2018 VALENTINE'S READING RECOMMENDATIONS WITH AN EXCLUSIVE GUEST POST BY PATRICIA DAVIDS

​Hello. I’m author Patricia Davids and I have a little Valentine’s Day story for YOU.
Imagine this, its February 14th and the ground is covered in a thick blanket of snow. Your day starts with a hand-written note that comes in the mail. Not by text or e-mail, but an old-fashioned envelope. You open it and pull out a pretty card. It makes you smile.
Okay, we all like to get cards. What does it say? Who is it from?
It’s from HIM. You know who. The card says, Will You Be My Valentine? Below his signature are two lines.
I’ll pick you up at seven.
Bundle up warm.
Bundle up? What does that mean? So much for wearing your pretty new blue dress. Does that rule out dinner at a nice restaurant?
You watch the clock impatiently. Seven o’clock finally rolls around and your man pulls up in front of your house in a horse-drawn sleigh. An honest to goodness horse-drawn sleigh, jingling bells and all. He holds the reins like he knows which end of a horse is which and he’s wearing a black flat-topped hat tipped at a rakish angle over his pretty gray eyes. You love how they light up when he catches sight of you. He doesn’t care that you’ve got your winter coat over that pretty dress and leggings underneath it. He’s happy just to see you. Your breath catches in your throat as he takes your hand to help you in and tucks a warm quilt over your lap.
    The night air is cold and clear. Your breath rises in a white mist each time you exhale. Stars twinkle overhead like diamonds in the inky darkness as you leave the lights of home behind. Soon you realize there is another sleigh ahead of you. When you catch up to them you see your best friend and her date snuggled close against the cold. Soon, four more couples converge on you. All friends of yours.
The parties turn off the road into a field. The horse’s feet sink deep into the unplowed snow. He kicks up a cloud of it that stings your face as he trots forward but you don’t care. It gives you an excuse to bury your face against HIS shoulder as he pulls you closer.
    Up ahead you see lights and realize your destination is the skating pond. Lanterns glow around the perimeter. At one end a fire crackles merrily in a firepit surrounded by straw bales for seating. HE produces your skates. How did he manage to get hold of them? With some sly help from your sister of course. Even your family likes HIM. Who wouldn’t?
Hot chocolate, smores and laughter start the evening but soon couples move off together, the blades of their skates hissing with each stride. Before long you and he move away from the lights to the far end of the pond. One sweet kiss sends your heart racing.
“You haven’t answered my question,” he whispers against your temple. “Will you be my Valentine, for all time?”
“Yes, oh, yes, but only if you kiss me again.”
And so, one perfect Valentine’s date comes to an end.
Wouldn’t you love to have a Valentine’s date like this? If so, you might be Amish. By now you’ve guessed that I write Amish romances. And you thought the Amish weren’t romantic.
Well, you might be right. My new release, An Unexpected Amish Romance has a young woman falling for the least romantic man in Holmes county. Thank goodness for cinnamon rolls, her nutty aunt and a matchmaking dog.
So, tell me about a Valentine’s date that lives in your cherished memories. Or one that went horribly wrong, or your best or worst gift ever. I told you a story. Share one with me.  My strangest Valentine’s Day gift was a dozen arrows. Would you like to hear that story?

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New beginnings. New job. New love? Amish Bachelors are full of surprises…

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After a broken engagement, Helen Zook is embracing her independence—starting with a new job working for carpenter Mark Bowman.

Sparks fly as Helen immediately butts heads with her handsome yet gruff boss, whose complicated past makes him hesitant to plant roots in Bowmans Crossing.

​But Helen’s eccentric aunt and a matchmaking basset hound have their own plans for Helen and Mark’s future…

Expected publication: February 20th 2018 by Love Inspired

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USA Today Bestselling author Patricia Davids grew up on a Kansas farm with four brothers. After college she began a wonderful career as a nurse. In 1973 Pat wrote a letter to a lonely sailor. Little did she know her talent with words would bring her love, marriage and motherhood.

An avid reader, Pat longed to write a book, but put her dream on hold as she raised a family and worked in an NICU. It wasn't until 1996 that she began writing seriously. Today, Pat enjoys crafting emotionally satisfying romances where love and faith bring two people together forever.

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