The Promise of Palm Grove (23 page)

The New Studio

P
EOPLE OFTEN ASK
how I started writing. Some believe I've been a writer all my life; others ask if I've always felt I had a story I needed to tell. I'm afraid my reasons couldn't be more different. See, I started writing one day because I didn't have anything to read.

I've always loved to read. I was the girl in the back of the classroom with her nose in a book, the mom who kept a couple of novels in her car to read during soccer practice, the person who made weekly visits to the bookstore and the library.

Back when I taught elementary school, I used to read during my lunch breaks. One day, when I realized I'd forgotten to bring something to read, I turned on my computer
and took a leap of faith. Feeling a little like I was doing something wrong, I typed those first words:
Chapter One
.

I didn't start writing with the intention of publishing a book. Actually, I just wrote for myself.

For the most part, I still write for myself, which is why, I think, I'm able to write so much. I write books that I'd like to read. Books that I would have liked to have in my old teacher tote bag. I'm always relieved and surprised and so happy when other people want to read my books, too!

Another question I'm often asked is why I choose to write inspirational fiction. Maybe at first glance, it does seem surprising. I'm not the type of person who usually talks about my faith in the line at the grocery store or when I'm out to lunch with friends. For me, my faith has always felt like more of a private thing. I feel that I'm still on my faith journey—still learning and studying God's word.

And that, I think, is why writing inspirational fiction is such a good fit for me. I enjoy writing about characters who happen to be in the middle of their faith journeys, too. They're not perfect, and they don't always make the right decisions. Sometimes they make mistakes, and sometimes they do something they're proud of. They're characters who are a lot like me.

Only God knows what else He has in store for me. He's given me the will and the ability to write stories to glorify Him. He's put many people in my life who are supportive and caring. I feel blessed and thankful . . . and excited to see what will happen next!

Dear Reader,

Thank you for traveling with me to Pinecraft, Florida! I hope you will enjoy reading the Amish Brides of Pinecraft series. I know I am truly enjoying writing the books.

I've been wanting to set a series of novels in Pinecraft for some time. Several years ago, when I visited some of my Amish friends, I noticed one of the ladies seemed especially tan. It was March and we'd had quite a winter! And that's when she told me that she and her family had recently returned from a vacation to Pinecraft.

I have to admit to being very surprised. I'd had no idea that the Amish liked to go to the beach. Then, as she told me about the Pioneer Trails bus that traveled from Sugarcreek to Sarasota, Yoder's Restaurant, the beach at Siesta Key, the bicycles that everyone rode . . . I started wishing I had vacationed there, too!

This was why I was so excited when my editor was just as happy about setting a series of novels in sunny Florida as I was. The moment I got off the phone with Chelsey, I told my husband that we were going to have to visit Florida for some research. The sooner the better!

I was so happy when I discovered that my Amish friend was going to be in Pinecraft a few of the same days that my husband and I were. She very graciously spent the afternoon with us. Together, we peeked in shops, ate lunch and pie at Yoder's, and even walked down to Pinecraft Park, where a number of people were playing shuffleboard.

And with every hour that passed by,
I became more and more charmed by, well, everything that is Pinecraft.

I hope you will enjoy the series, and most especially this first book,
The Promise of Palm Grove
. In this novel, you'll meet Leona, who must decide whether to hold close everything she's ever known . . . or to take a chance on the promise of what could be.

I love this story. I hope you will enjoy it, too.

With blessings,

Shelley

P.S. I love to hear from readers, either on Facebook, through my website, or through the postal system! If you'd care to write and tell me what you think of the book, please do!

Shelley Shepard Gray

10663 Loveland Madeira Rd. #167

Loveland, OH 45140

1. The following scripture verse guided me through the writing of this novel. I thought it was a perfect verse to describe Leona's journey. Can you think of a situation when the Lord changed some of your plans?
We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps
. Proverbs 16:9

2. I found the following Amish proverb to be especially helpful when creating my own “community” in Pinecraft, with the Kaufmann family and Beverly in the center of much of it! Describe your community of people, those who see you through.
We are not put on this earth to see through one another, but to see one another through
. Amish Proverb

3. What are your first impressions of Leona?

4. I loved the idea of Beverly “dreaming in color.” I liked the idea of having her life so much brighter than the life she left behind. Can you relate to Beverly's color-filled life? What in your life brings you happiness and bright days?

5. How do you feel about Leona's friends? Were they supportive enough? How do you see the girls' relationships evolving after the book ends?

