Jamie Ogle – Novel PASTimes

Thank you for meeting with us at Novel PASTimes, Demitria.

Demitria: You can call me Demi, if you like. Will this take long? I need to be out on my boat. The light’s good for diving today and Mersad won’t like it if I’m dawdling. Another dive team is trying to take over my boat, and I can’t afford to waste any diving opportunities now that my brother, Theseus, is injured.

Don’t worry, we’ll make this quick. I heard about your brother’s accident. How is he doing?

Demi: You know Theseus. Whenever his nose runs, he’s certain he’s about to die. Although, this is a little more serious than a dripping nose. I’m glad Pastor Nikolas arrived to help when he did. Some might call that a miracle. I know it felt like one at the time, though I certainly don’t deserve any of those after what I’ve done. Perhaps it was a miracle for Nydia. She’s in love with him, you know.

With Pastor Nikolas?

Demi: No. Nydia is in love with Theseus, though her grandmother, Beatrix, is set on finding Pastor Nikolas a wife. Poor man. No singles in Myra can withstand her matchmaking efforts for long.

Do you have someone special in your life?

Demi: Not . . . not anymore. Not like that anyway. I was betrothed once to a man named Alexander. He was a lot like Nikolas actually. Handsome, charismatic, passionate about his faith. He’s dead now. Men like that don’t live long anymore. Not since Emperor Diocletian passed his anti-Christian edicts. Things have only gotten worse under the tetrarchy and Emperor Galerius. No one in the empire is allowed to buy or sell anything unless they first offer sacrifices to the emperor and the gods of Rome. It is . . . a dangerous time to live.

How do you survive in times like this?

Demi: There are a few of us who find work here and there, and some employers and merchants who look the other way so long as the transaction benefits them. I try to provide mussels and clams for my friends, but my job is to harvest red coral and pearl oysters for Mersad. If I don’t make my quota, I’ll lose my boat. And I can’t bear to lose the boat. Aside from Theseus, my boat is the last piece of my family that I have, and it is the lifeline for our church.

Oh? How so?

Demi: Theseus and I take it upriver after dark to trade for supplies with Christians in the farming districts upriver. Without the boat, we would lose access to food we cannot get in the city, and all those upriver would be cut off from trade goods and salt. Since Theseus has been injured, Nikolas and I have begun making the trips upriver.

That sounds dangerous.

Demi: It is. In more ways than you can imagine. For one thing, Nikolas and I get along well. He’s actually very easy to talk to—and you wouldn’t think that would be a bad thing, but if Beatrix found out, she’d be matchmaking us next, and we could never be anything more than friends.

Why not?

Demi: Because if Nikolas really knew me, knew what I’ve done, everything I hold dear would be stripped away, and I . . . I can’t bear to lose anything else I love. And, the other danger is . . . well, Nikolas doesn’t have the best history with boats. He sank his when he came to Myra, and I’m a little fearful he might sink mine too. We’ve had some close calls. But at least he hasn’t drowned the supplies like he did his entire inheritance. All that gold—right to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea—can you imagine?

That gold would have been very helpful, considering what you told us about the state of things in the empire.

Demi: That’s why we’re trying to recover it—Nikolas, Theseus, and I. It’s tricky though. Theseus is still recovering and can’t dive yet, and Nikolas . . . well, at least he can swim. But if I’m searching for Nikolas’s gold, I can’t dive for coral, and if I don’t harvest enough coral, I’ll lose the boat, and then . . . I just have to find that gold. And soon.

Well, we won’t keep you from your boat any longer. Thank you for chatting with us today, Demi. I hope you find everything you’re looking for.

Demi: I have a feeling I will. But it might not be in the ways I expect.

About the Author:

A person with long gray hair smiling

Description automatically generated Jamie Ogle is a pre-dawn writer, homeschool mom by day, and a reader by night. Inspired by her fascination with the storied history of faith, she writes historical fiction infused with hope, adventure, and courageous rebels. Her most recent title, As Sure as the Sea, releases from Tyndale Fiction in February 2025. A Minnesota native, she now lives in Iowa with her husband and their three children, and she can usually be found gardening, beekeeping, and tromping through the woods. For more information about Jamie, go to her website: www.jamieogle.com. (Author photo by Jodi Sheller, Copyright © 2022. All Rights Reserved.)

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Tyndale Media Center: As Sure as the Sea

Tyndale Media Center Author Page: Jamie Ogle

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Welcome, Iris. Thank you for agreeing to answer a few questions. Just relax. No need to be nervous.

Iris: Is there a problem? It’s just that usually when the Praetorians bring people in for questioning, they’ve done something wrong, and I haven’t . . . unless . . . I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, just don’t tear out my fingernails.

What? No! No. That’s extremely disturbing. Nothing’s wrong, we just wanted to get to know you. Chat, you know?

