After a year of traveling the country in a 100-square-foot camper with her husband, daughter, and dog, Megan Schaulis returned home and wrote her first novel.
Megan has a B.A. in Journalism from Arizona State University and is a member of the ACFW. As a special education teacher, she helped young people fall in love with reading and writing. Today, she uses words in playful and creative ways at her branding agency. She lives in Abilene, Texas, where you’ll find her staying up way too late reading or hiking with her family. Megan's debut novel, Protector, is a YA dystopian retelling of Esther releasing with WhiteCrown Publishing in April 2024.
Visit Megan Schaulis online
Protector
If you can’t be invisible, be unremarkable. As the orphaned daughter of a traitor, Novalise grew up in hiding with an outlawed religious group hated by the crown. She dreams of aiding her people as a scientist and begs her overprotective brother for a chance to assist in his schemes against the government. All her hopes of making a difference implode when she’s kidnapped and forced to compete against the Enhanced—a group of highly trained, biologically upgraded young women—for a position as the king’s Protector. Plagued by insomnia, King Zadien still is reeling from his father’s untimely death. When his council suggests a competition as the way to choose his new bodyguard, he lacks the confidence to oppose the plan. Given the role he played in his father’s murder, choosing the right Protector could mean relieving his guilt or repeating his worst mistakes. Can he trust the intriguing candidate who’s nothing like the others? After discovering a long-hidden connection between the Enhanced and her father, Novalise realizes winning the competition would give her people the strategic advantage they desperately need. But is that leverage worth compromising herself, body and soul?
- ISBN: B0CVC4RPPR
- Publisher: WhiteCrown Publishing
Interview with Megan Schaulis
What made you want to become an author?
I did all the wordy things as a kid. I spoke early, won school poetry contests, and had a binder full of story ideas that never came to fruition. Actually, that last part hasn’t changed.
My adult life has been full of words too, as a teacher and then a brand writer. But I didn’t seriously dedicate time to fiction until 2020. I read several excellent YA books that spring and something in my brain clicked. This was my audience, this was my genre. As much as I love reading adult romance, YA fit my internal voice.
I just needed a story worth writing.
Then one day in April, I was playing outside with my daughter and a random what-if question spun into an entire book idea. Two months later I finished my first manuscript, granted a woefully underwritten version.
That book just might’ve saved my sanity. I loved writing it. In a season when the world seemed to stop spinning, God filled my mind with beautiful thoughts and words, and an author was born.
What did you learn while writing Protector?
From a craft perspective, I went into this book wanting to focus on pacing. How can I ground the reader in the story world? When do the big reveals need to hit? How can I lay a trail of breadcrumbs so nothing feels contrived? Those were the big questions I wanted to tackle.
I also learned I could write another book and a better book, at that. Like many debut authors, my first release was not my first trip past “The End.” That first manuscript I wrote didn’t find a publishing home. At some point, I had to decide to keep going and write the next story. Protector came out of that decision, and I’m incredibly thankful that it—and not the first book I ever wrote—will be my introduction as an author.
If someone were to look at your Google search history (all for research of course!), what types of things would we find?
Oh goodness. Fun things like what chemicals will dissolve steel, how to make henna tattoo ink, and a whole bunch of videos of Army rangers completing obstacle courses.
What do you want readers to take away from Protector?
God is good. This simple truth underpins every story I write. It’s the driving factor behind everything. From Protector in particular, I hope readers remember that our good God is accessible—anywhere, anytime. Whether you hear Him audibly or sense His steadfast presence in your spirit, He is with you and He is for you. He is the only advantage you need.
If you could have coffee with an author, dead or alive, whose work you admire, who would that be? What would you ask him or her?
I would love to hang out with Becky Wade or Sara Ella or Bethany Turner…and the funny thing is, I feel like I have. While I’ve never met any of them face to face, I respond to their newsletters and social posts. And they respond back! I’ve been amazed by how down to earth most Christian authors are. We might see them as celebrities, but they’re as happy to connect with readers as we are to connect with them.
I did nearly fall out of my chair when Jody Hedlund sat at my breakfast table during the 2022 ACFW conference, though.
What’s your go-to drink while writing?
Water. I’m so boring in that way. Though when the weather is below 70, I love hot tea. My go-to is decaf chai.
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?
I have a newborn son, born this March, so my days are full of his precious snuggles right now. I also love being outside and spring in central Texas is a lovely mix of sunshine and cool breezes. My family and I are hoping to explore as many state parks as possible this year.
Awww congratulations! Not that you have a ton of time to read right now with a newborn, but what books are on your TBR pile right now?
I am definitely a mood reader, but I tend to cycle from historical romance to contemporary romance to speculative YA pretty regularly. A few in the stack right now include Lumen by J.J. Fischer, Rocky Road by Becky Wade, and The Imposters series by Roseanna M. White.
