The Amish Rancher's Return by Amy Lillard

ABOUT THE BOOK

His homecoming could change everything
For a widow and two little girls…

Called back home to Millers Creek after years away, Isaiah Peight needs to help care for his ill father, sell his parents’ store—and avoid Priscilla Raber. Five years ago, he and Priscilla were betrothed, but she broke his heart and married someone else while he went on rumspringa. Now widowed, she works at Creekside Sundries to support her toddler twins. And she’s not happy about the sale. Seeing Isaiah again stirs up lots of memories, especially when he bonds with her precious girls. Can they ever leave the past behind and forge a new future together?

AMAZON

MY THOUGHTS.....

His father's illness has drawn him back to Miller's Creek, but it won't be easy for Isaiah Peight! The young woman he once planned to marry is there, along with her two little girls, and Isaiah doesn't want, or need. a reminder of what was or might have been!

Five years of misunderstandings, miscommunication, and hurt plague the unexpected reunion of Priscilla Raber and Isaiah Peight, as author Amy Lillard poignantly relates their struggle to remain indifferent to each other. Old feelings resurface, along with Isaiah's conflicted emotions about Priscilla's daughters. These adorable twin girls could have been his!

I loved the romance, the return to Miller's Creek, and the strong faith message woven into Lillard's compelling plot. Lillard's tagline is 'Sweet as apple pie', and I've been told that a truly sweet apple pie is a balance of tart fruit and warm spices. Well, this certainly describes this realistic book! The Amish Rancher's Return is an engaging tale of hope, forgiveness, and second chances. I recommend it to all who enjoy Amish Christian fiction.

I accepted a complimentary digital ARC from the author. There was no obligation for a positive review.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amy Lillard loves nothing more than a good book. Except for her family…and maybe homemade tacos…and nail polish. But reading and writing are definitely way up on the list.

Born and bred in Mississippi, Amy is a transplanted Southern Belle who now lives in Oklahoma with her deputy husband, their genius son, and three spoiled cats. ^..^

When she’s not creating happy endings, she has a variety of hobbies, but her favorite is whatever gets her out of housework.

Amy is an award-winning author with more than forty novels and novellas in print. She loves to hear from readers. 

Learn more by checking Amy's Website     

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The Amish Christmas Promise

The Amish's Bachelor Promise

The Amish Nanny's Secret

The Amish Rancher's Return

View all my reviews

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An Interview with Lorine Brunstetter Van Corbach, co-author of The Melody of Love

Wanda E. Brunstetter has a new book releasing July 1, 2026. It promises to be the kind of heartwarming story we've come to expect but it also touches on a subject we don't usually see in Amish fiction. The Melody of Love is the unique story of an Amish widow who's raising a son with Autism Spectrum Disorder. 

Fans of Amish fiction are very familiar with New York Times bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter, but this book has an added author. Do you recognize the name Lorine Brunstetter Van Corbach? She is Wanda's daughter and the co-author of The Melody of Love! 

Want to know more about Lorine? She has graciously provided answers to questions submitted by members of her mother's Facebook group, Wanda's Clipitty Clop Club. 

Sit back and learn more about Lorine Brunstetter Van Corbach!

Question 1

Was your mom an inspiration to follow in writing Amish stories? Do you both give each other ideas sometimes on a story?

My mom was a definite inspiration to me in writing Amish stories. We have spent quite a bit of time discussing storyline ideas over the years.

Question 2

Which one of you came up with the storyline for this book?

I think, initially, it was me, but together, we filled in the details to make this a heartwarming and interesting storyline.

Question 3

What is the most memorable part of writing a book together?

I feel the most memorable part of writing a book together was the almost daily phone calls we shared. Since I live several hours from my mom, we don’t get to spend much time together. I’m a teacher, which keeps me busy during the school year and of course my mom is always busy writing. This gave us many opportunities to catch up on each other’s lives.

Question 4

When you write a book together, are you actually together or do you email back and forth?

The majority of this book was written while we were apart. We called each other often and emailed several times a day.

 Question 5

What inspired you to include a character in the story that is on the autism spectrum?

I’m a music teacher and have had many students on the spectrum, including one of my own. While visiting Amish friends, we asked if they have seen Autism in children in their community and they told us that yes, they have.

