Book Descriptions and Elise’s Thoughts
The Amish Bride’s Secret and Uncovering Her Amish Past by Patrice Lewis both have female leads that appear to have deceived the male lead.
The Amish Bride’s Secret plot has Cara Lengacher needing to start over after a broken engagement and an out of wedlock pregnancy. She decides to accept Matthew Miller’s advertisement for a mail order bride and move to Montana. But she must navigate her pregnancy and hope it will not affect their relationship.
Uncovering Her Amish Past has Penelope Moore traveling to Pierce Montana to convince the B&B owner, Simon Troyer, to be a part of a franchise opportunity. She does not tell anyone in the community her real profession and passes for a traveling artist. Simon insists she meets his sister-in-law, Sarah, who appears to be the spitting image of her. They both start to investigate and realize they are twin sisters, separated at birth. Stunned by the similarities between herself and bed-and-breakfast owner Simon Troyer’s sister-in-law, the truth comes to light: she and Sarah were separated at birth. Soon Penelope is welcomed into the Amish community with open arms. And the more time she spends with the Amish bachelor Simon, the more she rethinks her life in the Englisch world. She feels pulled to this community, not just because Sarah is her sister, and the community welcomes her but also realizes she and Simon have feelings for each other. The problem is that they are from different worlds where Simon is baptized, and she is not. Readers will enjoy seeing how they will navigate their relationship.
Both books are touching stories of self-reflection, faith, family, and love. They are heartwarming stories that readers will not want to put down.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: What was your starting point for the story of The Amish Bride’s Secret?
Patrice Lewis: I wanted to give the male character, Matthew, a wife. The way I did it is to have a mail order bride, Cara.
EC: How would you describe Matthew?
PL: He is based on my husband. He is nice, kind, transparent, a good listener, extremely handy, always courteous, trustworthy, dependable, and helpful.
EC: How would you describe Cara?
PL: She has made some bad decisions, including getting pregnant out of wedlock. She has a harsh father who blames her. She is desperate to get out of her childhood home, so she accepted the offer. She feels trapped in a corner.
EC: What about the relationship?
PL: It is based on secrets. She deceived Matthew but did not betray him because she had every intention of fessing up to him before the wedding. They eventually fall in love with each other. She is grateful to him and wants to be a good wife to him but is hoping he will be the white knight to her. I put in this quote to explain his feelings, “He wanted to fall in love with her, but also to fall in like with her.” I thought this is the basis for a happy couple. My husband and I after 35 years of marriage are still each other’s best friends.
EC: What about your other book, Uncovering Her Amish Past?
PL: I have three brothers, no sisters. I have always been fascinated by twins. When I was 7 years old, I tried to convince my friends I was a twin. It was a flop. I did this because I longed for a sister. This was the genesis of the story.
EC: How would you describe Penelope?
PL: She is an introvert. She was desperate to pay off her bills and had no idea that the company she worked for was immoral. She is exuberant and envies Sarah.
EC: What about Sarah, the twin?
PL: She is Simon’s sister-in-law. She is quiet, sedate, calm, and has confidence. Penelope envies her because she feels a lack of belonging.
EC: How would you describe Simon?
PL: Introverted, independent, determined, lonely, and has baggage from his childhood. He is motivated to not fail and get his business going.
EC: How about the relationship?
PL: She was ethical and had no intention of deceiving Simon. Penelope realizes she and Simon can be a formidable team because his business weaknesses are her strength. Being from different worlds is a huge barrier. I did research into what it takes to convert to being Amish. She changes her mindset realizing to be successful she needs the approval of family members and community. She realizes she must put aside the worldly aspects that define success.
EC: You allowed readers to understand how Amish could use technology. Please explain.
PL: If it does not impact their daily life, they are OK with it, depending on the sects. The very strict have no modern conveniences ever and the liberal communities are more flexible. The idea is that they are competing in a modern world and to overcome the problem they must compromise to have a website and a telephone. However, if they are allowed to have a business phone, they cannot have it in their pocket all the time. The same with a website, to put out the product to a wider world, but not to have it daily.
EC: What was the role of the bishop in both books?
PL: He is the perpetual source of wisdom for the community. He is an older man. He and his wife are wise, discreet, trustworthy, helpful, and examples of the community. They do not breach people’s confidence. They have Amish people coming in from all over the US. The bishop’s job is to smooth over conflicting habits and traditions. His job is to blend everyone into the community and for it to be cohesive.
EC: Next book?
PL: The next book is titled An Amish Marriage Agreement, released in Fall 2025. The plot has a baby dumped on a single woman’s doorstep. She and a construction worker have a marriage of convenience. The woman’s sister comes back to the Amish community. The two sisters are very different and have led very different lives.
THANK YOU!!
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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
