Can I just say that I am super blessed this month? I have been privileged to interview this wonderful author and several others.
Okay, on to the interview!
Author Bio:
Katrina is a wife, mother of four, and a follower of Christ. She lives in Alberta, Canada even though she can’t stand the cold. During the all too brief summer months, you can find Katrina sipping iced coffee by a crackling campfire, reading stacks of books, and camping with her family.
What inspired you to write Dividing Sword?
The idea to write a novel around the Gospel of Matthew was actually suggested to me. I had been doing an in-depth Bible study on Matthew’s gospel, and one of the assignments was to write a short story about something from the book. I wrote a short story (Just a thousand or so words) about Herod Antipas, and I loved every moment of it. I had been writing since I was young, and had dreams of being published someday, but life as a busy mom had pushed writing to the background. My dad really enjoyed the short story, and he shared it with an author/teacher friend of his, Gary Collier, who asked if I would be interested in writing a full-length novel using only Matthew as its foundation. I, of course, said yes!
Beyond the focus of using only Matthew for my source stories, the creative side was up to me. Doing my study on Matthew, I had so many questions, and I really wanted to explore them in the novel. Through Beth, I was able to ask, “What is the kingdom of heaven, exactly?” With Reuben, I was able to give voice to my need to question everything.
If there was one message you could convey to others, what would it be?
There are so many messages I tried to convey, but I hope that the joy we have in Jesus shines brightly to my readers. We sometimes believe we would be perfectly happy if our life was free of difficulties. Jesus’ life was anything but easy, and his disciples had to give things up to follow him. Yet, I think each disciple would say that they lived a full and rewarding life by committing themselves to Jesus and Jesus’ teachings.
You’ve done an amazing job portraying the Biblical times! How did you make the story so authentic?
I did a lot of reading and research! I did research online but tried to authenticate what I discovered with outside sources. The book ‘Backgrounds of Early Christianity’ by Everett Ferguson was extremely helpful to me, as was the video series ‘That the World May Know” by Ray Vander Lan. Watching videos was so nice because I could get an idea of what the land really looked like. I found a really neat drone video of the dangerous route from Jericho to Jerusalem that really helped bring that chapter in my book to life for me. Of course, any biblical research is always debated among scholars, so sometimes I just had to pick a side and go with what seemed practical to me!
How do you manage to be a wife, mother, and writer?
Honestly, it’s a challenge, and if I didn’t love writing so much I probably wouldn’t be able to find the time! I squeeze in writing and research where I can find a spare hour, and I have become used to working amid the noise and with constant interruptions. However, I feel like writing has helped me to grow spiritually, and I know emotionally I am better after I write.
Buy the Book: https://www.amazon.com/Dividing-Sword-Katrina-D-Hamel-ebook/dp/B07NYCNNH9/
How do you immerse yourself so well into your characters, especially considering they were from starkly different times than yourself?
A lot of imagination! I’m guessing most authors enjoy considering things from different points of view and being avid readers, most authors have “lived” in many different heads. I’m one of those annoying people who will argue for something I don’t actually believe in, because I can see their point, haha! Bruce Malina’s book, ‘The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology’, helped me understand some of the thought processes in first-century Jewish culture, such as the strong value they placed on honor.
Why did you choose the title, Dividing Sword, for your novel?
The title came late in the writing process. I had tried out several titles but none of them seemed right. I asked my family to pray with me about it, and the next morning my dad and I had come up with the exact same Bible verse: “Do not think I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” —Matthew 10:34. Jesus goes on to describe how families will be set against each other, and that believers need to take up their cross and follow him. It’s not an easy passage, but it describes so much of the strife that goes on within Beth and Reuben’s relationship and with their families.
Now that you’ve finished Dividing Sword, what’s next on your agenda?
I’ve got my eye on the book of Acts next! I’m working through a Bible study first, and then I hope to start writing in the fall. I would love to dig into how the early church grew, the conflicts surrounding joining Gentiles and Jews together, how they decided what things to keep from their Jewish faith and what things to change, and how the challenges of persecution served to grow the church. I have a lead character in mind already, and once again I’ve picked someone who will be in the “thick of it”, rather than observing from the outside. Characters from Dividing Sword will be making appearances, even though Dividing Sword is a stand-alone book. I’m not quite ready to say good-bye to them yet!
