Plain Jane’s Secret Admirer Tour & Giveaway
About the Book
Book: Plain Jane’s Secret Admirer (The Heart of the Amish Book 11)
Author: Anne Blackburne
Genre: Amish/Christian Fiction
Release Date: January, 2026
Secrets Surround Shy Jane Bontrager
Full of faith, hope, and romance, this series takes you into the Heart of Amish country.
Sweet, shy, and devoted Amish woman, Jane Bontrager secretly hates her childhood nickname of Plain Jane. She doesn’t know who started the ugly name back in her school days, but she can never forget how it has long made her feel.
Jane has a huge crush on Amish buggy maker Samuel Mast, but they are both so shy they are more likely to turn old and gray alone than to ever get together—especially since Samuel holds a secret or two of his own.
What can bridge the gap between two young people who both deserve love and happiness?
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Anne Blackburne lives and works in Southeast Ohio as a newspaper editor and writer. She is the mother of five grown children, has one wonderful grandchild, and a spoiled poodle named Millie. For fun, when she isn’t working on Amish romance or sweet mysteries, Anne directs and acts in community theater productions and writes and directs original plays. She also enjoys reading, kayaking, swimming, searching for beach glass, and just sitting with a cup of coffee looking at large bodies of water. Her idea of the perfect vacation is cruising and seeing amazing new places with people she loves.
More from Anne
The amazing bloggers who work with Celebrate Lit are going to do a blog tour for my brand new book in Barbour’s “Heart of the Amish” series, “Plain Jane’s Secret Admirer”!
Jane’s story is available now to readers in print and online wherever fine books are sold, and I feel so blessed to have the help of the Celebrate Lit folks in launching this next tale from my made-up Amish community of Willow Creek, Ohio.
If you read any of my previous three Heart of the Amish books in the series, “Ruth’s Gingersnap Surprise”, “Mary’s Calico Hope”, and “Lizzie’s Little Mouse”, you’ll remember Jane Bontrager, their good friend who lives and works with Lizzie in her New Orleans Style French/Amish bakery in Willow Creek. Jane was also mentioned in Ruth’s story as one of the lucky recipients of a kitten from their elderly friend, Lydia’s, cat’s final litter.
Jane’s cat is a tabby named Secret, because she can tell her fluffy pal all of the wishes, hopes and dreams closest to her heart.
As the story opens, Jane is waving her brother John and Lizzie off on their wedding trip, promising to take good care of the bakery – and Lizzie’s precious cat, Little Mouse – while they are away.
But then Jane finds a mysterious note from someone claiming to be her secret admirer taped to the back door of the bakery, and her heart flutters, wondering if it could possibly be her long time crush, Samuel Mast, the buggy maker, who put it there, along with a whimsical little gift.
Between a water leak that damages ceilings in the bakery building and the sudden disappearance of both Secret and Little Mouse, Jane has no time to wonder who left the note and gift; she needs help!
And Samuel Mast, who is indeed her secret admirer, is ready to step up to the plate and do whatever it takes to help Jane find the cats, repair the bakery, and maybe even discover love along the way.
But Sam has a secret of his own. He’s the one who accidentally-on-purpose saddled her with the nickname “Plain Jane” when they were kids. He has no idea how to confess his mistake, or his love.
Will Jane and Sam be able to get past Sam’s terrible secret? And will they find the missing cats before Lizzie gets home? Don’t lose hope; with God, everything is possible!
Thank you for taking the time to learn about Jane’s story! This book is my fourth in Barbour Publishing’s series, “The Heart of the Amish”. Look for other great reads in the series from authors Mindy Steele, Kelly Irvin and Lisa Jones Baker.
I’m currently writing my fifth book in the series, which will feature a young woman you’ve met in some of my other stories, Miriam Zook. Miriam is a talented artist who paints stylized folk art paintings depicting scenes from Amish life.
