BookWorthy Chats with Megan Schaulis

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Valerie - Welcome to Bookworthy. Today we're talking with author Megan Schaulis about her YA duology, The Susa Chronicles. Book One Protector introduces us to Novelis, who is unwillingly sent on a mission to help her exile people, where she meets Zayden, who is more

than he appears to be, and they both have secrets, but will their secrets solve the trouble in Susa or create chaos? Book Two, Proclaimer, is set to come out here in April. Welcome to Bookworthy Megan.

Megan - Well, thank you so much for having me, Valerie. I am delighted to be here with you.

Valerie - It is a pleasure. Now with Valentine's being in the not too far future and your duology having a little romance in it, what is the sweetest thing someone has done for you on Valentine's?

Megan -Well, it might sound kind of funny, but I had what you might call a second wedding reception on Valentine's weekend. My husband and I got married 11 years ago in Colorado, which is not where I grew up. And so my family had a second wedding party for us in my hometown over Valentine's weekend, just a few weeks after we got married. So I kind of got to have my beautiful Colorado mountain wedding and my fun desert Arizona wedding. And so that was just a lovely gift both for my family and to be able to celebrate as a brand new bride.

Valerie - Very fun, that does sound sweet. So you kind of got a national tour wedding, you got a little bit of everything there.

Megan -Yeah, a little bit. We had a little bit of both, which was just lovely.

Valerie -Well, tell us a little bit about your book Protector.

Megan -Absolutely, Protector is inspired by the book of Esther from the Bible. And several years ago, while doing something completely unrelated to writing, like perhaps scrubbing the shower, I had the random idea, because that's where all good ideas come from when you are doing something that has nothing to do with writing or reading at all. I had the idea of what if Esther, this wonderful brave hero of the Bible, was not only brave in her choices but what if she was somehow physically able and trained to lead the charge into battle herself? So what if she was not only a figure who showed bravery in her words, but also through her body and was physically capable of being a warrior of sorts? I jotted this idea down on a list of ideas I keep on my phone that said something along the lines of Esther Ninja Warrior, what if Esther became the king's bodyguard instead of his bride? And then I put it away and didn't do anything with it at all for a couple of years until I felt the little nudge from the Lord that it was time to start writing again. And I said, awesome God, what should I write? And he didn't

answer. Not clearly at least. So I went and pulled out that list of fun, random, crazy ideas and just completely fell in love with taking a turn with Esther that was very, very different. So in the book Proclaimer, as you mentioned, we have our lead character, Novalice, her name gets switched to Astra because, like the true Esther, who we call Esther, Esther was not her real name. So she has a name switch part of the way through and she is kidnapped and she's thrown into a circumstance where the odds are just utterly stacked against her. She is having to deal with several problems at the same time. One, she is what's called an alpha knight. She's a believer in alpha and that is illegal in the time and the country where she lives. She cannot acknowledge Alpha's name. They cannot teach about him. So she lives in hiding. And the fact that she's not an alpha knight, not that she is an alpha knight is obvious on her very skin by her lack of a certain type of tattoo. So anyone could look at her and would immediately know, you're one of those people. And that's a problem for her especially when she is kidnapped, as I mentioned, and she's mistaken for one of these biologically upgraded super warrior women called the Enhanced. And the real Enhanced have lots and lots of tattoos. So again, just by looking at Aster's bare arms, it would be very obvious that she's not Enhanced. She has no business fighting to be the king's bodyguard, and she's not even a legal citizen in some ways. She is one of these alpha knights because of her beliefs. So she is in a situation where she has to hide herself physically, she has to watch what she says, and she has to fight and compete through physical obstacle courses and challenges against women who physically, far, far are superior to her. And through all that, she's gonna have to figure out, is she supposed to try to be the best at something she's not, or is she gonna have to find a deeper advantage somewhere within herself?

Valerie -It's a very interesting read. I've enjoyed reading it and kind of seeing the similarities between the Esther story and a Protector, but also just a very unique take of, you know, she is not enhanced. She is, you know, completely different than what everybody expects. And that's also the same for Zayden too. He's supposed to be one thing, but he doesn't want to do things the way that everybody else wants to do them. And they kind of bond over that little awkwardness that they have in their roles but it's it's a lot of fun. I really enjoyed reading it. How did God kind of speak to you in the writing of a story that's so similar to an Esther story that everybody loves?

