Intersection Column | Two-Hundred Years of Inspiration
- mtlmagazine
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
by Leslie Gould
There’s no doubt When They Met Again is a love story—it’s a friends-to-something more, feel-good story that reminds readers that faith, romance, and community can elevate us all.
I wrote it both for myself and for my readers. My last series, Amish Memories, is a collection of three dual-time novels with the historical threads focused on pre-WW II in Germany, the WW II homefront in the USA, and post WW II in Germany. Although all three books have romantic threads, the stories include fascism, POWs, and the changing world order of the late 1940s.
I needed something lighter for my next project, and I guessed, maybe my readers did too. So I came up with my current series, Letters from Lancaster County. Where did I find my inspiration? From stories that cover a 200-year span—from Jane Austen’s novels to 1990s rom-coms.
To be exact, Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813), the movie The Shop Around the Corner (1940), and the movie You’ve Got Mail (1998) influenced the first novel in my Letters from Lancaster County series, The Shop Down the Lane, which released in 2025.
Austen’s novel, Persuasion and the movie When Harry Met Sally loosely influenced When They Met Again (which I need to emphasize is a very family friendly novel—appropriate for everyone from your 13-year-old niece to your 90-year-old grandmother).The last book in the series, A Second Chance to Remember (that’s currently in the middle of edits), was influenced by Austen’s novel Emma and the movie Sleepless in Seattle.
I’ve been a fan of Jane Austen stories since I was a teenager and a fan of rom-coms since I was a young adult. But why, you might ask, did I think themes from those stories set across the span of hundreds of years would work well with Amish characters in Amish settings in the twenty-first century? Because those universal themes appeal to readers looking for closed-door romances, in a tightly-knit community with strict societal norms. The similar plots also offer commentary on romantic relationships, the roles of women, and the process of discovering one’s true self. The stories were the perfect inspiration for Amish romances.
There were a lot of fun storylines that I wove into When They Met Again as my main characters—Adam and Joanna—spar with each other over whether men and women can “just” be friends. One of my favorites threads is a chorus of grandparents. Like many people, I found the iconic cameos of elderly couples sharing their love stories in When Harry Met Sally endearing through the years. They presented true love and lasting commitments that were still thriving well into old age (which I appreciate even more so now that I’m in my 60s, lol).
I decided to take the idea a step further with a cast of grandparents. Two of the grandmothers even have their own chapters and stakes in the story. Does a little bit of matchmaking go on? You’ll have to read the story to find out! But what does go on is a whole lot of love from the grandparents toward their young adult grandchildren.
As it turned out, the grandparent thread was my favorite to write in When They Met Again. I hope you’ll find the novel, no matter if you’re a young adult or a grandparent, an uplifting story that might even make you think of your own endearing romance—and maybe your grandmother and her love story too.
About the Author
Leslie Gould is a Christy Award–winning and number one bestselling author of more than 50 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.
About the Book
It's love at first sight for Adam Slaybaugh, yet Joanna Grebel believes there is a more suitable match for her. Unable to stand by and watch, Adam leaves Lancaster County for Florida. When he returns years later to pursue a career in his grandparents' successful home renovation business, Adam finds Joanna suffering from a broken heart—but is his love enough to finally win her over?