Just like her friends, Miriam received a kitten from Lydia; a black and white fellow named Beauregard, or Beau for short. Her story, “Miriam’s Little Gentleman”, is due out in May, 2026.
I hope you’re having as much fun reading about these remarkable young women – and their kitties! – as I’m having writing about them. Thanks for being part of our journey!
As for me and mine, we are all well and enjoying a crisp winter in southeast Ohio.
God bless you and yours!
Joyfully,
Anne Blackburne
MY REVIEW
What a fun book this has been to read. I enjoyed getting to know Jane better. An innocent nickname given to her still bothers her today. No one really wants to be referred to as “Plain Jane.” Visions of a plain person who most don’t see is what our main character feels like. She has little confidence but if she only knew how beautiful she is to others that insecurity would fade away. I like how Jane is very kind and shy at the same time. She has no idea who her secret admirer is but oh my will there be some hurt feelings when secrets are revealed.
Samuel is a gentle person who loves to help others. For as long as he can remember he has had a crush on Jane. He regrets giving her a nickname so long ago. I don’t think he realizes how it has affected her though. It was fun to watch his little plan of being “the secret admirer.” His gifts are practical yet thoughtful. Now if he could only find the courage to tell her how he feels life would not be so complicated. Turning to God he knows he needs to ask Him to guide him to repair the damage he has done to Jane’s self-esteem.
I like how the story shows how insecurity and rejection can lead to feelings of not being worthy. God loves each of us and wants us to be free from anything that holds us back from living a life of joy. I couldn’t wait to see if a certain cat would turn up and where it ran off to. There is much to enjoy in this story and a good reminder that ,”God never gets tired of hearing our needs.”
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
Blog Stops
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 29
Texas Book-aholic, January 30
Simple Harvest Reads, January 31 (Guest Review from Marilyn)
lakesidelivingsite, February 1
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 2
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 3
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, February 4
Bizwings Blog, February 5
The Avid Reader, February 5
For Him and My Family, February 6
Jeanette’s Thoughts , February 7
Mary Hake, February 8
Holly’s Book Corner, February 8
Little Homeschool on the Prairie, February 9
Cover Lover Book Review, February 10
Book Holds and Jello Molds, February 10
Vicky Sluiter, February 11
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Anne is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon Gift Card and a copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://gleam.io/Gzisa/plain-janes-secret-admirer-celebration-tour-giveaway
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A resident of West Monroe, Louisiana, Pat Domangue has spent the past twenty years in women’s ministry inspiring and igniting a passion for Jesus through writing and teaching Bible studies for women. Pat has an advanced certification in Women’s Ministry, a bachelor’s degree in Christian Ministries through New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and a master’s degree in Biblical Studies from Trinity Seminary in Newburgh, Indiana. She has published four Bible studies for women: Quest for Wholeness: Healing The Broken; Equipped & Empowered: Preparing Women for Spiritual Battle; DIG: Digging Into God’s Word, a how-to guide for studying the Bible; and her latest, My Maker and Me: A Six-Week Bible Study of Becoming God’s Beautiful Vessel. Pat has also produced and hosted a Christian women’s television program and radio shows, and she currently hosts H.E.R. Podcast, bringing healing and encouragement to women in real life.
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Robin Patchen is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of Christian romantic suspense. She grew up in a small town in New Hampshire, the setting of her Coventry Saga books, and then headed to Boston to earn a journalism degree. Working in marketing, she discovered how much she loathed the nine-to-five ball and chain. After relocating to the Southwest, she started writing her first novel while homeschooling her three children. The novel was dreadful, but her passion for storytelling didn’t wane. Thankfully, as her children grew, so did her writing ability. Now that her kids are adults, she has more time to play with the lives of fictional heroes and heroines, wreaking havoc and working magic to give her characters happy endings. When she’s not writing, she’s editing or reading, proving that most of her life revolves around the twenty-six letters of the alphabet.