Dear Reader Letter

Dear Reader,

The idea for A Plain Scandal came to me while I was in the middle of writing A Plain Death, the first novel in the Appleseed Creek Mystery Series. This was during the fall of 2011. During that time, a group of Ohio Amish were in the local and national news. A half dozen men in a breakaway Amish group in Holmes County, which is right next to Knox County where my series is set, were arrested for cutting off the hair of Amish women and the beards of Amish men in their old district. They did this because they had a disagreement over doctrine and district rules. The men were charged with committing a religiously-motivated hate crime, a federal offense.

Having lived in Ohio my entire life, I can safely say the Amish are seldom in the news even at a local level, and Amish on Amish crime like this is rare. I’m not saying there is no crime in the Amish communities because there most certainly is, but little of it is known outside of the culture. The Amish guard their privacy and prefer to handle any disciplinary actions themselves. The fact the Amish harmed in this case reached out to the local police in Holmes County for help made this story different.

The true story is heartbreaking, and I feel for all the victims involved. However, as a mystery author, I couldn’t help but think of how this story could play out in a novel and fit well into the story arch I have planned for the entire series. From that realization, the beginning on A Plain Scandal was born.

Of course, I am a cozy mystery author, so although the true story inspiring the novel is dark, this mystery is light and humorous.

I hope this story teaches you something new about the Amish culture. May the characters make you smile, the mystery raise your suspicions, and the romance touch your heart.

Blessings and Happy Reading!

Amanda Flower