Thursday, August 1, 2013

August's Author of the Month: Joan Hochstetler

Good Morning, Ladies, and Happy August!

Summer is in full-swing and if you are like me, you're baking in the heat and giving thanks for AC! *teehee*

It was such an honor to feature Tracie Peterson last month and I hope you were able to read her little interview and get to know her better. I just love her!!! Don't forget she has another book coming out soon...but I'll keep you posted on the release date, don't worry.

I couldn't be more thrilled about this month's author! Joan Hochstetler is a WONDERFUL author and if you haven't read any of her amazing novels, well now's your chance! *wink*

I've just reviewed DAUGHTER OF LIBERTY, a book that I truly loved, and Joan has graciously offered to do a giveaway!!! So, if you want to be entered, please comment below with your email address and I'll put your name in the hat.

Well, let's get on with it, shall we? Enjoy the interview!



Tell us about you!! Please include something funny/silly about yourself if you want!

I’m the daughter of Mennonite farmers and grew up on a farm near Kokomo, Indiana. I was a voracious reader from the time I made friends with Dick and Jane, but strangely enough as a young person I never had any ambition whatsoever to be a writer. I don’t recall writing any fiction at all. I really wanted to be an artist, but instead I got married and had babies, and life happened.

Then in 1977 I had this dream. Seriously! I had a dream one night that was so intriguing it kept haunting me. I finally decided that if I was going to make any sense of it, I was going to have to figure out who the characters were and what their story was, and the only logical way to do that was to write it all down. That turned into my epic medieval tragedy, which I swear I will get published someday! Anyway, that was the beginning of my life of adventure, intrigue, war, and romance.

What got me started writing about the American colonial period was The Scarlet Pimpernel, a fabulous TV movie from 1982 starring Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour. It was set during the French Revolution. I absolutely ADORED it and knew immediately that I had to write my own version of the story. Alas, I wasn’t in the least interested in the French Revolution, and anyway there was no reason to duplicate that setting. Luckily we had our own Revolution, and my hero turned out to be a girl. And so the saga began . . .

So far 4 volumes of my American Patriot Series have been released, and I’ve also published one contemporary novel, One Holy Night, which was the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the Year. It’s set to release in a new edition in October with a gorgeous new cover.

In my everyday persona, I’m an author, a professional editor, the publisher of a small press, Sheaf House Publishers, and the wife of a retired United Methodist pastor. I live in Elkhart, Indiana, and I have three daughters, four grandchildren, and five step-grandchildren.



Have you always had a passion for history? What draws you to this time period?

Passion . . . not so much when I was young. I doubt most kids are that interested in the past; they’re pretty much in the here and now. But in high school I enjoyed history and social studies, and that interest really took off in college.

I was raised in the Mennonite Church, and faith, family, church, and community are very important to Amish and Mennonites. The Hochstetler family has an especially interesting history that’s well known in the community and is regularly recounted. You’ll find a summary on my author website at http://www.jmhochstetler.com/hochstetler-family.html. In 1757, during the French and Indian War, my ancestors were caught up in one of the last Indian attacks on the border settlements in Pennsylvania. Three family members were killed, and three were carried off into captivity and returned some years later. That had a powerful impact on my life and interests, and, in fact, a distant cousin Bob Hostetler, a well-known author, and I are writing a fictional version of our ancestors’ story that we’re hoping to release by the first of the year. It’s a truly inspiring story.

That’s what first drew my attention to the colonial era, though my greatest area of interest has become the American Revolution. I love to do research and to learn about the lives of people in earlier times, and then bring the past to life for readers, especially for those who think they hate history. One of my greatest rewards is when I get feedback from readers who loved my books and mention that they never enjoyed history in school, but that my stories brought the era to life for them. I love that! That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.

My greatest concern, though, is that knowledge of our history and the values and principles our nation was founded on is eroding at an alarming rate, which doesn’t bode well for our future. I hope through this series to spark a greater understanding of and appreciation for our Founding era and the heroic men and women who sacrificed so much to bring this nation to birth.

