Amish

Why is change so hard?

| Amy

“The only thing constant in life is change.” — Francois de la Rochefoucauld (circa 1660-70)

I recently bought new sheets. Again. Which means I have been trying to buy sheets for years, but I can’t find any I like as much as I like my old ones. I’ll pause here and tell you that my “old ones” are OLD. (Yes, I really meant to triple emphasize this.) They are ancient. So prehistoric that I can’t read the tags on them any longer. The elastic is shot, but they are still perfect. Just old.

Old is okay. Perfectly fine, even. Not everything in my life has to be new. These sheets don’t have holes (yet, thank heavens) but I only have one set. Which means wash and dry and remake the bed all in one day. I need new sheets—or at the very least a second set—but what I really want is my old sheets to be new again.

The last sheets I bought are some astronomical thread count with ‘deep pockets’ and hotel quality this and that. They are a beautiful pale blue and will match the planned-but-not-yet-realized new décor in the room. But they pull out from under the mattress and make wrinkles in the middle. I can’t sleep on wrinkles. And all the covers seem to slide right off. Which means in the morning I’m lugging everything back on the bed so I can get it in order.

To my credit I did use them for about six months. Until one day I went to the closet and pulled out the old faithfuls. The sheets we bought in…Nope, I’m not going to tell you how old they are. Let’s just say I bought them when we got the new bed which was when we decided to turn in our waterbed for a mattress and box springs. (And don’t get me started about how much I wish we had the waterbed back!)

Yes, change is hard. Sometimes necessary and sometimes not, but usually difficult to wade through regardless.

This is what’s facing Priscilla in The Amish Rancher’s Return. She’s got the past coming back to her when Isaiah returns to Millers Creek, but the changes he brings with him are going to seriously alter her life. She needs the income from her homemade Amish dolls to keep up her strive to independence.

To be fair, these changes really aren’t Isaiah’s fault. He didn’t decide to give his father memory problems or to sell the family business because of them. He just thought that maybe it was time to visit. And he certainly isn’t to blame for Priscilla jumping ahead and marrying someone else, thinking Isaiah would never return to Pennsylvania.

Now widowed with twin girls, Priscilla still feels slighted. They were headed to the altar and Isaiah decided to go out west and play cowboy on one of the Amish-owned ranches in Montana. Having him back is bringing up all sorts of memories that she would rather forget. Especially since he is determined to mess up her very existence. The best thing to do is stay as far away from him as possible. But in a community as small as Millers Creek, that isn’t as easy as it sounds.

THE AMISH RANCHER’S RETURN releases June, 30, 2026.

Pre-order now!

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until

Release Day: THE AMISH RANCHER’S RETURN

And as always…Thanks for reading!

My New Friend

| Amy

What a great weekend I’ve had! I’ve got a new friend. Her name is Sarah and she lives in Inola. She bakes, sews, and works outside her home. I met her at the flea market when we went ‘junking’ this past Saturday.

Sarah is Amish.

Why am I so excited? Because I’ve tried to talk to other Amish women and get to know them better, but they can be understandably guarded. The outside English world can be very judgmental. These women who go out of the community to make money for their families are brave and must protect their image and beliefs. But with Sarah, something clicked. We chatted about books and Amish authors, recipes and her bakery. I could have stood there and talked to her all day long.

We’ve already made plans to return next weekend to see if she’s there. I’m going to take her a copy of Saving Gideon and try to talk to her some more. All I can say right now is thank you, God, for that impulsive decision to ‘run down to the flea market’ and see what was going on. I had a great time with my family, found a couple of Christmas presents, and made a great new friend. Happy weekend!

How to Tell that You Live with a Writer by Rob Lillard as told to Amy

| Amy

This post is for all the spouses out there. All the sisters, brothers and moms whose writing family member falls off the radar a couple of times a year. You don’t know if you are one of these abandoned loved ones? There are certain key indicators that you may live with a writer. In any given week, you may find yourself saying something like this…

Monday:

“Do we have any Q-tips?”

What do you mean you don’t know you have a book due?

“What’s for supper?”

“Well, I guess a sandwich is okay. Sure…I can make it  myself.”

Tuesday:

Did you go to the store today? We need Q-tips.

Sure I can make a sandwich for supper, but..we’re out of lunch meat.

I’m out of underwear and socks. Can you wash a load of whites for me?

I know you are under a deadline,  but you can write while the clothes wash.

Wednesday:

Did you remember to get Q-tips?

I know you have a book due, but it’s been three days since I asked you.

You went to the store to get coffee but you forgot Q-tips? Yes, I do believe Q-tips are just as important as coffee.

Can you wash some whites?

Thursday:

I’m down to my last pair of underwear and socks. Did remember you wash some bleach clothes?

Have you taken a shower today? This week?

Honey, setting partially opened cans of cat food in the floor is not really feeding the cat.

Yeah, take out is fine. Yeah…I’ll go get it.

Friday:

I’m going to Walmart. We need lunch meat, Q-tips, and new underwear and socks.

How much longer before you hit your deadline?

If you can say yes, that any or all of the conversation above has taken part at your house, then most probably you live with a writer. Never fear, this insanity usually occurs at this magnitude only around deadline time, but beware of plotting a new book/series.

And good luck to you all. Living with a writer can be a challenge. Yet rewarding as well. After all, they know how to  spell everything.

The Call

| Amy

I’ve been waiting, hoping, praying, and waiting some more, and I finally got “the call.”  My agent–queen of emails–actually called. I just happened to be on the phone at the time talking to the receptionist at the dentist’s office, I know, uber important–when the caller ID beeped. I was expecting a call from the roof man (you know, the guy who was contracting to repair my roof after our spring hail storms). Again important stuff. But I didn’t see whose name was on the caller ID, just that it didn’t say “private caller” which it does when my hubby calls from his cell phone. No worries, I’ll finish this conversation and call the roofer back and holy-schmoley! It’s my agent!

And thus begins the scramble to call her back on any phone I could find–like it made a difference. But I had to talk to her. ‘Cause if she was calling on the phone in lieu of the super quick email, then it was big. Beyond big. Enormous.

And it was. Broadman and Holman is interested in offering on my Amish romance, Saving Gideon.  Whoo-hoo! This is what I’ve been waiting for. After so many rejection letters. Publishers doubting I could make a Dallas socialite embrace the Amish way of life, even for just a couple of weeks. No one willing to take a chance on a no-name. I had done it–or rather she had done it. My wonderful agent had gotten me to an editor who could see through it all to the potential the story holds.

See writing is a lot like trying to find your first job after college. You have your diploma, all neat and pressed, an eager smile on your face, and the drive to conquer the world. But you don’t have the experience. You can talk a big talk, but everyone’s a little leery because no one has seen you walk the big walk. But there’s usually one–and for me this is B&H publishing–who’s willing to take the chance.

Now the question remains, will they offer on the single book or on the trilogy? Let’s hope the trilogy.

I actually got “the call” almost a month ago. And now I wait on the fianlized offer and who knows what other legal papers in addition to the contract. But I am beyond excited!

Finally. Finally…

And that’s what this blog is about–my journey from proposal to contract and on to the finished book. But to hold you over in the meantime, I’ve added a page to the blog that has the short synopsis for Saving Gideon and another that has an excerpt. I’m working on getting a website together, but that’s a little ways down the road.

So until I get the next call…

I’m glad you joined me! <3 Amy