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The Longest Way Home
Heading west in search of a new beginning, Lily Harmon loses her heart to little Maddie Cullinan, an orphan whose father was presumed killed in a bloody battle of the War Between the States. Lily adopts Maddie, so the young widow and the bereft little girl begin to make a new home together in frontier Wyoming, unaware that Maddie's father, former Union Army Major Luke Cullinan, is very much alive. An angry, determined man who has sworn to reclaim his cherished daughter, Luke is hot on Lily's trail. Nothing, and no one, had better stand in his way. An evocative, poignant story of the healing power of love after the trauma of war and loss, Lorrie Farrelly’s THE LONGEST WAY HOME is the winner of the WESTERN FICTIONEERS PEACEMAKER AWARD for the Best Western Short Fiction of 2015.
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Published March 13, 2025
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About the author
Lorrie Farrelly
16 books163 followersA Navy brat and graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, LORRIE FARRELLY is proud to be a Fightin' Banana Slug. Following graduate school at Northwestern University, she began a career in education that included teaching art to 4th graders, drama to 8th graders, and finally, math to high school students.
She's been a Renaissance nominee for Teacher of the Year, a ranch hand at Disneyland’s Circle D Ranch, and a “Jeopardy!” TV quiz show champion.
Her novels have won multiple awards, including two 2014 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards. TERMS OF SURRENDER was a First Place Winner in the 2014 Laramie Awards, and TIMELAPSE was a First Place Winner in the 2014 Cygnus Awards. She has also written short fiction for Prairie Rose Publishing. Her short story "The Longest Way Home" won the Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award for Best Western Short Story of 2015.
Lorrie and her family live in Southern California.
WHAT READERS AND REVIEWERS ARE SAYING about Lorrie's novels:
"Filled with sweet emotion, but also heart wrenching hurt, TERMS OF SURRENDER by Lorrie Farrelly is exactly why I am such a fan of historical fiction!" ~ B. Casto, reviewing for Readers' Favorite
"TERMS OF SURRENDER is a heart-melting, pulse-racing, beautiful piece of literature." ~ Amazon Review
"TIMELAPSE is a fast-paced story that keeps the pages turning until the very end. This is one of my favorite books of the year!" ~ M. McManus, reviewing for Readers' Favorite
"Those who want their alternate history and timeslip stories laced with believable, winning protagonists should look no further than TIMELAPSE: it provides a gripping, involving read from start to finish, and stands out from the crowd." ~ D. Donovan, reviewing for Midwest Book Review
"DANGEROUS opens with a bang and just keeps on firing emotions and mystery to the end... Descriptions are vivid and capture a sense of awe, challenge, and love with deft pen strokes. Readers will find something new happens in every chapter...There's a healthy dose of steamy passion that charges the crime focus with romance, making this of special recommendation to romance readers." ~ D. Donovan, reviewing for Midwest Book Review
"DANGEROUS is a beautiful romance, full of heart wrenching insecurity and doubt, but it is also a gripping thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat!" ~ Amazon UK Review
"TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT is a powerful story. It incorporates love, danger, and excitement, with a soupcon of the paranormal." ~ Jada Ryker, Author of the TAKES A DARE series
"Wow. What a great book! TERMS OF TEMPTATION has it all: coherent plot, clear setting, credible dialogue and slang (for 1903, Wyoming), textured primary and secondary characters, humor, pathos, villainy and murderous mayhem (but not too much), authentic adolescents, adorable baby wild animals, and a few profoundly moving scenes involving the family ghost, or guardian angel." ~ Amazon Review
"I loved it! The author has written such a great story and it is so descriptive, making you feel as if you are the one in danger. (THE GUARDIAN'S ANGEL) is a thriller that leaves you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last a!" ~ Linda Tonis, reviewing for Paranormal Romance Guild
"More than your usual crime story: THE GUARDIAN'S ANGEL holds that promise in its very title, reinforces it in its opening chapter, and keeps its promise through a series of vivid encounters that keep readers involved on an emotional level." ~ D. Donovan, reviewing for Midwest Book Review
Lorrie always enjoys hearing from readers! Find her at:
http://www.amazon.com/Lorrie-Farrelly...
https://www.facebook.com/LorrieFarrel...
https://sites.google.com/site/yourbes...
https://twitter.com/@lorriewrites
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
http://enovelauthorsatwork.com/153-2/
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LorrieFa...
http://www.linkedin.com/p
She's been a Renaissance nominee for Teacher of the Year, a ranch hand at Disneyland’s Circle D Ranch, and a “Jeopardy!” TV quiz show champion.