What is your favorite scripture story and why?

Of all the wonderful, inspiring stories the Bible contains, the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection touches me the most deeply. It reminds me how much my sins cost Him, and how very much God loves me to make such an incredible sacrifice for my salvation. There’s no more beautiful story in any book that exists.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three historical christian romance books would you take with you?

Oh, that’s a really hard question! There are so many good ones. Well, I’m going to go for 3 I haven’t read yet by authors whose work I especially enjoy. First would be Laura Frantz’s Love’s Awakening, Book 2 of the Ballantyne Legacy Series, which releases in September. I’ve read book 1 and can’t wait to read the upcoming volumes in the series.

Second would be new author Lori Benton’s sophomore novel, The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn, which comes out in April 2014. Her debut novel, Burning Sky, comes out this month, and it’s excellent! One of my all-time favorite historical novels is Siri Mitchell’s A Heart Most Worthy, and I love all her contemporary romances too. So my third choice would be She Walks in Beauty, which has gotten excellent reviews, and which I haven’t had the chance to read yet.

These ought to keep my mind off the burning desert sands while I’m a castaway!

Your characters are very strong and yet they have struggles like we all do. How do you create living/breathing characters?

A lot of what my characters go through relates in some way to my own struggles over the years and those of people close to me, and what I’ve learned in the process. That’s probably true for most authors; to a great extent we write out of personal experience. The truth is that it takes some living to get to the point where you’ve suffered enough of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, as Hamlet put it, before you develop the maturity to interpret life on a profound level. In other words, you have to get old. As the saying goes, sadder but wiser. It’s the rare young person who has that kind of insight, though there are the occasional prodigies—or perhaps they’re just daring enough to get their heads well bloodied early on and draw the connections!

Writing a long series, such as my American Patriot Series, allows you to get deeply into your characters, to know their histories, what shaped them, and the hidden depths of their personalities even outside the scope of the story. I have a great advantage in developing my characters because I’m setting them in the midst of the real events and people of the American Revolution. I simply allow them to interact with what’s going on around them in the natural way they would as individuals. Once you get to know your characters very well, it becomes relatively easy to discern how they would react, what actions they would initiate, and what their emotional responses would be. But not always. Sometimes they surprise me, and I love that!

Bio and contact info

An award-winning author and professional editor, J. M. Hochstetler is the daughter of Mennonite farmers, a graduate of Indiana University, and a lifelong student of history. She is the author of the American Patriot Series, the only comprehensive historical fiction series on the American Revolution. Her contemporary novel, One Holy Night, was the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the Year and a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Carol Award. She is also the publisher and editorial director of Sheaf House Publishers.

Her books are available on Christianbook.com, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Koorong, and other online retailers and can be ordered in bookstores. They can also be ordered from Sheaf House at www.sheafhousedirect.com or readers can contact her directly at jmhochstetler@msn.com.

You’ll also find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/joan.hochstetler.


How fun was that?! I love all the in-depth information you shared, Joan--thank you SO much for being on my blog this month!! I can't wait for people to get to know you like I have! You are truly making a difference with your stories in a time when this country really needs to be inspired and reminded of how great America is, and the rich history we share. Thank you again!

If you want to be entered to win Joan's first book DAUGHTER OF LIBERTY, don't forget to comment! God bless you all!

Happy Reading!!!



24 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing such an insightful interview! I'd love to win her book! Thanks!

    colorvibrant[at]gmail[dot]com

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  2. Thank you so much, Amber, for doing this wonderful feature! You're a wonderful interviewer, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
    Blessings,
    Joan

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  3. I have never read any of your writings, but I would love to start. I do love historical novels,however. If I win your book, it could be the start of a love affair with your writings. Thank you. Barbara Gauthier.

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  4. Oops! I forgot to congratulate you on being chosen for author of the month. You are my facebook friend and no one deserves the honor more than you. Barbara Gauthier.

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  5. It was great to learn more about you, Joan, and how you came to start writing. Wonderful interview! Thank you!

    lisatreesa@yahoo.com

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  6. Joan, it's fun to hear from another person who loves history, especially the American Revolution. It does seem a shame that young people aren't being taught in depth about what people went through to create this country.

