarities about the individuals in the room. One man has a bald spot on top except for a little bit of fuzz that seems to be almost rolled into a ball. His mustache is almost hidden at the edges by the creases of his big droopy cheeks, despite being rather thin. There’s only one person in the room who hasn’t aged a day in ten years. She sticks out like a sore thumb to me and then I notice for the first time that I’m seeing the next generation of all the people I once knew. I can place most of the children on looks alone, even though I’ve not seen them since they were babies.

A prayer is said and the singing begins.

Men in flannel shirts beneath their faded overalls look like they were plucked straight from the field and had a guitar pushed into their hands. The round ring in their front overalls pocket indicates a years-long chewing tobacco habit.

Some can sing, and some can’t carry a tune in a paper bag, but no one is turned away. In fact, it’s often those without a singing gift who are the most spiritual, like the autistic boy who always sang along to Amazing Grace. A young boy sings with his grandmother while she plays piano. A ninety-four-year-old man is rockin’ it on the steel guitar. Over a hundred people are packed into a sanctuary built to comfortably seat eighty and at least twenty more are watching through the windows of the dining hall. Everyone gets a turn to sing. Even those who don’t offer are in danger of being recruited by the crowd. A guitar is thrust into their hands and without words or notes on a page they perform. People who used to be able to belt it out don’t have the volume anymore. New ones take their place. As they finish and start to walk away, someone from the crowd yells out another song title for them to sing.

There are at least twenty people crowded up front on foldable chairs with instruments, mostly guitars. In big gatherings like this one there might be one that’s electric, a banjo, steel guitar, and a few mandolins. Piano players change with the songs. Families do specials together, and testimonies are given randomly. Someone sings a song and an audience member may begin an unknown verse just as it ends. In the middle of a song someone may run up to the piano and start playing along by ear. The whole audience may sing along, or maybe just a voice or two. I know almost every word of every song. This makes it difficult to keep from singing along softly.

Soon a couple baskets are passed down the rows and everyone offers what they can, some putting in get well cards. When the money is all counted, over $7,000 has been raised for a man with too many hospital bills who was always visiting others in the hospital when they were sick.

The singing starts again. I’m relieved when they get to my husband and he doesn’t offer to sing. I can spot him easily in the crowd. The back of his head has a big gray patch on one side, the product of when he lost his hair from radiation about the time we began seeing each other. That was twenty-two years ago, when a benefit just like this one was held for him. It suddenly makes me very glad I came. Not because this is the closest thing I have to health insurance, but because it’s right to do so and part of my rural Missouri heritage.

Next thing I know they’re calling for me to sing. I step around a man in a wheelchair sitting in the aisle. When I reach the front there’s very little room to even stand with all the musicians. My husband hands me a book and announces the number. I nervously turn to the page and hope it’s something I can sing. I hold the book open and notice it’s shaking. I look at the crowd and note how odd all the heads look since they’re not in neat rows but packed in tightly like sardines, with some people in the aisle and others standing in the back. The music starts and I sing. As loud as I can, because there’s no microphone, and because I just feel like it. To my amazement it sounds right. People start singing with me and it’s exhilarating to be leading. Even so, my book shakes even more as the song goes on and by the time it’s over I don’t think I could have made it another verse if I had to. I close my mouth tight and walk back to my seat quietly with my head down, suddenly embarrassed I let everyone see so much of myself. New people take my place up front and finally the shaking stops.

After two hours, a prayer is said and a long line forms in the direction of the food tables in the next room but the singing doesn’t stop. We wait in line for ten minutes and finally see eight crock pots of chili and more desserts than you can possibly count.

