Beverly Marie Lewis (née Jones) is an American

Christian fiction A Christian novel is a Christian literary novel which features Christian media genre conventions. The tradition of Christian fiction Christian novels are works of imaginative literature drawing on Christian themes, theology, and social norms. T ...

novelist and adult and children's

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

of over 100 books. Lewis is a former schoolteacher and musician. She started playing the piano at age four, and began writing short stories and poetry when she was nine years old. Much of her writing focuses on the Old Order

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...

. Her maternal grandmother, Ada Ranck Buchwalter, was born into an

Old Order Mennonite Old Order Mennonites (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania German: ) form a branch of the Mennonite tradition. Old Order Movement, Old Order are those Mennonite groups of Swiss people, Swiss German and south Germans, German heritage who pract ...

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, which interested Lewis in her own "plain heritage." Her father was a pastor in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (the heart of the

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...

community), where she was born and grew up. She was raised and continues to be part of the

Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

community. She went to

Evangel University Evangel University is a private Christian university and seminary in Springfield, Missouri. It is affiliated with the Assemblies of God Christian denomination, which is also headquartered in Springfield. The campus sits on that were originally ...

, and received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2003. She is also a member of the National League of American Pen Women. Lewis is married to David Lewis, and they have three grown children and three grandchildren. They live in Colorado.

Awards

* Rated 8 among the ''Top 10 Christian Authors for 2009'' by the

ECPA Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) was enacted by the United States Congress to extend restrictions on government wire taps of telephone calls to include transmissions of electronic data by computer ( ''et seq.''), added new pro ...

. * ECPA 2011's BestSeller ListsBest of 2011. * ECPA 2011's BestSeller ListsBest of 2011. * ''The Brethren'': won the

Christy Award The Christy Awards, established in 1999, are awarded each year to recognize fiction of excellence written from a Christian perspective with matters of faith at its core. Awards are given in several genres, including contemporary (stand-alone novel ...

in 2007 for Contemporary Series. * ''The Preacher's Daughter'': won the ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

s Best Genre Fiction in 2005. * ''The Prodigal'': Crossings Book of the Year in 2004. * ''The Betrayal'': Inspirational Readers Choice - first place for Long Historical in 2004.

Works

The full collection of listed books have been published by

Bethany House Bethany House Publishers is a publisher that publishes Christian fiction and non-fiction books. Bethany House Publishers was bought in 2003 by Baker Publishing Group. Bethany House publishes both historical and contemporary fiction. Historical ...

publishers.

The Heritage of Lancaster County series

Series reprinted in 2002. # ''The Shunning'', 1997 # ''The Confession'', 1997 # ''The Reckoning'', 1998

The Amish Country Crossroads series

Series reprinted in 2007. # ''The Postcard'', 1999 # ''The Crossroad'', 1999 # ''Sanctuary'', June 2001(with David Lewis)

Abram's Daughters series

# ''The Covenant'', September 2002 # ''The Betrayal'', September 2003 # ''The Sacrifice'', May 2004 # ''The Prodigal'', October 2004 # ''The Revelation'', June 2005

Annie's People series

# ''The Preacher's daughter'', November 2005 # ''The Englisher'', May 2006 # ''The Brethren'', October 2006

The Courtship of Nellie Fisher series

# ''The Parting'', 2007 # ''The Forbidden'', May 2008 # ''The Longing'', October 2008

Seasons of Grace series

# ''The Secret'', April 2009 # ''The Missing'', September 2009 # ''The Telling'', April 6, 2010

The Rose trilogy

# ''The Thorn'', September 2010 # ''The Judgment'', April 2011 # ''The Mercy'', September 2011

Home to Hickory Hollow series

# ''The Fiddler'', April 2012 # ''The Bridesmaid'', September 2012 # ''The Guardian'', March 2013 # ''The Secret Keeper'', September 2013 # ''The Last Bride'', April 2014

Other works

* ''The Sunroom'', May 1998 * ''The Redemption of Sarah Cain'', July 2000 * ''October Song'', October 2001 * ''The Beverly Lewis Amish Heritage Cookbook'', 2004 * "The Atonenent," 2016 * "The First Love," 2018