Question 6

How do you determine who writes which part?

When we first begin, we write character sketches and a timeline, then we discuss which characters we’d like to write. However, the way it worked out, we both wrote the other’s character in a scene or two. Thankfully, our writing styles are so similar, it wasn’t a problem. In fact, during the final edits, we couldn’t even tell.

Question 7

What is the best advice Wanda has given you?

My mom has given me so much great advice over the years and not just writing advice. The one piece of advice that works in writing AND life is to remember Who gives me strength. From a very young age, both of my parents taught me to trust the Lord, and when things get hard, lean even closer to Him.

Question 8

Will you do more books together in the future?

I am hopeful that we will.

Question 9

What made go into writing books? Is it something you always knew you wanted to do?

My mom suggested the idea to me about ten years ago, but I was very busy teaching k-12 music and managing a dorm for exchange students as well as entering into the season of grandchildren. When I left my position and started teaching Elementary music, I knew I was finally ready. Life was suddenly a less hectic. At least for a short while.

Question 10

Do you write books by yourself also or do you only collaborate with other authors? Who else have you written with?

Although this is my first full length novel, I wrote a short story called A Sarasota Sunset, which can be found in the Novella collection called Sisters by the Sea.

Question 11

What inspired you to write about the Amish?

While visiting my dad’s family in Pennsylvania, I was introduced to the Amish way of life at a young age. I shared my mom’s fascination with the culture of this group of people in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Later in life, I was able to visit a few other communities in Indiana and Ohio and get to know some of my parents’ Amish friends. They are such wonderful people with a deep love for the Lord.

Question 12

Have you always written stories or at what age did you begin?

As a child, I struggled with reading and writing. It wasn’t until I was in college, with school-aged children of my own, that I realized I enjoyed it. I was 53 when I wrote A Sarasota Sunset for our Novella, Sisters by the Sea. I believe that’s a nice reminder that we are never too old to start something new.

Question 13

When writing a book together with someone, is there a lot to compromise when it comes to the story line or do you have an outline first before writing and comparing with the other author you are writing with?

We definitely create an outline first, but I felt like our ideas and thoughts about our characters were nicely aligned.

Question 14

In writing with your mom, do you ever want her storyline to be different than the way she wrote it? Have you ever asked her to change it?

I believe that the pre-planning we do really prevents this from happening. I trust her completely, so if her character changed at all from the initial character sketch, I know there’d be a good reason for the change, and she’d communicate that with me.

Question 15

What goes into a collaboration of a book? (Example: Ideas, research, tying it together, etc.)

Once we have a summary, we create the character sketches and outline, then we start writing. We are researching as we write.

Question 16

In reading a lot of Amish books, I hardly come across any with stuff such as autism, Down syndrome, fibromyalgia and etc. Do the Amish have many issues with things like this?

It has been our experience that yes, the Amish deal with a lot of things that the rest of the world deals with.

Question 17

Are Amish people with autism received by the Amish community the same way Amish people with Down Syndrome are?

Absolutely. Even though many don’t understand very much about autism, they love and accept their special needs children.

Question 18

What is your inspiration to writing?

Even though I struggled with reading as a child, I always enjoyed a good story. When I finally caught up to the rest of my peers in reading in upper elementary, my favorite stories were stories of faith and family. I saw how God is there in the good times, but also during the hard times and that is where my inspiration comes from.

Question 19

Who comes up with the idea in the first place? Who writes the beginning or the end? How do you decide that?

Oftentimes, we both will come up with a similar idea at the same time. For our Novella, each of us wrote our own story. But for The Melody of Love, I started it because my mom was finishing another book. As we wrote, we assigned scenes and chapters so we could share the work.

Question 20

When will you and Wanda come to Virginia for a book signing? What is your favorite book you have written?

At the moment, we don’t have any plans for book signings, except locally. If the Lord opens doors to that, we’d be on board. I really enjoyed writing A Sarasota Sunset, but I equally enjoyed The Melody of Love.

Thanks to Lorine and to Angie Brillhart, the admin of Wanda's Clipitty Clop Club, for their help in facilitating this interview!

Learn more about THE MELODY OF LOVE.