Sneak peek: The Cedar Chest

 

I’m working on a novella for an upcoming Amish collection to be titled An Amish Heirloom, no cover art to show yet. My story will be:

The Cedar Chest

Emma Fisher’s great grandmother left a cedar chest behind when she died. A cedar chest with the key broke off in the lock. Neither Emma’s grandmother nor her mother ever bothered to force the chest open. Decades later, Emma and her husband—Jonathan—are living in Emma’s family home, following the death of her mother. Emma is in the attic searching for a box of old books when she eyes the dusty chest in the corner.

Jonathan and Emma have settled into a comfortable life after marrying off the last of their four children. They have less demands on their time and look forward to traveling. Jonathan has sold his furniture business to his sons, which also affords them financial freedoms they’ve never had before.

As Emma and Jonathan prepare to slide into their golden years, Emma can’t stop thinking about the forgotten cedar chest in the attic, and she decides to pry it open. When she does, a beautiful love story unfolds via letters between her great grandparents—Elizabeth and Isaac Lapp.

But as Emma immerses herself in their story, family secrets are revealed, things her mother and grandmother never knew. Emma must decide whether or not to share her great grandmother’s secrets to preserve family history, or are some things best left alone?

Disclosure: As is always the case, these synopses tend to change as I write the story, but you are getting a raw look at the story before I write it. It’s due for publication in April, 2018.