Iris: With me? No one ever wants to talk to me. You know how superstitious Romans are; they just see a blind woman and assume I’m cursed. Maybe I am. I’ve tried everything I can think of to get my sight back. For things to go back to normal, but . . .

You mentioned Romans. Have you always lived in Rome?

Iris: Yes. My pater and I live in a fourth-floor apartment in the insula on Cedar Street. Do you know it? Probably not. It’s not in the nicest part of the city. The stairs can be treacherous, and the neighbors are . . . lively. But it’s our own little place in the world, and it’s not far from the Markets of Trajan. I work in a bakery there.

You’re a baker?

Iris: I don’t do the baking part. Mostly just kneading and shaping, and sometimes if Paulina’s away—it’s her bakery—I work up front. Most of the customers are pleasant, especially Val—never mind. It doesn’t pay much, but every little bit helps, especially now that . . . well, Pater’s debts have been called in.

His debts?

Iris: The gods won’t be bribed for free, you know. And paying physicians to try to heal my eyes isn’t cheap either. They all make grand promises, and in the end, they all disappoint. *shrugs* You probably think me foolish and naive to keep looking for a cure, hoping. But I can’t help it. There’s this part of me that won’t let go of hope no matter how silly it seems.

I don’t think it’s silly. It takes a strong person to keep hoping in the middle of disappointment.

Iris: Maybe. It doesn’t hurt that the man I keep meeting in the market . . . he seems to think I could be healed.

A man?

Iris: Please don’t tell my pater or Titus about him. I don’t think Pater would notice—he’s been worried about money lately and spending a lot of time at the Centaur’s Cup, if you know what I mean. But if Titus knew about this man, he’d do his annoying Praetorian Guard thing and try to hunt him down for questioning—and not this chatting kind.

I see. And Titus is . . . your brother?

Iris: He might as well be. Pater took Titus in and raised him when his father died. He’s hoping to be a Praetorian tribune someday, and I think he’ll make it. He’s very dedicated to eradicating criminals and threats to the empire.

So, going back to this man you met—

Iris: His name is Valentine, of all things. No one could possibly be a criminal with a name like that.

…

Iris: He has a kind voice, and when he comes into the bakery in the mornings, he talks to me the way no one else does. It’s like he sees . . . me.

Why don’t you want your father to know about him?

Iris *whispering*: I think Valentine is a Christian. And they’re not supposed to talk about their God. But he does it anyway and . . . I can’t help it. I want to know more.

And your father would discourage you?

Iris: He’s the head jailor at the carcer, and he’s likelier to throw Valentine in prison than listen to him. It’s illegal for Christians to proselytize and illegal to convert. I . . . I have listened, though, and the Christians are nothing like the stories. I wish Pater could listen. Valentine has a nice voice, and Pater has a heavy mind right now.

Oh?

Iris: I mentioned the money troubles already. If we can’t pay, everything we have will be taken and sold. Including ourselves. The only other way is . . . *shudders*. Pater’s tribune offered to cover the debts . . . in exchange for me.

Oh.

Iris: I don’t know what we’re going to do, but I’m hopeful. If Valentine’s right and I can be healed, perhaps we can find a way out of this mess.

I sincerely hope so. Will you let us know what happens?

Iris: I think you’ll know. This feels like a story that will live on through the ages.

___________________________________________________________________________

About Of Love and Treason:

Valentine defies the emperor and becomes a hero . . . and the most wanted man in the empire. Compelled by his faith, he has nothing to lose, until a chance encounter with the daughter of a Roman jailor changes everything.

Rome, AD 270. In the wake of the emperor’s marriage ban, rumors swirl that there is one man brave enough to perform wedding ceremonies in secret. A public notarius and leader of an underground church, Valentine believes the emperor’s edict unjust and risks his own life for the sake of his convictions. But as his fame grows, so do fears for his safety.

Iris, the daughter of a Roman jailor, believes regaining her sight will ease the mounting troubles at home. Her last hope rests in searching out Valentine and his church, but the danger of associating with people labeled a threat to the empire is great. Still, as Iris’s new friends lead her to faith in God, Iris is drawn to Valentine and they both begin to hope for a future together beyond the treacherous empire.

But when a past debt and a staggering betrayal collide, Valentine, Iris, and everyone they love must fight for their lives . . . and wrestle with trusting a God who can restore sight yet does not always keep His followers from peril.

**Photo credit:** Author photo by Jodi Sheller, Copyright © 2022. All Rights Reserved.

Jamie Ogle is a predawn writer, a homeschool mom by day, and a reader by night. Inspired by her fascination with the storied history of faith, she writes historical fiction infused with hope, adventure, and courageous rebels. A Minnesota native, she now lives in Iowa with her husband and their three children, and she can usually be found gardening, beekeeping, and tromping through the woods.

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