Megan -Absolutely. So there were a couple of big things that God spoke to me while I was writing this. And one of them that I knew going in, I wanted to show, and one of them that just blew me away when God plopped that thought into my brain. So the first one is that our greatest advantage is our relationship with God. And sadly, I feel like in the world we live in, we're often told that our faith is something that we need to be quiet about, or it's something that's like, well, that's a personal thing that's just for you. You do that at home or on Sundays. But our faith, what I've grasped writing this book is that our faith is the greatest advantage that we have of all. It is more important than our brains, our intellect, how smart, and how strong we are. It's more important than how fun or how popular or funny we are. The fact that we are in Christ is bigger than anything and has the power to do more for us than anything. We can go farther. As followers of Jesus, we can as the smartest, coolest person on the planet. So that it truly is an advantage. It's not just a detail of our lives. It is the powerlifting everything up and pushing everything forward. So the Lord had kind of been teaching me

before I started writing and I knew I wanted to share that. The thing that he completely dazzled me with that I had not ever thought about was the difference between what the world calls us and what God calls us. So in the true story of Esther, she is a Jewish young woman in a time when it's not exactly illegal, but it's not popular to be Jewish. And she, for those who aren't familiar, is actually kind of kidnapped and roped into a competition to become the king's new wife because the king got mad at his old wife and told her she wasn't allowed to be around anymore. It's actually what it says in the Bible, guys. It's true. He got mad and said, done with you. I'm going to go pick a new one. Not a good advice, but not a good way to operate. But he does that and so she and several other women are gathered together and they're supposed to compete and figure out who's going to be the best new bride for the king. And in that situation, she is really, she's put in a very terrible situation that really could have stained the rest of her life very horribly. And the world said, you are, you are just an extra girl in the king's life. You don't, you're not special. You are not a treasure the historical word they would use as concubine. And you were just another girl in this king's line of girls. But God said, no, no, no, no, you are a queen. I was leading worship at the church one day and that just struck my heart so deeply that when the world says you're a throwaway, you are good for one day and then we're done with you, you are meaningless, you're trash, God says, no, you are royalty, you are an I'm going to put a crown on your head. Not the king isn't going to put a crown on you. I'm going to put a crown on your head. You are mine. And that just utterly blew me away when he told me that. So one of the things that I ended up loving that God taught me while I was writing this, and hopefully it shows a little bit in the story, is that the world can give us a whole lot of labels, but nothing is better and more beautiful or more true than the label that God gives us.

Valerie -I love that and it's very evident throughout the story that she's struggling with that, you know, is God speaking, you know, I can't remember how they define God, you know, talk alpha, how they talk with him and, you know, that connection she has with Alpha and she has trouble figuring out, is this still important to me in this situation where it's kind of life and death? And I love her journey because it's just a journey most Christians have to go through.

And I love that you've written this for kind of that YA younger generation that, you know, they are in almost a foreign land in a, where being a Christian It's a little taboo. It's not the cool thing anymore. And you know, it is hard to identify yourself with Christ and be in the world that we are in. And I love that struggle she has throughout the story to be like, no, this is important. This is like you said, this equips me better than any tool or weapon or training I could have. And so I love that.

Megan -That's a perfect way to say it, yeah.

Valerie -I love that message for those young adults. What inspired you to write for this YA age group?

Megan -Yeah, so I am not a young adult. That's not clear. I am not a young adult. I haven't been a young adult for a good 20 years. However, a few years ago, I was reading and I was reading some very popular young adult fiction. And I have always loved reading. It's been a huge pastime of mine. But then I kind of stumbled into a streak where for several months I was reading some great, great young adult fiction stories that were not necessarily from a Christian perspective but were good, clean, beautiful, empowering stories. And I was reading these and there was something about the voice and something about the tension that they were going through that just resonated with me very deeply. And I said, yes, if I ever wrote a

book, would sound and feel like this. And I later realized that what appeals to me the most is the wrestling over identity that the young adult season, whether you hit that point when you're 12 or 18 or 30, we all have a point where we have to decide, are we going to just follow the rules that mom and dad or our teachers and pastors put in front of us, or are we going to decide this is who I am and I want to be this person? And there's this transition, the Bible calls it, from tutors and governors to maturity. And through that transition, we finally get to make our own choices but we're also suddenly accountable for our own mistakes. Nobody sits us down and pats our heads and says, it's okay, you broke the cookie jar. Now, all of a sudden it's your cookie jar and you have to pay for the cookie jar and refill it with cookies and people are mad. It's a whole different experience, but it's also so beautiful because it's how we come to a place where we can stand on our own two feet and say, this is who I am and this is what I believe. In my opinion, the best young adult fiction tackles that moment that am I going to be part of just what everyone has told me I'm a part of, or am I going to be who I am, and am I gonna make good choices about who I am? And there's inevitably always going to be some bad choices along the way because that's what makes great stories, and real life. So for me, that was what I resonated with in the young adult. I'm not a teenager, my kids are not yet teenagers, however, it's that tension, that moment, that struggling between what was and what is and what could be, and the transition from rules and regulations to personal adventure and freedom and the accountability that goes with that.

