work at home

Equestrian Consultant Writes Series of Suspense Novels

“I have wanted to write novels as long as I can remember,” recalls Jan Neuharth, suspense writer and daughter of USA Today founder Al Neuharth. “As a child, I was a book worm and especially loved reading mysteries.”    
             
But it wasn’t until later in life that Jan realized this dream, first practicing corporate law, and then teaming up with her husband, Joseph Keusch, to run Paper Chase Farms, a 115-acre full-service equestrian center in Middleburg, Virginia. 

After selling the equestrian center in 2000, Jan and Joseph shifted their focus to equestrian consulting and to the development and sales of equestrian products. It was also at this time that Jan began working on her two novels, “The Hunt” and “The Chase,” foxhunting mysteries set in the Virginia hunt country.

Deciding what to write about was easy for the life-long horse enthusiast. “Living in the Virginia hunt country is what inspires the plots for my novels: The area is picturesque, the local characters often eccentric, and the foxhunting world is shrouded in mystique if not mystery,” shares Jan. “Following the axiom of ‘write what you know,’ I set my novels in our local foxhunting community, and my main characters are attorneys and/or horse people.”

Jan self-published both books, launching Paper Chase Farms Publishing Group (www.PaperChaseFarms.com) in 2003, and marketed them to a niche market of horse lovers and equestrian retailers. She has received much literary praise for her work, and book sales have far surpassed her initial expectations. Jan is now adding a third novel to her Hunt Country Suspense Series.

Spending the majority of her time writing or running the equestrian products business, Jan works exclusively from home. “The best part about working from home is flexibility. I fashion my schedule around the busy lives of our teenagers, and I am involved with many non-profit and community boards,” says the mother of two. “Although I often write or handle business matters until the wee hours of the morning, it is worth it to me to have the flexibility to spend time out of the office during the day when necessary.” HBM