JoAnn Davis

Joann Davis has spent most of her career working with books. A former news editor at Publishers Weekly, an editor at the publishing imprints Warner Books, William Morrow, and HarperCollins, Davis acquired and edited a number of best-sellers, among them The Celestine Prophecy. Her latest project is The Book of the Shepherd (HarperStudio), part allegory, part adventure. Davis "discovered" this rare antiquarian book in the disheveled study of an old Vermont farmhouse and felt obligated to get the volume translated. It took nearly a year, with help from experts at great universities who could discern the strange hybrid language in which the text is written. The result is The Book of the Shepherd, a timeless story, full of life lessons for us all.

Inspired by her career in publishing and as a writer and the message of The Book of the Shepherd, Davis has spoken at conferences, universities, and writers' groups across the country. She is the author of nine books including, The Best Things in Life Aren't Things, What I Love Most About You, The Little Secret that Can Change Your Life, and A Friend is a Gift. Her books have been published in Italy, Mexico, Japan, and Indonesia.

Set in a mythical time, in an unnamed land, The Book of the Shepherd opens with a small boy being mercilessly beaten by his father in the market. A shepherd who witnesses the beating knows it is done in accordance with the law of filial infractions. But the shepherd wonders if there is another way besides the harsh code of "an eye for an eye" that guides his world.

Called by a dream, the shepherd sets off on an uncertain journey to find "the new way." Accompanied by Elizabeth, a former slave who radiates a spirit of relentless goodness and "reckless generosity;" and David, the boy beaten in the market who must learn to walk in new shoes, the shepherd leads his new friends over hills and dale, through villages and towns, guided by an old map given to Elizabeth by her dying grandfather. The travelers press on, motivated by the prediction of Elizabeth's grandfather that "an age of miracles" will come when the new way is found.

But the journey is long and not without incident.

As Joshua, Elizabeth, and David head toward a treacherous cave beneath the cliffs near the Great Inland Sea, they meet a cast of extraordinary characters, including The Story Teller, the Apothecary, the Blind Man, and the Stranger. Each imparts an important story and lesson that pushes the travelers toward their encounter with destiny. Reaching the cave, where profound secrets have long been hidden, Joshua will be severely tested to see if he can "bring forth what is within him." But he, Elizabeth, and David will also discover an important truth...sometimes the treasure we seek has been inside us all along.

Davis is married to New York Times best-selling author Kenneth C. Davis, who wrote the million-copy-selling book Don't Know Much About History and instant best-seller America's Hidden History. They have two grown children and divide their time between New York City and Dorset, Vermont.

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