6. Some of my favorite scenes in the novel revolved around the interaction between the different members of the Kaufmann family. I especially liked Violet's character, and how she struggled to still be included even though she wasn't doing exactly what her parents
wanted her to do. Were there any relationships that you could relate to?

7. Beverly's story begins in this novel and continues through the entire series. What do you think are some areas in her life that she needs to work on before she's able to handle her own romance?

8. I truly loved setting my book in Pinecraft, Florida. It was fun to mention some Pinecraft landmarks—and adding some fictional places in order to make the story my own! What place would you like to see more of in the rest of the series?

9. Do you or disagree with Leona's father's pronouncement that “You can't stop love”? What experiences have you had that support this?

2 cups sugar, divided

1 tablespoon cornstarch or Clear Jel

1½ cups water

1 tablespoon orange Jell-O (or Kool-Aid)

Juice of 2–3 oranges

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

4 cups (12 ounces) nondairy whipped topping, divided

1 baked pie shell

Cook 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, and water until clear and thickened. Add Jell-O and cool. Juice oranges and add to sugar mixture. Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, and 2 cups nondairy whipped topping until fluffy. Spread into bottom of baked pie shell and pour orange mixture on top. Top with additional whipped topping and enjoy.

(from Arlene Mast, Pinecraft, Florida)

Taken from
Simply Delicious Amish Cooking
by Sherry Gore. Copyright © 2012 by Sherry Gore. Used by permission of Zondervan. www.Zondervan.com

H
ONESTLY
, I
FELL
in love with everything about the tiny village of Pinecraft, nestled in the heart of Sarasota and nearby Siesta Key! Here are five places to start your journey:

1.
Yoder's Restaurant
. I've been to a lot of Amish restaurants. I've eaten a lot of coconut cream pie at each one. But nothing has compared to this well-known restaurant. The lines to get in are always long, usually at least a thirty-minute wait. But the long lines allow everyone to chat and make friends.

2.
The Produce Market at Yoder's
. The market next to Yoder's is full of beautiful Florida-fresh produce. We couldn't resist picking up two pints of strawberries and five oranges. Just to snack on—in between servings of pie, of course!

3.
Pinecraft Park
. It's the social center of the community! The night we were there, kids were playing basketball, men and women were playing shuffleboard (women have their own lane), and there were at least another forty or fifty people standing around and visiting.

4.
The Bus Parking lot
. This is where everyone meets to either board one of the Pioneer Trails buses or to watch who is arriving and leaving.

5.
Village Pizza
. It's located right behind Olaf 's Creamery. You can order a pie and take it right over to one of the picnic tables outside. The pizza is delicious. Eating pizza outside in the sunshine in January or February in the Florida sun? Priceless.

Photographs courtesy of by Katie Troyer, Sarasota, Florida

The Pioneer Trails bus arrives in Pinecraft

Siblings and friends at Big Olaf in Pinecraft.

Enjoying a Song Fest at Pinecraft Park.

Playing bocce in Pinecraft Park.

T
HE MINUTE
P
ENNY
Troyer placed one foot outside her front door, she knew it had been a big mistake.

No matter what her mother was doing, no matter what part of the house she happened to be in, she always,
always
heard the distinctive snap of the deadbolt on the front door disengaging.

Penny froze, feeling vaguely like a burglar caught red-handed. Mentally began to count to five.

She barely made it to three.

With all the fanfare of a trio of trumpeter swans, her mother's high-pitched call flew down the hall. “Penny? Penny, what are you doing?”

And, as often happened lately, Penny bit back an irritable retort. “Nothing.”

“It must have been something. I am fairly positive I heard you at the door.”

God had really blessed her mother with too good hearing. “I'm simply going to sit on the front porch.”

In the twinkling of an eye, her mother appeared in the entryway. Her hands clutched the sides of her apron and a blurred concern shone in her truly beautiful periwinkle-colored eyes. “Why?”

The question was so unnecessary, Penny almost smiled. But that would be wrong to do. Instead, she kept her voice even and respectful. “No real reason. I simply wanted to sit outside.”

“But you'll go no farther?”

The correct answer was the one she'd given for the last twelve years of her twenty-four years of life. No, she would not. She would stay close. Free from harm.

But she simply wasn't sure if she could do that anymore. “I don't plan to go anywhere. But I might.”

Her mother froze in mid-nod. “What in the world does that mean?”