Valerie - I think that's one of the things that really draw people into YA, whether you are in that age range or you are an adult, is just that we all struggle with that identity element. And what am I going to stand for? Am I going to go with the norm? Am I going to stand on my own? You know, what, what do I believe? And I think, you know, kids these days are having to tackle that at a younger and younger age than we did when we were growing up.

Megan -Yes, most definitely. Absolutely.

Valerie - Very fun. Megan, did you always want to be an author?

Megan -In many ways, yes, I loved words from the time I was very, very small. I spoke early, I wrote little poems, and I entered all the little school writing contests as an elementary schooler. And then in high school, I was on the speech team and in the theater. So really words have always been part of my story. And then I got a degree in journalism and did a little bit of work in that and became a teacher where I was teaching English. So there were lots of words and stories there. And then eventually now I run a business with my husband and I do a ton of writing for websites and businesses there. So words have always been my passion. When I was about eight years old, I think I declared that someday I was gonna be an author and had no concept of what all went into that at the time. But then it wasn't until about 2020 that I had an idea that I really felt could be a book. That

book idea was the first time I felt like there was a book in me that could come out. Like I said, I'd been reading all of this great YA and I had an idea, not the book, not Protector, totally different, which happens all the time for writers and that's okay. So, for the first time, I said, okay, God, could we do this together? Like, I have this idea, what do you think? And he was like, sounds like fun, let's go do it together. So seven weeks later, I wrote The End for the first time on a very short, very not-ready manuscript. And I worked with that manuscript for a little bit and looked into publication for that. And it turned out it just wasn't the right story for me to say hello to the world with in some ways. And then Protector happened. And that one I knew needed to be on people's bookshelves.

Valerie -I love it. It's one of those we, you know, started the journey thinking one thing and God is really good about being like, no, this is the message that both you need to hear and other, the readers need to hear. I love that journey. Now, what is one of your favorite books?

Megan -Gosh, there are so many, so many. Okay, so I've mentioned several times I was reading

all this great YA stuff. So at the time that inspired me to sit down and start writing, I was reading Divergent, particularly the first book of the series. I was reading a trilogy called Matched by Ali Kandi, which is also a dystopian series. And those two hit me just so hard that this beautiful, just the pacing and the tension was just so great. I read The Selection by Kira Kass, which also has some loose, loose, loose Esther moments in it. And so those were kind of the beginning of this. And then I discovered that there were all of these Christian authors who were writing speculative fiction or fantasy and sci-fi and dystopian stories that also resonate with the word of God. And

that was just an eye-opener. So some favorites within that. I loved the Wonderland Trials by Sarah Ella. I completely adore the book Romanov by Nadine Brandes. And then I recently read several fantasies by J .J. Fisher. K . Lore by J .J. Fisher is in my thought truly a perfect fantasy. And so those are at the moment just some of my absolute favorites that I got to mix that wonderful young adult tension and passion and kind of the fun outside-of-the-box fantasy worlds with people who love Jesus. And that was just when I was done.

Valerie -Match made in heaven, So fun. Well, what's been the most

impactful book in your life other than the Bible? Other than the Bible.

Megan -I was gonna say, than the Bible. Let's see here. Impactful book, see here. Hmm. That is a good question. Normally I get by with listing a ton of books. Let's see here. So strangely, one of the first ones that comes to my heart is not a book for children, but it is an incredibly powerful book. It's called The Thorn in My Heart, it is by Liz Curtis Higgs. And one of the reasons it's so impactful to me is that it is also a Bible retelling. It is the story of Jacob Leah and Rachel. Reset in the Scottish Highlands of the 1700s again.

