Bestselling Author To Speak At Garden Spot Village

Jo Ann Brown has been writing since she was 11 or 12 years old. She put aside her hopes of becoming a writer in college and while serving in the Army and raising a family, but in 1984, she began recording her thoughts again, and by 1987, she had sold her first historical romance. "Nothing Wagered," written under the name Jo Ann Ferguson, was published in 1988.

How the national bestselling author moved from writing romance novels to writing Christian romances featuring Amish characters will be the subject of the New Holland Area Historical Society (NHAHS) presentation scheduled to be held on Thursday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. in the chapel at Garden Spot Village, 433 S. Kinzer Ave., New Holland.

Prior to 2007, Jo Ann entered the inspirational market writing under the name Jo Ann Brown. Her first book in that genre was "Thomas Kinkade's Home for Christmas." The editor she worked with on that book then asked if she would be interested in writing fiction about the Amish community. Jo Ann and her husband had lived in West Chester in the 1990s, and having majored in history, Jo Ann was experienced at doing research. She and her husband headed to Lancaster County to begin learning about Plain culture. "I was familiar with the area," said Jo Ann, "but I had a lot of assumptions about the Amish, and I knew those were most likely not true."

During her visit to Lancaster, Jo Ann talked with members of the Amish community, stopping at yard sales and chatting with anyone willing to talk to her. She also bought books about the sect and started researching. "The assumptions went away, and they (became) real people," said Jo Ann.

Two years ago, Jo Ann and her husband moved from Florida to New Holland, and her understanding of Amish culture deepened. "I go to the grocery store, and (members of the Plain community) buy the same things I do, but they choose to live their lives in a different way," she said.

Before Jo Ann wrote plots involving the Amish, she wrote Regency romances, which are set in the early 1800s. The subgenre, she noted, follows a "strict moral framework" for behavior between men and women. "To move from that (to writing stories featuring Amish characters) was not a really big step," Jo Ann commented. "It was a comfortable transition. I just had to learn all the new rules."

The program is open to the public. More information about NHAHS may be found at https://nhhistorical.com or by searching for "New Holland Area Historical Society" on Facebook.

Information about Jo Ann and the many books she has written may be found at http://www.joannbrownbooks.com.