Looking for a faith-filled historical Christian romance with courage, banter, and a love story that looks a little like grace?
Daughter of the Rebellion by Jamie Ogle is a Christian romance release set in AD 403 Rome. A Visigoth captive becomes a legendary gladiatrix and a conflicted medic learns that waiting on the Lord is not weakness. This author interview goes behind the arena walls into surrender and unmerited love in story that will make you hold your breath.
Meet Jamie Ogle
Jamie Ogle is a predawn writer, homeschool mom by day, and a reader by night who now makes her home in small-town Iowa with her husband and three children. Born and raised in the Northwoods of Minnesota, she writes historical fiction infused with deep faith, adventure, and courageous rebels—the kind of inspirational love story that grew out of her lifelong fascination with the story-rich history of Christianity.
Fun Fact: When I get stuck in my writing, it’s usually a signal for me to explore a different creative outlet for a bit. In the past, this has included things as simple as baking cookies, to the wild extreme of repainting the entire exterior of our house. It keeps my husband on his toes, that’s for sure.
About the Book: Daughter of the Rebellion
What happens when a Visigoth daughter imprisoned in a Roman gladiator school decides she will never rely on anyone—or God—again?
In this stirring historical romance by award-winning author Jamie Ogle, a young woman imprisoned in a Roman gladiator school becomes a legendary warrior. But when not even her fame is enough, she must fight to save herself and those she loves.
Rome, AD 403. As a loyal daughter of the Visigoth tribe, Adelgard followed her father to war, hoping to win back her family’s approval. But after a clash with the Roman army, Adel is captured and sold to a gladiator school. Now she is the most famous gladiatrix in Rome, determined to keep the fickle love of the crowd and never again rely on anyone but herself for her own security. But beneath the fame lies a darkness and pain that holds her captive.
Felix despises Rome’s fascination with violence. But after returning from medical training to discover his father missing and his family desperate, he had little choice but to accept a position at the gladiator school managed by his uncle. He finds a kindred spirit in Adel and does what he can to preserve the humanity of the rebel fighters, but when he receives orders that further compromise his beliefs, he arrives at a crossroads.
Then Telemachus, a Christian leader, approaches Felix with an urgent message: if the Visigoth captives are not released, their army will invade Rome. Despite the risk, the emperor is bent on proving his power through a stunning, deadly day of gladiatorial games. As Telemachus seeks to save the Visigoth fighters, Felix and Adel join forces in a desperate rebellion that may define not only their own lives but also the course of history.
This is the kind of uplifting Christian fiction that stays with you after the last page—dust of the arena, ache of a guarded heart, and a love that looks a lot like Romans 5:8. Readers who want a clean love story will find Adel’s fight and Felix’s quiet compassion an unforgettable pairing.
If your shelf leans toward Tessa Afshar or other faith-based romance novels set in the early church, this inspirational love story is for you. It is a Christian romance release built on surrender, not spectacle alone.
Author Interview: Behind the Scenes of Daughter of the Rebellion
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What inner struggle drives your main character(s)?
Jamie: At the beginning of Daughter of the Rebellion, Adel (the heroine) is determined to make a name for herself, determined to procure security for herself with her own two hands. Felix (the hero) is in a similar situation where he continually makes small compromises to provide for his family. Both have given up on waiting for God to answer their prayers, so they’ve forged ahead to take care of things on their own. It’s only when they find themselves in deeper trouble than they know how to escape, that they realize the beauty of surrender and waiting on the Lord.
What is the heart of the romance?
Jamie: Before I started writing, I thought this was going to be a friends to more story, but as soon as the characters started forming, it quickly became a grumpy/sunshine, enemies to more story. The banter was so fun, and the romance growing out of it surprised me with its tenderness.
Adel is a jaded fighter with a guarded heart and medic Felix (while still flawed in his own way) shows her way more patience and compassion than she, arguably, deserves. But as I looked at the story as a whole, I was struck by the realization that this is the way God loves us. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). If that isn’t the best ‘enemies to more’ story in the world, I don’t know what is!
What do you hope readers carry with them?
Jamie: I pray readers see the unconditional love of God for them, that it’s offered freely and unmerited. And I hope they also see that a single life lived in surrender to God, can change the world.
What Bible verse encouraged you during this story?
Jamie: Psalm 37:4-5 have been my favorite verses for as long as I can remember. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to Him, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” This isn’t a ‘good luck charm’ verse that promises we get everything we want. It’s a verse promising that when we delight in God, He becomes our desire and fills that desire. It’s also a promise that He leads and guides lives surrendered to following Him.
In the midst of my early writing journey, while I really, really wanted to be a published author, this verse served as a constant reminder that nothing else matters if my heart wasn’t fully surrendered to Christ. He’s where our joy and true fulfillment is found! I never realized until now how well this verse goes along with some of the themes of surrender in this book!
About the Author
Jamie Ogle is a predawn 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. 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.
Hosted by Kelly Jo Wilson, the Christian Romance Book Nook is your cozy, faith-filled corner of the internet for Christian romance. Kelly connects readers with uplifting stories, honest author interviews, exclusive giveaways, and the joy of knowing you’re never alone in your love for clean romance focused on Jesus.
