Annie's People introduces Lewis's enthusiastic readers to Paradise, Pennsylvania, the heart of Amish country, where Annie Zook finds her life strangely intertwined with two outsiders--one a longtime pen pal, the other a forbidden love. Annie Zook, the Amish preacher's daughter with the soul of an artist, is on the fence between her Old Order heritage and two secrets: her forbidden art and a handsome Englisher, whom her preacher father has ordered her never to see again. Ben Martin flees Paradise, taking Annie's heart with him. Will he unravel his own mystery, discovering a secret that threatens to destroy everything he has believed about himself? Annie's friend Louisa Stratford returns to Denver, caught in a romantic struggle between the Plain and the fancy, while Annie moves from her childhood home to live with her shunned friend, Esther. But living with an excommunicated woman only increases the Amish brethren's disapproval. Will Annie willfully return to her art or relent and join the church? (Annie's People- Book 3)
I've had my nose in a book, for as long as I remember. When I was about 9 years old, I started writing my own stories. By sixth grade, I'd hand-written a 66-page semi-autobiographical book titled, "She Shall Have Music."
After I was married and our three children were in middle school, I began submitting articles and short fiction to various magazines.
My first book (Holly's First Love) was published in May 1993, the start of a 14-book series for pre-teen girls. Soon after, my first chapter book was published for 7-10-year-old readers ("Big Bad Beans") which later became part of my 24-book series, The Cul-de-Sac Kids. I wrote another long-running series for girls, titled "SummerHill Secrets," which was set very close to Neffsville, PA, where I grew up--near the heart of Amish country.
But it was the story of my grandmother Ada Buchwalter's shunning by her ultra-strict father and subsequently her old order Mennonite community that nudged me toward writing adult fiction. THE SHUNNING was published in 1997 by Bethany House Publishers, and along with its sequels, has touched a nerve in millions of readers intrigued by the Plain culture of Lancaster County, PA. The Hallmark Channel will air the movie, "Beverly Lewis's The Shunning" on April 16, 2011 at 9 EDT/8 Central.
My passion for Amish-related stories continues to keep me up at night, and I'm presently writing the third book in my new series: The Rose Trilogy, due out September '11.
When I'm between writing deadlines, I enjoy hiking in the Rocky Mountains with my husband. Cooking from scratch, playing Mozart at the piano, and making family memory albums, as well as traveling to meet my devoted readers during book tours, are some of my very favorite things. I also adore reading biographies and memoirs, as well as classic literature.
Book Two of my present series: THE JUDGMENT, will be released on April 5, 2011.
