Janette Oke, the author of the “When Calls the Heart” book series that inspired Hallmark’s hit show, just shared a big announcement with her fans on November 19. Oke revealed that she’s publishing a fiction novel with a bold new setting that’s very different from what she’s written before.
Janette Oke’s New Book Is Set in Ancient Israel
The announcement came during an interview with the Edify Show.
At 36 minutes into the interview, the Edify Show announced that Oke is working on a new book.
“It will be very different,” Oke promised. “But it’s been exciting as well.”
The book will be released around Easter 2025, she shared, and it’s called “The Pharisee’s Wife.” (According to Amazon, the book is releasing on March 11, 2025.)
The book already has a listing on Amazon where it can be pre-ordered. Amazon’s description reads:
Like most young women in ancient Israel, Mary has little control over her own destiny. When Enos, a rising Pharisee, sees her one day in the market―the most beautiful woman he has ever laid eyes on―and determines to make her his wife, Mary’s fate is quickly sealed. His exorbitant bride price is the only hope her parents have of escaping abject poverty, but surely the fact that such a devout and esteemed man has chosen a girl of her station must be a sign of blessing.
When Mary enters training to become the proper Pharisee’s wife, it is as though she has been abandoned in a foreign land, where one misstep could cost her greatly. That feeling only deepens when she discovers Enos is all she feared he might be, treating her merely as a prize he has won―and worse. Then rumors of a miracle-working, traveling Prophet change everything, and Mary and Enos are swept up in events that will challenge all they hold dear and forever alter both their futures.
Oke’s books are typically set in the pioneer era. Her very first novel was “Love Comes Softly,” published in 1979. She’s also written the “A Prairie Legacy” series, the “Seasons of the Heart” series, the “Canadian West” series (aka “When Calls the Heart,”) “Return to the Canadian West,” the “When Hope Calls” series, standalone “Women of the West” books, and co-written books in the “Acts of Faith” and “Songs of Acadia” series. Oke also has an “Animal Friends” series of books.
Her most recent book was “Unfailing Love,” published in 2022. It was part of the “When Hope Calls” series.
She’s Thrilled Melissa Gilbert Is Joining ‘When Calls the Heart’
During the interview with the Edify Show, Oke was also asked how she felt about Melissa Gilbert joining “When Calls the Heart.”
“That’s fabulous,” she said. “And I think it’s going to tie a whole bunch of people together once again…”
She said that when she heard the news about Gilbert, she first felt “surprise and then excitement.”
“I think it’s going to be a very good thing,” she added, sharing that she thinks this will pull the two groups — “When Calls the Heart” fans and “Little House on the Prairie” fans — together “in a unique way.”
Oke’s first book, “Love Comes Softly,” was also her first work that was adapted for television. Her books were made into a series of movies. The Edify Show broadcast also shared an older interview with Oke where she talked about how she felt when her book was adapted for TV.
“One thing you have to prepare yourself for your work being adapted into another media,” she said. “And I had done that… I told myself, ‘Now you’re going to watch this as though it’s a brand new story, not connected with your book at all…’ By doing that that I could really appreciate what Michael had done in the film and he did retain a lot from what the book had presented. To see the characters live and to watch them on the set it was a real thrill for me.”
Over time, the movies departed from the books, she said. But even though they didn’t match, they still “retained that message that I hope to present as well.”
“Love Comes Softly” was the first in a series of Western romance movies for Hallmark that began in 2003. In total, 11 movies were made, according to IMDb. The last, a Christmas movie, premiered in 2011.
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