Huckleberry
Spring ;
Nothing
gives Anna and Felty Helmuth greater satisfaction than seeing their
grandchildren happily married–except for planning their next
matchmaking venture. And as springtime comes to Huckleberry Hill,
Wisconsin, the air is filled with promise. . .
Ever
since the Helmuths’ grandson, Ben, abruptly broke his engagement
and moved to Florida, Emma Nelson has kept busy tending her vegetable
garden and raising award-winning pumpkins. She can put her heartache
aside to help Ben’s Mammi with her own pumpkin patch. At least
until Ben shows up to lend support to his ailing Dawdi. . .
Gardening
side by side with pretty, nurturing Emma is a sweet kind of torture
for Ben. She could have her pick of suitors who can offer what he
can’t, and he cares too much to burden her with his secret. Leaving
once more is the only option. Yet Emma’s courage is daring him to
accept the grace that flourishes here, and the love that has been
calling him back to Huckleberry Hill.
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Excerpt;
Donning
her leather gardening gloves, Emma found the wheelbarrow in the shed
next to a seriously large bag of Pumpkin Pro. She studied the label.
Fifty pounds. She’d have to summon Ben to lift it for her.
On
second thought, there was no need to bother Ben. She had a
wheelbarrow and two strong arms. She was perfectly capable of moving
the bag of Pumpkin Pro by herself.
After
scooting some garden tools and terracotta pots out of the way, she
maneuvered the wheelbarrow closer to the fertilizer bag and tipped
the clumsy thing onto its side. The bag stood firmly against the wall
as if propping it up. If she scooted it just right, the bag would
tumble into the sideways wheelbarrow and with very little effort, she
would be able to right the wheelbarrow with the Pumpkin Pro inside.
Probably.
She
clutched the heavy brown bag at the corners and pulled with all her
might. The bag creaked and groaned, as if it complaining that it
didn’t want to move. It fell over, but not in the direction she
wanted it to. It ended up flat on the ground parallel to the
wheelbarrow but not inside it.
Emma
puffed the air from her lungs, bent over, and tried to scoot the lazy
bag into the wheelbarrow. It proved even heavier flat on the ground
like that. It felt as if she were trying to move a…well, a bag of
fertilizer that wouldn’t lift a finger to help her.
She
stepped back to gain some leverage, as if that were going to make any
difference, and her foot found the handle of a rake. The rake must
have sneaked up behind her at the bag’s request. Obviously the bag
of Pumpkin Pro would stoop to anything to keep Emma from moving it.
She
wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but she stepped on the rake and
her feet slipped out from under her. She stumbled backward and
tumbled into the sideways wheelbarrow, which by some inexplicable law
of balance righted itself with Emma in it. With a squeak of alarm,
she came to rest on her back, gazing at the ceiling of the shed with
feet and arms pointing in every direction like an upside-down potato
bug. She waved her hand in surrender. That was one clever bag of
Pumpkin Pro. A worthy opponent indeed.
Author Bio;
I
grew up with a steady diet of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen.
After all that literary immersion, I naturally decided to get a
degree in mathematics, which came in handy when one of my six
children needed help with homework. After my fourth daughter was
born, I started writing. By juggling diaper changes, soccer games,
music lessons, laundry, and two more children, I finished my first
manuscript—a Western—in just under fourteen years.
I
have always been fascinated by the Amish way of life and now write
Inspirational Amish Romance. I am drawn to the strong faith of the
Plain people and admire the importance they put on enduring family
ties. I have visited and studied Amish communities in Pennsylvania
and Wisconsin where I met with a bishop and a minister as well as
several Amish mamms, dats, and children. It has always impressed me
at what salt-of-the-earth people they are. My interactions with these
kind people have been some of the most rewarding experiences of my
life. I have a dear Amish friend with whom I correspond in Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania. She helps me keep my facts straight and gives
me inspiration for my stories.
My
goal is to write uplifting, inspiring stories with happy endings and
hopeful messages. If my books make readers want to give themselves a
big hug or jump up and down for joy, I’ve done my job. I am a
member of Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction
Writers and am represented by Mary Sue Seymour of The Seymour Agency.
There
are three Amish romances in the Forever After in Apple Lake Series
(Summerside/Guideposts). Kate’s Song, Rebecca’s Rose, and
Miriam’s Quilt are all now available.
I
have six Amish Roamish buggymances in the works with Kensington
Books. The first and second books, Huckleberry Hill and Huckleberry
Summer, are now available in stores and online. The Matchmakers of
Huckleberry Hill is set in northern Wisconsin Amish country.
The
series, The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill, is about an elderly
Amish couple who try to find suitable mates for their grandchildren.
What could be more fun than throwing two young people together to see
if sparks ignite? No one would ever suspect two octogenarian Amish
folks of mischief.
Romantic
Times gave Huckleberry Hill 4 1/2 stars and chose Huckleberry Summer
as a TOP PICK.
I
have four daughters, two sons, three sons-in-law, and two adorable
grandsons. I live in the foothills of the Wasatch Front with my
husband and one son still left at home.
Guest Post;
Thank you so much for author Jennifer Beckstrand for sharing her thoughts with us today.
By Jennifer
Beckstrand
There is no one
quite like a
grandma—or mammi—as she is
called in
Pennsylvania Dutch. When I hear the word “grandma,” I think of a
pleasingly
plump, gray-haired lady whose eyes twinkle perpetually as if every day
were
Christmas. That’s the kind of mammi I hope I’ve created in Anna Helmuth,
the
feisty eighty-four-year-old who stirs up trouble in my Matchmakers of Huckleberry
Hill
series. Anna loves making matches and goes to great lengths to see
that each of her grandchildren has a happily ever after.
In Huckleberry Spring, Anna is at it again. She concocts a wild
plan
to reunite her grandson Ben with his ex-fiance, but Felty, Anna’s
longsuffering
husband, is the one who’s in for a wild ride. Anna talks him into
getting
surgery in order to lure Ben home. Unfortunately for Felty, only one
surgery
might not be enough to keep Ben in town.
I have three small
grandsons.
At first, I wasn’t sure about the whole grandma title. I was afraid
being a
grandma would age me twenty years. But when I first held that perfect
little
baby in my arms, I discovered that I could love someone as much as I
loved my
own children—without having to do all that work.
My goal is to be the
most
terrific and bestest grandma there ever was. I want every visit to my
house to
be like going to Disneyland, without the long lines or the expensive
concessions.
I want to be the kind of grandma who:
·
Doesn’t
mind if
her grandkids rifle through her purse in search of Tic Tacs.
·
Cherishes
that tiny,
smudgy handprint on the sliding glass door and won’t let Grandpa scrub
it off.
·
Lets
her
grandkids stay up late to watch “The Apple Dumpling Gang,” “The Court
Jester,”
and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”
·
Makes a
batch of
cookie dough and doesn’t mind if it gets eaten before it makes it into
the
oven.
·
Plays
catch in
the backyard and lets aspiring pitchers practice their curve balls.
·
Never
loses her
temper. That’s what parents are for.
·
Serves
Poptarts
for breakfast.
·
Doesn’t
care if a
toddler empties all the drawers in her kitchen.
·
Gives
embarrassing hugs and kisses.
·
Puts
on her play
clothes when the grandkids come over.
·
Thinks
a messy
house is part of the fun.
·
Loves
her
grandkids so much that her own children begin to feel ignored and
unappreciated.
That’s the kind of
mammi Anna
Helmuth is. Because she’s so lovable, her grandchildren don’t mind her
meddling
in their love lives.
Most of the time.
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