Celebrate Lit / May 4, 2024

Courting an Amish Bishop

About the Book Courting an Amish Bishop

Book: Courting an Amish Bishop

Author: Mindy Steele

Genre: Amish/Christian Fiction

Release Date: April, 2024

No One Is Ever Too Old to Love Again

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

Simon Graber became a widower and a bishop early in life. His focus is solely on his very close-knit Old Order Amish community—not entertaining the idea of marriage, despite what many of the elders think. When sickness comes to Cherry Grove, Kentucky, Simon reaches out into the next community for help. But help is beginning to look a lot like a second chance when Stella Schmucker agrees to offer her vast herbal knowledge to the sick. Can it be that these two, who have been too busy serving others to entertain the idea of love, have met at just the perfect time for an unlikely courtship?

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My Thoughts on Courting an Amish Bishop

Courting an Amish Bishop is a sweet Amish fiction novel full of romance but also struggles and loss. You’ll love this one! I’ve always been a fan of Amish novels. There are lots about the Amish people that intrigue me and make me want to learn more about them and their ways. But there is also something about the novels that is calming. Something that brings peace. Normally you don’t find a lot of suspense in Amish romance novels.

This is book four in the Heart of the Amish series. While you don’t have to read the whole series or the books in order, I am going to say that you should. Series should always be read in order in my opinion.

While this book was a wonderful novel I enjoyed the romance, I also enjoyed the herbal knowledge. Kudos to the author for seeking out and including them all! I’m a huge lover of herbs and doing things naturally as much as possible so this was especially fun for me.

Stella comes to another community to share her knowledge of healing and herbs. They’re dealing with sickness and the bishop reaches out to her. The young bishop. The widow bishop. Maybe that means something? Or maybe not. But either way, you’ll love the back and forth of the novel and the herbal knowledge as well. I’d love to know if you read it and what you thought.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

About the Author of Courting an Amish Bishop

Mindy Steele is the award-winning author and bestselling author of over a dozen novels and novellas in Christian fiction. Raised in Kentucky timber country, Steele has been writing since she could hold a crayon on the wall and lives in northeastern Kentucky—where many of her stories are set.

More from Mindy

The Story Behind the Story with Mindy Steele

Courting an Amish Bishop

Sometimes the smallest detail can spark the greatest story. It can be a laugh, a flower petal, or even a cup of tea. I have always been drawn to little details and there are times when I felt God tapping on my shoulder, saying pay attention to this. So from a brief chat or set of bones found on a wooded path, stories have taken root.

For this story, it was a cup of elderberry tea late one evening that sent my thoughts to wander. I grew up on the edge of Appalachia and had learned a few herbal remedies to quickly ward off the flu or stop poison ivy before the first itch. As an Amish fiction writer, I wondered if the Amish resorted to the same natural ways. I knew my neighbors used charcoal internally at times, as well as stockpiling burdock leaves to dry in their attic for burns and wounds, but I wanted to know more.

There is a strong belief among many that the Amish refuse modern medicine. This is simply not true.

Most prefer modern medicine as a last resort.

Though I once had an Amish neighbor who’d run to the doctor quite often for the least little thing.

Coincidentally, I had gone on a summer book tour in southern Kentucky and crossed paths with an Amish healer. She was a remarkable woman, full of wisdom and information. I have also been blessed to have Doc Sam, an Amish man, living just down the road, as well as a few Amish women willing to share their thoughts with me.

Healers have a vast knowledge that is not limited to just one thing.

An Amish midwife is often sought after for more than when a child is ready to be welcomed into the world. A chiropractor, or muscle stretcher as they are called since no degree has been obtained, can tell you the best remedy for burns, womanly issues, or how to detox your liver.

Stella Schmucker was my most interesting character to write.

As a woman who needed healing in her own life, it was by God’s grace she became one. As I got to know her, I knew a Bishop had to play a major part in her journey. We often think of men in such positions as stern, authoritarian, and well…old.

But a man may draw the lot at as young as 30 if he has already held the position of a deacon or minister. I have seldom read a story where the bishop isn’t stern and always reminds us to follow the rules, but what we don’t see is the man under the hat!

Simon reveals an outer and inner man, one struggling with loss, yet faithful in helping others. I have been waiting to write a Bishop’s story for some time, and once Stella’s life was laid out in front of me, the match was made.

I hope you enjoy this story and getting to know Ellie, my silver lab Stella borrows to entertain you. Who knows, you might even learn a few herbal remedies too.

Many blessings and good health,

Mindy