Background
Amanda Flower was born on January 23, 1980, in Akron, Ohio.
2015
Novelist Amanda Flower has been nominated for the Agatha Award four times. In 2015 she won the Agatha Award for Children's/Young Adult book for Andi Unstoppable.
2016
Amanda Flower presenting her new novel.
2016
Amanda Flower enjoys a sunny day at the beach.
2016
Amanda Flower with her cat Tummy.
2016
Amanda Flower
2016
Amanda Flower with her new novel.
2017
Amanda Flower signing her novels in Mentor.
2017
Amanda Flower
2017
Machu Picchu, Peru, South America
Amanda Flower visited Mayan ruins in South America.
2018
Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
Amanda Flower in India at the Taj Mahal Islamic mausoleum.
2018
Amanda Flower with her beloved cats during Christmas time.
2019
Lake Huron, North America
Amanda Flower at the shore of Lake Huron.
2019
Amanda Flower
2019
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Amanda Flower toured the FBI offices in Cleveland.
2019
Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
Amanda Flower is in Kensington signing her books.
2019
Ohio, United States
Amanda Flower at the Ohioana Book Festival.
Barberton Public Library, 602 W Park Ave, Barberton, OH 44203, United States
Amanda Flower at the signing event at Barberton Public Library.
Amanda Flowers was nominated for an Agatha Award in 2010 (Maid of Murder), 2013 (Andi Unexpected), and 2014 (Andi Under Pressure).
Amanda Flower, an American bestselling author.
Amanda Flower, an USA Today bestselling American writer of mystery novels under her real name and the pen name Isabella Alan.
Amanda Flower's grandpa Martin. He was a clever Irish storyteller and source of all her Blarney. He was stationed in Papua New Guinea during WWII waiting for the invasion of Japan, which never happened because of Hiroshima. When Amanda was in 7th grade she wrote a report on Hiroshima because of grandpa's stories.
(Welcome to Appleseed Creek, the heart of Ohio’s Amish Cou...)
Welcome to Appleseed Creek, the heart of Ohio’s Amish Country, where life is not as serene as it seems. While her Cleveland friends relocated to Southern California and Italy, 24-year-old computer whiz Chloe Humphrey moves with some uncertainty to Appleseed Creek to direct technology services at a nearby college. Her first acquaintance is Becky, an ex-Amish teenager looking for a new home. While driving Chloe’s car, Becky collides with a buggy, killing an Amish elder. But what looks like an accident is soon labeled murder when police discover the car’s cut brake line. Now, Chloe must take on the role of amateur sleuth to discover who the real intended victim was before the murderer makes a second attempt.
https://www.amazon.com/Plain-Death-Appleseed-Creek-Mystery/dp/1433676974/?tag=2022091-20
2012
(College librarian India Hayes thought the worst thing abo...)
College librarian India Hayes thought the worst thing about the Stripling Founders’ Festival was her pink gingham pioneer dress until she discovered the body of a free-spirited basket weaver on the festival grounds. The basket weaver leaves behind an angry blacksmith husband, a confused adopted son, greedy siblings, a dysfunctional artists’ co-op, and a labradoodle with a two-million-dollar trust in his name. Despite the wrath of her college’s provost and protests by handsome police detective Rick Mains, India finds herself playing sleuth as well as foster-owner to the two-million-dollar dog.
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Basket-India-Hayes-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00B2LVP3W/?tag=2022091-20
2012
(The people of Appleseed Creek in the heart of Ohio’s Amis...)
