Amish

The Amish Baker's Rival by Marie E. Bast

The Amish Baker's Rival is book 2 (of the bestselling The Amish Baker) and available for purchase. Amish baker Mary Brenneman is furious when handsome Englischer Noah Miller opens up a bakery right across from hers. Now she must win a local baking contest just to stay in business—and beat know-it-all Noah. (Releases Dec. 2020).

She'll do anything to protect her bakery...

no matter the cost to her heart.

But somewhere along the way, 

Noah and Mary's kitchen wars are quickly 

warming into something more...

Read an excerpt:

"I saw you at the grand opening, what did you think?" Noah wasn't going to let her off that easily.

Mary shrugged. "I was merely putting in an appearance to pay my respects to a new shop opening. I wasn't there long, but it looked as if you had a nice turnout."

"Okay, but what did you think?"

 She kept her back to Noah. "It's nice, but I'm a better baker." She said teasingly.

 "Is that right?" He took a step back.

 "That's right," came a smug goading reply.

 "Well, Miss Brenneman, I'm entering the fall festival baking contest. Are you?"

 She jumped to her feet, whirled around to face him and lifted her chin. "Yes."

 "Good. Game on. Let the best baker win." He laughed. She was sassy, but he wanted to pull her and that cute attitude into his arms. But the fear of looking like a complete and utter fool kept him away.

 "You make it sound like a kid's game." Her gaze brushed over him.

 Noah started to leave, then stopped. "We both know there's much more at stake here than merely winning a contest. At this point, it's not even the money, is it? It's the title, the trophy and the prestige that goes along with the achievement."

 "As usual, Noah, you've thought of it all." Her eyes challenged his.

 He took a step closer. "I'm surprised your bishop would actually allow you to enter. It's such an open display of pride that you think your baking is so good you could actually win a contest."

Marie's Bio:

Marie E. Bast is the Publishers Weekly Bestselling Author of          

The Amish Baker Rival, The Amish Marriage Bargain and The Amish Baker. The Amish Baker's Rival was a 2021 finalist in the Mid-America Romance Authors' The Carla Contest, and The Amish Baker was a finalist in the OCCRWA 2020 Book Buyers Best Book contest for published authors.                       Her first book, The Perfect Client, was the 2015 contemporary winner of the Ignite the Flame Contest. Her stories whisper words of hope, healing, and forgiveness through complex characters and twisting plots. 

Marie enjoys writing Amish, contemporary and historical stories. Married for thirty years, she and her husband have two grown sons and one daughter. When she’s not writing, she’s walking, golfing, gardening or spending time with her family.

 Visit her website at www.MarieBastAuthor.com or follow her on social media: Twitter @mariebast1; Facebook @mariebastauthor; or visit her blog mariebast.blogspot.com. 

Purchase Now: The Amish Baker's Rival 

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The History of Marriage and the Marriage Bargain

 

Marriage is an institution that predates recorded history. But the most fascinating piece of knowledge about marriage is, until recently, marriages were never on the basis of love. 

Today, the romance fiction is a billion-dollar industry. It outperforms all other book genres. Is that because, relatively speaking, romance is still in its infancy? Readers want more and more romance books. Romance readers want to hear about the old customs, but they also want the heart-pounding, can’t take my eyes off you modern love stories.

In ancient biblical times, polygamy marriages were common. In fact, polygamy marriages were all the rage until around the ninth century when the Catholic Church battled with the old lords, nobility and kings to change marriage to monogamy. But before this time, arranged marriages, marriages of convenience, and marriage bargains were practical, or perhaps useful, to keep property and kingdoms in the family line. In times when poverty was prevalent, a daughter was only another mouth to feed and therefore a burden on the family. That fueled the arranged marriages where the groom gave the family money, animals, or some other commodity in exchange for his bride.

Arranged marriages were often instrumental for women over 30, and often younger, and still unwed. The wealthy, royals and aristocratic families used arranged marriages to ensure loyalty, a united bound, and the integrity of their inheritance and the family wealth.

Even in the nineteenth century, many women found themselves in a marriage of convenience. Sometimes a widower needed a mother and housekeeper for his family, and sometimes a woman without means to support herself would readily accepted a marriage of convenience. Some cultures, even today, still use arranged marriages.  

But one of the most unique arranged marriage is the marriage bargain and is the central theme to my newest book, The Amish Marriage Bargain, which will release in book form December 17, 2019, and eBook January 1, 2020.    

May Bender will do anything for her niece…Even marry the man who broke her heart.

When her sister dies, May settles in to care for her baby niece. But in order to live there, the bishop insists she marry her widowed brother-in-law, Thad Hochstedler—the beau who jilted her to wed her sister. Can May risk her heart long enough to learn the real reason for Thad’s first marriage…and possibly rediscover their love? Find out December 17^th.

Available for preorder now:

Amazon

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Christianbook.com

BAM

Goodreads

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The Amish Baker in stores February 19, 2019

A child brings them together…                                      
Will their differing Amish
beliefs pull them apart?

