You are also one of the authors in the An Amish Reunion collection. What can you tell us about the theme for that set?
Readers of Amish fiction seem to love these collections. It’s a chance to read your favorite authors or sample writers you haven’t read before.
For this anthology, each story focuses on a reunion. In my novella—A Reunion of Hearts—Ruth and Gideon experienced one of life’s most tragic events, the loss of a child. Unable to get past their grief, they parted ways.
I’ll be honest, I had to go through a lot of revisions to get this story right, and I still get weepy thinking about it. A family that I am close to lost their 4-year-old child to a rare form of cancer. The grief is insurmountable, but I watched them put their lives back together.
Over time, I think people can fondly recall the good times without letting grief overshadow what was once so beautiful. Although I don’t think the grief ever goes away, I wanted to write a story that showed that true love can be reclaimed amidst the heartache.
The reason for so many revisions was that I was just too close to the story at first. My own grief was coming out, and that wasn’t what I wanted to communicate.
A wonderful editor summed it all up. I’m paraphrasing, but she basically said, There will be people reading this story who have lost a child, and you have an opportunity to help them to cope with the tragedy and the healing. So, it became very important to me to get it right.
Which comes easier for you, the shorter pieces or the novels?
The novellas are considerably shorter, but that doesn’t necessarily make them easier to write. These stories have to really pack a punch within a limited number of pages.
But I’ve done more novellas than novels, so I’d have to say that they probably do come easier for me. However, I always welcome the opportunity to write a full-length book where you have the ability to go so much deeper and really flesh out the characters.
I always try to do that in novellas, too, but when you’ve got three or four times as much available space, there are endless possibilities.
What do you hope readers come away with after reading Hearts in Harmony?
Life is a journey with paths that weave and wobble and become unsteady beneath our feet. It’s easy to lose our balance or stray off course. If you tread lightly alongside God, He will guide you on the journey you were meant to live.
Visit Beth Wiseman’s Author Page:
https://www.familyfiction.com/authors/beth-wiseman/
Hearts in Harmony
An Amish Journey
Beth Wiseman
Zondervan
How far will the heart travel for the melody of love?
Musical prodigy Levi Shetler hasn’t touched a piano since he secretly played one years ago. His strict Amish community forbids instruments or the singing of any music not in their approved songbook. Levi asks God often why music tempts him when playing an instrument isn’t allowed in his world.
One person knows Levi’s talents: Mary Hershberger, the girl who promised years ago to keep his secret. Mary comes from a more liberal district than Levi, but she’s facing family troubles of her own. The mutual care for an aging Englischer, Adeline, reunites Mary and Levi as young adults. They realize that, despite their differences, they have a shared love of music—and a shared confusion about whether their talents are God-given gifts or temptations luring them into the Englisch world.
The couple realizes they must compromise or part ways, but a tragic accident shakes their decision. Both Mary and Levi will need to reconcile what they love with what their hearts say is right—because even as their passion for music brings them together, it could be what tears them apart.