Why I Started Writing:

I published my first story in the school newspaper when I was seven years old. I called the article “What I did This Summer.” It got such a good response from my family and family friends I decided telling stories would be a good thing to do. So from then on, I wrote. After that, I was the editor of my school paper in grade school, middle school, and high school. I won writing contests and received commendations from prestigious publications like the Wall Street Journal, and I wrote for the local paper. Then in high school, my interest shifted to music, and I spent many years as a professional musician—but my favorite part of that was writing songs for my bands. I loved writing songs that told stories. After years in the music industry as a published songwriter, I gave my heart to Christ in 1984, attended Bible College, and became a pastor. I spent many years writing non-fiction teaching books on music, worship, and discipleship. Then in 2007, I retired. While casting about for something to do it occurred to me that I still loved writing stories. So I wrote my first fiction book, The Mystery of Ghost Dancer Ranch. In 2010, I signed a contract with Harvest House and wrote my first three Amish books. Then I wrote three more Amish books and self-published them. Now I have three major projects underway plus The Adventures of Punkin and Boo series, which I am writing for Elk Lake Publishing. All of my books declare the gospel of Jesus Christ which I think should be the ministry of every Christian writer.

Authors Who Have Influenced Me:

Ernest Hemingway, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Zane Grey, Louis L’Amour, Mark Twain, Franklin W. Dixon, Frank Peretti, Harper Lee, William Shakespeare, Agatha Christie.

Books I Have Written:

A Quilt For Jenna, The Road Home, Jenny’s Choice, The Amish Heiress, The Amish Princess, The Mennonite Queen, The Mystery of Ghost Dancer Ranch, The Lost Coast

What I'm Working On Now:

Islands—a three-book series of World War II fiction with Murray Pura

Amour Mi Tien, Love Keep Me—A historical romance series set in the time of the Wars of the Roses in England

The Amish Menorah—A historical romance set in 1937 Europe

Scars on Heaven—Maxfield Williams series, action/thriller/suspense fiction.

Porch Swing Mysteries—an Amish Miss Marple and her sidekick.