Come join our growing community, new friends, new books, and plenty of bookish encouragement are always waiting for you!
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Tracie Peterson, often called the Queen of Historical Christian Romance, returns with A Life So True, the second book in her Minnesota Legacy series. Set against the financial panic of 1893 and a city threatened by fire, this faith-filled story follows two people who confide their deepest secrets—only to discover that honesty may cost them everything they love.
Meet Tracie Peterson
Often called the Queen of Historical Christian Romance, Tracie Peterson has written more than 150 books, most of them in the genre she loves. She makes her home in the mountains of Montana with her husband Jim, and her stories continue to offer readers both heart and hope.
Fun Fact: Tracie loves facilitating Bible studies because she always learns so much about the Lord and enjoys sharing what He’s done for her while hearing others share what He’s done for them.
About the Book: A Life So True
What happens when two people confide their deepest secrets… only to watch a devastating fire threaten everything they hold dear?
Will their undeniable bond overcome the disasters surrounding them?
Evelyn Turner is determined to work at her physician father’s side as he opens a hospital for Minneapolis’s poor. But when nursing makes her physically ill, she faces an impossible choice between the promises she’s made and her own limitations. Maxwell Garrison is helping manage his father’s investments through the financial crisis of 1893, and he’s especially interested in their sawmill businesses.
At a Turner family fund raiser, he is horrified when he overhears his father and other mill owners plotting to commit arson and insurance fraud. When Evie and Max meet at the same fund raiser, a connection sparks between them. As their interests in each other grow, they confide their secrets and agree to guard each other’s trust. Then a suspicious and devastating fire sets Minneapolis ablaze, and Max and Evie fear the worst.
Even amid the ashes of deception, can they build a life together?
Tropes & Themes
Love at first sight
Shared secrets / confiding secrets
Historical Christian romance (1893 Minneapolis)
Family secrets and the cost of truth
Financial crisis & arson plot
Nursing / medical calling vs. physical limitations
Forgiveness and transparent honesty
Trusting God when the truth could destroy everything
If you love rich historical Christian romance with heart, faith, and high stakes, A Life So True delivers. Tracie Peterson weaves a tender love-at-first-sight story against the backdrop of the 1893 financial panic and a city on fire—literally. Readers who enjoy Christian fiction that explores honesty, forgiveness, and the courage to speak truth will find this one especially meaningful. It’s the kind of faith-filled historical romance that leaves you thinking about the power of transparency long after you turn the last page.
Author Interview: Behind the Scenes
What inner struggle drives your main character(s)?
Tracie: In A Life So True, book 2 in A Minnesota Legacy series, the heroine Evie Turner is struggling with telling the family the truth about something. It’s been years in the making and coming to odds with the issue and revealing her heart on the matter is beyond difficult. Maxwell Garrison is struggling with hidden secrets that he fears may destroy his family and good name. As the story unfolds, both will learn the importance of transparent truth and God’s desires for them to put their trust in Him.
What is the heart of the romance?
Tracie: This is a play on love at first sight. Both Evie and Max are quite taken with each other from their first encounter. Neither have been looking for love, but love has come at them like a freight train and they aren’t able to ignore it despite life’s complications.
What do you hope readers carry with them?
Tracie: That honesty is important, even when we fear it will hurt someone else. God calls us to truth and to forgiveness and in this story, both elements walk hand in hand.
What Bible verse encouraged you during this story?
Tracie: Proverbs 6:16-19 speaks of the seven things God hates. Two of those deal with lying. The truth is of utmost value to the Lord. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” in John 14. From the time we’re little children, lying is one of the first sins we commit as we seek to get ourselves out of trouble or impress someone. Knowing how much God hates lying should be a deterrent to refrain from it, but in our society lying often comes as a common, everyday occurrence that everyone accepts as a part of life. We need to fight harder against it and seek the truth.
About the Author
Tracie Peterson gave her life to Jesus at the age of six. She knew early on that God was calling her to ministry, and writing for Him has allowed her to offer the Gospel message and encourage people to hope in the Lord. Her motto is Soli Deo Gloria—For God Alone the Glory.
Often called the “Queen of Historical Christian fiction,” Tracie is an ECPA and USA Today bestselling author of over 150 books. She has received the ACFW Lifetime Achievement Award, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, and multiple best-book honors. A Kansas native, she now makes her home with her husband Jim in the mountains of Montana.
Hosted by Kelly Jo Wilson, the Christian Romance Book Nook is your cozy, faith-filled corner of the internet for Christian romance. Kelly connects readers with uplifting stories, honest author interviews, exclusive giveaways, and the joy of knowing you’re never alone in your love for clean romance focused on Jesus.
Come join our growing community, new friends, new books, and plenty of bookish encouragement are always waiting for you!
Join the Christian Romance Book Nook Community
Want early access to Christian fiction author interviews, new releases, and exclusive book giveaways?
Looking for a heartfelt Christian fiction author interview and a faith-filled historical novel that blends clean romance with real courage? The Brunswick by Callie Murray, her debut novel, delivers an inspirational love story set in 1939 small-town Georgia—where opening one door changes everything.