Her novels have won multiple awards, including two 2014 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards. TERMS OF SURRENDER was a First Place Winner in the 2014 Laramie Awards, and TIMELAPSE was a First Place Winner in the 2014 Cygnus Awards. She has also written short fiction for Prairie Rose Publishing. Her short story "The Longest Way Home" won the Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award for Best Western Short Story of 2015.
Lorrie and her family live in Southern California.
WHAT READERS AND REVIEWERS ARE SAYING about Lorrie's novels:
"Filled with sweet emotion, but also heart wrenching hurt, TERMS OF SURRENDER by Lorrie Farrelly is exactly why I am such a fan of historical fiction!" ~ B. Casto, reviewing for Readers' Favorite
"TERMS OF SURRENDER is a heart-melting, pulse-racing, beautiful piece of literature." ~ Amazon Review
"TIMELAPSE is a fast-paced story that keeps the pages turning until the very end. This is one of my favorite books of the year!" ~ M. McManus, reviewing for Readers' Favorite
"Those who want their alternate history and timeslip stories laced with believable, winning protagonists should look no further than TIMELAPSE: it provides a gripping, involving read from start to finish, and stands out from the crowd." ~ D. Donovan, reviewing for Midwest Book Review
"DANGEROUS opens with a bang and just keeps on firing emotions and mystery to the end... Descriptions are vivid and capture a sense of awe, challenge, and love with deft pen strokes. Readers will find something new happens in every chapter...There's a healthy dose of steamy passion that charges the crime focus with romance, making this of special recommendation to romance readers." ~ D. Donovan, reviewing for Midwest Book Review
"DANGEROUS is a beautiful romance, full of heart wrenching insecurity and doubt, but it is also a gripping thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat!" ~ Amazon UK Review
"TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT is a powerful story. It incorporates love, danger, and excitement, with a soupcon of the paranormal." ~ Jada Ryker, Author of the TAKES A DARE series
"Wow. What a great book! TERMS OF TEMPTATION has it all: coherent plot, clear setting, credible dialogue and slang (for 1903, Wyoming), textured primary and secondary characters, humor, pathos, villainy and murderous mayhem (but not too much), authentic adolescents, adorable baby wild animals, and a few profoundly moving scenes involving the family ghost, or guardian angel." ~ Amazon Review
"I loved it! The author has written such a great story and it is so descriptive, making you feel as if you are the one in danger. (THE GUARDIAN'S ANGEL) is a thriller that leaves you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last a!" ~ Linda Tonis, reviewing for Paranormal Romance Guild
"More than your usual crime story: THE GUARDIAN'S ANGEL holds that promise in its very title, reinforces it in its opening chapter, and keeps its promise through a series of vivid encounters that keep readers involved on an emotional level." ~ D. Donovan, reviewing for Midwest Book Review
Lorrie always enjoys hearing from readers! Find her at:
http://www.amazon.com/Lorrie-Farrelly...
https://www.facebook.com/LorrieFarrel...
https://sites.google.com/site/yourbes...
https://twitter.com/@lorriewrites
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
http://enovelauthorsatwork.com/153-2/
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LorrieFa...
http://www.linkedin.com/p
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 5, 2021
Lily and Luke and their daughter, Maddie.
This is a quick but surprisingly well rounded read. The author has obviously done some research into the era and it helps give the story a nice resonance even after I finished it.
Lily and her husband have had no luck conceiving in their two years of marriage and so they look to the large numbers of children left orphaned by the civil war. What nobody knows is that Maddie's father is still alive but recovering from terrible injuries. By the time Luke tracks down Maddie, Lily is a widow and trying to support Maddie by working two jobs.
