Award-winning author, speaker, and evangelist. "He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge" (Psalm 91:4)
Search Icon
Author: Amy Schisler
Amy has been writing all of her life as an author and freelance writer. Her first children’s book, Crabbing With Granddad, is an autobiographical work about spending a day harvesting the Maryland Blue Crab.
Her debut novel, A Place to Call Home, was released in 2014 by Sarah Book Publishing. A second edition was published in March of 2015. Picture Me, A Mystery, published in 2015, is the winner of the 2016 Illumination Bronze Award as one of the top three eBooks of 2015. Amy’s critically acclaimed novel, Whispering Vines, published in 2016, was awarded the Illumination Bronze Award as one of the top three Christian Romance book of 2016. She followed up her success with Island of Miracles in 2017. All of Amy’s books may be purchased in bookstores as well as online on all major print and ebook sites.
Amy grew up in Southern Maryland, received her Bachelor’s Degree from Salisbury University, and graduated from the University of Maryland with a Master’s in Library and Information Science. A former librarian and teacher, she now lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with her husband, three daughters, and two dogs.
I can hardly believe I’m writing these words, but today, my baby graduates from college.
Morgan was a force from birth. She entered our lives on a chilly April day just before Easter 2001. With a headful of hair and a loud cry, she made her presence known. Never one to back down or bow out, she took on life from the start. From dance to swimming, from field hockey to lacrosse, from getting her boater’s license at the age of 12 and knowing she wanted to be part of the medical community since way before that, Morgan has always worked toward her goals without letting anyone or anything get in her way. She was always a child of hope.
I talk about Morgan when I’m speaking to women about finding their purpose in life. Her journey to nursing is a key part of my teaching. When Morgan proclaimed, at the age of 16, that she wanted to be one of the primary caregivers for her grandfather in his last weeks of life, we watched in fear and then in awe. We hoped this was the right choice, but we worried that it was too much for a child. Would she be scarred? Would this experience turn her away from medicine? It did neither. Taking care of her grandfather, solidified her confidence that God was calling her to care for people in their greatest time of need.
Morgan’s college years were full of ups and downs, but she remained true to her spirit and to herself. Unlike so many kids her age and in her place, these years brought her closer to God and deeper in faith. It has been a true joy to watch her grow as a person, a woman, and a Christian, and I hope she knows how proud her father and I are of her.
Today is not an end, yet it’s not a beginning either. Morgan has been working toward this achievement her entire life. This is just the next part in the book she is writing, and chapter by chapter, her life will continue to unfold. Her story will continue to be told, adding layer upon layer as Morgan discovers who she is, what she will accomplish, and what we can learn from her example. She is a model of courage, love, perseverance, and hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.”
Morgan, God’s plan for you is more than I ever imagined, though I find that I’m not surprised. You were destined for this, and I am blessed to have been able to watch you walk this path. Your journey is still in its early stages, and I know that you will go far.
“May the LORD bless you, and keep you; May the LORD make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; May the LORD turn his countenance to you and grant you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26). Amen.
Saturday, April 1, 2023 10:000am-5:00pm – St. Clement’s Island Museum
Amy will be a vendor at the Festiival. Experience a full day of fun sipping wine along the Potomac at St. Clement’s Island Museum with St. Mary’s County wineries on the First Landing Wine Trail, as well as local artisan and craft vendors, live music, food, kids’ activities, boat rides and more.
Event admission is FREE – there are various costs for food, museum admission, water taxi rides or any vendor or wine purchases. Official First Landing Wine Trail glasses will be available for purchase in the museum store, along with other great local items.
Get a discount on my books, Whispering Vines and The Good Wine!
Chincoteague Sunsets Trilogy Book Two Book Launch!
Date TBA – Sundial Books, Chincoteague Island
Amy will be signing the newest book in her Chincoteague Sunsets Trilogy! Details to come.
Want To Read More from Amy?
Subscribe to my newsletter for information on upcoming books, cover reveals, and insider information. Do you know what my next book is about? My newsletter subscribers do!
Would you like Amy to speak to your parish, your women’s group, your reading patrons, or your book club?Did you know that Amy leads women’s retreats?
Contact Amy’s assistant to schedule Amy’s visit–in person or via Zoom or FaceTime. Now is the time to schedule a visit for this spring or summer!