I try to mingle, but I’m terrible at it. It shouldn’t be hard since I know most of the people there, but I’m not good with social situations. I will not talk about my books, I repeat to myself over and over. I don’t want to bore people and I’m certain I’ve talked some heads off in the past about whatever I was most interested in at the time. Everyone I talk to asks me how many books I have out now. I can’t remember the exact number and I’m not sure if that makes me sound like an airhead or just crazy productive. I’m hoping for the latter. One of them keeps asking me questions and soon we’re engaged in a fascinating conversation about the differences between Baptists and the Amish faith. Suddenly I remember my father-in-law rode with us and decide we’d better take him home. Not everyone is a social butterfly.

My husband pulls a flashlight out of his pocket and leads us to the field where we parked. I’m glad we came, if for no other reason than it’s one of the things I truly want my daughter to experience first hand.

Things change. People, places, even cultures change. But I hope there will always be hill people who wear pin-striped overalls and play banjos, and people who aren’t afraid to sing and who are willing to help out someone in need.

Readers Love The Amish Vow by Tattie Maggard

2018-09-24T09:30:00.002-07:00

See what readers have to say about my new novel, The Amish Vow.

"Anyone loving innocent romance and belief in God will enjoy this beautiful and tender story." --Amazon Reviewer

"I could not put it down!" --Goodreads Review

"Beautiful Amish love story." --Goodreads Review

Will she risk everything for a chance at love?

Here's the link so you can check it out yourself. Only $0.99 or Free with Kindle Unlimited.

https://www.amazon.com/Amish-Vow-Romance-Novel-ebook/dp/B07HFH7CLN

New Amish Romance Novel: The Amish Vow by Tattie Maggard

2018-09-18T20:48:00.001-07:00

Will she risk everything for a chance at love?

Lena May Wickey flees her Amish home in search of freedom to live her own life, but when the Lord sends the ground to swallow her up and she meets the handsome Wesley Montgomery, the town's veterinarian, she must choose between love and the vow she made to God.

From the author of the bestselling Amish romance series Forbidden Amish Love comes The Amish Vow, a romance that spans two worlds, English and Amish.

This is a stand-alone Swiss Amish romance novel.

This book has been in the making for quite some time. I actually started it a year ago and had to set it aside because the characters had minds of their own and I think I was afraid of where they were headed. When I picked it back up again I realized I should have trusted them to know what they were doing. It's a lovely story. Here's the link so you can check it out yourself. Only $0.99 or Free with Kindle Unlimited.
https://www.amazon.com/Amish-Vow-Romance-Novel-ebook/dp/B07HFH7CLN

New Release: Amish Neighbors Book 1 (And a Request)

2018-09-07T17:08:00.000-07:00

Looking to expand my review team. Do you love Amish Kindle books? Do you know your way around the Amazon website? Can you type a few honest sentences about the books you read?
Then email me at tattiem@ymail.com and put Pick Me in the subject line.

Amish Neighbors Book 1 is the beginning of a whole new Christian series of short Amish fiction set in the fictitious Swan Creek community.

A Piece of Home

A Mennonite woman goes back to her childhood Amish home at Christmas, and reconsiders her decision to leave the community.

The Stubborn Type

A wife's visit to the doctor leaves her husband unsettled. Can he change his ways before it's too late?

Mabel's Treasure

A little Amish girl finds something interesting on her trip to town. But will her mother find it and make her give it back?

Amish Neighbors: Stories From The Heart is an inspirational new series featuring short stories about the characters of Swan Creek Settlement. While these stories stand alone, fans will recognize some beloved characters from previous books.

Only $0.99 for Amazon Kindle and Free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription.

New Amish Romance - Amish Neighbors: Stories From The Heart

2018-09-05T09:03:00.002-07:00

Enjoy this mini-collection of clean and wholesome stories about Swiss Amish life and culture, each detailed and skillfully written by bestselling Amish romance author, Tattie Maggard, in a format to fit your busy lifestyle.

A Piece of Home
A Mennonite woman goes back to her childhood Amish home at Christmas, and reconsiders her decision to leave the community.

The Stubborn Type
A wife's visit to the doctor leaves her husband unsettled. Can he change his ways before it's too late?

Mabel's Treasure
A little Amish girl finds something interesting on her trip to town. But will her mother find it and make her give it back?

