Book Title: MATTERS OF THE HEART
Character Name: Declan Miller
How would you describe your family or your childhood?
Big, noisy, crowded, loving . . . I have eight brothers and sisters so you can imagine just how loud it can get. Especially when we all get together for meals and holiday celebrations. Plus, us men are auctioneers, so we’re used to spewing words all over the place. You’d think the women folk would have a hard time getting a word in edgewise, but they hold their own pretty good. We’re really close. You have to be when you all work together. My brothers and I work with my dad in the family auctioneering business started by my grandpa. My mom has a general store on the farm where she and the girls sell produce, sewn goods, jams and other canned goods, etc. So, it’s one big family affair.
What was your greatest talent?
It’s hard to say. I don’t like to toot my own horn—if I played a horn, which of course, I don’t. I’m a good auctioneer, maybe not as good as my older brothers Toby and Jason, but I do my best. Really the thing I do best is tell jokes. No one can tell them better. I know they’re corny, but corny jokes are the best kind, don’t you think? Everybody likes dad jokes and knock-knock jokes and why did the chicken cross the road jokes. It seems like a good talent to me. What do you think? How about this one?
Why do ducks always pay with cash?
Because they have bills!
Significant other?
I’m working on it. Courting is private among the Amish, but our families are just as nosy as non-Amish families and there’s a lot of matchmaking that happens. Don’t get me started about Mom and her matchmaking. You’ll have to read Matters of the Heart to find out who the love of my life is!
Biggest challenge in relationships?
Being myself, I guess. When you have as many brothers and sisters as I do, you have to find a way to be your own person. I do that with joking—even in serious situations. Not everyone likes that. Especially if you’re a serious person. Bethel is really serious. I’m afraid she doesn’t take me seriously because I’m always joking. But I’m so used to doing it, I can’t seem to stop. Just because I tell jokes doesn’t mean I don’t feel stuff. But I’m a guy. I don’t like to talk about touchy-feeling stuff.
Where do you live?
I live on a farm outside a small town called Lee’s Gulch, in central Virginia. It’s very historic with lots of Civil War connections, Amish businesses, and a popular farmers’ market.
Do you have any enemies?
I don’t think so. Like they say, I’m probably my own worst enemy. I try too hard to be funny, and it falls flat when the other person is trying to have a serious conversation. I’m working on it!
Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?
I don’t have children yet, but I sure hope to have them. My youngest sister Sadie is the one with the pets. I love animals, but she collects them. She has a cat whose name is Matilda the Cat. That cat thinks she owns the place—even the auctioneer business office.
What do you do for a living?
As you’ll see when you read Matters of the Heart, this becomes a complicated issue for reasons I can’t go into here. But I’m an auctioneer, like my brothers, like my father, and like my grandfather before me. It wasn’t so long ago that Amish districts didn’t allow Amish men to become auctioneers. We’re not supposed to stand out from the crowd. We’re not supposed to draw attention to ourselves. But with time that attitude has changed. We can even use sound systems powered by generators so that folks can hear us on the big auction grounds. I love being an auctioneer. It’s all I ever wanted to do or be. Sometimes, however, circumstances hit you right between the eyes, and you have to learn to deal with those circumstances. Whether you like it or not. Life is like that.
Greatest disappointment?
I alluded to that disappointment in question eight. I won’t go into more detail here. You’ll understand when you read my story. Just remember, sometimes your greatest disappointment can also become your greatest joy!
Greatest source of joy?
Family, the one I have and the one I hope to build!
What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun?
I love auctioneering, gardening (and farming), and telling jokes. If you spend much time around the Amish, you know that we love to work. Some of our best times are work frolics. We love to visit, tell stories, chat, and work together. So work is fun for us. And I can tell a joke anywhere, anytime, at the drop of my straw hat.
What is your greatest personal failing, in your view?
The inability to share my true self with another person. Instead, I hide behind my jokes. That makes it hard to establish a true relationship with another person. I know I’m doing it, but I get so nervous, I can’t help myself! Do you ever do that?
What keeps you awake at night?
Without giving away too much of my story, I’d say the possibility that my health will keep me from doing the things I love and spending time with the people I love. I’m blessed to have a family and a community who love me and help me remember that God holds me in the palm of his hand. No matter what happens, He’ll be there with me.
Amish Calling #2
He's the community's jokester auctioneer. She's the serious caregiver for her siblings who also works at the local plant nursery. What future could they have together?
Declan Miller has always had feelings for Bethel King. Back when they were in school, she was the smartest girl in the class and, in his opinion, by far the prettiest. Now the two of them are in their twenties and while the attraction is still there, Declan is as hesitant as ever to let Bethel know how he feels. His corny jokes and wisecracks cover a heart that's afraid of rejection.
Bethel can't deny Declan is nice, funny, hardworking, and pleasing to the eye--a perfect match if you asked any Plain girl in the area. But marrying Bethel would also mean marrying into her family. Two of her younger brothers have a rare form of muscular dystrophy, and her sister Claire is now showing signs of having it as well. Fiercely loyal and nurturing, Bethel has promised herself her siblings will always come first. With a good chance that she carries the gene and could pass it on to her children, Bethel has tried to convince herself marriage and family just aren't in the cards for her.
When a devastating diagnosis of his own turns Declan's world upside down, he looks to Bethel for understanding, compassion, and a realistic outlook. As they share their dreams and fears and grow together in faith, a bond begins to develop between them. Perhaps their combination of optimistic extrovert and thoughtful introvert really isn't such a bad thing--perhaps it's actually a part of God's beautiful design.
Amish [Zondervan, On Sale: July 16, 2024, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780840709417 / ]
Best-selling author Kelly Irvin has published more than 30 novels, including 25 Amish romances and eight romantic suspense novels. Her first women’s fiction novel, The Year of Goodbyes and Hellos, debuted in December. Aimie K Runyan, best-selling author of A Bakery in Paris, said of this story, “A heartbreaking, truth-telling look at the ravages of cancer on the body and soul. Kelly Irvin’s tale will resonate with anyone who has been affected by this terrible disease.”
The first book in the Amish Blessings series, Love’s Dwelling, took second place in the Selah Awards long romance category. Irvin’s also the winner of a Reader’s Choice Award for her novel Upon a Spring Breeze and a two-time finalist in the ACFW Carol Award Contest in the contemporary romance category. Her romantic suspense story, Trust Me, was a finalist in the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Contest.
A former newspaper reporter, Kelly worked in public relations for more than 20 years. She has been living with stage 4 ovarian cancer since 2016. She now writes fiction full time. She lives in Texas with her husband Tim. They are the parents of two kids, four grandkids, and two ornery cats.
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