Welcome to the Blog Tour for When They Met Again by Leslie Gould, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
It’s been awhile since I did a book review or author interview. I’ve been so busy with my debut novel getting ready to release in July, working on a Christmas novella collection with some writer friends, and writing a new Southern historical novel to pitch to editors in May at the Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference. So, it’s been a little crazy.
But I’m excited to get back into the swing with this interview with author Leslie Gould about her latest Amish romance When They Met Again.
Author Interview
How long have you been writing? Tell us about the journey that led to your first published book.
I have a bachelor’s degree in history and communications and master’s in creative writing, and have had all sorts of great jobs—doing public relations for a small college, curating a satellite museum, editing a bridal magazine, and teaching writing at a local university. I loved all of those jobs and they were all very fulfilling—but through all those jobs I had an intense desire to write fiction.
I was in my late twenties when I began finishing and publishing short stories. By a decade later, I’d written a couple of novels and sent them off to publishing houses, only to have them be rejected. Finally, my third novel was accepted and then published in 2003. It was a long journey with many curves, lol. (When They Met Again is my fifty-first published novel.)
What inspired your decision to write Amish fiction?
I became interested in the Amish in my mid-twenties after a trip around the US in 1987 that included a couple of days in Lancaster County. I started reading what I could find about them (which wasn’t much at that time).
Through the years, all four of my children attended a Mennonite preschool, and I discovered possible Anabaptist/Amish ancestors who lived in Switzerland several centuries ago. So when my agent at the time asked if I’d be interested in co-writing novels about the Amish with Mindy Starns Clark, I said yes!
Our first book together, The Amish Midwife, won a Christy Award and has sold over a 100,000 copies. That was over fifteen years ago. Soon after I began writing Amish fiction on my own.
What’s the greatest challenge with writing Amish fiction?
Getting the details right. Thankfully I have a good friend, who left the Amish in her late twenties, who reads my manuscripts before they go to press and gently guides me in the right direction.
What was the inspiration for When they Met Again?
Rom Coms from the 1990s were a big part of the inspiration—the just-friends, second-chance romance trope that comes with a lot of drama and soul searching. But I also wanted a generational story about grandmothers and young adult grandchildren, which you’ll find in When They Met Again.
What do you hope readers will get out of this book?
I hope readers will gain an appreciation for their own families and faith communities, knowing they’re not alone in their struggles and heartbreaks. I want them to find hope for the future and an appreciation for the past—while they live and thrive in the present.
What are you currently working on?
When They Met Again is the second in my Letters From Lancaster County series—each book is centered around a circle letter. Right now I’m in the middle of edits for the third and last book in the series, A Second Chance to Remember. It’s inspired by two movies—An Affair to Remember (1957) and Sleepless In Seattle (1993). A Second Chance to Remember features a widow and a widower, along with a thirteen-year-old girl who is the daughter of my male lead and tries to play matchmaker.
Anything else you’d like us to know?
How much I love my readers! I’m so thankful to all of them for reading, reviewing, and sharing my stories!
About the Book
Title: When They Met Again
Series: Letters from Lancaster County
Author: Leslie Gould
Publisher: Bethany House
Release Date: March 17, 2026
Genre: Fiction / Romance / Amish / Contemporary
A gently humorous just friends romance from Leslie Gould, threaded with heart-deep characters and the timeless traditions of simple Amish life.
It’s love at first sight for Adam Slaybaugh, yet while Joanna Grebel finds him attractive and is intrigued when he declares his interest, she’s less certain of the potential for a romantic future together. Instead, she proposes they be “just friends,” but Adam’s not willing to settle for anything less than a romantic relationship. In response, he leaves Lancaster County for Florida, and soon after, Joanna begins courting Jacob Byer–someone she deems a much more suitable match.
When Adam returns to Lancaster County years later to pursue a career in his grandparents’ successful home renovation business, he finds Joanna suffering from a broken heart. Misunderstandings and matchmaking schemes begin a tender journey of healing and romance–but is Adam’s love enough to finally win Joanna over?
For readers of Beverly Lewis, Wanda E. Brunstetter, and Shelley Shepard Gray, a sweet Amish romance with matchmaking grandmas and themes of enemies to lovers, he falls first, and love at first sight versus “just friends.”
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Baker Publishing Group | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | ChristianBook | Bookshop | BookBub
More in This Series
About the Author
Leslie Gould is a Christy Award-winning and #1 bestselling author of more than fifty novels, including multiple Amish fiction series. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history and an MFA in creative writing. She enjoys church history, research trips, and hiking in the Pacific Northwest. She and her husband live in Portland, Oregon, and have four adult children and two grandchildren. Learn more at LeslieGould.com.
Tour Giveaway
(1) winner will receive a $25 B&N gift card plus a copy of The Shop Down the Lane and When They Met Again!
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight March 16, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on March 23, 2026. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
Let's chat! What are your thoughts?