A Plain Love Song
The New Hope Amish
By Kelly Irvin
She had to find her way to him…but
first she had to find her way to God.
Adah Knepp wants nothing more than to make music. It’s all
she’s ever desired—to sing and play the guitar and write her own songs. That’s
a dream that will never come true in the confines of her strict Amish
community. But then she meets Jackson Hart, and suddenly she sees the chance
for a different kind of life…a real stage, a real guitar, and a real
opportunity to sing her songs to a real audience!
But pursuing her dreams means turning her back on her faith,
her family, and her community—and saying goodbye to Matthew, the gentle Amish
farmer she can’t get out of her mind. Is it worth giving up the only home she’s
ever known to pursue her dreams?
Kelly Irvin is a Kansas native and has been writing
professionally for 30 years. She and her husband, Tim, make their home in
Texas. They have two children, three cats, and a tankful of fish. A
public relations professional, Kelly is also the author of two romantic
suspense novels and writes short stories in her spare time. To learn more about
her work, visit www.kellyirvin.com.
978-0-7369-5498-3
Fiction--Romance
Releases July 1, 2014. To preorder go to http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=A%20PLAIN%20LOVE%20SONG
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what
is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans
12:2
In A Plain Love Song,
Adah wants nothing more than to write songs and sing them while playing the
guitar. It gives her joy and fills her with a sense of accomplishment. As
non-Amish folks, most of us would focus on the whys and wherefores of the Amish
faith that say Adah cannot and should not do this. Playing musical instruments
isn’t allowed. because the Amish believe it draws attention to the individual
and her talent, leading to pride and taking the focus from God. But that’s not
what A Plain Love Song is about. It’s
about listening to God’s calling. It’s about knowing when to drop to your knees
and say, “Your will, God, not mine.”
As Christians, most of us believe God has a plan for us, but
how often do we want to tell God what that plan is? I know I do. I pray for
certain things to happen, fully expecting God to make it so. I’m like a child
at Christmas time, sitting on Santa’s lap, asking for the moon and stars. My
writing career is a good example of this. When I turned forty-five I realized I
had to move quickly or I would never fulfill my dream of being a published
novelist. I spent the next seven years juggling a full time public relations
career, two children, a husband, and a would-be career as a fiction writer. I
wrote novel after novel, I secured a wonderful agent. I went to writing
conferences. I wrote before work, at lunch, and at night. My manuscripts were
submitted to publishing house after publishing house. Nothing.
I did all the right things. Except one. I never prayed to
God and said, “Is this what You want for me? Show me. Tell me.” I didn’t listen.
I simply demanded, begged, cajoled, and, yes, even cried.
Finally, at my wit’s end, exhausted and demoralized, I sat
in my church pew one Sunday morning and I explained to God (as if he didn’t
already know) that I couldn’t go on this way anymore. I needed to know what his
plan was. Should I continue to try to get my writing published? Should I stop?
Did he have another plan in mind for the writing talented with which he’d
blessed me? I asked for a sign. Did he want me to do something else? Should I
write main stream fiction? Should I write fiction at all?
Three days later, I got the call. That call every aspiring
novelist craves. A contract offering for an inspirational romantic suspense
novel to a mainstream publisher that specializes in library quality hardbacks
for the library market. God said yes.
While I celebrate this season in my life and the opportunity
to share stories with readers, I still have to ask myself the bigger question:
what if He’d said no. What if no call came? What if the answer was that I should
simply write for Him and no one else? Can Adah write her songs for God? Can she
forego playing the guitar in public because her faith demands that she not draw
attention to herself, but rather to the God who loves her and will take her to
his home one day? Are we willing to give up a dream if it means we will draw
closer to God?
If we examine our hearts closely and with brutal honesty, we
will know if we’re following God’s calling or hoping He’ll give us what we
want, like children on Christmas morning. By all means, ask God for your
heart’s desire, but be sure to listen for his.
MEET KELLY IRVIN
Kelly Irvin is the author of the Bliss Creek Amish series
and the New Hope Amish series, both from Harvest Housing Publishing. Her latest
release is A Plain Love Song, set in
Amish country in Missouri, which will debut July 1. It is the final installment
in the series, which also included Love
Redeemed and Love Still Stands.
She is currently
working on The Beekeeper’s Son, the
first book in the Amish of Bee County series, for Zondervan. She has also
penned two inspirational romantic suspense novels, A Deadly Wilderness
and No Child of Mine.
The Kansas
native is a graduate of the University
of Kansas School of Journalism. She has been writing nonfiction professionally
for thirty years, including ten years as a newspaper reporter, mostly in
Texas-Mexico border towns. She has worked in public relations for the City of
San Antonio for twenty years. She is a member of American Christian Fiction
Writers (ACFW) and serves as secretary of the local chapter, Alamo Christian
Fiction Writers.
Kelly has been married to photographer Tim Irvin for
twenty-six years. They have two young adult children, one gorgeous new
granddaughter, two cats, and a tank full of fish. In her spare time, she likes
to write short stories and read books by her favorite authors.
No comments:
Post a Comment