The community of Birch Creek expands with the Amish Brides of Birch Creek.
With over a million copies sold, Kathleen Fuller is the author of several bestselling series, including the Hearts of Middlefield, the Middlefield Family, The Amish of Birch Creek and Amish Letters of Birch Creek. With her new series the Amish Brides of Birch Creek, Kathleen explores new relationships as the community experiences restoration. In this interview she touches on her latest leading characters The Teacher’s Bride (Zondervan), how they all intersect with the other series set in Birch Creek, and what goes into writing her Amish Romances.
Kathleen, The Teacher’s Bride is the first novel in the Amish Brides of Birch Creek series. What can you tell us about it?
The Teacher’s Bride is a bit unique in that the main character is a male teacher in an Amish school. Typically, Amish school teachers are female, but there are some male teachers. It’s also an exploration of how opposites attract, and love that is unexpected.
What about Christian Ropp and Ruby Glick made you want to tell their story?
I always wanted to write a male character who was similar to Mr. Spock—someone who valued logic above emotion, and to understand why the person is that way (other than being half Vulcan! ??) I also wanted to write an opposites-attract love story, and Ruby is the exact opposite of Christian—she’s impulsive and often leads by feeling instead of logic. They’re basically two sides of the same coin.
What do you consider the essential qualities of a leading lady and leading man?
I think both of them have to be willing to give up something important to them for the person they love. If they’re able to do that, then they’re excellent leading characters.
What inspired you to put an Amish romance in this kind of school setting?
A couple of things—I’m a former teacher, so writing about a teacher wasn’t that much of a stretch for me, and I really enjoyed going back to the classroom, even though it was in my imagination. I also try to look for things that are atypical of the Amish for my stories, and an Amish male teacher is definitely atypical.
Click here to find out how all of Kathleen’s Birch Creek books are connected…