Amy Schisler is an award-winning author of both children’s books and sweet, faith-filled romance novels for readers of all ages. She lives with her husband and three daughters on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Her books, Picture Me, Whispering Vines, and Island of Miraclesare all recipients of Illumination Awards, placing them among the top inspirational fiction books of 2015, 2016, and 2017. Whispering Vineswas awarded the 2017 LYRA Award for the best romance of 2016. The Good Wine, the sequel to Whispering Vines was released in June of 2021. Island of Miracleshas outsold all of Amy’s other books worldwide and ranked as high as 600 on Amazon. Her follow up, Island of Promise is a reader favorite. Amy’s children’s chapter book is The Greatest Gift, and her most recent suspense novel is Summer’s Squall.
Amy’s second book in the Chincoteague Island Trilogy, Island of Promise, was awarded First Prize by the Oklahoma Romance Writer’s Association as the best Inspirational Romance of 2018 and was awarded a Gold Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards 2019 for Inspirational Fiction. It is the 2019 winner for Best Inspirational Fiction in the RWA Golden Quill Contest, Best Romance in the American Book Awards, and a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award of Fiction. Amy’s 2019 work, The Devil’s Fortune, a finalist in the Writer’s Digest Self-Publishing Awards and winner of an Illumination Award, is based, in part, on Amy’s family history. The third book in Amy’s Chincoteague Island Trilogy, Island of Hope, was released in August of 2019. Amy’s book, Desert Fire, Mountain Rain begins her new Buffalo Springs series. Book two, Under the Summer Moon, was released in December of 2021. Amy’s latest book, Sapphires in Snow, was released in November, 2022.
This past Sunday, Catholics around the world heard the story of the Raising of Lazarus proclaimed by their priests or deacons. It’s a wonderful story, and there’s so much commentary out there that it’s easy to get lost in all the different explanations about what’s happening in the story. Besides my own priest’s homily, I listened to three other homilies, and enjoyed each of their takes on the meaning of Lazarus’s raising. All three priests paid a lot of attention to the shortest sentence in the entire Bible, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).
View from inside the Church, Dominus Flevit, Jerusalem
It was a warmer than typical day as we entered the gate. We meandered through the busy city, carefully trodding on uneven stones, snaking our way to the start of our journey. Our walk was slow and somber as we carried our heavy load while wiping our tears. We encountered dozens, perhaps hundreds of people along the way. Some mocked us, many took pictures or shot video as we passed. Some bowed their heads and prayed while others pushed their way past, looking upon us with disgust.
We were the outcasts, the interlopers, the reminders of things some wish to forget. But we were also symbols of what happened and what was to come. But we were also hope and faith to those who needed someone to show them The Way. We carried our cross with humility and love. Our cross was carried for Him, to show Him our love, to honor the One who carried His cross for us.
“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.” – James Thurber
Isn’t that a great quote?
As a reader and a writer, I understand the need to have questions answered.
So Many Questions, so Few Answers!
We all begin reading a book with many questions. What is this about? Who are the characters? What will happen to them? What obstacles will they face and overcome? How will this end? At the end of the book, if it’s a book worth reading, those questions are all answered to a satisfying degree. Unless the story ends on a cliffhanger to be picked up in the next book, we are unsatisfied if we don’t have answers. We want and need more. We need all the answers.
Life is a journey on which we grow, learn, discover, and become. We begin that journey with many questions. Who am I? What is my purpose? What should I do? Where should I go? Where will I end up? The questions are large, small, simple, and complex; and often, the answers we discover lead to more questions. We long for answers and tidy endings, but life is not a book!
Much of the following blog was written in 2020, but it could have been written this week. The message resonates now with just as much meaning as back then.
It was an ordinary Monday in an extraordinary year when a tree beside our house was struck by lightning. It was scary. The entire house shook from the sound akin to a sonic boom, and a red-orange light filled every room, like a giant fireball hurled through the windows. We knew lightning had struck nearby, but we didn’t know where. It was raining too hard to go outside and look around, and everything in the house seemed okay, so we surmised, perhaps it wasn’t as close as we thought.
That evening, we all sat down together to watch a holiday special on TV, and we had no signal. The Tivo was working. It told us what channel was on and what program we should be seeing on the screen, but all we saw was a message that there was no channel available. We checked the other televisions in the house and found that we had no stations on any of them. Ken went outside with a flashlight and found that the antenna was still there, so he checked the booster in the garage where the signal comes into the house. The booster was dead. We were not at all prepared for lightning to strike.
On a cold day in 2018, my daughter asked me if she could write my blog that week. When she told me her idea about temporary people and why she wanted to write it, I was amazed by her insight, wisdom, and faith. I was even more amazed when I read her words. Many times over the past four years, I have thought back on this blog and the impact it had on me and others.
