A former military officer, Jo Ann Brown has published over 100 titles under a variety of pen names since selling her first book in 1987. Her latest novel is the romance The Amish Widower’s Twins (Love Inspired). In this interview, Jo Ann reveals the inspiration behind the novel, explains what drew her to these characters, and tells us why she loves writing about the Amish…
Jo Ann, what inspired the story in The Amish Widower’s Twins?
I wanted to do a second chance at love story that was a bit different. I didn’t want the couple to have been driven apart the first time they were involved because of one of them doing the wrong thing. My story question became: What if someone did the right thing and still ended up hurting the person they loved most in the world?
Tell us about your leading man and leading lady. What about them made you want to tell their story?
Gabriel Miller is a widower who’s being eaten alive by the secret he promised to keep, even if it means again breaking his heart and the heart of the woman he’s never stopped loving. He’s struggling to be a good father to baby twins while making his new dairy farm a success.
Leanna Wagler, a twin herself, has just about put her heartbreak that Gabriel married another woman behind her when he and his family move next door. She’s developed a business for herself with making soap from her goats’ milk. However, she’s so determined to do what is right herself that she agrees to be a temporary nanny for Gabriel’s twins.
That these two characters are willing to make their own needs secondary to help family is what appealed to me about them. In fact, they both have to learn over the course of the story that it’s okay for each of them to work as hard for their hearts’ desires as when they help others obtain theirs.
How does this book fit into the bigger picture of the Amish Spinster Club series?
The Amish Widower’s Twins is the fourth and final book of the Amish Spinster Club series. Leanna is the fourth and final member of the “club” who hasn’t married. The group was initially her idea, so she’s watched as her friends and her twin sister have found the loves of their lives while she’s been trying to mend her wounded heart. She needs to learn that the old adage may be true: Good things can come to those who wait.
What draws you to writing about the Amish?
I grew up on a small farm, and I love writing about the rural aspects of a life that I remember from my childhood. As well, I admire how the Amish try to live their faith every day in the decisions they make as individuals, as a family and as a community. Families are at the center of their lives, and that’s something that’s really important to me, too.
I’ve learned through working with these characters and telling their stories that falling in love and the joy and challenges that come from risking your heart are the similar for everyone, no matter if you’re Amish or not. So, I have fun thinking about new situations, and then I “work” with a set of characters to see how those circumstances will play out in an Amish household.
Why do you think readers are so drawn to stories about the Amish?
I’ve discussed this with editors and with other authors who write about the Amish. The answer we come up with most often is that the Amish represent a way to live a quieter, less stressful life amid the modern world.
Readers also appreciate how the Amish work to be faithful to the teachings of the New Testament and are comfortable in their places within their community. As well, readers—and I’m counting myself as one because I enjoy reading Amish romances, too!—love a good story about two people falling in love in such a bucolic world.
Visit Jo Ann Brown’s author page:
https://www.familyfiction.com/authors/jo-ann-brown/
The Amish Widower’s Twins
Amish Spinster Club
Jo Ann Brown
Love Inspired