About the Book

Book: Lizzie’s Little Mouse (The Heart of the Amish Series Book Eight)

Author: Anne Blackburne

Genre: Amish/Christian Fiction

Release date: April, 2025

Lizzie Has Dreams That Won’t Be Deterred

Full of faith, hope, and romance, this new series takes you into the Heart of Amish country.

Ever since attending a wedding in Louisiana, Lizzie Miller has been fascinated by French baked goods. With permission of her parents and bishop, she did a two-year internship in a French bakery in New Orleans. When a local Amish bakery became available, she bought it and opened her own French inspired bakery.

But now someone wants her out of business. During her grand opening, a strange man accosts her, then a brick is tossed through her window wrapped in a note telling her to leave. Someone breaks into her apartment above the bakery, and her cat chases the intruder out.

With the help of her friends, Lizzie will get to the bottom of why someone wishes her to fail. And at the same time, she’ll realize that sometimes dreams can be fulfilled with what—or who—was always close at hand, just waiting to be noticed.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Anne Blackburne lives and works in Southeast Ohio as a newspaper editor and writer. She is the mother of five grown children, has one wonderful grandchild, and a spoiled poodle named Millie. For fun, when she isn’t working on Amish romance or sweet mysteries, Anne directs and acts in community theater productions and writes and directs original plays. She also enjoys reading, kayaking, swimming, searching for beach glass, and just sitting with a cup of coffee looking at large bodies of water. Her idea of the perfect vacation is cruising and seeing amazing new places with people she loves.

More from Anne

I’m so excited that once again, the amazing bloggers who work with Celebrate Lit are going to do a blog tour for my brand new book in Barbour’s “Heart of the Amish” series, “Lizzie’s Little Mouse”!

Lizzie’s story is available now to readers in print and online wherever fine books are sold, and I feel so blessed to have the help of the Celebrate Lit folks in launching this wonderful story.

If you read either of my previous two books in the series, “Ruth’s Gingersnap Surprise” and “Mary’s Calico Hope”, you’ll remember Elizabeth Miller, their sassy friend with the darling Haflinger pony named Goldie who gave Mary a ride one morning before church services. Elizabeth, or Lizzie, was also mentioned in Ruth’s story as one of the lucky recipients of a kitten from their elderly friend, Lydia’s, cat’s final litter.

Lizzie’s cat is a gray kitty she named Petit Souris, which is French for Little Mouse. Why Little Mouse? Because as a tiny kitten, the darling reminded Lizzie of a mouse!

And why the French name? Well, our heroine is not your typical Amish miss. After attending a wedding in New Orleans as a teen and tasting the amazing baked goods for which the city is renowned, Lizzie began dreaming of opening her very own New Orleans style French bakery – in Ohio’s Amish country!

She loves everything to do with New Orleans, and learned to speak their dialect of French while doing an internship in a bakery there when she was 18. Upon returning home she went to work at the local bakery to learn more about the business, and to save up for her dreams.

As the story opens, we find that Lizzie’s dream has come true! It’s opening day of The Plain Beignet, Lizzie’s bakery in Willow Creek, Ohio. Everyone comes out to wish her well, including friends you’ll recognize from my first two books!

But when something unexpected and frightening happens during the grand opening, it becomes apparent that not everyone is as happy as Lizzie and her friends about her success.

Along with some help from her pals, and her best friend Jane’s handsome big brother, John, Lizzie will get to the bottom of the mystery of who wants to put her out of business, and why!

They discover, among other things, that Lizzie’s bakery was the site of a murder a hundred years before! What could this historic crime have to do with Lizzie’s current problems?

As she, John and their friends search for clues, Lizzie will discover that there’s more baking than her latest batch of beignets!

Could it be romance?

Thank you for taking the time to learn about Lizzie’s story! This book is my third in Barbour Publishing’s series, “The Heart of the Amish”. Look for other great reads in the series from authors Mindy Steele and Lisa Jones Baker.