This Friday, the third book in my Buffalo Springs series will be released. Much of the story was inspired by my daughter’s blog. Throughout the story, the characters learn to embrace my daughter’s wisdom, and their lives are richer and more meaningful as a result.
In honor of the release of Sapphires in Snow, I’m re-sharing Rebecca’s blog. I know it will impact you as much as it did me. If you’re reading it for the second time, perhaps it will have an even deeper meaning for you today.
I hope you enjoy this beautiful blog written by my daughter, Rebecca:
When I was in first grade, my best friend was constantly bullied. She had a rare medical condition that made her an easy target for the kids in our class. They were horrible to her, but she taught me what it meant to be a true friend. She brought out something else in me that those other kids would try to take away, but that I would carry with me for the rest of my life. Eventually, we grew apart, and I haven’t spoken to her in years.
When I was in fourth grade, I was the one who was struggling. My teacher saw something in me and challenged me. He was one of those people who you knew you could trust immediately, and he was so kind to all of his students, regardless of their own imperfections. He showed me what a true role model looked like and made me feel like I could accomplish anything. Eventually, I left that school, and I haven’t seen him since.
If there’s anything I cherish as much as I love and cherish spending time with my family, it’s spending time with friends. I think it’s something that people today don’t appreciate enough. When one can brag about having close to 1000 friends on Facebook, and the number of followers on Instagram is more important to them than the number of minutes spent face-to-face with live people, then there’s something very wrong with our world.
A few years ago, I was toying with the idea of writing a book about a former female Navy SEAL. I didn’t know her name or her story, but bits and pieces were beginning to come to me. I couldn’t find any direction and didn’t feel like the character was talking to me as I sat at my desk in my office on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I needed a break to clear my head. Some time away with a good friend was just what I was hoping for.
When I arrived in the Arkansas Ozarks, my dear friend, Tammi, assured me that I would one day write a series that takes place in one of the picturesque towns in the area. I was dead set against writing a series, but I went with an open mind. After several days of driving around and visiting many of the picturesque towns, I was even more convinced that I was not meant to write a series, and my character was still hiding in my brain, refusing to show herself. Then we drove through a town that broke my heart.
The sidewalks were cracked, most of the windows were boarded up, and the fountain in the center of town was dry and crumbling. Suddenly, I saw Andi, arriving home from the Navy, standing in the middle of town with a hole in her heart. She was dying inside, and the one place she thought could revive her was dying as well.
Here we are, three years later, and Andi is happily married and living in Buffalo Springs, the town she helped restore. Her sister, Helena, is engaged to the town doctor and piloting every organization in town. Their brother, Jackson, well… he’s trying to find his way out of Buffalo Springs as fast as he can.
Sapphires in Snow
Award-winning author, Amy Schisler, takes us home for Christmas to Buffalo Springs where every season is a time for love… and danger.
Award-winning author, Amy Schisler, takes us home for Christmas to Buffalo Springs where every season is a time for love… and danger.
The little white house on Main Street in Buffalo Springs, Arkansas, is the only home Jackson Nelson has ever known. With college behind him and both his sisters back in town to look after their aging parents, Jackson knows now is the time to make his big move. All he’s ever wanted is to move to New York and lead the high-stakes life of a real estate investor. He’s determined to leave town right after Christmas and never look back.
Cindy Kline has never had a real home or a real Christmas. Abandoned by her father and raised by an unfit mother, Cindy thought she had finally found the family she always wanted when the man of her dreams asked her to marry him; but when his Navy SEAL helicopter went down in a fiery crash before their wedding, Cindy had nothing left to keep her in sunny California. Packing her meager belongings into her old, beat-up car, Cindy drives straight to Buffalo Springs and to the only real friend she’s ever had – Andi Nelson. With Christmas around the corner, Andi, Jackson, and the whole Nelson family convince Cindy to stay through the holidays.
Just when Cindy is beginning to get into the Christmas spirit, her life is once again up-ended – this time by a series of break-ins and the news that her dangerous father may be lurking nearby. Cindy has no idea that her father’s mysterious past will put her life in jeopardy, and Jackson has no idea that the bright lights of New York are but a flickering flame when it comes to the sparks of the heart.
