BY AVELLINA BALESTRI

Avellina Balestri: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.

J.M. Hochstetler: I’m the daughter of Mennonite farmers and grew up on a farm near Kokomo, Indiana. My first language was the Indiana variant of what’s commonly called Pennsylvania Dutch, now officially Pennsylvania German because it isn’t Dutch! Both of my parents were raised Amish. However, my father, who never joined the Amish Church and evidently was a bit of a rebel, received his draft notice late in 1940 and actually went into the Army in March 1941 for a 1-year enlistment. He returned home in September 1945 after some exciting times in the South Pacific and married my mother, who was Mennonite by then. So he joined the church and became a faithful Mennonite.

I graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Germanic Languages and minors in sociology and history. I have three daughters, all grown, plus four grandchildren and a great-grandson in the offing. Along the way I held a number of secretarial jobs that persuaded me that I was really meant to be a writer. I embarked on that journey and in the midst of it served as an editor with the United Methodist Publishing House in Nashville, Tennessee, for many years. The first two books of my American Patriot Series were published with Zondervan during that period, but it turned out not to be a happy experience. Thankfully I did finally get the pub rights back. 

After being laid off as the business of publishing changed, in a moment of exuberant insanity I decided to found my own small publishing empire, Sheaf House Publishers. After a few years I had to cut back on the business and currently maintain the books of only two authors besides myself. I no longer take on any outside book projects, instead focusing on my own. 

Avellina Balestri: What first inspired you to start writing?

J.M. Hochstetler: I became an avid reader on meeting Dick and Jane in first grade and read anything that had words on it, including the proverbial backs of cereal boxes. As I got older some of the books I read persuaded me that I could at least write that well! While studying at the Indiana University-Kokomo Campus, I became a reporter for the student newspaper, which was tremendous fun and gave me my first taste of writing something other than term papers and essay exams.

In my high school English literature class, we read Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and later as a young wife and mother I was drawn to the Shakespearean tragedies, especially Hamlet, which I reread numerous times. I read a few of the comedies, too, but to this day they don’t engage my interest. What does that say about me??? Anyway, during that period I mainly wrote poetry, all the while devouring novels. I was in my 30s before I began seriously contemplating writing one myself. The experts tell you to write what you love, and I was most strongly drawn to historical fiction.

Avellina Balestri: How did you first become interested in history, and what are your favorite time periods?

J.M. Hochstetler: I’m a direct descendant of Jacob Hochstetler who immigrated with his wife and children to this country in 1738. They settled in the Northkill Amish settlement at the base of the Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania on the border between the English settlements and French and Indian territory. In 1757 they were caught up in the French and Indian War when a band of Indians raided their farm, killing three members of the family and carrying Jacob and two of his sons into captivity. It’s a story well-known among the Amish and Mennonites, and it piqued my interest in early American history. 

My favorite time periods to research and write about are eighteenth-century America, Medieval Europe, and, currently, WWII America. I’m also contemplating the early American Federal period and might get into that after I finish my current project, a Mennonite WWII romance. I have a medieval epic tragedy stored away that I’d love to update and publish, but unfortunately tragedies aren’t popular, so that’s probably not a good choice as far as sales are concerned.

Avellina Balestri: What started you on the journey of historical fiction writing in particular?

J.M. Hochstetler: I had a dream. Literally! The dream was so unusual and provoking that it compelled me to write my first novel so I could figure out who these people were and why they were doing what they were doing. That turned into a medieval epic tragedy, undoubtedly influenced by Hamlet, which I am determined to publish someday! I did extensive research on the Holy Roman Empire, the first Crusades, and fascinating stuff like hunting with falcons before I set it aside and dove into the American Revolution. 

Avellina Balestri: What are your favorite and least favorite parts of working within the historical fiction genre?

J.M. Hochstetler: My favorite part is having a historical framework to weave my story into. I love to drop my fictional characters into the midst of real historical events and characters and see what happens. I do extensive research to make the story accurate and authentic to the time and to represent the real actors consistently with how they’re portrayed in historical sources. I incorporate as much of the historical figures’ written and spoken words, as well as actions, that fit into my story, which I find really fun to do.

My least favorite part is having a historical framework and characters that I have to adhere to, which is admittedly constricting. On the positive side, that also prevents me from veering too far off into fantasy. I want my readers to be entertained by the story, otherwise they won’t read it. But my secret intent is to accurately teach readers about a particular historical time, place, and event.

Avellina Balestri: How have you chosen which historical characters to feature in your books, and what made their stories resonate with you?

J.M. Hochstetler: The main characters in the Northkill Amish Series resonated deeply with me because they’re my ancestors. Many of the other characters who appear in the series are real people too. I and my cousin and coauthor, well-known pastor, author, editor, and agent Bob Hostetler, based the characters that appear in the series on the real people involved in what’s called the Hochstetler Massacre that happened in 1757. We used historical records from our family’s huge genealogy book, The Descendants of Jacob Hochstetler, which details not only our ancestor’s descendants, but also what was known of their lives and the Massacre back in 1912, when the book was first published. We also had available the extensive and ongoing research done by family historians since then. We were very, very lucky to have a great deal of historical material available to flesh out our ancestors and their experiences, but that also made much of the writing really wrenching.

