Jan was raised in Michigan, and since her marriage more than thirty years ago has lived throughout the Midwest. Her first love was homeschooling, but when her youngest son graduated she asked God to give her something useful to do for the next phase of her life. The answer was a computer and the deep well of family stories handed down from her parents and grandparents. A lover of history and the outdoors, Jan spends her spare time hiking in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her family.