Leslie Gould, a new breed of Amish storytellers!

Are you a fan of Amish stories? I wasn’t until a friend pointed me toward a new breed of authors, like this month’s featured author, Leslie Gould! Oh my! These are not your granny-buggy stories! Delicious, wholesome, quaint, but with powerful plots that kept me glued to its pages until I finished.

And it is no wonder . . .

Leslie Gould is a Christy Award–winning and #1 bestselling author of over 40 novels, including four Lancaster County Amish series. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history and an MFA in creative writing. Church history, research trips, and hiking in the Pacific Northwest are her passions. Her husband and she live in Portland, Oregon, and have four adult children and one grandchild. With over 700,000 copies sold, bestselling Amish fiction author Leslie Gould is clearly a treasure to so many!

Leslie’s current series, AMISH MEMORIES weaves together history, drama, romance, and faith to offer readers a glimpse into a simpler way of life during chaotic times. Her dual-time Amish romance novels consistently hit bestseller lists, and I can see why. They are just “plain” fascinating!

The first book in the series,  A Brighter Dawn, opened such insights into history my mouth hung open in astonishment as I read. And this is a time period I thought I knew so well. The characters were compelling and complex with storylines I couldn’t wait for Leslie to develop in future books.

With her next in her AMISH MEMORIES series, This Passing Hour, I was not disappointed. She continues to develop the Zimmerman sisters’ stories by toggling between the early days of WWII and present day. Learning lessons from the past to heal wounded hearts today. Included in this book are little known facts about the American Red Cross, German POWs in America, and stepping out in faith to do what seems impossible.

My five-star reviews for both books are posted on Amazon, Books-a-Million, Barns & Noble, BookBub, and Christianbook.com, as well as my Top Picks YouTube episodes for October and March.

Because my paternal grandmother wrote down her father’s memories about growing up in Edinburgh, Scotland in the 1860s, on a recent trip to Scotland I was able to find the school he attended—the George Heriot School for orphans. Imagine my surprise to find out, while on a Harry Potter tour, that the school was J.K. Rowling’s inspiration for Hogwarts!

I can’t wait for you to watch my chat with Leslie during our A2A interview (see link below). But let’s get to know a little more about this delightful and inspiring author.

What stories impacted you as a child?

One of my earliest memories is listening to my mother read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn to me and my three siblings. I was a preschooler at the time and the youngest in the family, but I felt the characters and settings deeply. Francie felt like an older sister. Brooklyn, even though it was across the country, from the tiny town in southern Oregon where I lived, it felt like home. I, without realizing it, felt the power of story in a tremendous way. (Later, when I first read it when I was in junior high, I realized that Mom had skipped some parts of the novel to make it more age appropriate.)

On cleaning days, while my older siblings were at school, my mother played records (remember records?!) of Shakespeare’s plays while she worked. I loved listening to the plays—mostly the cadence of the words, but somehow I absorbed at least some of the stories too. That early exposure developed into a love of Shakespeare, which resulted in my Courtships of Lancaster County series. All four books in the series are inspired by Shakespeare plays.

By the time I started reading, I read what my older siblings were reading.

My parents limited what TV shows we could watch, but never what we read. Fortunately they had a lot of quality books around! When I was nine, I read To Kill a Mockingbird  and the Brontë sisters soon after. I was the kid reading late into the night with a flashlight under the covers, which looking back I’m sure my parents knew about, lol. All of those books I consumed as a child added to my love of story and have inspired me as a writer in some way.

I love traveling with my husband, Peter. And with our kids, friends, and extended family members! Seeing new places, meeting new people, and learning the history of an area always results in ideas for new stories. Traveling, combined with research, is one of my favorite things! We’re pictured here at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.

Wow, Leslie, it seems you were steeped in literature. What a blessing to be raised in a home with a love for story and words. And to be able to travel with your husband and family (see photos) that inspires so much of your writing.

Which of your characters has really stretched you as a writer?

Some characters practically write themselves and others don’t. Writing Brenna, the protagonist in This Passing Hour, was my most recent challenge as a writer. There are so many things I love about Brenna—the first being that she doesn’t care about what others think about her. Another being how much she loves hearing her great aunt’s stories from the past.

. . . and I’m loving being a grandmother and having little ones around again too. They bring so much joy and unity to our entire family.

But Brenna struggles with mental health issues, including panic attacks, and I suspect she’s on the spectrum but undiagnosed. I really wanted to get those aspects of her life right.

We have four adult children and so far have been blessed with two grandchildren, a newborn and a two-year-old. I love being a mom . . .

Also, Brenna, who has never dated or had a boyfriend, finds herself falling in love with a Ukrainian Mennonite young man who is a friend—and she’s afraid to admit her feelings for him for fear of losing that friendship.

Brenna is awkward on the page, and it weirdly made writing her feel a little awkward too, mostly because I was afraid of not doing her justice. But, as it turned out, all of those issues launched significant character and spiritual growth, creating a wonderful arc for her. And it set her up to learn from her aunt’s stories—the historical thread of the dual-time story that’s set during World War II—and gives Brenna the courage to make long-term decisions and a find a new hope for her future.

I totally identified with Brenna with the anxiety issues. Thank you for giving readers insights into those folks around them that might seem “odd.”

 What are you working on now?

I just finished the rewrites for By Evening’s Light, the third and last book in my AMISH MEMORIES series. I’ll have another round of edits soon so as they come to mind, I’ve been making a list of the final things I need to fix, add, or tie together.

In the meantime, I’ve just started writing the first book in my next series, LETTERS FROM PARADISE. It’s set in Lancaster County and each of the books revolves around Amish circle letters. The books are not epistolary, but the letters in the stories do contribute to bringing the main characters together. The working title for first book is Down the Lane.

I can’t wait for the final installment of AMISH MEMORIES. The new series holds a special place for me. We lived around the Philly area before moving south and were frequent visitors to Lancaster County, including Paradise.

Ready for the GIVEAWAY?

The December A2A Giveaway!

Yes! Thanks to Bethany House Publishing, this month’s giveaway is a copy of Leslie’s, This Passing Hour!

There’s one winner and it could be you! How? Well, by entering! Not just once, but up to SIX times!* Leave a comment below and share this blog and if you haven’t already, please subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of this blog and receive a free gift from me — and an extra entry.

NOTE: WANT TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING THIS INCREDIBLE GIVEAWAY?*

Check out my YouTubeA2A interview with Leslie. Because, in the video interview Leslie will read a touching excerpt of This Passing Hour, and answer different fun questions! By Liking and Commenting on the video episode, you will have one more entry.* Sharing the video, another entry.* Subscribe, and you have TWO entries for a chance to win.* 

The Deadline is December 15th!

Watch our A2A interview!

That means, my friends, if you comment and subscribe -– or are already a subscriber -– to my blog, then watch the video and LIKE, SHARE, and COMMENT on the VIDEO, then Subscribe to my YouTube Channel, your name will be entered SIX TIMES!*

Coming up in January 2024: So excited to interview Sara Brunsvold, who just received a 2023 Christy for her first book, The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip! Her latest release, The Divine Proverbs of Streusel is a delicious delight and we’ll be talking about that new release, too! Be sure to check out my review of The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip on my BOOK PRE-REVIEW back in July 2022.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed getting to know Leslie–I sure did! Until next month, God bless and KEEP READING!

*So sorry, entries from the contiguous US only.