There's not much angst and the characters are reasonable for the most part. Their connection is pretty rushed and so felt more like an hfn, but a promising one. But there is a nice little epilogue that takes place month or two later.
Two complaints,
This is a quick but surprisingly well rounded read. The author has obviously done some research into the era and it helps give the story a nice resonance even after I finished it.
Lily and her husband have had no luck conceiving in their two years of marriage and so they look to the large numbers of children left orphaned by the civil war. What nobody knows is that Maddie's father is still alive but recovering from terrible injuries. By the time Luke tracks down Maddie, Lily is a widow and trying to support Maddie by working two jobs.
There's not much angst and the characters are reasonable for the most part. Their connection is pretty rushed and so felt more like an hfn, but a promising one. But there is a nice little epilogue that takes place month or two later.
Two complaints,
March 13, 2017
I've enjoyed Lorrie Farrelly's full-length western historicals, so I downloaded this little bite. It was a little sad at times and the couple were quick to resolve issues. Just 50 pages, so if you just have a little time, it is perfect.
Book source: Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Book source: Kindle Unlimited subscription.
January 3, 2018
This is a quick but surprisingly well rounded read.
November 26, 2016
Though this is a short story, it covers a lot of ground. It starts off in Omaha, Ne, which I enjoyed as I’ve lived here most of my life. It was interesting to read some of Omaha’s history about the ‘orphan trains.’ I can’t imagine how terrifying and frightening it would’ve been for child to be basically given to anyone who wanted them. Most were probably taken as servants. Maddie was lucky in that Lilly wanted more that; she wanted a child to raise as her own.
Since this was a short story, it did have some holes in the story line. Like I really wanted to know what happened to Lilly’s husband Johah. How did he meet his death? And the relationship between Maddie’s father Luke and Lilly kinda of sprang up without much fanfare. But I do know relationships/marriages back then were forged fast. They had too, to survive the rigors of the Wild West. I have heard that Lorrie intends on rewriting this piece and extending it into a novel. I hope she does as I can’t wait to read it.
If you like westerns with a clean romance and intrigue, I recommend this well-written story. I give it 4 feathers.
Since this was a short story, it did have some holes in the story line. Like I really wanted to know what happened to Lilly’s husband Johah. How did he meet his death? And the relationship between Maddie’s father Luke and Lilly kinda of sprang up without much fanfare. But I do know relationships/marriages back then were forged fast. They had too, to survive the rigors of the Wild West. I have heard that Lorrie intends on rewriting this piece and extending it into a novel. I hope she does as I can’t wait to read it.
If you like westerns with a clean romance and intrigue, I recommend this well-written story. I give it 4 feathers.
September 27, 2016
A sweet short, Luke returns from the Civil War to find his family has passed from illness and his daughter inadvertently sent along on the orphan train west. Determined to find her, he sets out, never imagining he'd find happiness again along the way.
I genuinely did enjoy this read, but I would love to see it fleshed out into an entire novel. Luke and Lily had so much potential for a building relationship over time, with the help of little Maddie. I wanted to know more about what happened to Luke, how Maddie remembered her mother, and how Lily felt about everything. A satisfying and quick read though I wanted more!
I genuinely did enjoy this read, but I would love to see it fleshed out into an entire novel. Luke and Lily had so much potential for a building relationship over time, with the help of little Maddie. I wanted to know more about what happened to Luke, how Maddie remembered her mother, and how Lily felt about everything. A satisfying and quick read though I wanted more!
October 30, 2016
The story packs an intense degree of emotion, with love found, lost, and found again. Vulnerable children, left homeless by the Civil War or other tragic events, are paraded past prospective parents. Lily is convinced she'll know her daughter when she sees her.
It's not all all surprising this story won the Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award for the Best Western Short Fiction of 2015.
It's not all all surprising this story won the Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award for the Best Western Short Fiction of 2015.
September 24, 2016
I loved this novel, It's a real feel good story and reminded me of the whole Dr Quinn Medicine Woman era which I absolutely loved. It's got tragedy, love, tension and conflict; all the best ingredients for a short sharp burst of romance amidst adversity. Well written and definitely worth a read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews