An Introduction

    After thirty years in Corporate America, Joan Fernandez decided to keep a promise she'd made to herself many years ago as a young college student: She would follow her dream to become a novelist.

   In 2018, Joan "moved over on the bench,"  retiring from her career as a senior marketing executive and general partner of the investment firm,  Edward Jones, to begin an entirely new endeavor as a historical fiction writer. Her steep learning curve has been both sweet and rocky, but also buoyant with hope. Turning to skills she'd learned in business— especially the collaboration and fun of teamwork—in April 2020, she founded a Historical Fiction affinity group within the Women's Fiction Writers Association that grew from a handful of people to nearly two hundred authors. This group became, and is, a treasured resource. 

    Today, Joan's  short story, “A Parisian Daughter,” is published in the anthology, Feisty Deeds: Historical Fictions of Daring Women. Her debut novel, Saving Vincent, A Novel of Jo van Gogh, will publish in April 2025.

    Joan is a sought-after public speaker, recently presenting “Top 10 Secrets for Forming a Vibrant, Lasting Author Community” at the Historical Novel Society UK (digital) Conference in May 2024. She also presented “How to Portray the Past Truthfully without Harm” at the Tenth Anniversary Conference for the Women’s Fiction Writers Association in September 2023. 

    Joan calls both St. Louis and Sedona, Arizona, home, enjoys foodie meals with her Cuban husband and antics with grandkids.