Sarah, Adam & Caleb

Mary Ellis is making a name for herself amongst readers of Amish fiction, releasing four books in two years and a new series set to release in 2011. Her fourth novel celebrates Christmas so enjoy this insight into her characters and gear up for Christmas, 2010!

Over to you, Mary:~

Brief physical description

Sarah is a tall, willowy brown-eyed blonde, a bit frail looking, but she is no shrinking-violet. For an Amish gal, she has courage to spare. Most people would underestimate her strength of convictions, since up until now, she been very malleable. I like A. J. Cook from Criminal Minds for her.

Adam is a bulldog-looking, hardworking furniture maker who wishes he were taller. Not a man of many words, he usually picks the wrong ones, but his heart is made of gold. Johnny Galecki, who plays Leonard on The Big Bang Theory would be absolutely perfect.

Sarah’s brother, Caleb is quiet, moody, and intense. I picture Daniel Radcliff of Harry Potter, minus the magical abilities.

Strengths and weaknesses

Sarah can get along with anyone. People are naturally drawn to her, besides her being industrious, reliable and tenderhearted. She would be ideal if she didn’t suffer from the dog-in-the-manger syndrome. She doesn’t want to commit, but doesn’t want to release her fish back into the pond either.

Adam is controlling, jealous and insecure. Redeeming features? He’s patient with kids, kind to animals, and loves our Sarah with his whole heart.

Pride is Caleb’s downfall. It keeps him trapped in his rut instead of admitting the nasty mistakes he’s made.

Quirks (if any)

Sarah loves to check out what the English (non-Amish) guests are wearing in the B&B where she works. Although quite content being Amish, she’s a bit of a fashion-critic in her own mind.

Adam is the world’s best uncle with his nieces and nephews. When building snow castles and snowmen, a softer side rises to his crusty surface.

Your inspiration for the character

Inspiration for my lovely Sarah comes from the charming B&B where I stay while researching my books. Although the story is pure fiction, I’ve taken characteristics of several Amish friends to create my characters. But Caleb is purely my imagination, since I love to invent naughty, run-off-the-track men.

Background to the story

My story is set in gorgeous rural Holmes County, Ohio, but my heroine travels to Cleveland to track down her brother. This is the city where I went to college and met my husband. (I will not say how many years ago!) What fun we had riding the trains, walking the beach, haunting the Westside Market—in general, being a tourist in my former hometown. You see things from a completely new perspective. I fell in love with downtown Cleveland all over again!

Mary ~ thank you for sharing! Your characters sound intriguing and a little out of the ordinary for Amish fiction 🙂

On Monday, the spotlight shines on Tracey Cross’ Jane Albright & Franklin Lloyd from Love Finds You in Deadwood, South Dakota

Relz Reviewz Extras

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

Character spotlight on Leah, Jonah & Matthew from The Way to a Man’s Heart

Visit Mary’s blog

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Buy Mary’s book at Amazon or Koorong