The people of Appleseed Creek in the heart of Ohio’s Amish Country are under attack. Soon after the dust has settled on a buggy accident that turned out to be murder, an unknown assailant begins cutting off the long hair of Amish women and the beards of Amish men. New to the area, computer specialist Chloe Humphrey may not share their customs, but she is certainly alarmed over these crimes against the Amish and worries how such events will impact her growing number of friends who are more connected to that way of life. In this small community, when Chloe discovers the body of an Amish businessman who was stabbed in the back and whose beard was cut off, she knows that finding the murderer and restoring peace to Appleseed Creek is as much her responsibility as anyone else’s.
https://www.amazon.com/Plain-Scandal-Appleseed-Creek-Mystery/dp/1433676982/?tag=2022091-20
2013
(After the sudden death of their parents in the jungles of...)
After the sudden death of their parents in the jungles of Central America, twelve-year-old science geek Andora “Andi” Boggs and her diva teenaged sister, Bethany, move to rural Killdeer, Ohio to live with their eccentric twenty-something aunt. And while the timeworn house has been home to the Boggs family for generations, Andi feels far from at home. Exploring the attic in her grief, she discovers proof of another Andora Boggs in the family tree hidden in a Depression-era trunk. Despite the meddling of the citizens of Killdeer, Andi and her new friend, Colin Carter, are determined to find out who this first Andora was, how she vanished, and why no one in town wants to talk about her. As more and more unanswered questions pile up, Andi and Colin must decide who they can trust with their secrets and who is interested in Andora’s story for the wrong reasons.
https://www.amazon.com/Andi-Unexpected-Boggs-Novel-ebook/dp/B00BW3K0YA/?tag=2022091-20
2013
(Angela Braddock has come to Rolling Brook to lend a hand ...)
Angela Braddock has come to Rolling Brook to lend a hand at her Aunt Eleanor’s traditional Amish quilt shop. But when Eleanor’s quilting circle mourns the loss of their oldest member, Evelyn, they make a startling discovery about a tragic event in Evelyn’s past. More than a decade earlier, during a barn raising, Evelyn’s son Eric fell from the roof and died. Evelyn had always insisted that Eric was pushed, and now a clue in an old quilt convinces Angie to dig up the truth… and discover one of Rolling Brook’s darkest secrets.
https://www.amazon.com/Plainly-Murder-Penguin-Special-Obsidian-ebook/dp/B009NY2S68/?tag=2022091-20
2013
(Angie is finding her niche as the new owner of her late a...)
Angie is finding her niche as the new owner of her late aunt’s Amish quilt shop, Running Stitch. But as the summer is winding down, so is business. To bolster support for the shop, Angie decides to sell her quilts in the Rolling Brook Amish Auction, including some of her aunt’s most prized works. The quilts promise to be a hit - but the gavel comes down on the lively event when Angie stumbles upon the body of township trustee Wanda Hunt behind a canning shed. The cause of death: a poisoned blueberry fry pie from Rachel Miller’s bakery table.
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Simply-Stitched-Amish-Mystery/dp/0451413644/?tag=2022091-20
2014
(With so much to do between running her shop and spending ...)
With so much to do between running her shop and spending time with her new boyfriend, it’s amazing Angie is able to help organize the Rolling Brook library's annual book sale. Luckily she’s working alongside brash librarian Austina Shaker, a lady who isn’t afraid to make waves to get books to her patrons - even the Amish. Unfortunately, this draws the ire of cranky Bartholomew Belier, an Old Order Amish bishop, who publicly vows to ruin Austina. And she certainly might be ruined after Belier is found dead in her bookmobile. Now Angie must employ the help of her loyal quilting circle - as well as her beloved French bulldog, Oliver - if she hopes to prove Austina’s innocence before the real killer books it…
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Plainly-Amish-Quilt-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00S75RYYU/?tag=2022091-20
2015
(Kelsey Taps for Something Much Deadlier Than Sap March on...)
