Meet Author Diane Craver

A writer of Amish novels set in Ohio

We’ve been talking about Diane Craver’s May release, Maggie’s May Song, so today we’ll talk with the author behind the story and learn more about her life, her interests, and her other books.

How did you come up with the idea for your book?

I started thinking how Maggie’s future mother-in-law, Esther, would be opposed to her son, Simon, marrying Maggie. Esther would throw obstacles in the way to prevent the marriage. Since I enjoy writing about sisters, I decided to have Simon initially engaged to Maggie’s sister, Elizabeth. Throughout her engagement, Maggie feels like she is second best to Elizabeth.

What do you like best about writing Amish books?

I was drawn to writing Amish books because of my roots to the Amish faith. My great-grandfather was a Mennonite minister, and there are similarities between the two faiths. Also, at Lori Forster’s author-reader’s conference, author Shelley Shepard Gray encouraged me to write Mennonite or Amish books. A few years later in 2012, I published my first Amish book, A Joyful Break.

Diane’s Favorite Bible verse:

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15)

Does your Amish community have any unusual customs?

It is uncommon for women to serve as song leaders during church services and musical gatherings. Instead of having only male leadership in music, I have depicted my character, Maggie Kauffman, as leading several hymns in my book, Maggie’s May Song.

Do you have any Amish friends? If not, what activities do you see the Amish in your area do?

Unfortunately, I don’t have any Amish friends. Occasionally, I see Amish women shopping in our Aldi and Kroger stores.

What do you like best about Amish life?

I like how they focus on their Christian life in everything they do. They aren’t distracted by worldly things and concentrate on their family life by living simply.

What would you find the hardest to give up or do if you were Amish?

Electricity would be the hardest for me to give up. With six children, I relied on my washer and dryer for constant laundry. Though I enjoyed drying sheets outside for their fresh scent, going without these appliances is unimaginable.

If someone came to visit your local Amish community, what places should they visit?

My Amish community, Indian Heights, is fictional but is close to Berlin and Dover, OH. Both cities are wonderful places to visit with many Amish businesses. My husband and I have enjoyed staying several times in The Berlin Grande Hotel. They serve wonderful breakfasts and have a swimming pool. It is in the heart of Amish country. I enjoyed seeing many Amish families in their buggies in the town. Twice we attended Keeping Up With The Amish events in Berlin. I visited with authors and readers in this peaceful setting. The nearby Farmstead Restaurant serves delicious food. My husband and I always made sure to eat there.

Here are their May 2026 dessert specials. Don’t they sound yummy?

Diane, please tell us a little about yourself and your family.

We have made three family trips twice to Myrtle Beach and once to Gatlinburg. When booking for sixteen people, it is interesting trying to find a place with enough beds and bathrooms.

We have an inground swimming pool that is used a lot from May through September. We love to swim and hang out together.

When we celebrated our 50^th wedding anniversary in August, we went to Mass as a family. After church, our daughters, April and Christina, hosted the party for us. The grandchildren swam in the pool while adults enjoyed visiting.

I love to read mysteries, sweet romances, historical fiction, and Amish fiction.

Can you tell us a little about your books?

Although I have self-published my Amish books, I originally had my Amish Adoption Series with Vinspire Publishing.

The unbelievable fact is when I wrote Book One in the series, I was unaware that I had Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma cancer. My character, Lindsay Prescott, has the same type of cancer. Once I was diagnosed, it gave me the ability to finish my book with authentic details to use in writing about Lindsay’s cancer. After my publisher closed, I self-published the three books in this series.

Dreams of Plain Daughters (4 books) and The Bishop’s Daughters (6 books) are two other series I have written. I also have two short ebooks, An Amish Starry Christmas Night and An Amish Starry Summer Night.

Before I started writing Amish fiction, I wrote for other publishers, but now my backlist is also self-published. The titles are: When Love Happens Again, A Fiery Secret, Never The Same, Marrying Mallory, Because of Whitney and The Proposal.

What are you working on now?

I am not working on anything at this time. Maggie May’s Song will be my last Amish book to write. I’m thankful that I wrote in this genre for years but there are so many popular Amish authors that I decided it’s time to quit. I’ll spend more time with my large family, especially my grandchildren and my daughters with special needs. If I write again, I might learn how to write screenplays for a couple of my books that I feel would make wonderful movies.

I know that learning to write screenplays will be a challenge, but I’m excited to see where it leads!

That sounds like a wonderful new possibility!

Thanks so much for sharing, Diane! Wishing you well in your future endeavors.

ABOUT DIANE

Diane writes romantic suspense, inspirational contemporary romance, historical Christian fiction, and women’s fiction. Although she started her career writing non-fiction, she switched to writing fiction. She wanted to keep her sanity in the midst of having a large family. Writing fiction with quirky and memorable characters gave her the escape she needed from her noisy household. Diane met her husband Tom while teaching at an orphanage. They enjoy their life in southwestern Ohio, and have been blessed with six children and several grandchildren. Two adult daughters with Down syndrome live with Tom and Diane. Her family is supportive of her writing career, and her favorite vacation is going to the beach with them. She gives thanks daily to God for her wonderful blessings, including being in remission from Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Find out more about Diane here: Website, Amazon, BookBub, & Facebook.

WIN A BOOK

I’ll be selecting a name from the commenters to win an autographed copy of Diane’s book, Maggie’s May Song, so be sure to leave a comment on at least one of the May posts. Winners will be announced next weekend.