About the Book

Book: A Daughter’s Choice (The Heart of the Amish Book Ten)

Author: Kelly Irvin

Genre: Amish/Christian Fiction

Release Date: November, 2025

Henrietta Is Set Against Love

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

Henrietta Miller loves animals—especially her goats. She wants to marry and have children someday, but right now her goal is to have her own business selling snacks made from goat’s milk and goat’s soaps. Against her the wishes of her father–who’s also the bishop—she applies for a job as a veterinary assistant to earn money. Then newcomer Nicholas Byler snatches the job out from under her—or so it seems to Hen. Now Nicholas is treating Hen’s beloved animals as if he knows more than her. Hen turns her frustrations toward expanding her business to include wool-producing goats, even while her aunt hatches matchmaking plans—with Nicholas Byler, no less.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Award-winning author Kelly Irvin has published more than 30 novels and a dozen novellas. The bestselling novelist worked as a newspaper reporter before spending 22 years in public relations. She now writes fiction full time. She and her husband live in Texas. They are the parents of two kids, four grandkids, and an ornery senior cat.

More from Kelly

Research for A Daughter’s Choice leads to goats nips and cow cuddles

By Kelly Irvin

Each time I come up with a new story concept, I’m super excited about it. When a publisher lets me know the “pub” committee has approved a contract for the story, I get even more excited. Then I sit down at my computer, open a document, and zoom, my fingers take off on the keyboard . . . . nope . . . not exactly.

What really happens is that I suddenly realize this fabulous story idea will require a ton of research. In the case of A Daughter’s Choice, featuring goat lover Henrietta “Hen” Miller, I needed to be an “expert” on raising goats and tending to a horse with colic and making candy from goat’s milk, and delivering a foal that isn’t positioned correctly (and treating a crotchety cat!). The story also required a deep dive into several other kinds of livestock, veterinarians’ clinics and vet assistants, and facets of the Amish faith that I wanted to make sure I addressed properly.

Much of this information is easily available on the Internet and in the many reference books about the Amish I’ve acquired over the years. But on-line research doesn’t allow me to get up close and personal with key characters in my story—the animals. I especially wanted to hang out with some goats. To my surprise, I had trouble finding a place in the San Antonio area where I could interact with these frolicking creatures.

Then my daughter-in-law came to the rescue. She found Cavalry Farm, a nonprofit organization that takes in and cares for all sort of livestock animals in little Adkins, Texas, just south of San Antonio. They have frequent open houses where—for a nominal fee—the public can visit, pet, feed, and yes, cuddle some of the animals. My response? ROAD TRIP!

The farm is home to a small herd of pygmy goats as well as larger dairy goats. I have never been close to a goat, so I didn’t know what to expect. They were as curious about me as I was about them. They crowded around me, climbed up my rollator, chewed on my purse strap, nibbled at the zipper on my shorts’ pocket, and prodded my hands with their noses. I had a fabulous time!

The volunteer who stayed with us in the goat pen shared all sorts of tidbits about the care of goats. My grandson, who’s two and a half, chatted with them. I took lots of photos for marketing purposes. Most importantly, I gained an understanding of why Hen is so enamored of goats. They’re lively, friendly, and determined to learn all about their visitors.

Of course, Hen isn’t simply a “goat whisperer.” She also loves horses, which leads to her first encounter with vet assistant Nicholas Byler, a newcomer to Smicksburg, PA, and many other animals, including cats and dogs. At Cavalry Farm, I also was able to visit with

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horses, pigs, donkeys, alpacas, chickens, turkeys, and cows. I’m from Kansas so I’ve had my share of livestock sightings. However, I’ve never been offered an opportunity to snuggle a cow. Who knew that is a thing? My farmer family members will find it humorous, I’m sure.

The cows lounge on the grass just waiting for a visitor to come along, sit beside them, and snuggle up. It’s so stinking cute!

No cow snuggling occurs in A Daughter’s Choice. However, I can assure readers there is plenty of fun with a runaway puppy up for adoption, goats on the loose tearing through a wedding prep tent, and more. The story also moves beyond the humorous as Hen overcomes past losses and grief , allowing her to make important choices about her future. Nicholas too has to make hard choices about his occupation and his life as a faithful Amish believer.  What they decide will determine if they find their happily-ever-after!

If you’d like to know more about Cavalry Farm and their mission, check out the website at http://www.cavalryfarms.org.

Interview with Kelly

What is your real-life work schedule like when writing? 

