Summer is here, folks, and you know what that means, right? Vacation! After working hard all year, and now enduring the famous Texas heat, you deserve some time to relax and rejuvenate.  

Whether you are heading to the mountains for cooler weather, or to the beach for fun in the sun, no vacation is complete without taking along a stack of great reads. And what better way to forget the fast-paced world we live in than to take a trip to Amish country!  

This month I discovered another new-to-me-author who has an Amish romance set in Texas. There are ten books in this series, which means plenty of stories to read. 

Polly – Book 7 of Ellie’s People: An Amish Family Saga by Mary Christner Borntrager 

Polly Miller doesn't want to move to Texas. No other Amish families live in Lone Prairie, and Polly loves her family and friends in Ohio. But her father's mind is made up. As Polly settles into her new life, she gains a non-Amish friend, Rose Ann, who shares her dresses and makeup with Polly. She also earns the attention of a young hired hand named Tom, who takes her to a rodeo and tells her how pretty she is. Will Polly commit herself to God by following her family's Amish ways, or will a budding Texas romance set her feet on a different path altogether? 

The books of the Ellie's People series, beloved classics among young and old readers in Amish and Mennonite communities, are now available for today's reader. 

Author Mary Christner Borntrager grew up Amish and based her novels on events in her Amish childhood. Fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie series will love learning to know spunky Ellie and her friends and family. 

Mary Christner Borntrager is a renowned American writer of mystery, Christian fiction, historical fiction, and adult fiction stories. 

And what better way to lull those warm summer days away than by reading a book by one of the Lone Star State’s very own authors? 

A Tempting Taste of Mystery – Book 23 of the Sugarcreek Amish Mysteries by Elizabeth Ludwig 

When Sugarcreek hosts a pie-baking contest fundraiser, Cheryl is invited to be a judge. However, as contestants begin dropping out and a taster suffers from food poisoning, people begin to point the blame toward Naomi! Will Cheryl be able to clear Naomi’s name from the crime and simultaneously save her future with Levi? 

The future is looking bright for Cheryl Cooper and her new fiancé, Levi Miller. Now that they’ve decided to make a life together, their biggest problem is how will they tell his family? When the town of Sugarcreek holds a pie-contest fundraiser and many local business owners are invited to judge, Cheryl worries she may be biased because her best friend and future mother-in-law, Naomi Miller, is a contestant. Still, with the proceeds going toward a good cause, she really can’t decline the opportunity to participate . . . especially when contestants start dropping from the competition and rumors of foul play arise. What seems a silly coincidence, at first, turns dire when one of the contestants falls prey to a bad case of food poisoning and suspicion spins toward Naomi. Can Cheryl expose the culprit and prove her friend’s innocence, or will a pie-contest debacle bring an end to her hopes of a future with Levi? 

Elizabeth Ludwig is a USA Today bestselling author whose work has been featured on Novel Rocket, More to Life magazine, and Christian Fiction Online Magazine. In 2008, her first novel, Where the Truth Lies (co-authored with Janelle Mowery), earned her the IWA Writer of the Year Award. 

In 2011, her second mystery, Died in the Wool (co-authored with Janelle Mowery), was nominated for a Carol Award. In 2012, the Edge of Freedom series released from Bethany House Publishers. Books one and two, No Safe Harbor and Dark Road Home, respectively, earned 4 Stars from RT Book Reviews. Book three in the series, Tide and Tempest, received top honors with 4½ Stars and was named a finalist for the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. Elizabeth was also named a finalist in the Selah Awards for her novella “One Holy Night,” part of the bestselling anthology collection Christmas Comes to Bethlehem, Maine. Most recently, she was honored to be awarded a HOLT Medallion for her book, A Tempting Taste of Mystery, part of the Sugarcreek Amish Mysteries series from Guideposts. Her latest releases include Garage Sale Secret and Pride and Pettiness, part of the Mysteries of Lancaster County series, also from Guideposts. Along with her husband and children, Elizabeth makes her home in the great state of Texas. To learn more, sign up for her newsletter at ElizabethLudwig.com or visit her on Facebook. 

Until next time, dear friends, enjoy your summer and happy reading! 

All the best. . . 

Mary