Interview with our own J.M. Hochstetler!

J. M. Hochstetler writes stories that always involve some element of the past and of finding home. Born in central Indiana, the daughter of Mennonite farmers, she was an editor with Abingdon Press for twelve years and has published three historical novels. Daughter of Liberty (2004), Native Son (2005), and Wind of the Spirit (March, 2009), the first 3 books of the "American Patriot Series", are set during the American Revolution. She is also the author of a contemporary novel, One Holy Night (2008) a modern-day retelling of the Christmas story.

Hochstetler is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Christian Authors Network, Middle Tennessee Christian Writers, and Historical Novels Society. She also coordinates book reviews for Favorite PASTimes. She lives with her husband near Nashville, Tennessee.


Welcome Joan. What would you like to tell us about your latest novel, Wind of the Spirit?

Thank you for having me! I feel right at home here, strangely enough. Imagine that!

Wind of the Spirit is the third book of my "American Patriot Series", which is set during the American Revolution. It will take my characters through the entire conflict from beginning to end. This volume begins right where Native Son left off and follows Elizabeth through the Battle of Brooklyn, then on a dangerous journey with Colonel Charles Andrews to find Jonathan among the Shawnee. It ends just before Washington’s army crosses the Delaware to attack Trenton.

By the beginning of your second book, Native Son, the two love interests, Elizabeth Howard and Jonathan Carleton, are committed to one another, but unable to act on their relationship publicly because of the roles that they play in the Patriot cause. How are you able to balance the tension?

To create a really exciting and compelling story, you have to torture your characters and tease your readers, and that’s something I love to do! Throughout the series, both characters constantly face the threat that their clandestine roles will be exposed and they’ll face capture and execution. So that keeps the tension high. Another element is keeping Elizabeth and Jonathan apart long enough to make it agonizing for them, but not long enough that they would realistically give up on each other or that I wear out my readers.



Both of these characters are passionate people who are totally committed to the cause they’re fighting for. So even though they love each other dearly and ache to be with each other, their relationship isn’t the only aspect of their lives. Unlike typical historical romances where the hero and heroine’s relationship is the story, Jonathan and Elizabeth are whole, complete, and complex people who bring their individual strengths to each other and to the cause they’re fighting for. I’ve enjoyed the challenge of showing how they remain in each other’s hearts and minds even when they’re following God’s calling while apart.

I find the colonial through Revolutionary War periods of U.S. history very inspirational. Many people think that the Founding Fathers were all deists, like Benjamin Franklin, but so many of them had a deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ. The importance of faith during that time comes through in your books. Is there anything particular that you hope your readers will take away about this aspect of colonial life?

I hope readers come away with the realization that Christian belief was embedded in the founding of our nation so deeply that it affects us today. Washington, Jefferson, and many, many other high-level leaders of the period testified to a belief in Jesus Christ even though some of them, notably Jefferson, held what many of us today would consider very liberal theologies. Specific scriptures from the Bible also influenced decisions the Constitutional Convention made in structuring our government. The Wallbuilders site is a great resource for detailed information on this subject.

I’m praying readers will take our godly heritage seriously. We are what we are today as a nation because the United States was founded on Christian principles and beliefs. We ignore or disconnect from that heritage at our peril.


Is there anything else that you would hope they might gain a fresh perspective on from "American Patriot Series"?


Yes—how exciting and fun the study of history is! Unfortunately we first encounter history through school textbooks, which give most students the impression that history is boring. They never learn how relevant the past is to our lives today. But once you start delving into different historical eras, you encounter fascinating characters and thrilling, scary, and intriguing events that sound surprisingly familiar because we see many of the same things happening all around us.



There’s a lot of truth in the old adage that says, “Those who refuse to learn from history will be condemned to repeat it.” At one point or another, we’ve undoubtedly experienced it in our personal lives, and we sure see it on the world scene. That’s a large part of the reason why I write stories about the past. History teaches us that we are part of the stream of life and part of the legacy of faith that runs through our own families and our nation from the very beginning. We’re part of something bigger than ourselves. History enriches our lives and gives them meaning and purpose. And it equips us to be responsible citizens, parents, teachers, and disciples. It’s the roadmap of history that enables us to learn from and hopefully avoid repeating past mistakes.

The other reason why I write historical fiction, of course, is that it’s just downright fun, and I love to make it fun for my readers! I’ve had people tell me that they hated studying history in school, but that in reading my novels, suddenly this period, these events, and the lives of the people of the time opened up to them and became real. That’s why I’m a devoted history junkie!

Colonial/Revolutionary War history seems to have fallen out of favor with the Christian book market for some time. We’ve come a long way from the sacrifices made by those who believed in forming an independent nation under God. Do you think that during times like these, when our religious freedoms could be possibly challenged, while abortion rights are unbridled in our nation, that people will once again look to the inspiration of the Founding Fathers?

I hate to agree with you, but you’re right. I’m praying that our nation will look to our founding generation for inspiration and guidance once again , and I think many people are. But I see a lot that discourages me too. In a Sunday school class a while back, one gentleman casually remarked that, of course, everyone in the class was opposed to the war on terrorism—which turned out not to be true, by the way. Another class member felt that if only our leaders tried harder, we could negotiate an end to the war. If only everyone just tried harder, we would all be able to live together in peace. Sadly, that’s never happened in the course of thousands of years of history.



I couldn’t help thinking back to an eerily similar situation in Europe in the 1930s. A very instructive book that relates directly to the current world situation is William Manchester’s The Last Lion: William Spencer Churchill, Alone 1932-1940. For those who prefer to learn from history instead of repeating it, I highly recommend this book as well as a sober reading of Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death” speech—which you can find on my web site, by the way.

During the 1930s Churchill was almost alone in warning that appeasing Hitler would result in disaster. Astoundingly, British and French leaders chose to believe Hitler’s assurances to them and ignore his published writings and widely broadcast speeches to the German public, his open threats, his aggressive actions, and reams of intelligence detailing the tremendous buildup of the German war machine.

In May, 1936, during a speech before the House of Commons, Churchill said, “When the situation was manageable it was neglected, and now that it is thoroughly out of hand, we apply too late the remedies which then might have effected a cure. There is nothing new in the story. It is as old as the Sibylline books. It falls into that long, dismal catalogue of the fruitlessness of experience and the confirmed unteachability of mankind. Want of foresight, unwillingness to act when action would be simple and effective, lack of clear thinking, confusion of counsel until the emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong—these are the features which constitute the endless repetition of history (The Last Lion, p. 140).”

Now, I’m a pretty hopeful and positive person. But I confess that as a historian I look at current events with the heartsick feeling that, having refused to learn from millennia of disheartening history, we’re condemning ourselves to yet another installment of this vicious cycle. The most important reason I’m writing this series is to encourage our citizens to learn from history before we lose the precious heritage our founding generation sacrificed so much to secure for us. I’d hate to think that their blood was poured out in vain.

I couldn't agree more, Joan.

What are your favorite resources for researching? How much time do you spend on research?

Join us again tomorrow for the answer to this and more!

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