Solve by Christmas, by Amber Schamel
Peg here. I am so excited to focus the Whispers in Purple spotlight on author
Amber Schamel, and her new release, Solve by Christmas. Intriguing
title, isn’t it? Amber also shares the ‘story behind the story’ with us … at my
request.
About
the book:
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| Solve by Christmas, by Amber Schamel |
When sabotage threatens the Rudin Sugar
Factory, Detective Jasper Hollock believes this will be his first real case.
But dear Mr. Rudin—the only father Jasper has ever known—holds a different
assignment for his private investigator.
“I’ve struck a deal with God, Jasper, and
you’re my angel.”
Mr. Rudin charges Jasper to build a “case”
of reasons for his employer to continue his life. If he fails, Mr. Rudin will
end it in suicide on Christmas night.
As the incidents at the factory become
life threatening, Jasper’s attempts at dissuading Mr. Rudin prove futile, and
Jasper is left staring at the stark reality of his own soul. Time is ticking.
Jasper must solve both cases by Christmas before Mr. Rudin, the company, and
Jasper’s faith, are dragged to perdition. Will this be the Christmas Jasper
truly discovers what makes life worth living?
“Amber Schamel's engaging prose weaves
together not one, but two edge-of-your-seat threads in this historical mystery.
With the hero racing against time to solve the two cases readers will be kept
guessing as they attempt to crack the case.” ~ Review by Laura V. Hilton, author of Christmas Admirer
(Whitaker House)
A
peek behind the scenes:
Where did this idea come from? This is one
of the most popular questions that authors get asked about a new release, but I
think I’ve heard it more with Solve by Christmas than any other book so far.
It was one of those ideas that just popped
into my head, then took on a life of its own and evolved over several weeks. I
wanted to give my readers a new story before the year was out, but I didn’t
have a specific plot in mind yet. I did know I wanted to write a Christmas
story. So, I had that much. Then I decided I wanted something with a firm
deadline.” If this doesn’t happen by this date, everyone dies” sort of thing.
Then “By Christmas” popped into my head and flicked on a light. What if
Christmas was the deadline?
I’ve always loved detectives and mystery
stories, and they go perfectly with deadlines. So, then I thought, what if a
detective must solve the case by Christmas or death wins?
Sometimes, as an author, there are ideas
and thoughts that seem to come out of nowhere. Almost like God dropping a card
into your mental mailbox. The next point of Solve by Christmas was that way. What if a detective was assigned a case that
he had to solve by Christmas, but it wasn’t a real case –at least not the type
of case he wanted—but something completely different? From there, the story
began to really take shape.
The next step, of course, is to come up
with a character to be the detective. I wanted the story to have a Sherlock
Holmes feel, so I started by studying his character a bit. But my story also
has a less serious side since it isn’t a murder mystery and takes place at a
sugar factory. I wondered…what would happen if you took Sherlock Holmes and
meshed him with Barney Fife?
Now THAT would be hard to pull off. But I
was determined to try. So, I made a list of Sherlock Holmes traits, and one of
Barney Fife’s traits. I began to see that they actually have several
similarities. They’re both a bit socially awkward. They both have a very
similar flavor of pride. And they both have this air of authority…although
Sherlock can back his up while Barney struggles in that area. Then I began to
pick and choose between the traits that were left, this Barney trait, this
Sherlock trait, and pretty soon I had Detective Jasper Hollock forming on the
page. Whether you will get a Barney Fife and Sherlock feel when you read Solve
by Christmas, I can’t say. But I do believe I was successful in creating a
unique, quirky character that will bring this Christmas mystery to life.
There you have it. The scoop behind Solve
by Christmas.
I would love to hear of two book or TV
characters that you would like to see meshed! Leave me a comment for your
chance to win an eBook copy of Solve by Christmas! Comment by Midnight, CDT, one week from today, with your contact information, to be eligible.
About Amber
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| Amber, reading |
Amber Schamel writes riveting stories that
bring HIStory to life. She has a passion for history, books and her Savior.
This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at
its finest". A homeschool graduate from a family of 12 children, Amber
found her calling early in life. First published at age 21, she has continued
to hone her craft and has been awarded the 2017 CSPA Book of the Year Award in
Historical Fiction. Between ministry, family and working in their family-owned
businesses, Amber loves to connect with readers and hang out on Goodreads with
other bookish peoples. Find her on the Stitches Thru Time blog, or on any of
the major social media sites. Amber is
an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers.
Where to find Amber:
http://amberschamel.com/
http://amberschamel.com/
Newsletter & updates: http://www.amberschamel.com/newsletter-signup.html
Blogs - http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com/
http://www.hhhistory.com/
http://amberschamel.blogspot.com/
Blogs - http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com/
http://www.hhhistory.com/
http://amberschamel.blogspot.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAmberSchamel
Twitter -
@AmberSchamel https://twitter.com/AmberSchamel
Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/AmberDSchamel/
Purchase Links for Solve by Christmas:
Thank you so much for being my guest today, Amber. I love the 'story behind the story' details you shared. What a neat concept! Congratulations on this new release. Looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for hosting me, Peggy! I'm excited to visit with your readers today. :)
ReplyDelete