Amish Neighbors: Stories From The Heart is an inspirational new series featuring short stories about the characters of Swan Creek Settlement. While these stories stand alone, fans will recognize some of the beloved characters from previous books.

Purchase your copy of Amish Neighbors: Stories From The Heart Book 1 on amazon.com.

Can't Stop Crying

2018-07-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

I just got a message from my dear friend, Laura Marshall, the owner of ChristianBookFinds.com, the website I started back in August of 2011. My daughter was just a baby back then and I started it because I believed strongly that every Christian author should have an opportunity to market their book affordably (and because if I didn't find something to do I would have gone crazy.)

The site has grown tremendously since then. I never once regretted taking Laura on as my business partner and though it was a big decision to leave Christian Book Finds to homeschool my daughter and write full time I haven't regretted that, either. It's been left in capable hands, that's for sure, as evidenced by the beautiful new look.

Laura left a touching blog post thanking everyone who made the site possible and when I read it the tears flowed. Seeing what she's been able to accomplish with the site has really been a dream come true. If you love Christian Kindle books as much as I do (over 10,000 ebooks last count) then you need to check out Christian Book Finds for the latest deals. Tell Laura Tattie sent you. ;)

And I know how much you adore Amish fiction. Laura has teamed up with Amos Wyse on their second Amish series and they're all free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. Check out their books here.

If you still haven't purchased The Amish Flower Shop 3 here's the link. Look for my novel this September and some short stories coming soon as well.

Thank you for reading and reviewing! God bless!

The Amish Flower Shop Book 3 and Other News

2018-07-11T05:42:00.001-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that The Amish Flower Shop Book 3 is finally available for purchase in the Kindle Store at just $0.99. This will conclude The Amish Flower Shop series. A paperback version with all three stories under one cover is also available now for $6.98.

This summer has been very busy already. My daughter just started a new homeschool year and we wanted to get some swimming in before Swan Creek got too dry. The bears have been very active this season, turning over trash barrels and eating my Mother's Day flowers on the porch.

I took a few weeks off of writing to train our new dog we adopted from the shelter. She has a very traumatic history and needed a lot of emotional support to adjust to her new surroundings. I'm happy to report she's a totally different dog than when we brought her home.

She's been helping to keep the bears (and other critters) out of the yard, but now it seems that it's the snakes we need to worry about. A friend of ours was bitten by a copperhead on the 4th of July. Thankfully, she didn't need anti-venom. At $30,000 for a treatment I bet she was glad she didn't. We've been wearing our boots with our skirts lately.

Watch for my new novel coming out this September. I'd love to tell you more about it, but I know I'd say too much if I tried and spoil it for you, so you'll just have to wait and see.
Thank you for reading and reviewing and God bless!

Buy The Amish Flower Shop Book 3 at this link.

Lions and Coyotes and Bears, Oh, My!

2018-05-21T15:20:00.000-07:00

Summer has arrived early at Swan Creek. The flowers are in full bloom, we’ve had record high heat, and the bears are already running amok. It's usually not until July or August that we see them. Last summer I ran one out of our yard with a pot and a wooden spoon. A few summers before that was the scary incident on the 4th of July. I still don't know why the fireworks didn't keep them away the three times we ran it off. A few weeks ago, a mother bear and at least one cub came into the yard, turned over every trash barrel in the neighborhood and took the neighbor’s last chicken. I took pictures of the bear tracks left all over the yard.

We can’t let our children go outside by themselves anymore. But if it weren't for the bears, it would be the mountain lions, or the wolves, or the coywolves. Some people are envious of our quiet, rural country life where every wild animal wanders through the yard whenever it wishes. They should try sleeping here in the winter with a coyote parked outside the bedroom window howling all night in an effort to lead the dogs away. We’ve joked about moving to town where our daughter could play ball in the middle of the street and be safe, like “normal” children. She’s not allowed to go out to the swingset beside the house by herself. About a mile away, the neighbors report never seeing anything more than the occasional cow wandering through the yard. That's the difference of living in the "holler".

