Amber Schamel is back at the Mine!!

 

 

 

Hey Amber. J It’s been a minute since you’ve been on the blog. How are things going?

Things are going well, but so busy!

I hear you’re getting ready to release your third book in the Days of Messiah series, The Master’s Calling. Can you give us a bit about that?

Yes! And I'm very excited to share the conclusion of the series with the world. This book has a lot more action than the previous ones, and my hope is that it will really bring the period of Jesus' death to life.

Amber will be givng away a copy of her ebook to one lucky person chosen from the comments section at the end of the week, so don’t forget to leave contact details! J

 

 

Can you tell us what it’s like to be Amber Schamel right now?

Haha, I could. But you wouldn't believe me. ;) I just got back from an extended trip on the 16th, and I'm leaving again on Tuesday to volunteer at a non-profit ranch for the month of November. Oh, and I'm editing a book, releasing another, and trying to first draft another.

What can we expect from you in the future?

My love is historical fiction, so you can always count on that from me. For now, I'm revising one of my bestselling books, and also writing a novel set during the Civil War, which is a little bit different than the Biblical Fiction I've done up to this point.

Tell us a bit about your new book. It’s release is scheduled for November second, right?

Yes, November 2nd, and I'm throwing a facebook party on the 5th that you're all invited to! It will be a TON of fun with trivia, lots of giveaways (because I LOVE those things), and chat about books, history and Jesus.

Anyway, back to The Master's Calling. This is a story about a young man who has a dream of becoming a disciple of Jesus...but when he finally gets to Jerusalem, it's too late. Here's the blurb.

After generations of waiting, the Messiah has come at last. And not a day too soon. All his life, Malon Ben-Tyrus has been stifled beneath Roman laws and religious traditions, and he longs to be free. The oppression of the Romans worsens every day, and the religious system led by the Scribes and Pharisees has grown corrupt.

Malon believes his life calling is to become a disciple of the Messiah and help free Israel from bondage.  When Jesus heads to Jerusalem for the Passover feast, Malon knows this will be a historic event. Jesus will enter the city as the Son of David and take His place as the Messiah of Israel. He longs to follow Jesus to Jerusalem, but his family won't allow him to go.

When at last his family consents, Malon arrives in Jerusalem only to discover that he is too late. The man he thought to be the Messiah has been crucified, and Barabbas—his greatest enemy—has been set free.

Appalled by the cowardice of Jesus' disciples, Malon returns home seething with frustration and despair. Everything he believed he was destined to become died with Jesus. Was he wrong about his destiny?

How does it feel to finish this series?

AMAZING!!!! I'm so glad this is an internet interview, because my happy dance and whoops and hollers would probably weird most of ya'll out.

What does this series mean to you, and are you going to miss it? I know when I finish a work, I feel a sense of regret.

Hmm....I've been working on this series for three years, so yes and no. In one way, I am so glad to have finally finished, finally accomplish THE END on the last one. At the same time, I will miss it some. And there are more stories that COULD be written, but I feel like it's time to move on.

This whole series started with one super short story. Like a 1500 word story. Folks told me I should expand it, and when I decided to do that, the Lord dropped the stories of the second and third books into my heart, and I just had to get them out. I wrote a lot of myself into these characters, so I will miss them. Their world is so exciting. Living in the time when Jesus walked the earth...I'm almost jealous of them. :)

I would have to agree. J

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Growing up, I loved to read. But as I got older, I started realizing how much immoral and terrible literature there is out there. That's when I felt the call to write wholesome, Christ-centered fiction.

I feel the same way. There is so much we can do to balance that scale, I think.

Have you accomplished what you wanted to, or did things turn out differently than you first supposed?

Things have definitely turned out differently than I supposed, but I can see God's hand at work, and I feel confident that I'm where I'm supposed to be. There are stories that I wanted to write, but haven't been written because God asked me to write something else. Many things like that along this journey.

What is your favorite part of the writing process, and your least favorite?

 

That is really hard to say...I love the research. I love the actual writing. And I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with editing. I guess formatting and marketing are my least favorite.

I’m with you on that one. I hate editing. I haven’t had the “pleasure” of marketing yet, but I’m sure I would hate that, too. J

Thanks for coming on such short notice Amber! Congratulations on your new book and may you have many more successes.

Thank you so much, Misty! I'm honored to be on the blog again.

 

Bio:

 

Author of over half a dozen books, Amber Schamel writes riveting stories that bring HIStory to life. She has a passion for travel, history, books and her Savior. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest".  She lives in Colorado and spends half her time volunteering in the Ozarks. Visit her online at www.AmberSchamel.com/