Creating stories set in Amish farmland has sustained my writer-heart in countless ways. It has taught me the importance of meticulous research and demonstrated to me just how universal some themes really are: At its core, each story is about lifting the spirit and stirring the heart, something that means readers from all ages and walks of life can connect to this cloistered and rather misunderstood group of people.
In this novel, Hill View, Arkansas, is a fictitious place based on the actual city of Ozark, a location my husband and I enjoyed visiting last fall while vacationing. Unlike the fictional Hill View, however, there is no Amish settlement in Ozark, though the town offers many other charms.
For his kindness and unfailing wisdom, thanks to my longtime editor and friend, David Horton. For directing my writing to mine the depths and find the sparkle, thank you to Rochelle Glöege and her expert editorial team—Helen Motter, Ann Parrish, Cheri Hanson, Sharon Hodge, and Jolene Steffer. And for fine-tuning bits and pieces of the manuscript, my appreciation goes to Barbara Birch. I also appreciate my niece Lizzie Birch’s enthusiasm for the game Dutch Blitz!
Special gratitude to each of my research assistants, including Hank and Ruth Hershberger, Erik Wesner (Amish America), and the unnamed Amish and Mennonites who kindly read my first drafts. To the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College, the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, and the good folk at Kauffman’s Farm Market, thank you. And to my partners in prayer, crucial to my writing endeavors: I am daily grateful for each of you.
And last, thanks to my wonderful husband, David Lewis, my first editor and brainstorming partner, salad-maker extraordinaire, and dearest prayer partner. And to our grown children, Julie, Janie, and Jonathan, and granddaughter, Ariel, thank you for being my biggest fans ever . . . and the dearest legacy I could ever have.
Soli Deo Gloria!