As far as the American Patriot Series is concerned, back in 1982 I watched a TV movie, The Scarlet Pimpernel, starring Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour, and Ian McKellan. The characters were fantastic, the story so full of pathos, romance, improbabilities, and falling-down-on-the-floor-laughing comedy that I knew I had to write my own version. Call it early fan fiction. Anyway, the characters resonated with my adventurous and romantic side, and my imagination ran wild. 

The problem was that the movie was set during the French Revolution, an event I had no interest in at all. Then it occurred to me that we here in America have our own Revolution, and it was game on! The twist was that I wanted my Sir Percy to be a woman and Marguerite’s character to be a man. The first worked out perfectly in Elizabeth Howard. As for the second, I very quickly realized that he had to have a much, much stronger role in order to be a suitable counterpart to the heroine. In fact, he essentially had to be Ian McKellen’s character, Chauvelin. With a twist. And that’s how Jonathan Carleton was born. 

Avellina Balestri: What is your process in terms of research and bringing historical characters to life?

J.M. Hochstetler: I consult as many historical sources and bios as I can get my hands on, both printed and online, to determine what qualities people of the particular social and economic status I assigned them would have and how they would have acted. What would be possible, and what wouldn’t fit historically? Then as I start writing my characters, they begin to take form through their reactions to the historical events I immerse them in and the obstacles I put in their way. They always surprise and delight me as unexpected aspects of their nature surface. 

Avellina Balestri: What is your method to integrate fictional characters and situations into the historical setting?

J.M. Hochstetler: Scenes, both historical and fictional, suggest themselves to me as I do focused research. I drop my fictional characters into the historical scenes with the real people amid the real events and see what happens. Fictional scenes involving my characters’ personal lives then grow out of those according to their individual natures and the personal histories I’ve invented for them. 

I’ve learned not to try to force my characters to do what I want them to. It’s always more entertaining, not to mention more realistic, to allow them to respond according to their nature and backstory. The most fun I’ve ever had in writing, and the most eye-opening, have been scenes in my American Patriot Series where Jonathan Carleton repeatedly butts heads with George Washington or with his fictional French agent, Louis Teissèdre. Many times I was typing as fast as I could while laughing hysterically as the scene flowed from my fingers. I generally ended up having to do very little editing in those cases. That’s what makes writing novels so satisfying and addictive! 

Avellina Balestri: If you had the chance to convey a message to your favorite historical characters, what would it be?

J.M. Hochstetler: I’d tell Elizabeth Howard not to run ahead of the Lord’s leading, but to follow as He directs, trusting that He will faithfully guard her steps and lead her to the true desires of her heart.

To Jonathan Carleton I’d say, the Lord’s grace is sufficient for you and His mercy unfailing. There’s no sin so dark that His blood can’t cover it, no failure that He can’t redeem, and no place you can run to that He won’t pursue and draw you back to His arms.

Avellina Balestri: What do you find more enjoyable/difficult: First drafts or editing/rewriting?

J.M. Hochstetler: The first draft, absolutely. The truth is that I’m an editor at heart. I do my best work when I’m editing existing text. I have a very annoying and hard to break habit of agonizing over and fiddling with every word of every sentence as I go, which, of course, slows the writing down tremendously. With the first draft you’re not yet sure what’s going to make the final cut—or not—so I often end up with parts I’ve labored over and absolutely love that I have to ruthlessly take the scissors to. 

Avellina Balestri: How have you gone about publicizing yourself and your works?

J.M. Hochstetler: My book promotion budget is unfortunately small, so I depend heavily on networking and social media. I also use online book promo sites like Ereader News and have accounts with Written Word Media and BooksGoSocial that run promo features at a reasonable cost. For creating professional graphics, I use BookBrush, which is a bit pricey but allows you to create some lovely images. You can even create book covers through their platform. 

Avellina Balestri: What are some of the main themes/morals you would like readers to take away from your works?

J.M. Hochstetler: God is real and is involved in history and all the affairs of humankind. He loves us and can be trusted because He is always working for our good. Jesus died on the cross to redeem us from the penalty of sin, and all we have to do is to take hold of the lifeline He casts to us in the raging sea of our own making. If we have a personal relationship with Him, He will use the trials we face in life for our good and that of those whose lives we intersect. There is no greater joy than in serving our Creator.

Avellina Balestri: What is some advice you would give aspiring authors, especially those focusing on the historical fiction genre? 

J.M. Hochstetler: Write where your heart is. Never take any of your assumptions for granted. Research, research, research, but use the best, most accurate sources. Write compelling characters who will grip your audience, and then allow them to speak and act naturally as they reveal themselves to you. Seek God’s guidance in your work. It’s He who called you to it.

Avellina Balestri: Plug your socials, published works, and current projects!

J.M. Hochstetler: You’ll find me on:

Facebook: @joan.hochstetler

Instagram: @jmhochstetler

MeWe: @jmhochstetler.95

Author website: www.jmhochstetler.com

American Patriot Series: www.theamericanpatriotseries.com

American Patriot Series blog: americanpatriotseries.blogspot.com

Published Works

The American Patriot Series

Daughter of Liberty

Native Son

Wind of the Spirit

Crucible of War

Valley of the Shadow

Refiner’s Fire

Forge of Freedom

Northkill Amish Series

Northkill

The Return

One Holy Night

Forthcoming

A Season for the Heart

Projects under development

Darke Valley, American Federal Period

Jigsaw, Cuban Missile Crisis thriller

Falkenberg, medieval