As is often the case, my upcoming release A Perfect Amish Match is patterned after some people I know. And although my book is about Amish people, and the folks I was thinking about as I wrote this story are Englisch, I am convinced that the Amish deal with many of the same problems that the rest of the world deals with.

In this case, it’s the idea of love, of soul mates, of whether there is someone out there for everyone. Some people (most romance writers) are believers. We are certain that there is true love for everyone, but sometimes it’s hard to recognize the person who could be our forever love. For instance, when I first met my husband, I was going to set him up with my sister. That’s a true story! I did not think he was my type. After twenty years of marriage, I’m now sure that we were meant to be.

As I was plotting A Perfect Amish Match, it was easy enough for me to envision Olivia Mae. She’s a young (but not too young) Amish woman, someone who believes in love but thinks that her chances have passed, someone who finds contentment in matching other people. Yeah. I could see that easily enough.

And then along comes Noah Graber. Oh, Noah. What can I say about him other than he reminds me of many of the men in my own family: men who are convinced that dating is fine for everyone else but not for them, men who think they’re destined to always be a bachelor so they might as well enjoy it, men who don’t read romance books and don’t believe that everyone has a happily-ever-after.

Just as the sparks fly for Olivia Mae and Noah, I continue to believe that someday the guys in my life just might find the one. Until then, I’ll keep using them for story characters. They provide plenty of heart, hilarity and hope for both the married and single among us.

I hope that you enjoy A Perfect Amish Match, and I pray that through it you will be reminded that God has a perfect plan for everyone.