When did Jan Karon start writing Mitford series books?

The first book in the Mitford Years series, "At Home in Mitford," was published in 1994. As of 2015, nine other books have been released in the series and a second edition of the original novel was published in 2005.

The Mitford Years novels are a series of character-driven Christian-themed novels about the residents of the small fictional town of Mitford, N.C. The central character is Tim, a local Episcopalian pastor and rector who helps the town residents with various small problems that crop up throughout their daily lives. The tone of the books is generally humorous and heart warming, with occasional chaste romantic interludes.