Youth fiction

The Cul-de-Sac Kids series

# ''The Double Dabble Surprise'', March 1995 # ''The Chicken Pox Panic'', March 1995 # ''The Crazy Christmas Angel Mystery'', March 1995 # ''No Grown-ups Allowed'', August 1995 # ''Frog Power'', August 1995 # ''The Mystery of Case D. Luc'', August 1995 # ''The Stinky Sneakers Mystery'', May 1996 # ''Pickle Pizza'' ,May 1996 # ''Mailbox Mania'', May 1996 # ''The Mudhole Mystery'', March 1997 # ''Fiddlesticks'', March 1997 # ''The Crabby Cat Caper'', March 1997 # ''Tarantula Toes'', August 1997 # ''Green Gravy'', August 1997 # ''Backyard Bandit Mystery'', August 1997 # ''Tree House Trouble'', February 1998 # ''The Creepy Sleep-Over'', February 1998 # ''The Great TV Turn-Off'', February 1998 # ''Piggy Party'', February 1999 # ''The Granny Game'', February 1999 # ''Mystery Mutt'', February 2000 # ''Big Bad Beans'', February 2000 # ''The Upside-Down Day'', January 2001 # ''The Midnight Mystery'', January 2001

Girls Only (GO!) series

These books were republished by

into two volumes (books 1–4, books 5–8) in 2008. # ''Dreams on Ice'', August 1998 # ''Only the Best'', September 1998 # ''A Perfect Match'', May 1999 # ''Reach for the Stars'', September 1999 # ''Follow the Dream'', July 2000 # ''Better Than Best'', October 2000 # ''Photo Perfect'', May 2001 # ''Star Status'', May 2002

Holly's Heart series

These books were republished by

into 3 volumes (books 1–5, books 6–10, books 11–14) in September 2008. # ''Best Friend, Worst Enemy'', November 2001 # ''Secret Summer Dreams'', November 2001 # ''Sealed With a Kiss'', January 2002 # ''The Trouble With Weddings'', January 2002 # ''California Crazy'', July 2002 # ''Second-Best Friend'', July 2002 # ''Good-Bye, Dressel Hills'', November 2002 # ''Straight-A Teacher'', November 2002 # ''No Guys Pact'', January 2003 # ''Little White Lies'', January 2003 # ''Freshman Frenzy'', May 2003 # ''Mystery Letters'', May 2003 # ''Eight is Enough'', November 2003 # ''It's a Girl Thing'', November 2003

Summerhill Secrets series

These books were republished by

into 2 volumes (books 1–5, books 6–10) in 2007. # ''Whispers Down the Lane'', May 1995 # ''Secret in the Willows'', May 1995 # ''Catch a Falling Star'', November 1995 # ''Night of the Fireflies'', November 1995 # ''A Cry in the Dark'', June 1996 # ''House of Secrets'', November 1996 # ''Echoes in the Wind'', June 1997 # ''Hide Behind the Moon'', April 1998 # ''Windows on the Hill'', March 1999 # ''Shadows Beyond the Gate'', April 2000

Other picture books

* ''Cows in the House'', October 1998 * ''Just Like Mama'', October 2002 * ''Annika's Secret Wish with CD'', October 2004 * ''What is Heaven Like?'', October 2006 * ''In Jesse's Shoes'', Fall 2007 * ''What is God Like?'', September 2008

Film adaptations

Saving Sarah Cain ''Saving Sarah Cain'' is a 2007 made-for-television drama film based on Beverly Lewis' 2000 novel ''The Redemption of Sarah Cain''. The film premiered August 19, 2007 on Lifetime. The film is distributed by Believe Pictures and stars Lisa Pepper, ...

'' is based on the 2000 standalone novel ''The Redemption of Sarah Cain''. The movie was first shown on Lifetime in 2007. ''The Shunning'', based on the first novel in Lewis' '' Heritage of Lancaster County'', premiered on the Hallmark Channel on April 16, 2011. ''The Confession'', based on the second novel in Lewis' '' Heritage of Lancaster County'' series, premiered on the Hallmark Channel on May 11, 2013, in the U.S. ''The Reckoning'', based on the third novel in Lewis' '' Heritage of Lancaster County'' series, premiered on the Hallmark Channel on October 11, 2015, in the U.S.

References

External links

Official website

Bethany House: Beverly Lewis

FaithfulReader.com: interview

Fantastic Fiction: Beverly Lewis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Beverly Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American children's writers Protestant writers American women novelists Evangel University alumni American women children's writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Assemblies of God people Novelists from Colorado American Mennonites Mennonite writers