An Amish Picnic: Four Stories

Amy Clipston · Kelly Irvin · Kathleen Fuller · Vannetta Chapman

Mar 2020 · Sold by Zondervan

About this ebook

From bestselling authors in the Amish genre come four sweet stories about picnics and romance.

Baskets of Sunshine by Amy Clipston

Kevin Weaver has lived with his brother’s family since his parents passed away when he was young, but he craves a home and family to call his own. Freeman Kurtz owns a successful brick mason business, and Kevin takes the job as Freeman’s apprentice to pursue his own financial freedom.

Phoebe Kurtz is helping her sister with her booth at the marketplace when she notices Kevin, her father’s employee. Their friendship grows, but Kevin is convinced that the difference in their ages makes a relationship between them impossible. Amidst summer outings, Kevin and Phoebe must decide if taking a chance on love is worth the risk.

Candlelight Sweethearts by Kelly Irvin

Esther Marie Shrock loves her job at Valley Grocery Store where she’s worked for four years. Despite a stutter that has plagued her since childhood, she thrives filling orders from a steady stream of customers. Still, at 25, she and her family wonder if romance is in her future.

Jasper Cotter isn’t good with people, but he’s found himself obligated to take over day-to-day operations of the family owned grocery store—a store he doesn’t have the first clue how to run. Thrown together, Esther Marie and Jasper don’t exactly see eye to eye. One night, the store loses power, and the candles aren’t the only things shooting off sparks. Esther Marie and Jasper are suddenly forced to discover common ground when it matters most, and they might be surprised with love along the way.

Reeling in Love by Kathleen Fuller

Nina Stoll and Ira Yoder are just friends. Just friends and fishing buddies. Every Saturday afternoon, they have a picnic at their favorite fishing hole and see who can out fish the other. Until Nina starts to wonder if there’s more.

Her plans to share her feelings go awry, and circumstances seem destined to keep Nina and Ira apart. With both Nina and Ira confused and hurting, it’s going to take courage, some help from the community matchmakers, and a little bit of divine intervention for Nina and Ira to realize they’re each other's perfect catch.

Picnics and Prospects by Vannetta Chapman

Faith Troyer is claustrophobic, and David Lapp builds tiny houses. They went on a date years ago with disastrous results. Now that they’re in their late twenties, their families and friends are beginning to wonder if either will ever find that special someone. When a picnic outing is diverted by the discovery of a package of letters dating back to the 1970s, they take it upon themselves to find answers to a mystery that causes them to rethink their past and consider their future.

Ratings and reviews

An Amish Picnic by Amy Clipston, Vannetta Chapman, Kelly Irvin and Kathleen Fuller contains four heartwarming tales. The four stories are Baskets of Sunshine by Amy Clipston, Candlelight Sweethearts by Kelly Irvin, Reeling in Love by Kathleen Fuller, and Picnics and Prospects by Vannetta Chapman. The picnic theme is carried out through each sweet story. I like how the author’s tied romance and picnics together. We get to see a man and woman who are attracted to each other, but there is something standing in the way of them getting together. Fears, misconceptions and miscommunication abound in each delightful Amish tale. I enjoyed reading novella collections because it is an opportunity to sample each author’s work and a story from each of their series. While the novellas may be part of a series, each can be read on their own. I liked that Christiana’s sister, Phoebe from The Bake Shop by Amy Clipston got her own story. We get to catch up with Christiana and the rest of the Kurtz family as well. Baskets of Sunshine was a cute story that shows you that it takes time to truly get to know a person. In Picnics and Prospects there is an Amish tiny home builder which I thought was unique. Faith and David find a packet of letters from the 1970s along with a puppy. They set out to solve the mystery of the letters. I like it when Amish stories have mysteries in them. It adds another level of depth to this romantic novella. Candlelight Sweethearts features Esther Marie who suffers from a severe stutter. We get to see how people treat her and the comments they make. There is one person, though, to whom it does not matter. Reeling in Love shows that friendship can develop into something more. It is an appealing, humorous story. An Amish Picnic has four Amish love stories that share a common theme but reflect each author’s writing style. An Amish Picnic contains four charming novellas that feature sunshine, warm weather, good food, fun and couples falling in love.

About the author

Amy Clipston is an award-winning bestselling author and has been writing for as long as she can remember. She's sold more than one million books, and her fiction writing "career" began in elementary school when she and a close friend wrote and shared silly stories. She has a degree in communications from Virginia Wesleyan University and is a member of the Authors Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, and Romance Writers of America. Amy works full-time for the City of Charlotte, NC, and lives in North Carolina with her husband, two sons, mother, and four spoiled rotten cats. Visit her online at AmyClipston.com; Facebook: @AmyClipstonBooks; Twitter: @AmyClipston; Instagram: @amy_clipston; BookBub: @AmyClipston.

Kelly Irvin is a bestselling, award-winning author of over thirty novels and stories. A retired public relations professional, Kelly lives with her husband, Tim, in San Antonio. They have two children, four grandchildren, and two ornery cats. Visit her online at KellyIrvin.com; Instagram: @kelly_irvin; Facebook: @Kelly.Irvin.Author; X: @Kelly_S_Irvin.

With over two million copies sold, Kathleen Fuller is the USA TODAY bestselling author of several bestselling novels, including the Hearts of Middlefield novels, the Middlefield Family novels, the Amish of Birch Creek series, and the Amish Letters series as well as a middle-grade Amish series, the Mysteries of Middlefield. Visit her online at KathleenFuller.com; Instagram: @kf_booksandhooks; Facebook: @WriterKathleenFuller; Twitter: @TheKatJam.

Vannetta Chapman writes inspirational fiction full of grace. She is the author of sixteen novels, including the Pebble Creek Amish series, The Shipshewana Amish Mystery series, and Anna’s Healing, a 2016 Christy Award finalist. Vannetta is a Carol award winner and has also received more than two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She was a teacher for fifteen years and currently resides in the Texas hill country. Visit Vannetta online: VannettaChapman.com, Twitter: @VannettaChapman, Facebook: VannettaChapmanBooks.