Kelsey Taps for Something Much Deadlier Than Sap March on Barton Farm can only mean one thing: maple sugar season. To combat the winter slump, resilient director Kelsey Cambridge organizes a Maple Sugar Festival, complete with school visits, pancake breakfasts, and a tree-tapping class. She hires curmudgeonly maple sugar expert Dr. Conrad Beeson to teach the workshop, despite misgivings over his unpleasant demeanor. It's a decision Kelsey ends up regretting when, before the first tree can be tapped for sap, Dr. Beeson turns up dead. His death threatens to shut down not only the festival, but also Barton Farm itself.
https://www.amazon.com/Final-Living-History-Museum-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07YPXNQ6P/?tag=2022091-20
2016
(Harvest, Ohio, is a long way from New York City, where Ba...)
Harvest, Ohio, is a long way from New York City, where Bailey King left a coveted job as a head chocolatier to take over Swiss men Sweets, her Amish grandparents’ candy shop. Now, while caring for her recently widowed grandmother, she plans to honor her grandfather’s memory by entering the annual Amish Confectionery Competition. But between lavender blueberry fudge and chocolate cherry ganache truffles, Bailey may have bitten off more than she can chew when the search for a missing pot-bellied pig turns up a body suffering from sugar overload - the fatal kind...
https://www.amazon.com/Lethal-Licorice-Amish-Candy-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07178STN6/?tag=2022091-20
2018
(Christmas is Bailey King’s favorite time of year. For her...)
Christmas is Bailey King’s favorite time of year. For her first Yuletide in Harvest, Ohio, the former big-city chocolatier is recreating a cherished holiday treat: peppermint combined with molten white chocolate. But her sugar high plummets when her former boyfriend walks into the candy shop she now runs with her Amish grandmother. New York celebrity chef Eric Sharp and his TV crew have arrived to film an authentic Amish Christmas. Bailey’s not about to let her beloved town - and Swiss men Sweets - be turned into a sound bite. Unfortunately, she gets more publicity than she bargained for when Eric’s executive producer is found strangled to death - and Eric’s the prime suspect.
https://www.amazon.com/Premeditated-Peppermint-Amish-Candy-Mystery-ebook/dp/B078QSP1VH/?tag=2022091-20
2018
(When widowed Millie Fisher moves back to her childhood ho...)
When widowed Millie Fisher moves back to her childhood home of Harvest, Ohio, she notices one thing right away - the young Amish are bungling their courtships and marrying the wrong people! A quiltmaker by trade, Millie has nevertheless stitched together a few lives in her time, with truly romantic results. Her first mission? Her own niece, widowed gardener Edith Hochstetler, recently engaged to rude, greedy Zeke Miller. Anyone can see he’s not right for such a gentle young woman - except Edith herself.
https://www.amazon.com/Matchmaking-Murder-Amish-Matchmaker-Mystery/dp/1496724011/?tag=2022091-20
2019
(With the help of Walt Whitman's works, magical bookshop o...)
With the help of Walt Whitman's works, magical bookshop owner Violet Waverly puts her pedal to the metal to sleuth a bicycle-race murder that tests her mettle. A bicycle race is not Charming Books proprietor Violet Waverly's idea of a pleasant pastime. But police chief David Rainwater wheelie wants them to enter the Tour de Cascade as a couple, so she reluctantly consents. The Tour de Cascade is the brainchild of Violet's Grandma Daisy. The race is a fundraiser to build the Cascade Springs Underground Railroad Museum. But not everyone in this Niagara Region village supports the race. As if the bike race weren't tiring enough, pesky private investigator Joel Redding is snooping around Charming Books.
https://www.amazon.com/Verse-Vengeance-Magical-Bookshop-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07NTYQQM4/?tag=2022091-20
2019
(Niagara region booksellers Violet Waverly and Grandma Dai...)