Not long after the trash barrel incident, a lone bear came into the yard during the day and the dog ran it over the hill. Thankfully, we’d just gotten rid of all the chickens. A coyote was coming into the yard before church every Sunday and circling the pen. None of the hens had laid any eggs in a long time (stress, maybe?) and we were getting tired of worrying about them. Now we just have a dog and the hummingbirds to care for.

That's how I like it.

We're not farmers. We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, and flowers, but just enough to say that we're growing something and for my daughter to see that food comes from the ground and not a grocery store warehouse. I still have high hopes of growing some coleus plants from seed and saving them to plant from year to year. It's something I used to do, and I'd like to recapture that bit of myself, if at all possible. Maybe then I could pretend that I don’t have a love/hate relationship with the outdoors.

For some reason, it seems like the more we look forward to a season, the faster we get tired of it and are ready to move on to the next. I wonder if that's human nature, or just me being spoiled. I love the Ozarks and my home here at Swan Creek. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. My daughter says she wouldn’t want to leave Missouri even for a vacation. (One of these days I WILL see that ark in Kentucky.) But it makes me wonder if she'll remain that way into adulthood.

A mother can hope.

And even with the bears, there’s still a lot to look forward to in the coming hot months, like our favorite swimming hole at the creek.

Ella's At It Again - Book 2 The Amish Flower Shop by Tattie Maggard

2018-03-07T09:55:00.000-08:00

Ella Lengacher is minding Simpson’s Flower Shop for another week.

Can she balance running a business and finding time to visit with Levi Miller, who still struggles to tell the twin sisters apart? And will Marcy and Katy succumb to Ella’s matchmaking efforts or find love on their own?

Find out in The Amish Flower Shop Book 2, a light-hearted Amish romance from bestselling Amish author, Tattie Maggard.

https://www.amazon.com/Amish-Flower-Shop-Book-ebook/dp/B07B8F2LDF

Only $0.99 for Amazon Kindle OR FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

And in case you missed it, here's the link to Book 1.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079LNG1QF

I've had a lot of fun with Ella, Marcy, Katy, and their growing list of love interests. Ella is a character different than I've ever written before. She's headstrong, stubborn, and persistent, and I love her despite her faults. These are short Amish romances but they're more than that. They're not just about boy meets girl, but also about a person with hopes and dreams beyond getting married and raising a family. Ella must balance her extreme goals for her life and I think that's why I identify with her so much. Sometimes it feels like life is too short to accomplish everything I want to do. I know Ella feels the same.

I hope you enjoy The Amish Flower Shop Book 2 as much I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

God Bless!

New Amish Romance - The Amish Flower Shop by Tattie Maggard

2018-02-10T08:01:00.001-08:00

When an Amish woman is asked to run the local flower shop will it be a dream come true, or more than she bargained for?

After making an impulsive promise to the owner of the local flower shop, Ella Lengacher must carry on in her stead, but what does she know about running a business? And can she catch the eye of Levi Miller, or is it her twin sister Marcy he's come to see?

Find out in The Amish Flower Shop Book 1, a light-hearted Amish romance from bestselling Amish author Tattie Maggard.

Only $0.99 for Amazon Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Amish-Flower-Shop-Book-ebook/dp/B079LNG1QF

The Amish of Swan Creek Collection $0.99 For a Limited Time

2018-02-09T08:48:00.001-08:00

Huge price drop to tell you about.
The Amish of Swan Creek Romance Collection is on sale this week. It's part of a Kindle Countdown Deal that begins at $0.99 and slowly rises back to full price of $4.96. It contains my first four Amish romance books under one cover and it's a great way to get started in the world of Swan Creek Settlement.
524 Pages of Amish romance for one low price.