When his son breaks one of baker Sarah Gingerich’s prized possessions, widower Caleb Brenneman insists the boy make amends by doing odd jobs in her bake shop. A childless widow, Sarah can’t help falling for the boy...or his farmer father. But Caleb is progressive New Order Amish while Sarah holds traditional beliefs. Though they’re worlds apart, are they a perfect match?

I grew up on a farm in northern Illinois, not far from Amish country. When the family would drive to town, I’d see Amish buggies and horses. One day, I asked dad why we didn’t have a horse and buggy. To my disappointment, he explained it was part of their religion to give up modern devices. From then on, the Amish have intrigued me.

Now I live seventy-six miles from Kalona, Iowa, and visit there often. The Amish started to move from Lancaster, PA, to Iowa in 1846 to live a more secluded lifestyle. The different groups in Iowa—include the Old Order, New Order and Beachy Amish—have settled in seven Iowa counties. So come along with me in The Amish Baker and meet the Amish of the heartland.

In The Amish Baker, Sarah Gingerich, who is Old Order, and Caleb Brenneman, who belongs to the New Order, struggle with what their church Ordnung requires and what their hearts want.

Enter The Amish Baker Goodreads Book Giveaway for a chance to win a print book.

The Amish Baker by Marie E. Bast
Release date: February 19, 2019, available for pre-order now.
Pages: 224
Publisher: Love Inspired
Paperback, ebook

ISBN-10: 1335479023

ISBN-13: 978-1335479020 (print)

Buy now:

AMAZON                CBD                BARNES&NOBLE                BOOKSAMILLION

 

 

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Book Preview: Plain Everyday Hero's

An Amish Summer Collection:

Plain EverydayHeroes  (Pre-Order now)

July 4, 2018

Celebrate Lit Publishing Group

Playing with Fire

Arie Zimmerman has been in love with Noah Behr from almost the moment they met, but after a devastating wildfire destroys the community, everything changes. Noah questions how a loving Gott could allow such things to happen. As Arie and her family struggle to rebuild their home and lives, Noah escapes to California to fight another off-season wildfire—and maybe find Gott in the process.

When Noah returns, he promises Arie the prize money if she will help him with a chili cook-off to fund the fire department. Of course, in order to spend more time with the girl he loves, he’s also willing to pitch in unloading the new furniture and animals her daed bought at an auction. He’ll even help Arie slice and dice vegetables if he can taste test the recipes.

More than just the kitchen heats up as they spend time together. But will Noah find a still missing Gott in the process and discover there’s more to life than what he initially believed?

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Hometown Hero

Mysteries intrigue secondhand shop owner Benuel Miller. Although strangers may think a blind man would be easy to cheat, those who know Benuel realize he’s honed his other senses to pick up clues his eyes don’t see, making him a savvy business owner. When a stranger enters Benuel’s secondhand shop, the man is shocked by Benuel’s accurate assessment and unsolicited advice. Wary, he hopes Benuel won’t find out his true intentions, but the shopkeeper is already on the case.

Later, Mari and her twin sister, Frannie, stop in Benuel’s shop with Frannie’s three-year-old son, and Benuel senses trouble. His hunches have never led him astray, but is he misreading something here? He can’t help being drawn to Mari, yet is she as sweet and loving as she seems? Or is she hiding a deep, dark secret?

One explosive night when tragedy strikes, Benuel risks his life to find out the truth. Can he unmask the stranger from his shop to foil a sinister plot? And will what he discovers destroy his only chance for love?

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Racing the Slow Girls

Racing the Slow Girls— a recipe for fast-paced, comical, Amish adventure— Ingredients: Three fun-loving teenage boys on bicycles. An adorable little girl on a pony, a few spunky teenage girls, and a hint of romance. Directions: Place the characters in a beautiful setting, such as Holmes Co. Ohio. Roll in the boys on bikes. Stir up a few harsh words spoken carelessly. Add plenty of retaliation by the girls. Place in the heat of a family emergency until everyone is completely undone. Sit back and enjoy an Amish adventure with a cup of coffee.

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Author Bios:

Laura V. Hilton is an award-winning, sought-after author with almost twenty Amish, contemporary, and historical romances. When she’s not writing, she reviews books for her blogs, and writes devotionals for blog posts for Seriously Write and Putting on the New.

Laura and her pastor-husband have five children and a hyper dog named Skye. They currently live in Arkansas. One son is in the U.S. Coast Guard. She is a pastor’s wife, and homeschools her two youngest children.

When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys reading, and visiting lighthouses and waterfalls. Her favorite season is winter, her favorite holiday is Christmas. To find out more about  Laura and her books, visit her at: http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com/   

Rachel J. Good is the author of several Amish series in print or forthcoming—Sisters & Friends, Love & Promises, and two books in theHearts of Amish Country series—as well as the Amish Quilts Coloring Books and the contemporary novella, Angels Unaware, part of the Hope Chapel series. To learn more about Rachel, visit her at website: www.racheljgood.com.

Thomas Nye writes novels about horses and Amish life, with a touch of romance, and a foundation of faith in Christ. He and his wife, Shari, live on her family farm where they raised five children. Their six grandchildren love to visit Karma and Karla, a team of draft horses which Thomas purchased from an Amish friend. To find out more about Thomas, visit: amishhorses.blogspot.com