Guest Rachel J. Good: Blessings in Disguise

Please welcome Rachel J. Good today as she shares her writing journey and many reasons not to give up when your publisher closes or changes their plans without consulting you. She is a prolific writer and is a skilled navigator of this tricky business of writing. Here's Rachel:

Life isn’t always easy, but sometimes the darkest times may turn out to be blessings. If I hadn’t lost my library job, I’d never have become a writer. Once I did start writing, I worked for years on

magazine articles and educational pieces before I had a book published. Looking back, I’m glad for that delay because I learned a lot about the craft and business of writing. After switching to fiction, signing with an agent, and getting my first three-book deal for the Amish Sisters & Friends series, I assumed the worst of my struggles were over.

I didn’t count on the publisher closing the fiction line and orphaning my third and fourth books, especially not after I’d just given my editor ideas for continuing the series. I’m grateful for my agent, who suggested I give those ideas a new spin and she’d send them out. Several days later, she had requests from three different publishers for a sample chapter. Two of them made an offer, so we went with Hachette/ Grand Central. And the Love & Promises series was born. TheAmish Midwife’s Secret (Nov. 2018) is the second book in that series. The Amish Teacher’s Gift (Apr. 2018) and The Amish Widow’s Rescue (May 2019) round out the series.

Although I was devastated by the closing, it turned out to be a major blessing because I moved from a mid-sized publisher to one of the Big 5. Had I stayed where I was, this new series wouldn’t have made the BookScan bestseller lists or be featured in USA Today. But that wasn’t the only blessing. A few months later, I received a message from Harlequin, and they contracted the orphaned books from the Sisters & Friends series. Gift from Above (Feb.) and Big-City Amish (June) will be part of their Wal-Mart exclusives program in 2019.

That experience taught me not to count on only one publisher or one genre. Lines close, editors leave, genres wane. So, although I recently signed a six-book contract with Kensington for more Amish romances, my agent is preparing to shop two other series proposals—inspirational Westerns and sweet romances. I’m also working on new MG and YA novels as well planning a mystery novella series. As I (and many of my writer friends) have discovered, it’s important to give yourself multiple options if you’re hoping for a lifelong career in writing.

About The Amish Midwife’s Secret

An Amish midwife and an Englisch doctor must embrace their differences to rescue a baby in need in this uplifting romance that will “capture your heart and leave you smiling” (Amy Lillard, award-winning author).

Kyle Miller never planned on becoming a country doctor. But when he's offered a medical practice in his sleepy hometown, Kyle knows he must return... and face the painful past he left behind. Except

the Amish community isn't quite ready for Kyle. Especially the pretty midwife who refuses to compromise her traditions with his modern medicine...

The more Leah Stoltzfus works with the handsome Englisch doctor, the more she finds herself caught between the expectations of her family and her own hopes for the future. It will take one surprising revelation and one helpless baby in need of love to show Leah and Kyle that their bond may be greater than their differences... if Leah can find the courage to follow her heart.

“The Amish Teacher's Gift might have been the first book I've read by Rachel J. Good, but it won't be my last.” - Shelley Shepard Gray, New York Times bestselling author

**The Amish Midwife’s Secret can be purchased at Walmart, Barnes & Noble, Meier’s, and other stores as well as online at these sellers and at ChristianBooks.com. For international readers, Book Depository offers free worldwide shipping.

** Readers can find out more about the hero, Kyle, by reading the first two books in the Sisters & Friends series, Change of Heart and Buried Secrets, although the midwife story stands alone.

About Rachel J. Good

Rachel J. Good turned to writing to keep her sanity when she had 5 children under the age of 8. Squeezing in writing between changing diapers, settling sibling quarrels, and wiping runny noses proved impossible, so she became a night owl. Writing from 10 PM to 3 AM, Rachel cranked out more than 40 books for children and adults under various pen names, but Amish novels have become her favorite. To keep her books authentic, she enjoys spending time with Amish friends, doing chores on their farms, babysitting their children, and attending family events.

Rachel’s Amish series include Sisters & Friends (Charisma House & Harlequin), Love & Promises (Hachette/Grand Central), Hearts of Amish Country (Annie’s Book Club), and the forthcoming Surprised by Love and Unexpected Amish Blessings (Kensington). She also has several anthologies in print as well as the Amish Quilts Coloring Book. To learn more about Rachel, you can visit her website and sign up for her newsletter.

If you enjoy learning about Amish life and want to follow along on her research trips to Amish country, you can join her private Facebook group, Rachel J. Good’s Hitching Post.

Rachel can also be found here, and she’d love to connect with you:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/racheljgoodnovels/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RachelJGood1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14661177.Rachel_J_Good
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/racheljgood1/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rachel-J-Good/e/B019DWF4FG
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rachel-j-good

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelj.good

Thanks ever so much for having me, Susan! And many blessings on your writing journey!

I've known Rachel for many years. She continues to amaze me with her accomplishments. Have you ever visited Amish country? Did anything about it surprise you? Ever own an Amish quilt or eat some Amish baking? Did you know how big the inspirational romance market is?