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Janette Oke pioneered inspirational fiction and is the leading author in the category today. Love Comes Softly, Janette’s first novel, has sold over 1 million copies. Janette is now the best selling author of over 40 books, 32 of which have been translated into fourteen languages. Janette receives fan mail from all over the world and answers each letter personally She received the 1992 President’s Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association for her significant contribution to Christian fiction, and has been awarded the coveted Gold Medallion Award for fiction. Janette and her husband, Edward, have four grown children and nine grandchildren and make their home in Canada.



Janette Oke was born in Champion, Alberta, during the depression years, to a Canadian prairie farmer and his wife. She is a graduate of Mountain View Bible College in Didsbury, Alberta, where she met her husband, Edward. They were married in May of 1957 and went on to pastor churches in Indiana as well as Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The Okes have three sons and one daughter and are enjoying the addition of grandchildren to the family. Edward and Janette have both been active in their local church, serving in various capacities as Sunday school teachers and board members. They make their home near Calgary, Alberta.


Janette Oke is one of my all-time favourite authors.  She is a well-loved author among the Christian Historical Fiction genre as well.  She writes with clarity, feeling, descriptive phrases, and a poignancy that moves the reader to anger, happiness, despair, sadness, and joy all within the same novel.  I have shed many tears and laughed with mirthful abandon, sometimes within the same chapter.  She is particularly well-known and loved for her prairie stories, often depicting strong women facing incredible odds against nature and enemies of mankind as they struggle for their existence and that of their families in a harsh and sometimes hostile environment.  Lately, Mrs. Oke has ventured into telling stories set in different historical time frames such as her recent Acadian novels, The Meeting Place and The Sacred Shore.


Janette Oke has also written many children’s books as well. I have not had a chance to read any of her children’s books yet, but they look as delightful and entertaining as her adult fiction books.