Joann KlusmeyerJoann was born in 1933 in the Arkansas mountains during the Great Depression, into the family of a pioneer minister. Fascinated with pencils and paper from an early age, she developed a love for reading and storytelling. Encouraged by her older siste, who aspired to be a teacher, Joann learned to read early, with her first book being an ABC book. Her limited access to books only fueled her imagination, leading her to create her own stories and rhymes.Growing up attending church regularly due to her father's ministry, Joann was exposed to many people and the values of hard-working settlers in the Midwest. These experiences deeply influenced her writing. Her work reflects the lives and attitudes of her childhood, enriched with imagination. She gravitated toward historical fiction, particularly stories from around 1900, inspired by her grandmother's tales and her own memories of a bygone era. Read More Read Less