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  7. a wonderful posting...thanks for the chance to read this wonderful story

    karenk
    kmkuka at yahoo dot com

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  8. Ladies, thank you so much for stopping by! Barbara, Lisa, and Susan, I'm delighted to see you here, and Heidi and Karen, it's good to make your acquaintance. I wish all of you could win a copy, but it'll be fun to see who does. :-)

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  9. I've never heard of her before but her books are definitely on my 'To Be Read' list!

    cavinessemail@gmail.com
    cavinessemail[at]gmail[dot]com

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    1. I hope you enjoy the series, Candy! Thank you for stopping by and entering the drawing!

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  10. Great interview, and Joan - so nice to learn more about you! I'm putting your novels on the nightstand - can't wait to start digging in! So with you on what I'd bring to read on that island! I love Laura Frantz and Siri Mitchell's books and am now a fan of Lori Benton!! I was fortunate to read an advance copy of Burning Sky and couldn't get enough, so I'm looking forward to the Tamsen Littlejohn novel! Looking forward to reading Daughter of Liberty, Joan!

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    1. Rebecca, so good to see you here! I'm with you about Lori's Tamsen Littlejohn novel--can't wait! I hope you enjoy Daughter of Liberty. :-)

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  11. Oh my, Amber I had to search and search for the comments. It shows as light peach on my computer! What a beautiful blog this is!!! I tweeted Joan's interview--have known her several years now through Colonial American Christian Writers and we share the same great agent, Joyce Hart!!! JOAN--I can't wait to read your ancestors' story. I have a fiction novella that starts out in that area but ends elsewhere! Will have to watch for your release date! Blessings!

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    1. Carrie, I'm excited to hear you're writing a story set in that area too! Looking forward to hearing more about it. I definitely will let you know when mine comes out--should be early in the New Year.

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  12. Great interview, Joan! (And I cannot WAIT to get my hands on Lori's second book!!!!)

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    1. Thanks for dropping by, Shannon! I agree with you about Lori's next novel. :-)

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  13. Jumping in here Joan to say hi--my poor computer has been sporadically sick! We're having frequent nasty, humid weather with downpours & hail.Wanted to get this in...take it from me, everyone--these books are fantastic! From your "Aunt Tess"! :) <>!

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    1. Bless you, Pat--or I should say Aunt Tess. lol! I'm so sorry to hear you're having computer troubles and nasty weather. I hope things clear up on both fronts soon. And thank you so much for your kind words! You're such an encouragement to me!

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  14. I would love to read that medieval some day! I have loved the American Patriot series, and this was a fun chance to get to know you better.

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    1. Hi, Kathleen! I promise I'm going to finish my medieval and get it out there. That's one of my favorite historical eras--not English medieval, which came later, but European, which I find so much more interesting and far less done. But first I HAVE to finish this series! Jonathan and Elizabeth only have to suffer through 3 more volumes to get to their happy ending. lol! Thank you for your kind words about the series! I hope I can keep readers through their upcoming adventures--and there are going to be plenty of them. :-)

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  15. Joan! I've just had time to wander over and read this wonderful post. Even though we have known each other for years, I love discovering new things about you and your books and passion for writing.

    Thanks for the kind mention of The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn. You can't know how that encourages me right where I'm at, today (in the midst of content edits!). Blessings to you!

    Okay readers, do get your hands on Joan's American Patriot series, if you haven't already. Just do.

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    1. Lori, thank you for taking time to drop by when you're in the midst of content edits! I sure know how that is. :-) If I can encourage you to keep on writing, then I'm delighted. It's just so lovely to see your wonderful novels finally get into readers' hands! And thank you for the kind words about my series--you're a sweetheart!

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  16. I would love to have your book to read. I love historical novels. It sounds so good!!!!Barbara Bgauthier49@live.com

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    1. Hi, Barbara! Thanks for stopping by and entering the drawing! It's good to meet you here. :-)

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