I’m currently writing my fourth book in the series, which will feature a young woman you’ve met in all my other stories, Jane Bontrager.

Just like her friends, Jane received a kitten from their friend, Lydia; a little brown tabby. Her story, “Plain Jane’s Secret Admirer”, is due out in early winter 2026. .

I hope you’re having as much fun reading about these remarkable young women – and their kitties! – as I’m having writing about them. Thanks for being part of our journey!

As for me and mine, we are all well and enjoying spring in southeast Ohio. In other words, enjoying the sunshine, but carrying a sweater and an umbrella, just in case!

God bless you and yours!

Joyfully,

Anne Blackburne

Interview with Anne

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve written poems and stories since I was a child. But I first determined to become a published book author in my late 20s. It took me 35 years, but I finally achieved that goal. Never give up on your dreams!

How long does it take you to write a book?

It varies, but it’s getting quicker as I gain experience. I’d estimate I can have a first draft of a book done in 1-3 months, depending on the length of the book, and what else I have going on in my life. Then there are edits, revisions, etc. before a final draft is complete. I’ll often be working on my next book while working on edits from my editor on the previous one.

What is your real-life work schedule like?

I’m the managing editor of two weekly newspapers in SE Ohio, so I have a full-time day job. I also enjoy directing and acting in community theater productions, often musicals. My personal writing largely takes place evenings and weekends. When I’m working on a manuscript, I’m very disciplined, sitting down to write a targeted number of words each evening. This is usually between 1000 and 2000 words.

Have you ever experienced writer’s block, and how do you handle it?

Not really. Possibly because of my newspaper training, I can write about anything anytime. There’s no telling your editor at the paper, ‘sorry, I just couldn’t get into that story. I’ll try again tomorrow.’ You won’t need to because you’ll be looking for a new job tomorrow. Lol.

I do sometimes need a break from writing between projects to recharge. If time permits, I may rest my writing chops for between a week to a month. But when I’m in the middle of a project, if I’m not feeling it, I just keep going. If I don’t like what I wrote later, I can delete it. If I didn’t write anything, I’m nowhere. My advice? Write. And when you’re writing, don’t edit. Finish the scene or chapter, then go back and see if you like what you’ve done.

How many books have you written? Where can readers find out more? Do you have any projects coming up?

I combined three questions here. “Lizzie’s Little Mouse” is the third book I’ve written for The Heart of the Amish series from Barbour. The others, in case you missed them, are “Ruth’s Ginger Snap Surprise” and “Mary’s Calico Hope”. I wrote a novella called “Lucy’s Christmas Sunbeam” which was included in a collection called “A Lancaster Amish Christmas” that came out this past September. I’m currently working on my fourth Heart of the Amish book, “Plain Jane’s Secret Admirer”, which comes out next January! Readers can find me on Facebook at Anne Blackburne. My website is AnneBlackburne.com. Feel free to reach out to me through Facebook messenger if you’d like to receive my monthly newsletter!

BONUS QUESTION! What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

My children are all grown, so when I’m not working at the paper or on a book, my time is my own. I love spending it with friends and family, and I enjoy many different pursuits, including participating in community theater, reading all sorts of books, kayaking, swimming and yoga, singing in my church choir and enjoying coffee and donuts after church with friends, watching movies with my kids in the evening, and traveling. You’ve got to experience life to write about it.

Blog Stops

The Avid Reader, April 30

lakesidelivingsite, April 30

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 1

Carla’s Book Crush, May 1

Life on Chickadee Lane, May 2

Vicky Sluiter, May 2

Simple Harvest Reads, May 3 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)

Texas Book-aholic, May 4

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 5

Holly’s Book Corner, May 5

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 6

Stories By Gina, May 7 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, May 7

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, May 8

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, May 9

For Him and My Family, May 10

Jeanette’s Thoughts, May 10

Bizwings Book Blog, May 11

Lily’s Corner, May 12

Little Homeschool on the prairie, May 12

She Lives to Read, May 13

Cover Lover Book Review, May 13

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Anne is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon eGift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54209