It contains:

Book 1: Sweet Competition
From the time they were youngsters in a one-room Amish schoolhouse, Emma and Jeb have competed in everything from foot races to fishing contests. But now that they’re grown and competing leads to pride, the worst sin of all, Emma must choose to put away childish squabbles and concentrate on her baptismal classes, so she can join church and marry Luke, her long time beau.

When Jeb starts a rumor about her, the whole community turns on Emma, and those childhood feelings come back with a vengeance. But is it hatred she feels for Jeb or something else?
Approximately 20,000 words.

Book 2: Redeeming Ruth
Sydney Ruth Glynn doesn’t often know where her next meal will come from. Her deadbeat mom, JoAnn, abandons her, sometimes weeks at a time, with no money and an empty pantry. Now JoAnn wants to introduce her to some relatives in Amish country. Sydney agrees to go for the weekend, but when her mom takes off again without her, Sydney’s left with a large group of strangers who look at her as if she’s from another planet.

With no job prospects and only a tenth-grade education, Sydney must decide to either try to make it in the world on her own or stay with the people her mother rejected sixteen years ago, including the handsome young Amish man who threatens to steal her heart.
Approximately 40,000 words.

Book 3: Abigail’s Letters
Thirty-two and unmarried, Abigail Lengacher is essentially an old maid in the Amish community. But her luck is about to change when a penpal from a neighboring settlement proposes marriage, and a stranger seeking employment visits the woodshop where she works. Now she has two men interested in her, which is much more than she ever dared to dream. How will she choose? And if she keeps them waiting, will she lose them both?
Approximately 21,000 words.

Book 4: The Long Way Home
Anna May Shetler is on a mission to prove to Jonas Hilty they’re meant for each other. He’d kissed her after the Sunday singing, but he’s still playing hard to get. In an effort to make Jonas jealous, Anna May accepts a ride home from his twin brother, Elias, but will a buggy accident derail all her plans for her future?
Approximately 33,000 words.

Read free on Kindle Unlimited.
524 Pages

Click HERE to purchase The Amish of Swan Creek Collection

What's New In Amish Romance?

2018-02-07T06:42:00.001-08:00

What's New
I'm happy to announce my newest series, The Amish Flower Shop. Book 1 just went live and is ready for your reading enjoyment. You can find it here.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079LNG1QF

After making an impulsive promise to the owner of the local flower shop, Ella Lengacher must carry on in her stead, but what does she know about running a business?

And can she catch the eye of Levi Miller, or is it her sister Marcy he's come to see?

Find out in The Amish Flower Shop Book 1 only $0.99 on Kindle and free with Kindle Unlimited.

Sales
The Amish of Swan Creek Collection will be on sale beginning February 9th, 2018 for a Kindle Countdown Deal. It will go back to its usual price of $4.96 February 16th. It will begin at $0.99 and slowly rise from there so if you haven't read it, grab it quick.

Free Short Story: Mending The Heart
If you weren't able to access my free short story available to all newsletter subscribers via sign-up on my website, please email me (tattiem@ymail.com) with Free Short in the subject line. I'll verify your email and send you a link. It's a sweet story, don't miss it!

One of my New Year's resolutions is to be more active on social media. I'm going to try to put out a newsletter more often so watch for an email from me the first week of each month.

Send Some Love This Valentine's Day
Leave a review or tell a friend about a book you've read recently and make a difference in the life of an author.

From Christian authors everywhere, thank you for reading and God bless!

Why Asheville? - Frequently Asked Question About My Latest Amish Fiction Series

2017-12-01T09:42:00.002-08:00

The first thing readers want to know is why Asheville? As you may already know, there's a town called Asheville in North Carolina. I've never been to North Carolina. So why write a story about a fictitious town in Missouri named Asheville?

I'm a big Christy fan. You know, the book that named the Christy awards? It was written by Catherine Marshall in 1967 and is out of print now. If you're really lucky you can still find a used copy like I did on ebay. They even made a TV series about it. It was probably the last thing I read before starting my Amish writing in January.

