Monday, April 2, 2012

Welcome to Appleseed Creek

by Chloe Humphrey, from A Plain Death by Amanda Flower

I knew leaving Cleveland and moving to tiny Appleseed Creek, Ohio to take a job as the Director of Computer Services at Harshberger College would be a change of pace, but nothing like this. First of all, I never thought I would have a runaway in my home. Her name is Becky Troyer. She’s nineteen and, until a few hours ago, Amish. At nineteen, she’s legally an adult in the eyes of English law, but would her Amish parents, who must be worried sick, agree that she is old enough to make such a life-changing decision? She looks so young and innocent. She is completely fascinated with by my iPad and has already figured our how to find Food Network and Paula Deen clips, which she can't seem to get enough of, online.

If having Becky in my new house wasn’t enough, her older brother, Timothy, is here too. Becky called him the moment we stepped inside the house. He has also left the Amish way of life for some reason. Isn’t that unusual for more than one child to leave their Amish family? Why did they leave?

However, the more pressing question is who were those thugs bothering Becky on the side of the lonely stretch of county road? Did she know them? They seemed to know her. It was a lucky thing that I happened to be driving by at the time. Who knew what they may have said or done to her...

I know one thing moving to Amish Country isn’t going to a tranquil as I first thought. Certainly, things won’t get stranger than this…


Amanda Flower debuts the first novel in The Appleseed Creek Mystery Series, A Plain Death, July 2012. To learn more this series or Amanda other mysteries visit her online at You can also follow Amanda at and


  1. I keep thinking that things won't get stranger, also. And then they do...

  2. I can't wait to read your story, Chloe! There's just something about tranquil places that lull us, isn't there? I can understand why you're concerned about Becky. I'm a little concerned about her watching Paula Deen clips - oh, the cholesterol and calories!

  3. I just watched a TV show about kids who leave their Amish homes in the middle of the night to live outside of the Amish community. It must be very difficult to leave everything and everyone you know. I'm sure you'll be very good to Becky and Timothy. Wonder if they'll decide to return home?

    ~ Krista

  4. Welcome, Chloe! It definitely sounds like your new circumstances are leaving you with a lot of questions. Hopefully things will settle down for you and your housemates soon!

  5. What a dilemma! I wouldn't quite know what to do with a couple of Amish kids in my house... I'd be afraid a bad word would slip, now and then, and I'd corrupt them!

  6. That's a humdinger of a rumspringa. Good luck with that plain ol' mess.

  7. My father used to live in Amish country, and spent a lot of time cursing buggies (he was a rather aggressive driver).

    But I thought Amish children were encouraged to take a year off in the "real" world, so they would know how good they had it?

  8. Sounds like life won't be the same for you, Chloe. Good luck...and keep your eyes open!

  9. Perhaps that's the reason you're in take care of Becky and her brother.