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| A Forbidden Rumspringa |
About the Book
Title: A Forbidden Rumspringa
Genre: M/M contemporary
Author: Keira Andrews
Book heat level (based on movie ratings): R
When two young Amish men find love, will they risk losing everything?
In a world where every detail of life—down to the width of a
hat brim—is dictated by God and the all-powerful rules of the community, two men
dare to imagine a different way. At 18, Isaac Byler knows little outside the strict
Amish settlement of Zebulon, Minnesota, where there is no rumspringa for exploration
beyond the boundaries of their insular world. Isaac knows he’ll have to officially
join the church and find a wife before too long, but he yearns for something else—something
he can’t name.
Dark tragedy has left carpenter David Lantz alone to support
his mother and sisters, and he can’t put off joining the church any longer. But
when he takes on Isaac as an apprentice, their attraction grows amid the sweat and
sawdust. David shares his sinful secrets, and he and Isaac struggle to reconcile
their shocking desires with their commitment to faith, family and community.
Now that they’ve found each other, are they willing to lose it
all?
Buy This Book
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MTUG3NM
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-forbidden-rumspringa-keira-andrews/1120198155
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-aforbiddenrumspringa-1611117-149.html
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/a-forbidden-rumspringa
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id912267447
About the Character
Name: Isaac Byler
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Birthplace: Red Hills, Ohio
Profession: Apprentice carpenter
Ethnicity/Species (if not human): n/a
Describe his/her body build, skin tone, height and weight. Include
any unique features such as dimples, freckles, or scars: Caucasian, slim and just
under six feet tall. Isaac has sandy hair and amber eyes, as well as freckles across
his nose.
Who is the significant other in your character’s life? David
Lantz, a 22-year-old mysterious carpenter Isaac is going to work with.
How does your hero dress?
In a very regimented way! As a Swartzentruber Amish man, Isaac’s
clothes are very strictly governed by the rules of his community. The brim of his
hat (straw in the summer and black felt in the winter and for church) must be exactly
four inches wide, and the band five-eighths of an inch. No more, and no less. He
can’t wear bright colors, and dresses in simple fabrics in black, navy, brown and
gray. There are three hooks at the top of his shirts, and two buttons to do up the
flap over the fly of his trousers. He doesn’t wear underwear and wouldn’t know a
boxer brief from a hole in the ground.
If you could only hear
this character’s voice (but not see him) what characteristic would identify him?
When Isaac’s nervous (which happens a lot around David) he laughs,
and according to him he sounds like a braying donkey.
How educated is this character?
Is he book smart, self-taught, widely-experienced?
Like almost all Amish, Isaac only went to school through eighth
grade. In a one-room Amish schoolhouse, one of the young unmarried women taught
him basic math and how to read, write and speak English. He learned a tiny bit of
science (Creationist-compliant only, of course), and some Amish history. He knows
very little about the world outside his small community.
What does he have a knack
for doing?
Isaac’s always had a knack for woodworking. He’s not keen on
farming, so his father has arranged for Isaac to apprentice with the best carpenter
in Zebulon—David Lantz. David puts Isaac on edge for some reason he can’t figure
out. Maybe it’s the way David looked at him that day at the barn raising like he
was seeing right into the most secret part of him…
Is your character involved
in his community?
Absolutely. Isaac’s life revolves around his family and his community.
God and the community are everything to the Amish. It’s the only way of life Isaac’s
ever known.
Does this character see
morality as black-and-white, or with shades of gray?
He sees it as black and white, but as he comes to terms with
his sexuality, he begins to see more shades of gray. Reconciling his homosexuality
with the Amish rules of morality is not easy to do, to say the least.
Can your hero keep a secret?
If not, why not? If yes, why?
He can—out of necessity. If Isaac told the truth about who he
really was and what he felt for David, he would be an outcast in his community,
and his family would be devastated.
What inner doubt causes
your character the most difficulty?
Now that Isaac’s 18, the pressure is building for him to officially
be baptized and join the Amish church—after which he’ll naturally get married to
one of the local girls. But Isaac isn’t sure the plain life is what he truly wants.
When he tries to imagine his future as a good Amish man with a wife, he can’t seem
to. This doubt that he wants to remain Amish only intensifies as he gets to know
David and their connection grows.
About Your Writer: Questions for your character to answer about you.
Why do you think your
writer chose to write about you?
Because there are hardly any books out there about gay Amish
people, and we have a lot of stories to tell.
What do you wish your
writer had not told others about you?
*blushes* I wish she hadn’t told them about how much I like being
intimate with David!
Was there anything your
writer discovered about you that was a surprise to one or both of you?
*blushes again* It was a surprise just how flexible I can be
when David and I are…you know.
What do you wish your
writer would write next?
I wish she’d write about what happens to me and David next. Lucky
for me that’s what she’s working on!
Author Bio
After writing for years yet never really finding the right inspiration,
Keira discovered her voice in gay romance, which has become a passion. She writes
contemporary, historical, paranormal and fantasy fiction, and—although she loves
delicious angst along the way—Keira firmly believes in happy endings. For as Oscar
Wilde once said, “The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what
fiction means.”
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