“It means that I'm far too old to be forced to promise to stay on my parents' front porch,” she said. Almost patiently.

Immediately hurt filled her mother's expression. “You know I like you close because I care about you, dear.”

Penny knew that. She really did.

But of course, she knew that her mother asked for other reasons, too. They both knew those reasons. And they both knew that her mother would do just about anything to refrain from speaking of them.

But today was the day Penny finally had had enough.

Steeling herself for the drama that was about to ensue, she gestured toward the open doorway. “Mamm, why don't you come out on the porch, too? I think we need to talk.”

“Penny, you know I don't have time to lollygag. Your grandparents are coming over for supper.”

“I know that everything is ready. I helped you set the table, make the casseroles, and marinate the chicken.”

For a moment, Penny was sure her mother was about to argue, then at last she followed Penny out to the porch swing that was situated exactly in the middle of the wide front porch that spanned the entire width of their tidy, one-story home.

Surrounding them were her mother's carefully tended pink roses and a quartet of blooming azalea bushes. Daisies and snapdragons and begonias lined the walkway.

After they were seated side by side, Penny tried to think of the best way to say what was on her mind. But as she mentally tried out different approaches, she knew there wasn't a single explanation that would be accepted.

Sometimes there really was no way to deliver bad news, even if that news was only going to be regarded as bad by one of them.

Steeling her spine, she decided to go for the direct approach. “Mother, it has now been twelve years since Lissy died. She's been gone for half my life.”

Her mother flinched. “We don't need to talk about your sister.”

“
Jah
, we do,” Penny said gently, but took care to thread resolve into her tone. “Mamm, everything we do is a consequence from what happened to Lissy.” Before her mother could get up, Penny wrapped
her fingers around her mother's wrist and held on tight. “Mamm, what happened to Lissy was a terrible thing. I know that.”

Before her eyes, her mother aged another ten years. As she always did when she thought about what happened to Lissy. “It was worse than terrible.”

Yes. Yes, it was. One winter's day twelve years ago, back when they'd lived in Ohio, Penny's older sister, Elizabeth—Lissy to all who knew her—had been lured away from the girls she'd been walking home with by a very bad man. He raped her. He beat her. And then he left her in a field. She died alone and in pain.

The event had sent shock waves throughout the community, both English and Amish. Everyone in the area held memorial services, set up funds in Lissy's name; some even began neighborhood watch groups.

Within a week, the police had caught the man. A week after that, the man had mysteriously died in his jail cell.

Many had been secretly pleased about that.

But for the three remaining people in the Troyer family, the man's death hardly mattered. Nothing mattered except their loss. As each grueling hour turned to days and then weeks, it became obvious nothing was never going to ease their pain, and nothing was ever going to bring Lissy back.

Two years later, her parents decided to move to Sarasota, claiming they needed a change of scenery. Someplace fresh to start new. Someplace that would never be cold and snowy. Where there were no reminders of that horrible day.

Penny had been eager for the move, too.

But though they now lived in a place where the sun always shone and nobody knew about their hardships until they were told, the grief and worry in her family didn't change.

If anything, it began to imprint on everything in their lives.

Over the years, instead of venturing out into the world more, her parents had become more reclusive. Their fears began to center on Penny. Her restrictions became more and more pronounced. At first, Penny had been glad for all the rules. She'd been afraid of strangers and most of her nights had been haunted by memories of her sister and visions of what must have happened at the kidnapper's hands.

Eventually, however, the memories faded. And Penny had begun to feel the pinch of her circumstances. She'd kept her silence out of respect for her parents.

But their rules and fears had begun to chafe. Their refusal to see her as a grown woman instead of a susceptible child was aggravating.

It had festered. Now it pained her. And when she woke up this morning, she knew she couldn't take it another day.

Not for one more hour.

“Mamm, you and Daed are going to have to give me more freedom.” Truly, she was proud of her firm tone of voice.

But even that didn't make an impression. “Don't be silly. You have freedom, Penny.”

“Not really. You haven't let me take a job, you don't like me walking anywhere alone.”

“That's because it's not safe.”

“Mamm, if I was still a child, I would agree with you. But I am a grown woman. Of course it's safe.”

The skin around her mother's lips tightened. “Things can happen.”

“That is true, but I will be careful.”

“Bad things can happen even when one is careful.”

“I know that. But I can't live like this any longer. I have a feeling if you let yourself actually see me as I am, you would see that, too. Why, many women my age are married and have their own children.”