Niagara region booksellers Violet Waverly and Grandma Daisy sleuth the slaying of a sommelier whose book signing turned into her sayonara. January means ice wine season in the Niagara Falls region, but the festivities leave Charming Books owner Violet Waverly cold, still reeling from a past heartbreak. A past heartbreak who will be present at the annual midnight grape-harvest festival, and no magic in the world or incantation powerful enough could get Violet to attend. But Grandma Daisy, an omniscient force all on her own, informs Violet that she's already arranged for the mystical Charming Books to host celebrity sommelier Belinda Perkins's book signing at the party.
https://www.amazon.com/Murders-Metaphors-Magical-Bookshop-Mystery/dp/1643851470/?tag=2022091-20
2019
(Bailey King’s in New York wrapping up a six-week shoot on...)
Bailey King’s in New York wrapping up a six-week shoot on her first cable TV show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets, when she gets a call from her Ohio town’s resident busybody. With Easter around the corner, Bailey’s been recruited to create a giant toffee bunny for the weeklong springtime festival that will also feature live white rabbits. But back home in Harvest, death becomes the main attraction when Stephen Raber keels over from an apparent heart attack - with Bailey and Raber’s pet bunny as witnesses... Except it wasn’t Raber’s heart that suddenly gave out - a lethal dose of lily of the valley was mixed into a tasty piece of toffee.
https://www.amazon.com/Toxic-Toffee-Amish-Candy-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07HVYLW18/?tag=2022091-20
2019
(As if being in New York City for Easter isn’t exciting en...)
As if being in New York City for Easter isn’t exciting enough, Charlotte Weaver has another reason to be thrilled. She’s helping her cousin, Bailey, on the set of her first cable TV show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets. Bailey will even be re-creating the delectable hand-woven chocolate Easter baskets she once crafted for the city’s world-famous JP Chocolates. But once things start rolling, Charlotte starts to notice odd things happening - things that seem intended to make Bailey look bad... With Bailey feeling extra nervous about being on camera, Charlotte decides to keep her suspicion of sabotage to herself.
https://www.amazon.com/Criminally-Cocoa-Amish-Candy-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07KNT89SN/?tag=2022091-20
2019
(When she said she'd rather die than be a bridesmaid, she ...)
When she said she'd rather die than be a bridesmaid, she didn't mean it literally… Reluctant bridesmaid Quincy McKay hopes this island wedding breezes by in a hurry. But when the couple announces a murder mystery game, the amateur sleuth is willing to take her time to earn the prize money. She thinks the cash is as good as hers until one evening’s sinister turn makes it impossible to tell the difference between entertainment and cold-blooded murder…
https://www.amazon.com/Then-There-Were-None-Bridesmaids-ebook/dp/B07JK614D6/?tag=2022091-20
2019
(With Juliet Brody and Reverend Brook tying the knot in Oh...)
With Juliet Brody and Reverend Brook tying the knot in Ohio’s Amish Country’s most anticipated nuptials of the year, Bailey King is determined to do everything in her power to make the event a sweet success. Except for midsummer heatwaves and outdoor ceremonies don’t mix, and an exasperated Bailey soon finds herself struggling to fulfill bridesmaid duties and keep her stunning marshmallow-frosted wedding cake from becoming a gooey disaster. Then much to everyone’s shock, the entire ceremony crumbles when a guest drops dead, and the cause isn’t sunstroke...
https://www.amazon.com/Marshmallow-Malice-Amish-Candy-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07W8Y8V7V/?tag=2022091-20
2020
(World-famous fiddle player Barley McFee arrives in bluste...)
World-famous fiddle player Barley McFee arrives in blustery Bellewick, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, for a grand homecoming concert organized by jeweler Bernice Brennan. Fiona Knox, owner of the Climbing Rose Flower Shop, is starting to regret volunteering to help with the concert. Bernice is an exacting taskmaster, and Fiona has enough tension dealing with her parents, who have traveled from Tennessee to visit Fi and her younger sister, Isla, and to reveal a secret about Fi's birth.
https://www.amazon.com/Mums-Mayhem-Magic-Garden-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07TW1XV6D/?tag=2022091-20
2020
Amanda Flower was born on January 23, 1980, in Akron, Ohio.
