A Joyful Break (Dreams of Plain Daughters, Book One)

by Diane Craver, Regina Andrews

Overview

After her mother's untimely death, a twenty-year-old Amish woman has a difficult decision to make: Choose to break from the Plain community and her boyfriend to live in the English world permanently...or join the Amish church.

Rachel Hershberger wants to get away from her Amish home in Fields Corner, Ohio. For a year she's been trying to fill her mother's shoes by taking care of her father and siblings. She had quit her job at the bakery so she would have more time to clean and cook at home. Before her mother died, Rachel was positive she wanted to marry Samuel Weaver, but now she can't think about wedding plans. She blames her father for her mother's death. If they had installed a phone in their barn or a shanty, her mother might have received medical help in time to save her life. Her mother's death has made Rachel question if she should be baptized and join the church. She wonders if non-Amish women live longer and have less stress. Maybe her forty-four-year old mother would still be alive had she left the Amish lifestyle like her sister Carrie did.

When her Aunt Carrie invites her to go to the beach, Rachel decides the time away will help her to decide whether to join the Amish church or to live in the English world instead. She is conflicted because she loves Samuel and her family. Instead of a relaxing time away, disturbing events happen while Rachel's in Florida. A photographer snaps troublesome pictures of Rachel because of her famous senator uncle, and a handsome and charming college student falls in love with Rachel.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940015528008
Publisher:	Diane Craver
Publication date:	10/15/2012
Series:	Dreams of Plain Daughters , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	280
Sales rank:	11,899
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

While growing up on a farm in Findlay, Ohio, I often acted out characters from my own stories in the backyard. In high school I was the student sitting in class with a novel hidden in front of my propped up textbook. Before starting on my writing career, I was a schoolteacher and play director.

I met my husband while teaching at an orphanage, and we married three years later. While raising our six children in southwestern Ohio, I started writing nonfiction. Later, I decided it would be a nice escape to write fiction.

Several non-fiction articles of mine have been published in Woman’s World Weekly, The Catholic Telegraph, Virtue, Down Syndrome Today, WritersWeekly.com, and several other publications. A Joyful Break (Dreams of Plain Daughters, Book One) received 5 stars and was a reviewer's top pick from Night Owl Reviews as well as receiving a 5 star review and January 2013’s CTRR Reviewer's Recommend Award from Coffee Time Romance and More. Additionally, it finished in fifth place in the “other” novel category of books in the 2012 Preditors & Editors Readers Poll.

I write Amish romance, contemporary romance, inspirational mainstream, romantic suspense, and non-fiction books. My novels have received great reviews from readers and reviewers.

I have published through a variety of houses, including Publishing by Rebecca J. Vickery, Samhain Publishing, Whimsical Publications, and Victory Tales Press. Recently, I decided to self-publish several novels.

Learn more about my books at

Editorial Reviews

A Joyful Break is a sweet, very well written story about an Amish young lady and her time in the English world, away from the simple life she has always known...I highly recommend this novel, even if you don't read Amish novels, because you will come away with a new sense of the real meaning of love--spiritual or human. Ms. Craver has set up a world of the Amish, a community of individuals in Fields Corner who most likely we will meet once again in another story.

Amazon - Rising Star Reviews

"A JOYFUL BREAK is a light, sweet story that will warm your heart and leave you with the feeling that all is right in the world. Oh, and you'll want a slice of butterscotch pie (the recipe wouldn't hurt either!)." ~award-winning author Karen Wiesner

Amazon - Karen Wiesner

Rating: 5 cups
I am a big fan of Amish romance... The more I read, the more I find what Ms. Craver and others say is true, i.e. that each Amish order is different and hosts different rules, so some may be stricter than others. Reading A Joyful Break truly showed another side from what I have normally read. The struggles Rachel goes through make this story well worth reading, allowing the reader to connect with Rachel and others, as if it was their own life. Definitely a to-buy book.

Coffee Time Romance & More - Matilda Reviewer for CTR

Diane Craver's book transports you to the world of an Amish Girl - her dreams and her conflicts. It is a book I thoroughly enjoyed! You will too.

Amazon - M. Beaugrand

"Ms. Craver penned this story with such emotion that it was easy for me to feel as if the story was unfolding before me firsthand. I was seeing and feeling everything Rachel was as if I experienced it myself. I love being able to walk away from a story feeling I went through the trials and tribulations as if I was another character in it and this author did that for me with this entertaining Amish story. I highly recommend it!"

Night Owl Reviews - Diana Coyle