Sunday, June 30, 2024

About the Book

Book: Mary’s Calico Hope (The Heart of the Amish: Book 5)

Author: Anne Blackburne

Genre: Amish/Christian Fiction

Release date: June, 2024

Mary Yoder Is Content Despite Challenges Thrown Her Way

Full of faith, hope, and romance, this new series takes you into the Heart of Amish country.

If God wills it, Mary Yoder will do it, even if that means using crutches for the rest of her life. She was badly injured in a buggy accident as a child. Still, she is content living in the Dawdi Haus connected to her parents’ farmhouse and with her work weaving baskets and raising specialty roosters whose feathers she uses to make excellent trout lures. She is truly happy at twenty-nine, but. . .she wouldn’t mind finding a husband—if the Lord wills it. Along comes Reuben King, a Mennonite doctor. They are attracted to one another, but how could they ever be together? She’s a baptized Amish woman, so it seems impossible. Also, he wants her to have surgery to improve her mobility and lessen her day-to-day pain. She’s sick and tired of surgeries! But if God wills it, she’ll do it. And just maybe there will be a way for these two unlikely souls to connect.

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

Hello from Southeastern Ohio, where the sun is shining and it’s good to be alive!

Less than a year ago I wrote a kick-off post for the launch of my debut novel, Ruth’s Ginger Snap Surprise, which was also featured in a Celebrate Lit Book Tour in December 2023.

As a green newbie, I didn’t really understand what this meant, but I was (and am!) very happy for any help with my writing career. Well, the amazing bloggers who work with Celebrate Lit did a bang-up job promoting my book, and it is doing very well. So thanks to all of them, and to all who have read Ruth’s story!

Now, here I am again! I can hardly believe that my second book, Mary’s Calico Hope, is published and available to readers, and that once again I’m blessed to have the help of the Celebrate Lit folks in launching my book.

Mary Yoder will be familiar to anyone who read my first book. She appears several times in that story; you may remember her as the quiet young woman with a great attitude despite the fact that she has been using crutches to get around since a childhood accident injured her spine and legs.

Mary is the heroine of my second book, Mary’s Calico Hope. In fact, Mary is something of a heroine to me. I love her joy in living and her faith that God will get her through any challenge, even if she can’t begin to see how He’s going to do it.

We all face challenges, and would all benefit from a little more faith, and not just when times get tough, am I right?

I am so happy to bring you Mary’s story and can’t wait for you to experience her happy-ever-after. (Which of course is guaranteed, since we’re talking about a romance novel!) But how will she get there? Ah, that’s the question!

Thank you for taking the time to learn about Mary’s story! This book is my second in Barbour Publishing’s new series, “The Heart of the Amish”. It’s actually the fifth book in that series, which also contains great reads from authors Mindy Steele and Lisa Baker Jones.

I’m currently writing my third book in the series, which will feature a young woman you met in both Ruth and Mary’s stories, Elizabeth Miller. Look for Lizzie’s Little Mouse next winter.

Oh! I forgot to mention, each of my heroine’s received a tiny kitten from an elderly friend, Lydia Coblentz. Ruth had Ginger Snap. Mary has her calico kitten, Hope. And Lizzie’s kitten is a little gray one that reminds her of—you guessed it! A mouse!

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! Without you, it wouldn’t be possible.

As for me and mine, we are all well and enjoying spring in southeast Ohio. In other words, enjoying the sunshine, but carrying a sweater and an umbrella, just in case!

God bless you and yours!

Joyfully,

Anne Blackburne

MY REVIEW

There is a lot to this book that gave me hope, realized how we sometimes judge others by their looks and being able to enjoy finding joy. Mary has had a hard time since the accident that took her father’s life. The relationship Mary has with her mother is very sweet. Even though Mary is grown her mother still worries about her. One of the bright spots in Mary’s life is her adorable cat named Hope.

Reuben doesn’t quite expect the questions he gets from Mary’s mother when he knocks on their door. He is looking for a neighbor of theirs and was hoping to get directions. Before he knows it, he is drinking lemonade and getting aquatinted with the two women. I did laugh at Mary’s mother who is not shy about asking questions of a stranger. Maybe she is trying to play matchmaker. Poor Mary is embarrassed by the questions her mother asks the doctor.

As a doctor Reuben notices that Mary has difficulty getting around due to the accident. He wants to help her but she has misgivings about it. She has seen many doctors, gone through a lot of surgeries but still feels blessed. Her attitude is a great example for others to witness. Reuben’s compassion as a doctor is illustrated beautifully by his desire to help Mary.

One of the most impressive things about Reuben was how hard he worked to become a doctor. Being Amish prevented his family being able to support him. He made the decision to leave the Amish and follow his dreams. He worked hard and was awarded a full scholarship to Penn State. I loved following his journey to become a doctor. This really impressed Mary and I think she understood how much he wanted to help others as a doctor.

One of Mary’s best qualities is her courage. After enduring many surgeries, feeling unworthy and bullied she is now becoming more aware of how she does make a contribution to others. She has been harsh to Reuben but fear of another surgery has caused her to be a little unsure of her value to others.

The story is an example of never giving up. Two people who want to be together are faithful to their beliefs yet they desire to be married. Mary faces a difficult surgery once again and I see the hope she is filled with. I loved following these two characters and shared their journey with hope. As I finished the story I was impressed with great writing and the deep faith this story

“God always knows what we should do.”

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.