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.
