Character Spotlight ~ Mary Ellis' Leah & Matthew Miller and Jonah Byler

Leah, Jonah & Matthew

Mary Ellis continues to provide her readers with sweet Amish fiction, loveable characters and delicious food in her latest story, The Way to A Man's Heart. I hope you enjoy this latest insight.

Over to you, Mary:~

Brief physical description

Straight-forward Leah has brown hair and eyes, loves to cook, prefers winter over summer because of allergies, is afraid of bugs, and refuses to sweat.

She falls for Jonah Byler, a cheesemaker with a secret past. He’s tall, dark, moody, with a wry sense of humor.

Her brother, Matthew, has orange-red hair and freckles—colorings that usually men hate when young.

Actor/famous person

Renee Zellweger would make a great Leah.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers would be super for Jonah

David Caruso for Matthew, back when he was 19.

Strengths and weaknesses

Leah’s is practical, hard working, kind-hearted. Her weakness is vanity, and reluctance to confront.

Jonah’s weakness is lack of trust and his fall-from-faith because life didn’t go as planned.

Matthew’s strength is integrity—to stand up for injustice, while his weakness is paralyzing shyness.

Quirk (if any)

Leah sneezes whenever around pollen or animal dander—troublesome if you live on a farm.

Jonah’s quirk is a wry sense of humor, almost sarcastic. No one expects the Amish to be funny, but many of them are.

Like most shy people, Matthew blushes whenever he’s around women.

Background to the story

While driving around the countryside, I spotted a rundown train car and caboose on a railroad siding outside a small town. I thought, wouldn’t that make a great diner catering to locals instead of tourists? A story was born! I’ve been haunting rural restaurants and eavesdropping on conversations ever since.

Since I can’t bake a lick, I asked an Amish friend to invent the recipes that appear in my story. She invited me to a family dinner to sample various pie recipes and to pick out the ones I liked. It doesn’t get much tastier than that.

Your inspiration for the storyline

We don’t know how we’d handle a particular vice or sin, until we’re face-to-face with it. Leah certainly didn’t think herself vain until surrounded by admirers, all clamoring for her attention. What woman wouldn’t enjoy fame, at least for a while? The Amish are faced with temptation the same as us, and must draw on their faith to resist.

Thank you Mary ~ all that food sounds like for hungry reading :)

On Thursday, the spotlight shines on Tricia Goyer & Ocieanna Fleiss' Rosalie Matthews from Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington

Relz Reviewz Extras

Reviews of A Widow's Hope and Never Far From Home

Visit Mary's blog

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Buy Mary's book at Amazon or Koorong