Flower moved to Mount Vernon to work as a librarian straight after grad school where she lived in close proximity to the Amish for three years. She has often highlighted this experience as being highly influential on her work, particularly the Applewood Creek Mystery series. In the series’ first entry, A Plain Death, Flower’s young protagonist Chloe Humphrey moves to the Amish countryside of Ohio for work, just as the author did in her early twenties. Flower made the decision to delve into Amish mystery novels after a brainstorming session with her agent, Nicole Resciniti, who suggested she use the experience of living near the Amish community in her early twenties as a starting point for new material. Such was the interest in the Amish mystery concept that Resciniti managed to sell ‘A Plain Death’ based off a 50-page proposal.
The main protagonist in the Applewood Creek series, Chloe Humphrey, closely mirrors Flower’s experience of moving to Mount Vernon. Chloe is a 24-year-old, technology-addicted computer expert with two Masters Degrees, who moves to the Amish countryside because it’s the only place she can get a job in IT. Apart from the occupations, Chloe’s experience of moving greatly resembles that of the author. It’s a fish-out-of-water scenario with the city girl moving to the middle of nowhere.
Chloe was the perfect fit for this kind of story because the difference between her and her surroundings are so apparent. She comes from a society where technology is of the utmost importance and she can’t bear to be separated from her computer. Flower herself is a tech addict and often feels inseparable from her smartphone. Upon first moving to rural Ohio, she found the cellphone signal to be so awful that she had to lean across the fence at the edge of her apartment complex to even get one bar of coverage. The protagonist, Chloe, is faced with solving the murder of an Amish bishop and although A Plain Death differs from other Amish mystery stories because its main character is an outsider, it still deals with many familiar themes such as the Amish work ethic, belief in God and the importance of community.
Unlike many, Flower realized at a young age she wanted to be an author when in sixth grade, she presented a story to her classmates about being stuck on a ferris wheel and had them in stitches laughing. Her first novel, Maid of Murder, was published in the year 2010 and received a nomination from the Agatha Awards for Best First novel. The book was the first entry in the thrilling India Hayes mystery series. The titular character is a young librarian in Ohio, another example of Flower using her own personal experience to flesh out her characters. The story centres on India as she reluctantly becomes a bridesmaid and attempts to solve the murder of a close friend. To complicate things even further, the main suspect is India’s very own brother.
Flower began writing the Amish Quilt Shop mystery series under the pen name Isabella Anne in 2013, beginning with "Murder, Plain and Simple". Her work in this series has brought her much success, leading to her becoming a USA Today Bestselling Author.
In 2015, Flower won the Agatha Award for Best Children’s/YA novel for Andi Unstoppable, the third entry in the Andi Boggs series. This series focuses on science-obsessed 12-year-old Andora ‘Andi’ Boggs, who lies with her older sister, Bethany, and her young aunt. Flower felt there was a lot of room for mystery novels geared toward the young adult market as she herself grew up as an avid fan of the genre.
Although Flower is primarily known as a prolific mystery writer, she is also known for the humor she injects into the characters that populate her stories. She often uses real-life encounters with people as an inspiration for many of the supporting characters in her books, just as she often draws on her own personal experience while crafting narrative.
She loves meeting and talking with fans, and even some of the stranger things people come out with are welcome because it can be a potential material for a new quirky character in one of Flower’s novels. Her favorite supporting character in A Plain Death is Grandfather Zook because he is accepting of Christianity in all its forms. The topic of Faith is often prevalent in Flower’s books and she has stated that her belief has helped her through some of the more difficult periods in her life.
The author has a high productivity rate and averages between three and four books per year, although she finds it incredibly difficult to begin work on a new story, and like many of us, often finds herself procrastinating in any way possible.
(When widowed Millie Fisher moves back to her childhood ho...)
2019(After the sudden death of their parents in the jungles of...)
2013(College librarian India Hayes thought the worst thing abo...)
