JOANsmall J.M., describe yourself for our visitors—hobbies, favorite music, ministries

I love to garden and do crafts. Last summer I started scrapbooking, but I’ve been too busy to work on my projects this winter, and it’s driving me crazy! I’m also very interested in interior decoration and could happily make a career of it. I’d redo my house every other year if I could afford it. Needless to say, HGTV is one of my favorite channels! And I love to travel.

I like a fairly wide range of music, from classical to rock. Anything by George Gershwin, Debussy, Chopin, Mozart, and Beethoven is high on my list of favorite listening. Being a child of the 60s, I’m a big fan of some of the music from that era and through the 70s and 80s. Particular favorites are Simon and Garfunkel, John Denver, Neil Diamond, the Mamas and the Papas, the Fifth Dimension, the Beetles, and a few others. I also love Enya and David Lanz.

My most all-consuming ministry right now is publishing. I founded a small press, Sheaf House, in 2006, and Joy DeKok just joined the business as my partner in January. So far we’ve assembled a team of 10 authors who have outstanding abilities and projects. Our motto is: Real life. Real faith. Real fiction. Our goal is to reach readers with the gospel of Jesus Christ through extraordinary inspirational fiction that moves the heart. We’re just beginning to think about adding non-fiction to the mix as well.

How do you find time to connect with God?

My time is so stretched that it’s not easy to set aside time to just be with the Lord, but it is a major priority for me. I block out a minimum of half an hour first thing in the morning—and usually closer to an hour and sometimes even more—to focus on studying the Bible, meditating, praying, and singing hymns. I’ve learned that if I don’t devote time to this early in the day, my to-do list takes over. And when that happens things are off kilter for the whole day. So I try to really guard that time.

Who are your favorite authors? Favorite books?

My all-time favorite books are Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Green Dolphin Street by Elizabeth Goudge, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I read those as a teenager, and they were life-changing for me. I’m also a huge fan of Charles Dickens, Rafael Sabatini, and Zane Grey. And I love Shakespeare’s plays.

In the Christian field, I love Siri Mitchell and Tamara Leigh. I’ll read anything they write. My good friend Kaye Dacus just released a contemporary romance I read in rough draft, and she has the first volume of her historical coming out in the fall, I believe, that I also read in rough draft. I can’t wait to read the published versions of those. I love Louise Gouge’s historicals too as well as Diana Gabaldon’s time-travel novels. It’s kind of an eclectic mix, isn’t it?

Tell us about your journey to publication.

It wasn’t pretty. I quit writing so many times it isn’t funny. But the Lord kept dragging me back to my computer and assuring me he had a purpose for my work.

I started writing in 1977 and after years of effort and too many rejections to count, Zondervan offered me a contract in 2002. My first book, Daughter of Liberty, released in 2004 and was followed by Native Son in 2005. The editor who acquired me at Zondervan left before we even signed the contract, and the editor who replaced him dropped the series well before Native Son released. That was discouraging enough, but then my agent had no success at all in selling any of my subsequent projects.

I’d pretty well given up ever having anything published again when the Lord called me to found Sheaf House to publish not only my own books, but also the work of other authors facing the same roadblocks I’d encountered. This was not a calling I’d ever conceived I would be qualified or able to do. And I’m not! But I told the Lord that if his hand was in it, I’d walk through every door he opened, and Sheaf House would be whatever he wanted it to be, large or small. Two and a half years later, we have 4 books published, with one releasing in April, 3 more this fall, and books scheduled into 2011. The Lord keeps pouring out blessings on this ministry!

The most important thing I’ve learned in the course of my life is that when all the doors slam in your face, create your own door. Just make sure the Lord’s hand is in it, and you’ll be astounded at what he’ll do in and through you.

WOTS Tell us about your current book.

Wind of the Spirit is the 3rd book of my American Patriot Series, which is set during the American Revolution. In this volume the story resumes with Elizabeth Howard scrambling for crucial intelligence General George Washington needs if he’s to stop the British from capturing New York City. Elizabeth’s assignment leads her into the very maw of war at the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, where disaster threatens to end the American rebellion.

Yet all the while her heart is fixed on Jonathan Carleton, whose whereabouts remain unknown more than a year after he disappeared into the wilderness while on assignment for Washington. She has no way of knowing that Carleton, now the Shawnee war chief White Eagle, is caught in a bitter war of his own—against white settlers encroaching on Shawnee lands, and against the longing for Elizabeth that will not give him peace—even as unseen forces gather to finally destroy him.

With Washington poised to make a last-ditch gamble to save the American cause at Trenton, and the British closing in on Carleton’s whereabouts, Elizabeth rejoins Colonel Charles Andrews on a desperate journey to find Carleton before he is captured and executed for treason. When they find him at last, all three of their lives are changed forever.

How did you come up with ideas for this book?

I have grown very concerned that our citizens today know so little about the founding of our nation and the legacy handed down to us by those who laid everything on the line to ensure our freedom. In the American Patriot Series I want to write the only comprehensive fiction series on the American Revolution—portraying all aspects of it, including the experience of colonists, African Americans, Native Americans, and women.

So what I’m doing is simply dropping my fictional characters into the midst of the actual historical events of the Revolution, where they interact with the real people of the time—both the leaders and, in a number of cases, the common people who were involved in one way or another on both sides of the rebellion. Consequently, most of the plot line and cast of characters of each volume is already laid out for me. I just choose which specific events will make the most effective story and also portray the experience of different ethnic, racial, and cultural groups. Then I figure out what my characters would do in that situation and how they would interact with the real people of the time. It’s been fascinating and fun—not to mention a real education!

List your three most recent books.

Daughter of Liberty is the first book in the American Patriot Series, and Native Son is the second. Last year I also published a contemporary novel, One Holy Night, which is basically a retelling of the Christmas story set in modern times.

What’s next for you?

Currently I’m working on a fictionalized account of the true story of my ancestors’ massacre during the French and Indian War. I get a lot of contacts from members of my extended family who’ve heard I’m writing it and are anxious to read it. The story is quite well known in the Amish and Mennonite communities, so it has a ready-made market. But considering all the interest we’re currently seeing in anything Amish, I’m convinced this story will reach a wider audience as well. Of course, I’m also working on book 4 of my series, Crucible of War, and hope to release that within 2-3 years. It takes a lot of research to ensure that the story is historically accurate, and that slows me down!

Where can visitors find you online?

My Web site is www.jmhochstetler.com. I have several blogs, which I update whenever I find the time: americanpatriotseries.blogspot.com, oneholynight.blogspot.com, lampofhistory.blogspot.com, and northkill.blogspot.com. You can also learn more about my books on the Sheaf House Web site at www.sheafhouse.com.