Kim Sawyer's Bygones - A Must Read!

I've known Kim Sawyer ever since we both joined what was then American Christian Romance Writers and attended the very first conference held in Kansas City. Since that time both Kim and ACRW have come a long way. ACRW became American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Kim became a very accomplished and published author. Both ACFW and Kim just keep getting better and better.The best thing of all is that even with her successes as a writer Kim has remained the same humble person she was the first day we met.

Here she is at our last ACFW conference in Dallas during the book signing event.

I am so excited to tell you about her latest release called Bygones. This is one of Kim's rare ventures into contemporary fiction and I hope she does more! Kim has some firsthand knowledge about the Mennonite community and that is exactly where the story is set.

Widow Marie Koeppler and her grown daughter Beth reluctantly return to the Mennonite community Marie abandoned twenty-three years ago. Soon after their arrival in Sommerfeld, a series of mysterious thefts raises the community's suspicions against the "outsiders." Can Marie prove their innocence, or will she be forced to flee once more? Henry Braun thought he'd gotten his love for Marie out of his system, but soon begins to wonder if she's stolen more than his heart. When it's all said and done, can Henry and Marie let bygones be bygones, or has their love been doomed from the start?

I learned so much about the Mennonites. They are similar to the Amish yet there are subtle differences. For one thing, today's Mennonites usually use electricity and own their own cars. In the story Marie's aunt's home where she and her daughter stay does not have electricity, because her aunt was old school so to speak. This causes some interesting conflict as the daughter who is used to Internet connections and her Stereo has to adjust. I love how Kim slowly allows Marie's spiritual arc to swing back to the faith of her childhood, one she'd forsaken for so long. Of course her relationship with God had nothing to do with whether or not she uses electricity or wears a prayer cap, but everything to do with repentance and forgiveness through faith in Christ. There are so many other conflicts going on throughout the story as well that you can't put the book down, wanting to know how everything is going to work out.

This is the first of three in a series and I can't wait for the next book!

Want to have a copy of Bygones for your self? Leave me a comment and I'll draw a name this coming Saturday, May 5th.