Series Ender, Series Starter wtih Julie B. Cosgrove

If you check your clock, you'll find a amazing discovery. Julie B. Cosgrove is back on the Mine! Her final installment of her series has arrived. First, she started the pendulum moving with Hush in the Storm, followed by Legitimate Lies, a real roller-coaster ride. Now, Freed to Forgive just hit the shelves on Oct. 23rd. How exciting!  Time's a wasting and I cant wait to get a copy. And Julie's got a $5.00 Amazon gift certificate to giveaway to one blessed commenter. So don't miss it!

PT:  Welcome Julie! I'm so excited for the third book in this series! What makes this one unique?

JC:  Thanks. I am as well. It is unique in that it written in the third person, whereas the other two were in first person. This one follows three lives which intertwine and all come together in the end as God orchestrates it for the benefit and healing of all involved. The others simply followed one character as she told her story. To be honest, this one is, as one reviewer stated, more gritty, but is told in as tasteful a manner with veiled descriptions of what human trafficking victims go through. I felt I had to lead the reader through her ten-year journey from trafficked to triumph so they could rejoice when they see how God moves in the background to heal and redeem her. That is the third unique thing—the plot extends into the near future of 2023. I spent a good amount of time teleconferencing with legislators, immigration attorneys and social workers to brainstorm what is coming down the pike in the next few years to provide assistance for these victims who have flooded our society.

PT:  That sounds like quite a challenge. What turned you toward writing a series about the sex slavery rings?

JC:  That was a God thing. I began to write a suspense novel and slammed into a wall after the third chapter. I wasn’t sure where it was to lead, but I knew I wanted to go deeper in the plot to teach a lesson about God’s redemptive power. So I put it aside and prayed about it. Long story edited…within three weeks I met three different missionaries with three different anti human trafficking organizations. The light bulb clicked on. I should have that as a sub-theme. However, each novel has another theme as well. Hush in the Storm dealt with widowhood grief and betrayal, Legitimate Lies dealt with post abortion guilt and Freed to Forgive deals with how an unforgiving heart can shackle us to the past hurts in our lives and prevents us from moving forward. All three also have a touch of clean romance. So, each one is a stand-alone novel even though they involve the same characters.

Now that the trilogy is completed, I will continue to advocate for these victims. However, I must admit I am glad to move on and write about fun stuff…like murder!

PT:  Lol. I'm intrigued. What do you have up your sleeve???

JC:  I am excited to announce I have signed a three-book contract with Prism Book group to write a cozy mystery series called the Bunco Biddies. Twelve ladies live in a retirement community of about six hundred residents who range from condo living to nursing home facilities. They play Bunco every Thursday evening. The ring leader, Janie, is a widow of a homicide detective. Her daughter is now married to a police detective and Janie worries he doesn’t spend enough time with his family. So of course, she recruits her friends to help him solve the crimes in their area so he can make his kid’s concerts and intermural competitions. Yes, it is a humorous series. I hope this turns into six or more books. Having written one and into the second, I already love spending time with my Bunco Biddies. I hope readers will as well. A hint: there is a touch of romance in them as well.

PT:  I know you attended a writer's conference here recently in Dallas. What did you learn/accomplish while there? What was it like to meet people you’d only known online?

JC:  Yes, readers, Peggy and I got to finally meet and hug in real life at the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in September. This time, I came as a published author with a three-book contract, which made the event a lot more enjoyable because I wasn’t nervous about pitching to agents and editors.

I learned a great deal in a brainstorming session on marketing led be the head marketer for Bethany House. But most of all I reveled in the camaraderie of 500 other Christian writers. Since we all write for the same Person, Jesus Christ, there are no jealousies or competition. I was sorry we had to leave the belly of the whale (the basement of the hotel where we gathered and lived for three days) to go to Nineveh - back to reality and the real world.

PT:  Well, while we're stopping in Dallas, let's talk about your great state, Texas. Give us some unusual tidbits about it.

JC:  Got a while?? There have been books written on that subject. Briefly,

1. Texans are exceptionally proud of their state and because we were briefly our own country, we can fly our flag equally with the US flag…and do so - often!

2. Our state has every terrain imaginable from swamps to desert, plains to mountains to coastlands, farmlands to wastelands. And no, we don’t all have oil wells in our backyards. We do more and more have natural gas wells dotting our neighborhoods, though.

3. In Texas, any soft drink is a Coke. So a perfectly normal conversation is:

“Do you want a Coke?” 

“Sure, whatcha got?”

“Dr. Pepper, Big Red, Coke, Diet Coke, Orange, Sprite.”

“I’ll take a D.P.

PT:  I know readers can't wait to hear more about you. Perhaps you could tell us some of your favorite authors.

JC:  Why, Peggy Trotter of course! (wink, thanks, Julie!) Truly, I do love your novels. Prism has so many amazing authors like Anna Kittrel, DiAne Gates, Renee Blare, Vicki Pitts Caine, Brooke Williams, Gay N Lewis, Lindsey Paley, Carlene Havel, Rachel James…I could go on!

My favorite all time author was Mary Stewart. She wrote clean, British suspense romance. I also like Mary Daheim who writes clean cozy mysteries, especially her Bed and Breakfast series, Jan Caron, and Lillian Jackson Brown who wrote all of the Cat Who books. As far as the classics, I am a true Charles Dickens fan.

Wow. So much to look forward to from you, Julie! Thanks for stopping by. And don't forget folks, there's a $5.00 Amazon gift certificate in the offing! Leave a comment and your email address to be entered.

Freelance writer, author and professional speaker Julie B Cosgrove leads retreats, workshops, and Bible studies. She writes regularly for several Christian websites and devotional publications. In February, 2013, she was commissioned by an international relief and development fund to write a mission-based Bible study.

Julie has three Bible studies, a devotional, two inspirational books and four fiction novels published, and is currently contracted for five more novels. She is a member of North Texas Christian Writers, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, American Christian Fiction Writers, Toastmasters International, Daughters of the King, Texas Association of Authors and the Christian Writers Network. She's a spokesperson for Women at Risk, International, a Christian missionary effort to rescue women from sex slavery in 30 countries. Julie is widowed, has one grown son, and lives in Fort Worth, TX with two cats. She loves mysteries—especially British ones—and playing word games. Visit her blog: Where Did You Find God Today? And her website www.juliebcosgrove.com

Can't get enough???  Read on for an excerpt:

     The social worker’s kind gesture chinked the dam Marisol had formed. The waters flooded forth and she threw herself into Bonita’s shoulder, her own heaving softly. She cried for herself, for the child she neither wanted nor would ever know. Next, she wept for her stupid temper and her wasted life.

     The familiar fury began to merge, cementing the cracks to keep any more of her past from seeping through into her present. Gasping the last sniffles, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

     “I’m okay now. No big deal. It’s over, right?”

     Bonita smoothed the girl’s hair from her face. “But it is a huge thing. Talk to me, Marisol. Tell me your story.”

     She jutted her chin. “It is no longer my story. Help me make a new one.”

*Though delicately worded with veiled descriptions, this faith-based novel does depict some disturbing, yet unfortunately all too common, sex trafficking scenes necessary for the plot.

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/