Author Interview: Katrina D. Hamel

I’m pleased to introduce you today to Katrina D. Hamel, a fellow Christian author and blogger who just released her first book, Dividing Sword.

I’ve enjoyed following Katrina on her blog and social media, and it’s a joy for me to give you a behind-the-scenes look at her writing life. Enjoy this author interview and be sure to check out Katrina’s book and follow her on social media.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I was an avid reader as a kid. I loved our trips to the town library or the red bookmobile that came to our rural community. How I longed to stamp the due dates in the books—it looked like the best job in the world! Books took me on adventures and offered new ideas, and I began to dream of creating worlds for other people to enjoy.

I wrote a hundred-or-so page fantasy book when I was about 11 years old, and I began to believe I could actually be an author. As a teen, I wrote a longer book about a pioneer family, typing into the wee hours of the morning while my family was sound asleep. I loved the creative process, but I didn’t yet have the manuscript I felt was it—the one to publish.

Fast forward a decade or two, and I’m a mom of four with a full-time business. With my life full to the brim, writing sat on the back burner for years. At the same time, I was struggling with feeling like part of the church community, and wondering where God wanted to use me.

It was my dad who encouraged me to get back to writing, and especially to view my love for writing as a possible ministry. For the first time ever, I approached writing as a job, with clear goals and deadlines. I had made up my mind. I was a writer, and I would be an author, and I could use my love for creating as a gift to the ultimate Creator!

How is Dividing Sword a “Dramatic Retelling of the Gospel of Matthew”?

Dividing Sword was born out of an in-depth study of Matthew, where I came face-to-face my tendency to turn the four gospel accounts into a “gospel smoothie” by blending them together—instead of carefully listening to what each writer is trying to tell me about Jesus.

When I had a question about something I read in Matthew, I learned not to run right away to the other books of the Bible for answers but to look within Matthew first and see what he had to say. Our study group discovered some powerful themes running through Matthew’s gospel, such as his heavy lean into the kingdom of heaven, and his frequent use of the Pharisees as antagonists. I found myself asking over and over, “Tell me more about the kingdom of heaven!” and hearing the parables Matthew recorded for my answers.

When the idea was suggested that I write a novel about the Gospel of Matthew, I was both excited and very nervous. I felt compelled to write Matthew’s stories only, instead of trying to weave in the chronology and narrative of the other gospel accounts. This was challenging!

For example, Matthew doesn’t have the story of Jesus turning water into wine, or Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. I had to learn to be okay with that and to trust that Matthew had offered me a true picture of Jesus as Matthew wanted me to see him.

How does your novel branch out from the Gospel of Matthew?

Dividing Sword is biblical fiction with plots weaving in and around the gospel, and fictional characters with their own agendas and struggles mingling with historical people. One of my main characters, Beth, grapples with the same questions I have—“What is this kingdom of heaven Jesus keeps talking about, and how will it come?”

Jesus’ arrival in her hometown throws Beth’s peaceful home life into chaos, and she feels her own dreams slipping away as her husband becomes a disciple to Jesus. She’s seen the real danger of rising up against Rome and is terrified her own family will suffer in the coming kingdom. She finds herself stretching in her role as both a woman and a believer.

My other main character, Reuben, is training to become a Pharisee scholar and scribe, and through him, I explore how someone could witness all Jesus said and did, and still not believe. Many of Reuben’s doubts are ones I myself have wrestled with.

By following fictional characters whose lives dramatically intersect with Jesus, the apostles, and the Sanhedrin, Dividing Sword explores the gospel truth Matthew gives us, and give voice to some of our own questions and emotions surrounding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

What are some of your favorite Christian fiction books and authors?

C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia was one of my early Christian fiction reads, and I’ve read the series many times since!

I love Francine Rivers’ books. Her Mark of the Lion series is one of the greatest influences in my own writing. Her book Redeeming Love showed me the power of using a story to illustrate the hope we have in Jesus.

Another writer I really enjoy is Lynn Austin. Her Restoration Chronicles about the returning exiles brought Jewish history to life for me. As soon as I was done, I opened my Bible and read the previously neglected Ezra in one sitting!

Do you have other books in the works?

I am gearing up to dive back into study and research for another novel. While Dividing Sword is a stand-alone book, I would like to keep exploring the early churches of the first-century with their struggles and victories. It’s an amazing time in history, with ripples that affect our churches and our personal lives today.

Katrina lives in Alberta, Canada where she survives long winters with copious amounts of coffee and board games. During the too-short summers, she loves camping with her family, bike rides, and iced coffee with a good book. Katrina counts herself blessed to have grown up in a faith-filled home, and was baptized at the age of twelve. She blogs short stories and faith posts on her website Jump in the Way, where she hopes to encourage others to see Bible stories as relevant to our lives.

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Thank you, Katrina, for this interesting look inside Dividing Sword and your writing life.

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