Since I started writing full-time in 2016, I’ve always treated writing as my job—because that’s what it is. After being in a job for 22 years where I had to be at my desk by 7:45 a.m. five days a week, I give myself grace and try to be in my office around 8:30 after a breakfast of peanut butter toast and decaf coffee (yes I’m a creature of habit). I take care of emails, read a digital copy of a daily newspaper, do my bible study, and then start writing. If there’s marketing that needs to be done (which is almost always the  case), I work on that too. At noon, I have lunch, take care of any outstanding chores, and then head back to my office around one o’clock. Check emails, work on social media posts, and then it’s back to writing. Around 4 p.m. I wind down my writing and spend half an hour doing chair aerobics (I’m disabled) with my favorite YouTube “personal” trainer. Then it’s supper, half-hour on my stationary bike, a shower, and either reading or TV viewing with my husband. Even after ten years, I still thank God for the blessing of being my own boss, setting my own schedule, not having to drive to work, and not getting up to the sound of an alarm clock.

When did you write your first book and how old were you?

I didn’t write my first novel until I turned 45. I always wanted to write fiction, but I chose a degree in journalism because I also wanted to be able to support myself. I worked as a reporter for 10 years. Then I met and married my husband and we had two children. I switched to a career in public relations with a demanding more-than-fulltime-job. Life came at me hard and fast. But I never lost the desire. I woke up on my 45^th birthday and realized if I didn’t do it “now,” I would never have the opportunity to fulfill this lifelong dream. I wrote a romantic suspense novel nights and weekends (and very early in the mornings) that year, but it was another seven years before I published a book, and it wasn’t that first one I wrote as a youngster of 45.

How do you create your main characters?

I’m a “pantser,” or as Stephen James, author of Story Trumps Structure calls it, an organic writer. I don’t outline, I don’t do character interviews, and I don’t create backstories for my characters. Sometimes I’m not even sure who will be in the book when I start writing. Very generally, I know what the story’s about and usually, what the conflict is going to be. But I get to know my characters as I write their stories. It never ceases to amaze me the things I learn about these fictitious folks as their stories unfold. I love the open-ended creative process that allows this to happen. If I try to outline or create backstories in advance, I find it takes the fun out of writing for me. It becomes more like homework. There are, however, some things I do keep in mind as I’m creating my characters. Number one, they’re not me. Usually they’re younger, they’re in different professions, they have different life experiences, and, in many cases, their politics (if they have any) and their philosophies of life are very different from me. I even created a heroine who boxed to reduce her stress. No offense to anyone, please, but I’m not a fan of boxing. But Delaney found it useful. So I ran with it. It challenged and stretched me as a writer.

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

I’m surprised to admit I had to really ponder this question. I think it’s pushing forward after the first spurt of inspiration and joy of beginning a new novel has gone kaput. That’s when the true writers stand up and take a bow, while the wannabes sneak away and eat breakfast tacos and watch reality TV. Writing a novel is hard. It’s work. You have to sit down, put your fingers on the keyboard and keep at even if you don’t feel like it, even if you’re not “inspired.” Through the droopy middle all the way to the end. With every book I’ve written, I’ve experienced a moment when I’ve shook my head and asked myself what was I thinking. This was a bad idea. It’s an awful book. I’m never going to finish. But I grit my teeth and keep going. That’s how I’ve managed to write 30-plus books and 12 novellas. By ignoring the negative nelly in my head and persevering. Pretty much all of it’s hard, but that sense of accomplishment when I finish is almost addictive. The joy of holding the actual book in my hands or seeing it in a bookstore or on a library shelf or in the hands of a reader is enough to keep me coming back for more torture!

Do you base your characters on real people?

I’ve written a more than 25 Amish novels and seven romantic suspense novels and none of the characters are any one real person in my life. However, I do see bits and pieces of the people who’ve influenced me one way or another blended into the characters. My Great-Grandma Bertie peeks at me from Laura in With Winter’s First Frost, for example. Thus far, the one book that that has several characters based on real people is The Year of Goodbyes and Hellos. A women’s fiction novel, it comes from my experiences of living with stage 4 ovarian cancer for nine years. So my first oncologist, who was Russian and a hoot, is in there. So is her medical assistant, who was so kind and helpful. So is a funny, big-hearted phlebotomist. But most of my characters are amalgamations of people I’ve met over a lifetime.

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

They can check out my website at www.kellyirvin.com. And I hope they’ll connect with me on social media. Facebook: www.Facebook.com/Kelly.Irvin.Author. On X, I’m @kelly_s_irvin. And on Instagram, my handle is @kelly_irvin.

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, November 22

Life on Chickadee Lane, November 23

Simple Harvest Reads, November 24 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)

She Lives to Read, November 25

lakesidelivingsite, November 25

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 26

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 27

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 28

Stories By Gina, November 29 (Author Interview)

Nighttime Reading Center, November 29

For Him and My Family, November 30

Jeanette’s Thoughts, December 1

Fruitfully Planted, December 1

The Avid Reader, December 2

Holly’s Book Corner, December 3

Vicky Sluiter, December 4

The Mommies Reviews, December 5

Mary Hake, December 5

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kelly is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon e-Gift 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.

https://promosimple.com/ps/3dd0d/a-daughter-s-choice-celebration-tour-giveaway