Book Title: Priscilla’s Escape
Author: Diane Craver
Genre: Amish Romance, Contemporary
Release date: March 23, 2018
When faith and freedom collide, mistakes made in the past may decide the future.
Twenty-year-old Priscilla King is unsure about joining the Amish Church and wants to use her rumspringa freedom to paint beach landscapes. She’s been offered a two-month-long nanny position in Siesta Key, Florida by an author on a tight writing deadline. The opportunities presented are more than a little tempting for Priscilla, even if it means disappointing her parents and leaving her new boyfriend.
Stephen Hertzler grew up in an Amish family, but, like Priscilla, he’s undecided about joining the church. He loves Priscilla and wants to marry her, though he knows she’s not ready to decide about anything other than her summer plans. His biggest worry is that she’ll meet someone else in Florida and forget him.
When Priscilla’s parents sabotage her part-time job at a local fabric store to dissuade her from following a “worldly lifestyle” in taking the nanny position in Florida, Priscilla is distraught. She knows she would regret not taking this chance. Leaving a note, she sneaks out in disobedience of her parents’ wishes.
Free to paint, dreams she’s never fully envisioned before seem within reach…but at what price?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Diane grew up on a farm outside Findlay, Ohio, and she often acted out characters from her own stories in the backyard. In high school Diane would read during classes and hide a novel in front of her in a propped-up textbook. After her high school graduation, she attended Ohio State University. Then Diane became a schoolteacher and play director. She met her husband while teaching at an orphanage, and they married three years later. It took her that long to convince him she was the one for him! While raising their family in southwestern Ohio, Diane started writing nonfiction and was published. Later she decided it would be a nice escape to write fiction. Diane was blessed with five daughters and one son.
Two daughters were born with Down syndrome and live with Diane and her husband. Their other children live close by in Ohio, so that’s wonderful. They also have four precious grandchildren. Diane published through a variety of houses. Several years ago, she decided to self-publish her books, so requested the rights back to her previously published stories. From the beginning, she enjoyed self-publishing her Amish romances. Diane gives thanks to God daily for her many blessings.
Guest Post from Diane
Hello, Reader Friends,
Priscilla’s Escape is Book 3 in The Bishop’s Daughters Series. This story features Priscilla King, and she is the fourth child born to Amos and Lillian King. You may remember meeting Priscilla in my Dreams of Plain Daughters Series. After I finished writing this series, I decided to continue to write about the Amish and English characters living in Fields Corner, Ohio. They became family and real to me.
The King family have six children with only one son. That is like our Craver family because we have five daughters and one son. Through the years, our family has faced certain challenges with two daughters being born with Down syndrome. Although Priscilla doesn’t have any siblings with special needs, she feels overlooked in her family. It’s like she’s invisible to her parents, especially to her father. He doesn’t understand her passion for painting but favors Molly’s talent for quilting. Everyone needs a cheerleader in their corner at times, and Priscilla is no different. Fortunately, her new boyfriend, Stephen, listens to her dream to paint beach pictures. He even understands her desire to wait to join the church.
All families suffer some type of hardships. It does seem like some more than others. A family’s faith in God gives them hope in their daily lives. Whatever the level of the pain, staying close to God and listening to his voice, gives us the strength to survive. The King family have their share of tragedies, but their faith reminds steadfast. When Priscilla leaves their close-knit unit, they all reach out to her by letter and phone calls. Her siblings even tell their father that he needs to share his secret with Priscilla.
I hope you will enjoy reading Priscilla’s Escape. There is a lot happening in the King family, so you can catch up with your favorite romantic couples in this novel. If you love going to the beach as much as I do, I think you’ll love reading about Priscilla’s beach experiences – some are good, and others are not.
My review:
I didn't read the other two books in this series, because this is the first I've heard of it. However, while you don't really need to read the other two, because things are pretty well explained, I wish I had read them to get more of the backstory. Some of the discussed would have been better known to me had I read the other books.
I found myself wanting to know how the story was going to end up for Priscilla. It also made me think about how hard it must be for some young Amish to make the decision to take baptismal instruction and dedicate their life to their faith, family and church, especially when they may have a passion in their life they may not be able to pursue once baptized.
This was a very fast read and I found that it was a pretty different premise than usual Amish fiction. I always enjoy a good Amish story and this fit the bill.
I enjoyed this story and really appreciate the opportunity given to me by Celebrate Lit and the publisher! All opinions are my own.
To celebrate her tour, Diane is giving a grand prize that includes a $25 Amazon Gift Card & The Bishop’s Daughters: A Three Book Collection – Amish Baby Snatched, A Plain Widow, and Priscilla’s Escape (paperback or eBook)!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