Meet Callie Murray
Callie Murray is a Christian fiction author living in Norcross, Georgia, with her husband David and their seven children—four of whom joined the family through foster care. Her debut historical novel, The Brunswick, releases May 19, 2026, and draws deeply from both her town and her family’s foster care journey, even though the story is set in 1939.
Fun Fact: “I am an entrepreneur whose work has been featured on The TODAY Show and in The New York Times. Writing has always been something I’ve done as part of marketing or hiring or all-around rallying people into my work, but this novel is my first go at long-form fiction. I’ve found writing fiction to be much like building a business, where there are helpful frameworks but also plenty of room for creativity and the spark from others.”
About the Book: The Brunswick by Callie Murray
What happens when a weary young woman running her family’s struggling general store is asked to turn their once-grand hotel into a sanctuary for Jewish refugee children fleeing Nazi persecution—and a quiet newcomer arrives seeking work and a fresh start?
In 1939 Georgia, far removed from the war brewing overseas, Cora Cain’s world feels small—and shrinking. There, she runs The Brunswick, her family’s once-grand hotel, which is now struggling as the town’s general store. When Thomas Watkins arrives seeking work and solace after his mother’s death, a connection sparks between them. Through Thomas, Cora glimpses a life beyond obligation and her war hero father’s unpredictable moods.
But everything changes when Cora’s asked to turn The Brunswick into a sanctuary for Jewish refugee children fleeing persecution in Germany. As Cora and Thomas prepare for the children’s arrival, they struggle to confront their pasts—and the prejudice of their neighbors—as their fragile hope is put to the test.
Meanwhile, in Vienna, ten-year-old Charlotte is offered refuge in America. But even with the horrors she sees around her, Charlotte wonders how her parents could possibly send her away. As war’s shadow begins to reach small-town Georgia, each person must face what love demands and decide what they must hold on to and what they must let go.
Tropes & Themes
Small-town historical romance
Found family
Fresh-start hero
Entrepreneur heroine
Foster care & adoption themes
Community & fellowship of believers
Clean, faith-driven romance
Second chances & quiet courage
Release Details
Release Date: May 19, 2026
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Revell
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction / Historical Romance
The Brunswick by Callie Murray is a faith-filled historical novel is the kind of uplifting Christian fiction that lingers long after the last page. Readers who love clean romance, inspirational love stories, and small-town settings will find themselves rooting for Cora and Thomas as they open their hearts—and their doors—to the vulnerable. The Brunswick offers a tender, hope-filled look at what it means to live with open hands, care for the least of these, and discover that love and community can grow even in uncertain times. It’s a beautiful Christian romance release that reminds us grace meets us exactly where we are.
Author Interview: Callie Murray
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What inner struggle or desire drives your main character(s) at the beginning of the story? How does that shift as the story unfolds?
Callie: “Cora Cain is The Brunswick’s main character, and she too is an entrepreneur—albeit begrudgingly. She runs her family’s old hotel which has since turned into a general store. At the beginning of the novel, she is weary and overworked and is coveting any other life beyond what she has. But then a man walks in the store asking for a job…”
What is the heart of the romance in this story?
Callie: “Thomas Watkins finds himself in Norcross after his mother’s death. He is looking for a fresh start, and he and Cora get lost a bit in this spark between them. But Cora tends to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders, and when her health starts to become a concern, she wonders if she should spare Thomas the heartache. Thomas, meanwhile, has a secret of his own that he’s worried will keep their relationship from progressing. And then, they’re asked if The Brunswick could become a refuge for Jewish children fleeing Nazi persecution. Will this mission bring them together or add further complications?!”
What is one takeaway you hope readers carry with them after finishing this book?
Callie: “I really dig into the nuances of foster care and adoption, and even though it’s set in 1939, I hope that readers will consider how they may be able to care for the vulnerable in their own modern day lives. I also hope readers feel a deep relief that perhaps they don’t have to solve all the world’s problems themselves but can instead just approach life with open hands and see where they are called to step in.”
What Bible verse encouraged you during your writing journey or that reflects this story’s message?
Callie: “Acts 2:42-47 (‘the fellowship of the believers’) definitely shaped the found family and community aspects in The Brunswick. I’ve seen this play out in my own community here in Norcross, and it was so fun to imagine it in 1939.”
About the Author
Callie Murray is an entrepreneur and grassroots marketer whose work has been covered in dozens of news outlets, including The TODAY Show and The New York Times. She writes a series called The Author’s Note, and she’s eagerly awaiting the May 2026 release of her debut historical fiction novel, THE BRUNSWICK. She lives in Norcross, Ga with her husband and seven children—four who joined recently through the honor of adoption—where they are probably hosting a potluck right now.
Hosted by Kelly Jo Wilson, the Christian Romance Book Nook is your cozy, faith-filled corner of the internet for Christian romance. Kelly connects readers with uplifting stories, honest author interviews, exclusive giveaways, and the joy of knowing you’re never alone in your love for clean romance focused on Jesus.
Come join our growing community, new friends, new books, and plenty of bookish encouragement are always waiting for you!
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