I have a hardcover copy with a beautiful line drawing map of the area in the front. It shows you where each family lives in Cutter Gap, Tennessee. The main character was from the town of Asheville. I fell in love with that story. And the map.

So when I decided to create Swan Creek Settlement I made my own, complete with a nearby town of Asheville. In case you're wondering, Swan Creek is real. If it rains too much, the creek rises and we are stuck at home till it comes back down. All a part of livin' in the Ozarks.

Here's the map I made. Not half as nice as the one in the front of Christy, but it helped me visualize the area when I wrote the first few books. My daughter helped me by coloring in the corn fields. :)

We made Amish houses blue and Englisher houses yellow.

You can purchase What Happens In Asheville (An Amish Rumspringa Book 1) for only $0.99 on Kindle. Books 2 and 3 are also $0.99 for a limited time. Also available in paperback.

New Series - An Amish Rumspringa

2017-11-28T07:30:00.001-08:00

Rumspringa, pronounced room-shpring-uh, is the Amish "running around" years. It begins when the youth reach about sixteen and ends in their early twenties when they decide whether or not to join church. It's a big decision. Joining church means living according to the Ordnung, an unwritten set of rules the community must follow for the rest of their lives. This makes Rumspringa an important Amish tradition.

In my newest series, An Amish Rumspringa, you'll tag along with a group of Amish youth out to see what the world has to offer. They each have different reasons for their journey away from home, and the decisions they make will impact their lives forever.

Now available in ebook and paperback, exclusively from Amazon.com

Book 1 What Happens In Asheville
Book 2 Stays In Asheville
Book 3 Finding Love In Asheville

New Release - The Christmas Stranger (A Swiss Amish Christmas) $0.99

2017-10-11T08:56:00.001-07:00

A cold front moved in yesterday and now I'm sitting here in long fuzzy socks and a long-sleeve wrap, glad that the heat of summer is finally behind us. Now it's time to write! And for those of you who love to read Amish fiction, it's time for you to settle in someplace cozy and catch up on your reading list.

A Swiss Amish Christmas features three heartwarming Amish romances set at Christmastime and are overflowing with Swiss Amish culture and tradition.

The Christmas Stranger is the third book in the series but need not be read in order. It's $0.99 for Kindle, Free on Kindle Unlimited, and the paperback is only $3.68. Here are the links and description.

The Englisher was the perfect person to help her leave, only he had secrets of his own.

Maddie Graber has had it with farm life and is moving to Asheville. Ever since her brother Thomas left her with all his chores she’s been thinking on it. But when Dat hires an Englisher to be his new farm hand, Maddie begins to second-guess her decision. Life on the farm is no longer boring, but can the stranger fix everything else that’s wrong with the place, and will he capture her heart in the process?
Approximately 22,000 words.

Kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076C6NDFX

Paperback:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1549920707

Other books in A Swiss Amish Christmas series:
https://www.amazon.com/Swiss-Amish-Christmas-Book/dp/B075KJLRNF

We're NOT Farmers - Not By Any Stretch Of The Imagination

2017-09-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

I begged. I pleaded. "Please, don't make me do it," I said. "Anything but that." I made the man a huge plate of bacon. (I hate cooking bacon.) I made him coffee. (I can't drink coffee). Then I smiled while he ate, hoping he was joking.

Hours later, darkness came. I finally finished my five thousand word quota for the day on my new Swiss Amish Christmas story. We settle in to watch American Ninja Warrior when he says, "After this goes off, we'll go cut the rooster's spurs."
My mouth drops open. He wasn't kidding. "Can't we just eat him?" (I don't eat meat.)
"It won't be so bad."
"No." I shake my head. "Get your dad to help you."
"Dad's already in bed."
"He is not!" He just got a new TV for his bedroom last weekend at a garage sale for $5. I know he's not sleeping, even though you can't see the lights on in his house across the road.
"It'll just take a minute."