What can we look forward to next?
The Susa Chronicles is a duology, so readers can look forward to the conclusion of Novalise’s story releasing in April 2025. Beyond that, I have more ideas rolling around in my head than I can count, including a spin-off retelling for a beloved character in Protector and set of royal novellas. We’ll just have to see which idea becomes a reality first!
I can't wait to find out! Thanks for chatting with me today, Megan.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Jessica Baker loves sharing her passion for reading with others and connecting readers with authors. In addition to blogging at A Baker’s Perspective, Jessica is a virtual assistant, proofreader, and runs her own business. Though she wishes she had a library like Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Jessica realizes the importance of sharing her books with the world to tell the story, and donates many books to her local library. Jessica Baker lives Central New York with her husband, three cats, and two ducks.
I did all the wordy things as a kid. I spoke early, won school poetry contests, and had a binder full of story ideas that never came to fruition. Actually, that last part hasn’t changed.
My adult life has been full of words too, as a teacher and then a brand writer. But I didn’t seriously dedicate time to fiction until 2020. I read several excellent YA books that spring and something in my brain clicked. This was my audience, this was my genre. As much as I love reading adult romance, YA fit my internal voice.
I just needed a story worth writing.
Then one day in April, I was playing outside with my daughter and a random what-if question spun into an entire book idea. Two months later I finished my first manuscript, granted a woefully underwritten version.
That book just might’ve saved my sanity. I loved writing it. In a season when the world seemed to stop spinning, God filled my mind with beautiful thoughts and words, and an author was born.
What did you learn while writing Protector?
From a craft perspective, I went into this book wanting to focus on pacing. How can I ground the reader in the story world? When do the big reveals need to hit? How can I lay a trail of breadcrumbs so nothing feels contrived? Those were the big questions I wanted to tackle.
I also learned I could write another book and a better book, at that. Like many debut authors, my first release was not my first trip past “The End.” That first manuscript I wrote didn’t find a publishing home. At some point, I had to decide to keep going and write the next story. Protector came out of that decision, and I’m incredibly thankful that it—and not the first book I ever wrote—will be my introduction as an author.
If someone were to look at your Google search history (all for research of course!), what types of things would we find?
Oh goodness. Fun things like what chemicals will dissolve steel, how to make henna tattoo ink, and a whole bunch of videos of Army rangers completing obstacle courses.
What do you want readers to take away from Protector?
God is good. This simple truth underpins every story I write. It’s the driving factor behind everything. From Protector in particular, I hope readers remember that our good God is accessible—anywhere, anytime. Whether you hear Him audibly or sense His steadfast presence in your spirit, He is with you and He is for you. He is the only advantage you need.
If you could have coffee with an author, dead or alive, whose work you admire, who would that be? What would you ask him or her?
I would love to hang out with Becky Wade or Sara Ella or Bethany Turner…and the funny thing is, I feel like I have. While I’ve never met any of them face to face, I respond to their newsletters and social posts. And they respond back! I’ve been amazed by how down to earth most Christian authors are. We might see them as celebrities, but they’re as happy to connect with readers as we are to connect with them.
I did nearly fall out of my chair when Jody Hedlund sat at my breakfast table during the 2022 ACFW conference, though.
What’s your go-to drink while writing?
Water. I’m so boring in that way. Though when the weather is below 70, I love hot tea. My go-to is decaf chai.
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?
I have a newborn son, born this March, so my days are full of his precious snuggles right now. I also love being outside and spring in central Texas is a lovely mix of sunshine and cool breezes. My family and I are hoping to explore as many state parks as possible this year.
Awww congratulations! Not that you have a ton of time to read right now with a newborn, but what books are on your TBR pile right now?
I am definitely a mood reader, but I tend to cycle from historical romance to contemporary romance to speculative YA pretty regularly. A few in the stack right now include Lumen by J.J. Fischer, Rocky Road by Becky Wade, and The Imposters series by Roseanna M. White.
What can we look forward to next?
The Susa Chronicles is a duology, so readers can look forward to the conclusion of Novalise’s story releasing in April 2025. Beyond that, I have more ideas rolling around in my head than I can count, including a spin-off retelling for a beloved character in Protector and set of royal novellas. We’ll just have to see which idea becomes a reality first!
I can't wait to find out! Thanks for chatting with me today, Megan.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Jessica Baker loves sharing her passion for reading with others and connecting readers with authors. In addition to blogging at A Baker’s Perspective, Jessica is a virtual assistant, proofreader, and runs her own business. Though she wishes she had a library like Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Jessica realizes the importance of sharing her books with the world to tell the story, and donates many books to her local library. Jessica Baker lives Central New York with her husband, three cats, and two ducks.
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