Showing results by author "Amy Lillard" in All Categories

Jenna Burkhart is tired of being "special" and hearing about what she can't do. Even though she suffered a head injury in a childhood swimming accident, she wants a life of her own just like any Amish woman. But now that she, her mamm, and her mammi have moved to Wells Landing, she's having a hard time fitting in.... Until she meets Buddy Miller, a boy just like her, who gives her the confidence to reach for the impossible.

Twenty-something Sissy Yoder never imagined herself running her Aunt Bethel's cafe, but her help is needed, so she's making a go of it. And she must admit that life in tiny Yoder has been anything but dull—she's already solved one homicide—after being named the prime suspect in the case! Enjoying a peaceful respite after all that excitement, Sissy just wants to write her advice column. But when the unsavory Summers—resented by just about everyone in town—turns up murdered in his garden shed, it's up to Sissy to roll up her sleeves, dig for some clues, and weed out the culprit.

Wife, widow, mother, and grandmother - 60-something Nadine Burkhart is everything a sensible Amish woman is supposed to be. She's moved to Wells Landing to give her daughter-in-law and granddaughter a fresh start - not herself. So as far as she's concerned, good-hearted farmer Amos Fisher should find something better to do than try to draw her out, be there when she needs help - and make her believe in love for the first time.

Tillie Gingerich is so in love with Melvin Yoder that she agrees to leave her conservative Amish home to live with him in the English world. But when the struggle to make ends meet leads to conflict and reveals troubling weaknesses in their relationship, Tillie returns to Pontotoc - pregnant and unmarried. Her loving family accepts her, but to convince the rest of the community, they must turn to the bishop. Distraught, Tillie runs away on Christmas Eve - only to get as far as an isolated house on the edge of town.

Kathryn “Kappy” King is happy being a plain-spoken unmarried odd-woman-out in her Pennsylvania Amish hometown. Her talent is making the special kapps local women use to cover their hair. At first, young Sally June Esh's tragic death doesn't look like murder. Even in peaceful Blue Sky, collisions between buggies and Englisch cars aren’t unheard of. Still, the Eshes are skilled drivers used to delivering their popular pickles for miles around. And after Kappy notices Sally's buggy was deliberately run off the road, her ex-Amish friend Edie gets strange texts saying the crash was no accident....

Hattie Schrock's lively optimism makes her the Widows Club's most outgoing member. The circle has helped her through widowhood—and in building a thriving popcorn shop with her cousin. So when Elsie bets Hattie that she can't help Paradise Valley's most cantankerous man learn to be happier, Hattie tackles the challenge head-on. But what can she do when she finds Christian Beachy is far more complicated—and appealing—than she thought?

At the age of forty-three, Amy Lee Lillard learned she was autistic. She learned she was part of a community of unseen women who fell through the gaps due to medical bias and social stereotypes. A Grotesque Animal explores the making, unmaking, and making again of a woman with an undiagnosed disorder. How did a working-­class background and a deep-rooted Midwest culture of silence lead to hiding in plain sight for decades? How did sexuality and anger hide the roots of trauma among the women in her family?

When an "accident" puts beloved bishop's wife Alma Ebersol in a coma, many in Blue Sky are quick to blame struggling widow Frannie Lehman. Both women are the best bakers around, but for years, Alma's boysenberry pies have been more award-winning - and profitable - than Frannie's. And with Alma out of this fall's county festival, Frannie's pie finally wins first prize. But when Alma dies and Frannie's children fall victim to gossip and bullying, Kappy is determined to uncover the real truth.

Suvie has three marriage proposals - but none from the man she truly loves. No matter how lonely widower Aaron Beachy is, he seems determined to stay that way. Now, Suvie will do whatever it takes to change that.

Gracie Glick is known for being the helpful one, always available for a relative in need. But now that she’s longing for a home and family of her own, it’s time to help herself. With few eligible men in Pontotoc, Gracie’s choices, and her time, are limited. So she takes a bold leap of faith: She proposes to Matthew Byler, a handsome, recently widowed, father of five. It’s not until after they’re married that Gracie learns Matthew doesn’t want more children.

A Woman is a God is a narrated audio novel from Amy Lee Lillard and Rebel Yell Creative. All episodes available July 9! When Shannon and her queer chosen family turned seventy, they created a communal home, a place for them to live out their days together. But as years pass, and death takes her friends, Shannon becomes the last. Until one day, when her dead friends return. And Shannon discovers how powerful she has become. Over the course of one week, Shannon transforms her body into beasts, sees into the lives she might have lived, watches time spool and unspool, and visits a land of myth and...

With a speculative and surreal style, Amy Lee Lillard’s prize-winning collection explores a living museum of women from across time; a life app that forces women to comply with beauty standards; a future internment camp with a literal race for survival; and a band of middle-aged Riot Grrrls, taking vengeance with a new power. With humor, rage, and a razor-sharp eye for detail, Exile in Guyville renders the invisible as seen, and the powerless as empowered.

The unusual death of local herb farmer Ginger Reed is the talk of Yoder. Naturally, Sissy is intrigued. The official report classifies Ginger's demise as an accident, concluding that she ran herself over with a tractor. But Sissy's cousin, Naomi, a friend and longtime employee of Ginger's, insists that's impossible. When she asks for Sissy's help in unearthing the truth, Sissy's on the case—accompanied as ever by her loyal Yorkie companion, Duke.