2012(With Juliet Brody and Reverend Brook tying the knot in Oh...)
2020(With so much to do between running her shop and spending ...)
2015(Harvest, Ohio, is a long way from New York City, where Ba...)
2018(Bailey King’s in New York wrapping up a six-week shoot on...)
2019(When she said she'd rather die than be a bridesmaid, she ...)
2019(World-famous fiddle player Barley McFee arrives in bluste...)
2020(With the help of Walt Whitman's works, magical bookshop o...)
2019(Niagara region booksellers Violet Waverly and Grandma Dai...)
2019(As if being in New York City for Easter isn’t exciting en...)
2019(Kelsey Taps for Something Much Deadlier Than Sap March on...)
2016(Angela Braddock has come to Rolling Brook to lend a hand ...)
2013(Welcome to Appleseed Creek, the heart of Ohio’s Amish Cou...)
2012(Angie is finding her niche as the new owner of her late a...)
2014(The people of Appleseed Creek in the heart of Ohio’s Amis...)
2013(Christmas is Bailey King’s favorite time of year. For her...)
2018When Amanda Flower read a story she wrote to her sixth-grade class and had the class in stitches with her description of being stuck on the top of a Ferris wheel. She knew at that moment she’d found her calling of making people laugh with her words.
She was inspired to write Amish mysteries because she lived in Amish Country for three years when she was in her twenties working at a college library there. She does a lot of research for all her books, but her favorite research is in person. She makes a point of going to all the places where her stories are set. For example, for the Magical Bookshop, she spent time in Niagara Falls, and for the Magic Garden, she went to Scotland. To capture a place accurately, nothing beats a first person experience in her opinion.
Quotations:
In her acceptance speech for the award, Amanda acknowledged the loving support her parents gave her from a young age in pursuing her writing career: "When I was a little girl and told them I wanted to be a mystery author when I grew up, they never said that was impractical, they said what can we do, how can we help and I am so very grateful."
"I celebrate every writing milestone with a cupcake. I finish a book; I get a cupcake. I sign a new contract; I get a cupcake. I get a major review (good or bad); I get a cupcake. Cupcakes keep me going. Well, that and I just love to write. I must give a big thank you to all my readers because there would be no milestones and cupcakes without you."
"I’m always wanted to write mystery. I would never say never, but I can’t imagine writing anything else."
"Keep trying. Don’t give up. Success in publishing is more dependent on determination and a strong will than natural talent."
"The toughest criticism was from my creative writing teacher in college who thought my writing was trivial. I took that on as a challenge to prove her wrong. She was an adjunct professor, and I don’t even remember her name but I remember what she said, and I’m grateful to her to put the fire in me to get published."
"In addition to being an author, I’m an academic librarian for a small college in Cleveland. I spend my days helping college students and faculty navigate the information highway and spend my nights writing murder mysteries."
Amanda Flowers is a member of the American Library Association.
As a child, Amanda was largely influenced by the work of authors such as Sue Grafton, Patricia Cornwell, and Marcia Muller. She is also a big animal lover: "It would be impossible for me to write a novel and not have at least a few animals characters in it. Thankfully, The Living History Museum Mystery Series has plenty of animal characters to entertain readers and myself. Writing the Living History Museum Mystery Series has been so much fun because it takes place on a living history farm, and as a result, there are many animals who appear throughout the series to make Kelsey Cambridge’s life as the Director of Barton Farm a little more exciting and a lot more frustrating."
Here what Amanda says about how she likes to spend her free time: "I am a lover of nature and am happiest when I am outside. I tried to talk my coworkers into moving the library’s reference desk outdoors, but sadly, the idea didn’t take off. My greatest joy is spending time with my three-year-old niece and one-year-old nephew. I take my job as Aunt Mandy extremely seriously and spoil them rotten."
Amanda lives with her fiancee near Akron, Ohio.