An Amish romance novelist is taking the Christian literature world by storm, selling close to a million books while setting pulses racing in the ultra conservative community.
Linda Byler has been labeled the E.L. James of the Amish people but she assured DailyMail.com that her latest work, Tapestry of Love, is ‘tame’ in comparison to Fifty Shades.
Her writing career began at an Amish newspaper where she honed her talent before she embarked on her romance series which have propelled her into the literary stratosphere.
But not everyone is thrilled by the runaway success of her titillating novels and some elders claim that the rising popularity of the romance novels is fueling sexual abuse.
‘They are very tame books,’ Byler said, adding there is no sexual intercourse. ‘There’s nothing unclean in them. There is some touching, my publisher said it would have to be discreet and a little bit of a kiss,’ she told DailyMail.com.
Amish romance novelist Linda Byler (pictured) is taking the Christian literature world by storm, selling close to a million romance novels while setting pulses racing in America’s ultra conservative community
Byler says her works couldn’t be further away from the saucy Fifty Shades trilogy – whose Sado-Masochistic themes captured the zeitgeist over a decade ago, making James an overnight millionaire.
After James’ huge success, she is now one of the world’s richest authors with a net worth of approximately $200 million. And Byler is following hot on her heels with her extraordinary success netting her an income which means neither she nor her husband need to work again.
Byler began writing at an Amish newspaper to make ends meet when her husband went bankrupt. She later added strings to her bow when she published several children’s books. But she found her niche in romance novels which have become increasingly popular along America’s Bible Belt and other Christian communities.
With sales going through the roof she was soon dubbed the Amish community’s answer to E.L James.
Turning to the recent cases of sex abuse within the Amish community Byler says members have unfairly laid the blame at her door.
‘In the last 10 years or so, romance novels have become wrong in the community,’ Byler said.
‘Romance novels are looked down upon by a lot of the younger generation-they look at them negatively on account of a lot of molesting and troubled people in facilities where they go to get help.
‘But there’s a bit of it [sexual abuse in the community] and you know, when these things come to light, they blame the romance novels.’
Owing to the Amish sects’ strict rules of eschewing all modern conveniences including electricity and motor vehicles, Byler writes her novels by hand, in a notebook, then sends them to Sky Horse publisher Tony Lyons, in New York.
Turning to the Amish people, Byler said that rather than her community becoming more progressive as the years roll by, in fact, it has gotten even more conservative.
‘Touching is looked down upon in this day and age, but it wasn’t in my day. Sex before marriage is a no, no of course. But we have pregnancies. We have couples who “loved each other” before marriage. There are single mothers, but they are not shunned – they are accepted in the community,’ she explained.
The Amish are a 250,000-strong sect, mainly descended from Swiss religious Mennonite groups who began migrating to the U.S. in the 18th century to avoid religious persecution and compulsory military service.
They speak a Germanic dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch, travel by horse and cart and survive by farming.
Byler comes from the ‘Old Order’, which is the most conservative type of Amish settlement.
Electricity is banned and residents have no access to cars, telephones, televisions or the internet, which they fear would destroy their simple way of life.
And while the community does welcome new members to ‘mingle and jingle’ within the Amish community, Byler has issued a warning to those interested in joining: ‘People who are not from the Amish community and join – we never say no, but it never works out. You almost have to be born into the culture. Otherwise, it doesn’t work. It is too restraining for outsiders.’
Linda explains how her writing career began when her husband went bankrupt, and she was forced to go to work at an Amish newspaper where she discovered her writing talent
Despite comparisons, Linda tells DailyMail.com, her books couldn’t be further away from E.L James’ saucy trilogy Fifty Shades of Gray- which Sado-Masochism themes captured the zeitgeist over a decade ago
The Amish community have been living America’s bible belt for centuries
Sex before marriage is strictly forbidden in the Amish community
Having birthed seven children, Byler said three of her kids decided not to join the church or have left the community having previously joined the church at the requisite age of 19.
‘They go to church, but they aren’t affiliated. I have a daughter; she lives in Florida. And then I have another son, he never joined the church because as soon as he turned 19, he decided not to join the church.’
Fortunately, Byler and the remaining members of her family, who stayed in the community, were not subject to shunning.
The author said: ‘When Amish people are shunned, in rare instances elders won’t break bread with them at the same table, won’t work with them and won’t worship with them under the religion’s centuries-old practice of shunning. In stricter settlements, shunning can break apart families, cutting off all contact between parents and their children.
‘I mean the shunning is very different from how it used to be-there’s no pride in it. You feel ashamed, something wrong, but it fades. You’re still a respected person within your community.’
In spite of the Amish reputation for rejecting all Western habits, Byler does admit she loves reality television and watches it when she’s on vacation at her daughter’s home in Florida.
But she is not a fan of the Kardashian’s brand of narcissism : ‘I watch TV every summer where I go on vacation to the beach. I do enjoy the reality show The Alaskan People – it’s about people who live in the frontier.
‘I’m 65 years old, so I’m not a fan of the Kardashians. I don’t look down on them or judge them. They just seem to be all about themselves. I’m not into that.’
In spite of the Amish reputation for rejecting all Western habits, Linda does admit she loves reality television
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk