Introduction – Virginia Smith
Hello, AmishReaders! I’m Virginia Smith, author of The Heart’s Frontier, book 1 in the Amish of Apple Grove Series, which I co-authored with author extraordinaire Lori Copeland. In The Heart’s Frontier, Amish meets the Old West on a cattle drive set in 1881 Kansas. It’s a fun, rollicking story complete with cowboys, cattle rustlers, and a staunch Amish grandma who is determined to keep her granddaughters isolated from the ufrooish of those wild Englischers as they journey from Apple Grove to Troyer, Kansas.
Emma Switzer is traveling from her home in Apple Grove to the bigger Amish district of Troyer to move in with her aunt. Her primary purpose is to meet an Amish husband. Apple Grove, her small Amish community, has little to offer in the way of marriageable young men, so her papa and grandmother decide her best chances are in Troyer. They don’t anticipate the trouble they will have along the way, or the handsome Englisch cowboys who will come to their rescue.
Apple Grove and Troyer are both fictitious Amish communities set in Kansas in the 1800’s. Troyer is based on an actual settlement – Yoder, Kansas, which was established in the late 1800’s by Amish immigrants from Illinois and Ohio. And Apple Grove is completely fictitious, set in the northwestern corner of Kansas west of Hays City.
I’ve been a fan of Amish fiction for a while now. My brother-in-law was raised Amish, and he and my sister-in-law still live in Holmes County, Ohio, just miles from the farm where he was raised. I love visiting there, and learning about his upbringing and heritage from him and his brothers. Some of my favorite authors are Mindy Starnes Clark, BJ Hoff, Jerry Eicher and Mary Ellis. How honored I am to join their ranks in writing a book with Amish roots.
I hope you’ll watch for The Heart’s Frontier, book 1 in the Amish of Apple Grove series, due out in early March 2012. And I hope that you’ll let me know what you think of the story.
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I cannot wait to read this series….it combines my two favorite things….amish and anything to do with the 1800
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Amish Reader,
Sounds like another great author to add to my collection!!
Virginia,
I am very eager to get my hands on a copy of your book!!
Allyson
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Theresa and Allyson, thanks so much for your comments! I’m excited for you to read the book too.
Ginny
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Having grown up in Wichita, KS, I have been through Yoder, KS many times. I always try to time my trips so I can stop for a meal at the restaurant on the highway. The food is delicious and I love looking through the gift shop.
I am really looking forward to reading this book.
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