As a public librarian, I wear many hats. Today, librarians are research assistants, tech support, and so much more. For many of the cities and towns we serve, we are also local historians of sorts. One of my responsibilities for my job at the library is to lead spooky walking tours of my little town around Halloween. This is one of my favorite parts of my job because it gets me out of the library and it allows me to tell stories. As a writer, telling stories is my very favorite thing to do.
To add some charm to my talks, I usually carry an old fashioned lantern to guide our way. The tour starts at the library at dusk, and we walk a mile and a half around the town, stopping at all the places that might be haunted or have creepy stories. Some of the houses we talk about are private homes, and I always wonder what the residents think when they see a bunch of library patrons standing outside their house. As of yet, no one has come outside and asked what we were up to.
Unfortunately, the little Ohio town I work in is not haunted… as far as we can prove. However, I do have stories about a stolen pipe organ, grave robbers, a boiling well with no water, and a horse that disappeared into a giant sinkhole. All are very fascinating stories that appeared in the local newspaper in the nineteenth century. Who knows when a version of these tales will end up in my mystery novels, but knowing me they will someday…. Maybe even in an Amish mystery!
A candy-striped caper . . .Christmas is coming all too quickly for Harvest, Ohio’s famous chocolatier, Bailey King. Thanks to her new cable TV show, her shop has more candy orders than she can handle this holiday season. Fortunately, her beloved Cousin Charlotte is happy to take the Candy Cane Exchange off Bailey’s to-do list. After all, Charlotte has come to Harvest from her conservative home district to find her future outside of her family’s influence. What better way than by taking on the Englisch task of pairing the sweet notes everyone is exchanging with a peppermint treat, just in time for Christmas Eve delivery? But when Charlotte discovers some of those delicious missives are for her, suddenly she’s staking out the festive postbox, hoping to catch her secret admirer in his intriguing tracks . . .
When Charlotte sees something underhanded going on beneath the merrymaking, she enlists the help of Sheriff Deputy Luke Little to find out if her unknown correspondent is none other than the town’s biggest suspect. And the surprising truth about her suitor’s identity has her contemplating leaving her Amish roots behind forever . . .
Praise for Amanda Flower and her Amish cozies
“As it turns out, Amanda Flower may have just written the first Amish rom com.” —USA Today
“Flower has hit it out of the ballpark . . . and continues to amaze with her knowledge of the Amish way of life.” —RT Book Reviews
“At turns playful and engaging . . . a satisfyingly complex cozy.” —Library Journal
Uncover the Truth With These New Mystery Series