Jamie Ogle ~ As Sure as the Sea

Jamie Ogle is a writer in the pre-dawn, a homeschool mom during the day, and a reader by night. Inspired by her fascination with the storied history of faith, she writes historical fiction that is infused with hope, adventure, and courageous rebels. Her most recent title, As Sure as the Sea, released from Tyndale Fiction this month.

A Minnesota native, Jamie now lives in Iowa with her husband and their three children, She can usually be found gardening, beekeeping, and tromping through the woods.

 

If someone asked you to describe yourself with one word, what word would that be?

Purposeful.

This is your second book. What did you learn during the writing process?

This book was the most difficult thing I’ve ever written. It was the first time I had to write a full novel under a deadline and that was a lot of new pressure in itself, but I wasn’t expecting all the other fears and pressures that came along with it. Of Love and Treason had been pretty well received up to that point, so as I was trying to write I was struggling with the fear and worry that this new story wouldn’t be nearly as good and I would let everyone down. I’m learning both to do my best, but also to rest in the knowledge that God has called me to do this, and He will guide and equip me for it. It’s a daily journey of trust and surrender.

I started this story with a pretty firm idea of what I thought it was going to be about, who the characters were, and where the story would end, but as soon as I started writing, the story grew legs of its own and started racing in a direction that terrified me. It felt too big and too dark, and I didn’t want to go there. I tried so hard to wrestle it back into a place where I felt more comfortable, and that resulted in a very messy story (and then add in all those fears and pressures I mentioned before), and I wasn’t sure I knew how to write anymore. That this story is here, in its current state, is a testament to God taking me by the hand and drawing me into the dark, scary places of this story to illuminate them with hope and truth. I could not have done this on my own.

Let’s talk about As Sure as the Sea (Tyndale House, February 2025). Who is your favorite character in the book and why?

Nikolas was fascinating. Before researching, I used to think of him as a boisterous, larger-than-life character, but looking at his stories, I found a rather quiet man who seemed more concerned with living the gospel and “doing,” rather than talking about it or leaving any written records. (The fact that he got in trouble as an 80-year-old man for dealing with heresy with his fists rather than words, really seems to confirm this for me.) I loved digging into and imagining the possible backstories that motivated his dangerous and courageous generosity.

 

He’s a lot different than the Saint Nikolas we heard about as a child.

When we hear Saint Nikolas, a lot of us probably picture a jolly man in red, surrounded by reindeer and mounds of snow. The fact that he lived on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world during the worst persecution in Christian history doesn’t sound quite so jolly. But it was such a fascinating and powerful story to research, especially when his famous generosity is placed against the backdrop of such violence and danger. All of a sudden he’s not just some nice guy, giving out of his excess, he’s a man of insane courage and faith, doing everything he can to protect and provide for the people around him—both inside the church and out—and putting his own life at risk to do so.

What was your research process like for this story?

As I did in my last book, I started with the legends of Saint Nikolas of Myra. I had to untangle his story from that of another Saint Nicholas of Sion who lived some 200 years later. Their stories were melded together over time, creating a sort of “super” Saint Nicholas. Once I knew which stories I was working with, I researched what was happening in the world around him and wove the two together with fiction. This makes the process sound a lot easier and smoother than it was—there was a lot of rewriting involved.

You’ve now written about Saint Valentine and Saint Nikolas. What other historical figures are you drawn to?

I’m keeping an ever-growing list of story possibilities. My favorite thing is when people come up to me and say, “Have you heard the story of….” and then go on to tell me about some historical figure in church history. That’s actually how I got the idea for the story I’m working on now, which is about a female gladiator who is forced to fight in the last gladiator games in Rome.

Do you have a writing hero or mentor?

In the very beginning, when I was trying to figure out how to do this writing thing—and feeling pretty overwhelmed and out of place—God was so gracious to put people in my path to encourage me to keep going. Those simple emails and social media messages from other authors meant so much me and felt like hands reaching back to pull me up alongside, to welcome me into this writing/authoring space. Those women left such a profound impact on me and really modeled what it looks like to be a Christian writer.

What advice would you give to aspiring novelists?

It’s so important to establish early on why you’re writing in the first place, and to know for certain that God wants you to do it. Because writing doesn’t get easier once you have an agent, or contract, or book in the world (I mistakenly thought it would). The process of obedience, trust, and surrender is ongoing—as are the fears and pressures. We can’t do this alone, and I’m so grateful for the encouraging friendships and community of other Christian writers.

Thank you, Jamie. It’s nice to have you back at Divine Detour.

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For more information about Jamie, visit her website or follow her on Facebook or Instagram. To purchase, As Sure as the Sea, go to –