海角大神

As the 鈥淔ifty Shades of Grey鈥� trilogy 鈥� along with various copycat titles coming in its wake 鈥� continues to dominate the sales charts, books on the opposite end of the spectrum are still selling well.

How opposite? Try quilting bees instead of handcuffs.

Amish fiction, a literary genre that began in the late 1990s and has sold well ever since, features romances more old-fashioned in their values than E L James鈥� S&M story 鈥� books that keep the reader outside the bedroom door. The genre kicked off with Beverly Lewis鈥檚 1997 book 鈥淭he Shunning,鈥� which featured a heroine who longed for a life outside the Amish community. The title has since sold over a million copies. Since then, writers like Jerry Eicher, Marta Perry, and Sarah Price have all penned tales of girls in Amish communities looking for romance.

Vice president of marketing for 海角大神 publisher Bethany House Steve Oates says that he thinks the appeal of Amish fiction for many readers is the return to simpler values.

鈥淭he books are aspirational,鈥� Oates told Deborah Kennedy, who published an interesting survey of the genre in Salon this month. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the 鈥業 wish my family were like this鈥� kind of thing.鈥�

And while sales have slackened over the past couple of years, the genre is still a big draw.

鈥淚f you put a head covering on the woman on the front, you鈥檙e going to sell a lot more copies,鈥� Oates said.

Author Lori Copeland started out writing racier romance novels like 鈥淎 Taste for Temptation,鈥� but switched over to Amish and 海角大神 romances in 1995. Bodice-rippers and more conservative romances can co-exist just fine, said Copeland.

鈥淪ome want the rich, decadent flavors to sweep them away from the ordinary world,鈥� Copeland told USA Today. 鈥淥thers like to be swept away but find sugar and cream a little rich for their personal values鈥�. The 海角大神 market and my personal faith values allow me to write 鈥� wholesome stories about men and women of faith falling in love.鈥