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Amish Weddings
Neighbors Of Lancaster County book 3
by Leslie Gould
Gould's Series Concludes in Love and Marriage
Gregarious Rose Lehman, who's always the life of the Amish youth singings, is determined to marry the bishop's son, Reuben Byler--until the handsome Army buddy of her future brother-in-law shows up in Lancaster County. In comparison to Trevor, Reuben seems downright boring. Trevor shares Rose's sense of fun and adventure, and her easygoing disposition.
When her sister Lila's buggy is rear-ended and Lila is horribly injured, Rose finds herself with more freedom than she's ever experienced. Everyone is so concerned about Lila that no one realizes Rose is sneaking out with Trevor. Except for Reuben. But in his usual passive way, he doesn't confront her, nor does he address the situation with her Dat or anyone else in the district. Rose appreciates Reuben's discretion, but she also resents it. Part of her relishes the freedom she's found with Trevor, but the other part of her wishes Reuben would "fight" for her, as much as any Amish man would. Too late, she realizes the foolish choice she's made. Has she ruined her best chance at love, or is there another path to happiness she just hasn't seen yet?
Gregarious Rose Lehman, who's always the life of the Amish youth singings, is determined to marry the bishop's son, Reuben Byler--until the handsome Army buddy of her future brother-in-law shows up in Lancaster County. In comparison to Trevor, Reuben seems downright boring. Trevor shares Rose's sense of fun and adventure, and her easygoing disposition.
When her sister Lila's buggy is rear-ended and Lila is horribly injured, Rose finds herself with more freedom than she's ever experienced. Everyone is so concerned about Lila that no one realizes Rose is sneaking out with Trevor. Except for Reuben. But in his usual passive way, he doesn't confront her, nor does he address the situation with her Dat or anyone else in the district. Rose appreciates Reuben's discretion, but she also resents it. Part of her relishes the freedom she's found with Trevor, but the other part of her wishes Reuben would "fight" for her, as much as any Amish man would. Too late, she realizes the foolish choice she's made. Has she ruined her best chance at love, or is there another path to happiness she just hasn't seen yet?
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with award-winning author
Leslie Gould
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#1. What was the inspiration for this book?
Amish Weddings is the third and last novel in the Neighbors of Lancaster County series. As the wife of a soldier who served for thirty years in the Army Reserve, including a tour in Afghanistan, I was very aware of the contradiction between my writing about the Amish and our real life: the Amish are non-resistant and would never serve in the armed services. |
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That led me to pondering what it would be like for a military family to move next door to an Amish family. In the first book in the Neighbors of Lancaster County series, Amish Promises, that’s just what happens—the Becks, an Army family, move down the lane from the Lehmans, an Amish family. In Amish Sweethearts, the oldest son in the Englisch family falls in love with the oldest daughter in the Amish family, raising the stakes even higher. And in Amish Weddings, tensions build even more as the two families continue living side-by-side.
#2. How long did it take to finish writing this book?
It took me four months to write the first draft and then a month to rewrite it and get it ready to send off to my editor. After that came more rewriting, edits, and proofs—over the span of a few more months. The editing process gives me the opportunity to take my stories deeper, which I really appreciate.
It took me four months to write the first draft and then a month to rewrite it and get it ready to send off to my editor. After that came more rewriting, edits, and proofs—over the span of a few more months. The editing process gives me the opportunity to take my stories deeper, which I really appreciate.
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#3. Do you have favorite character(s) in this book?
I have lots of favorites in this series! When you write three books that span over a decade about the same characters, they grow and change a lot—even the adults! That said, I hate playing favorites, lol, but Lila and Zane are the two I’d call out first. They were ’tweens in the first books, and have probably changed the most of anyone in the series. Rose and Reuben are the main couple in Amish Weddings, and I really like them too. It was fun to take Rose from a spunky seven year old to a—oops! I don’t want to give anything away! |
#4. What do you hope your readers will take away with them when they read this book?
The theme of the Neighbors of Lancaster series is straight from scripture: Love your neighbor as yourself. I hope readers are inspired to love themselves, their families, and their neighbors, including people who are very different than they are, more because of these stories.
The theme of the Neighbors of Lancaster series is straight from scripture: Love your neighbor as yourself. I hope readers are inspired to love themselves, their families, and their neighbors, including people who are very different than they are, more because of these stories.
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#5. What made you choose some of the specific locations in this book?
Amish Weddings almost entirely takes place in Lancaster County—just one scene takes place outside of that area. (In Amish Sweethearts, the second in the series, several scenes take place in Afghanistan.) The fun of mostly staying in Lancaster County for this one was revisiting houses, farms, businesses, and countryside that showed up in the first and second books because I was, mostly, looking at them from a different character’s point of view than before. |
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#6. How did you name your characters?
Amish Weddings is my twenty-fourth novel, and I have six more contracted that I’m in various stages of working on, which means finding the right name is getting tricky because I’ve already used so many! But, finding just the right name for each character continues to be so important. I really believe the starting point of a character is his or her name, and once I find the right one, the character really starts to take off—so I put a lot of thought into names. For this series, I really enjoyed choosing the names of the Englisch characters and the Amish ones. So much of this series was about comparing and contrasting the two families and the names were a big part of that.
Amish Weddings is my twenty-fourth novel, and I have six more contracted that I’m in various stages of working on, which means finding the right name is getting tricky because I’ve already used so many! But, finding just the right name for each character continues to be so important. I really believe the starting point of a character is his or her name, and once I find the right one, the character really starts to take off—so I put a lot of thought into names. For this series, I really enjoyed choosing the names of the Englisch characters and the Amish ones. So much of this series was about comparing and contrasting the two families and the names were a big part of that.
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#7. Tell us something sad that happened involving this book.
I thought a lot about my siblings and the family we grew up alongside when I was a child, and also the children my kids grew up with as I wrote this series. By the time I wrote Amish Weddings, the children in the series were mostly grown up, as they should be, and that made me sad, lol. Childhood friends are so important—and we always carry their memories and keep in touch as we can. But growing up means that relationships change, mostly because of geography. In that way, because several of the characters stay in Lancaster County, Amish Weddings is gentler than real life, which is one of the reasons I love writing fiction. ☺ |
Bonus: Share with us a thought, Bible verse, whatever is on your mind/heart.
The verse I’ve been focusing on lately is Micah 6:8.
The verse I’ve been focusing on lately is Micah 6:8.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
The Lord has shown us how to love our neighbors as ourselves, which includes being humble and merciful. Do I do this well? Not always. But it’s my prayer that I’d be faithful to the Lord and get better at loving my neighbors—locally, nationally, and internationally.
It's Time For A Giveaway!
Leslie Gould
is graciously giving away a Print set of all 3 books in the
Neighbors Of Lancaster County series
(USA ONLY)
is graciously giving away a Print set of all 3 books in the
Neighbors Of Lancaster County series
(USA ONLY)
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Stock photos from pixabay.com
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