It’s here! It’s here! The time has finally come! John Paul in Love is hitting cyber-shelves today! (Paper coming soon.)

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time. But maybe you thought that it has been too long since I started saying John Paul’s book is coming. That maybe I had forgotten all about John Paul and the good folks of Clover Ridge. Never!

It’s just John Paul’s story proved to be a little more of a challenge than either he or I anticipated. Not that I didn’t want him to have his happily ever after. I did. John Paul has been tireless and helpful and misunderstood for three books. He started off young and a little impetuous. But he was, and has always been, kind. And caring. And he needed someone special.

I’m not going to lie. My first plan had been to kill off Danny Detweiler. Simple. Had this plan for years. Since the very beginning of the Clover Ridge Series, way back when, starting with Saving Gideon. It’s a fair plot device, especially since the Amish can’t divorce. But somehow it wasn’t right, to make Bethany a poor widow and have John Paul have prove his worth to her after the fact.

Hadn’t he already done that by working a secret job to help pay for his mother’s cancer treatments? And all the times he watched Samuel and took him to the doctor after his accident? And all the countless other little things he does for his family and friends.

Which made this little voice in the back of my head whisper that maybe John Paul was better off without Bethany.

Wait…what? But he’s been in love with her forever.

But is he really?

Of course he is. That’s why he wants to marry her.

But not enough to actually go through with joining the church and giving up his English habits.

Maybe this wasn’t a good match from the start. Maybe it’s time for me to find John Paul someone else to love.

I never planned on that someone being Rachael Miller. But you know what they say about plans?

Well, a lot of things. But my favorite is attributed to Mike Tyson.

And I certainly got punched in the mouth. But I managed to pull myself out and go with the muse. The result is out today! Hope you will check it out!!

Rachael Miller has decided: It’s time she becomes an independent Amish woman. A widow with two young daughters, she has been passed over three times for a second marriage. Now it’s time for a new plan. That’s why she’s starting her own goose farm. But it’s almost more than one person can handle. From loading the heavy bags of feed into her buggy, securing shelter for the fowls, and creating a sustainable water source, she has to turn to others for help. Namely, John Paul Fisher.
John Paul is finally ready to join the Amish church and settle down. He knows that he’s enjoyed his rumspringa far longer than most, but all that is behind him now. Too bad long-time girlfriend Bethany Weaver got tired of waiting and married someone else. Now John Paul is doing all he can to save face in the tiny community of Clover Ridge. Like not joining the church so he doesn’t look desperate and coming to the aid of the young widow, Rachael Miller. The work on her growing geese farm is keeping him too busy to think about all that he’s lost. Plus the pretty woman and her sweet daughters make for a fine distraction.
Rachael might be a young widow, but she’s too old to be hanging around with John Paul. After all, he’s almost fifteen years younger than she is! But suddenly he is always near, always helpful. He’s not at all like the rumor mill has made him out. He’s kind and caring, God-fearing and dependable. Rachael’s defenses against him crumble under the force of his charming dimples. Despite everything—the difference in their ages, the fact that he hasn’t joined the church, and his roguish reputation—she falls in love with him.
They share a forbidden kiss that unfortunately has a witness. The sensational news comes out at the end-of-school-year picnic and quickly burns through their community. Once the bishop catches wind, John Paul and Rachael are told that they must marry.
John Paul might have fallen for Rachael, but she’s made it clear that she doesn’t want to be dependent on a man. She doesn’t want to get married, yet the only way out of it is for him to leave once again. In order to give her what she wants—her dreams of independence and her goose farm—he must return to the Englisch world. If he’s not in Clover Ridge, they can’t make him do anything.
But these days, away is the last place he wants to be.

Thanks for reading!