My husband gets the pliers, my good pair of garden snippers, and a flimsy cardboard nailfile. (Again, mine). I tell my daughter we'll be right back, but of course she wants to come watch. We take a flashlight to the henhouse and I hold the light while he goes in and picks the rooster up by the feet off the roost. Needless to say, the rooster is not happy about being so rudely awakened, but you have to do it at night or you'll never catch him. He's been tearing up the hens pretty bad lately and my husband fears for the oldest ones.

We're not farmers. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Farmers make money with their livestock. We pay for feed every month and beg people to help relieve us from a fridge overflowing with eggs. I'm a vegetarian. One who doesn't even eat eggs or dairy, but I'm not Vegan. Vegan is some strange religion people around here are especially leery of.

I pull the pliers from my husband's pocket and hand them to him. We know how to do this because we watched two youtube videos on it before we walked out of the house.

"I need another hand," he says. "Take his other foot."
I cringe and reach for his huge, yellow foot but draw my hand back quickly before I touch it. "Do I have to?"
"Yes."

My daughter laughs hysterically.
The Bible verse about submitting to your husband comes to mind. I whimper as I make contact with the leg this time, holding onto it firmly. "Oh, please hurry," I say in a high-pitched voice.

My husband takes hold of the spur and gently rocks it just like in the video. It slips off easily and he spends the next minute and a half examining it because he's completely fascinated.
"We're going to get eat up," I say. (I'm not getting bit by mosquitoes and haven't seen one tonight but I want him to hurry.)

He pulls the other one off and he finally takes the other leg from me and sets the rooster down gently on the nest box. Still stunned, it doesn't even try to move.
"He's just been upside down too long. He'll be fine," I say.
"You think?"
"Yeah, you don't want him floppin' around in the dirt anyway. He's fine. Let's go inside."

My husband doesn't let us go inside yet. There could be snakes out (we know a guy who got bit by a copperhead this summer) and we only brought one flashlight so we all have to go together. (Our yard is pitch black without it.) He watches the rooster a few more minutes until he finally lets us come back in the house.

"That was a really good idea," he says. "I never would have thought to do that."
"Youtube, Dear. It's the wave of the future." I wash my hands twice and head back to my computer, thankful once again to be getting some use out my overpriced internet package. "But next time," I call out from the bedroom, "ask your dad."

Sunday Morning Before Church

2017-09-17T13:22:00.002-07:00

"It's Sunday, ain't so?" I ask. Most days I don't know what world I'm in, much less the day.
"Yeah," my husband says. "Did you wash my overhauls?"
I roll my eyes at his word for overalls, then I cringe when he pulls them out of his closet. He's going to wear them again. He disappears into the bathroom with clanking of heavy metal buckles. I wonder what age men should start wearing overalls, but I'm sure it's not forty.

I try to wake my daughter for the third time, but she still won't rise. Acorns sound like rocks hitting the tin roof. Sometimes it's so loud it sends the dog hiding in my daughter's closet.

I'm glad for Sundays. Sunday means rest and my brain feels overheated. On Sundays I can read the Bible, visit family between churches, and practice my ukulele. Jim will be expecting a song. Jim's a long, toothpick of a man with a crooked grin you can't help but smile along with. He lets me watch his fingers when he plays guitar or dobro and I do my best to follow along on the ukulele. He calls it my little guitar. I love Jim and when he tells me to sing, I sing, whether I've practiced or not.

The first fall leaves sail down in the breeze outside the sliding glass window. It's dreary looking. If it rains I won't be able to take my ukulele to church with me tonight. My husband said he'd buy me a case for my birthday, but that was months ago. This year has gone by so fast. Ever since I started writing Amish books in January it's flew by. I've recently lost count of how many I've written, but I know I just published number nine.

I put on my headcover, a wide band of black, stretchy cloth, and slip on my sandals. It's time to go and I can't wait to get my day of rest started. I warn myself not to speak to any of my Amish characters today, but I doubt that's possible. In my mind another story's already swimming.