This is not a book for children It is very much a Christian book, but it is for children part of what blew me away was that it focuses very much on Leah Leah is a real human who lived and had lots of experiences But when I have previously had read the Bible talking about Leah and Jacob I always kind of focused on like poor Jacob. He's just trying to get you know, he's so in love with Rachel He's just trying to get Rachel. If you're not familiar, this is an account in Genesis around chapter 30 ish. Go read it. And Leah was just kind of in the way. But when I read this very fictional account, it made me look at a real human who lived in the Bible, a real human who's beloved by God differently. And so it showed me how fiction stories can help us open our eyes to the truth that God is teaching us in his word. And that's something that as someone who was writing, also writing a Bible retelling, really solidified a bit of a mission in me to do that as well. To use fiction, to use the silly nanotechnology and, know, sci-fi moments and tattoos and I'll use all that stuff that is just fluff, not in a bad way, but to use it to really show people that there is truth in the word of God and applies to you today.

Valerie -Yeah, it's really kind of in our world, we get kind of fed and stuck on just the really simple messages, even though they are very deep of, you know, God is love, love your neighbor, you know, those things. But there is such depth and every human emotion is an experience is basically in the Bible. And I think Leah really hits on that identity. Where is my identity piece? And, you know, that God blessed her with so many boys, so many children, just to say that you are valuable, you are important to me, you are the majority of Israel pretty

much. And so it is neat to look at all these characters of the Bible and look at them in new ways like you've done with Protector and what Liz Curtis Higgs did with her book as well. And so it's just really neat to kind of look at the Bible in new ways and that every good story seems to have some root in the Bible somewhere.

Megan -It really does. It really does. Once I intentionally looked at, how could I take this beautiful, perfect Bible story and make an inevitably imperfect but fine fiction story out of it, I started noticing all of the sudden books, several books that aren't even advertised as Bible retellings. I've always said just from the beginning, that this is a Nesta retelling, but not all books are marketed that way. But I started noticing like, wait a minute, this is totally Joseph. This is a totally Joseph. He was kidnapped and then he's elevated. This is Joseph. I read one recently that I was like, it's Jonah. This is Jonah. My goodness. He's refusing the call and he even gets swallowed at one point and you start to see it. And some, know we're intentional because they're Christian authors, and others that just the world, whether they realize it or not is shaped by the truth of God's word.

Valerie -It is, it is. The majority was, I took a class in college on English literature and it was,

the teacher wasn't even a Christian, but he was constantly saying how there are Jesus archetypes throughout these stories. And it was just fun to be like, huh, God, you're up to something, aren't you? You're going to make yourself known no matter what. Well, Megan, what can we expect next from you?

Megan -Absolutely. So as you mentioned, Proclaimer, which is the conclusion of the Susa Chronicles duology, duology is a very fancy word for a two-book series, that comes out in April of 2025. And I will mention, that I did just sign a contract for a third book that is not a direct sequel. The Esther story will wrap up in Proclaimer, I promise. But there's someone in the Susa Chronicles that I just thought truly deserved a story of their own. And so that character is going to get his or her own story in a book that's going to come out in 2026.

Valerie -That's exciting. You have a whole host of characters that have their own story. And I know you're not going to tell me now, but not on the air. Okay, off air, off air. But I can't wait to hear which character does kind of get a little bit more page time or word time. So very cool. Well, Megan, where can people find out more about you and your books?

Megan -Not on the air. I can tell you off-air. Yeah, exactly, exactly. The best place is simply my website, which is meganschaulis.com. There you can sign up for my newsletter. I send a newsletter twice a month and it is without a doubt my favorite way to connect with readers and friends is through my newsletter. I send an encouraging message, kind of like a little devotional. It's always very positive. And then I can share all kinds of news about what's going on in my writing journey, places where I'm appearing to sign books, and just all the fun stuff

that I'm reading at the moment as well. Outside of My newsletter, Instagram is the social media where I am most often found. Like I said, on my website, you can order signed copies of my books that I send to people with fun little temporary tattoos, because tattoos are such a big part of the book. And then also the links to all the typical Amazon and Barnes and Noble places that you can find. So the website's really one easy place to learn a lot about me.

Valerie-Wonderful. We'll make sure to have that in the show notes so that people can find you easily. Thank you so much for joining me today, Megan.

Megan -Thank you. Absolutely. It was a pleasure, Valerie.

Valerie- And thank you for joining Megan and me on this episode of the Bookworthy Podcast. Check the show notes for any books or links that we discussed, and let us know in the comments what is the sweetest thing done for you on Valentine's Day. Be sure to like and subscribe so we can discover more great books together.

Happy reading!