Sneak Peak
A cold wind—the precursor of a coming storm—shook the trees and rattled the shingles, but the flames flickered in the fireplace, and the house smelled of freshly baked bread and roasting, Thanksgiving turkey. Jackson slipped out the front door and leaned against one of the columns that framed the steps of the only place he’d ever called home. He took a sip from the bottle in is hand and heard the door open behind him.
“Cold night to be stargazing,” Jackson’s father said as he slowly moved to stand beside his son, using the furniture and porch railing to guide his steps. He hated using his walker.
“Cold but clear. The best kind of night to see the stars.” He gestured at the sky with the bottle.
“I guess you don’t see many stars in the city,” his father said.
Jackson took another sip. “Not as many as here,” he agreed. “But there are a lot of things the city has that Buffalo Springs doesn’t.”
“I suppose I probably thought that way when I was your age.”
Jackson ignored the comment and leaned closer to the man whom he had always admired. He asked quietly, “How’re you holding up, Daddy? Are you feeling okay?”
Joshua beamed up at his son. “Never better.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Jackson said though he doubted there was much truth to his father’s statement. “We just don’t want you overdoing it.”
“Nonsense,” Joshua said, waving his hand in dismissal. “I’m as fit as a fiddle.”
Joshua wished that was true, but one look told him otherwise. His father had aged at least ten years since his stroke back in June, and though Jackson had seen his progress in the months leading through August, he was shocked to see how fragile his father had become while Jackson was at school.
Joshua Nelson’s blue eyes seemed dimmer, and he had lost more than seventy pounds. His arms were thin with none of the muscle Joshua had built up after years of heavy lifting in the town’s paper mill. When the mill shut down a few years back, Joshua had no problem getting a job lifting and carrying loads at the local hardware store. It was only after he was laid off, during the town’s bad years, that Joshua’s health had declined. Now, he stood stooped over, his face sagged with wrinkles and empty skin, and his legs didn’t always work the way they should.
“Daddy, you must be freezing out here. Let’s go back inside. I’m sure Mama could use some help, and your game shows will be on soon.”
Jackson remained alert, his arms ready to give aid, as his father shuffled back toward the door. His heart broke to see his strong, capable father reduced to half his size and a quarter of his strength.
“Your mother’s the one who always overdoes it,” Joshua said. “I told her to wait to cook that bird in the morning when the girls are here, but she insisted that she always cooks it the night before. Says it’s easier for me to carve it that way.”
That was something Jackson hadn’t thought of. Was his father capable of carving the turkey? Could he even hold the knife steady? Maybe Jackson should suggest that it’s high time for him to learn to do the job. After all, he’d be a college graduate in less than a month. Time to start taking on some more responsibility around here. For what little time he’d be around here anyway.
After helping his father get settled in his armchair, Jackson’s eyes fell on the carpet where the repair stood out, the threads bright and colorful. He recalled the day a fireball had been thrown through the window and onto the rug. He frowned, remembering the men who tried to burn down his parents’ house and attack his sister, Andi, when she and Jackson devised a plan to save the town from the drug lords who were running it. It was during that time that Andi convinced Mayor Wade Montgomery to join their efforts, and Wade went from being a figurehead who bowed to the crooked town council to a legitimate mayor who fought for the best interests of Buffalo Springs. Both Andi and Wade came close to being killed by the men who thought they ran the town, and Jackson’s already high admiration of his sister had grown even more.
“There you are.” Grace’s voice pulled Jackson back to the present. “I called from the kitchen, but y’all didn’t answer.”
“Sorry, Mama. We were on the porch. Do you need help with something?”
“Can you lift the bird from the oven for me? It gets heavier every year.”
Jackson smiled. “Sure, Mama.” He started toward the kitchen.
“Just put it on top of the stove for now,” Grace called.
The aroma of spice-laden skin and toasted stuffing filled the air, and Jackson’s stomach growled despite the hearty supper they’d eaten only an hour before.
He hefted the turkey onto the stove and turned off the oven. Before he returned to the living room, he gazed around the bright kitchen with its yellow walls and lacy curtains. Nothing about this room had changed in at least fifteen years, but instead of comforting Jackson, it made him uneasy. Not much in this town ever changed even with all the new businesses that his sister and her husband were bringing in. It was no place for a young man just starting out in life, and as much as he would hate to break the news to his family, Jackson knew that come New Year’s, he would be long gone from here. He didn’t plan on ever coming back.
October 29, 2022 – Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels, MD
Amy will be signing and selling books at the festival. The event features live music on two stages, boat rides, retriever demonstrations, oysters and other local fare, an oyster stew competition and cooking demonstrations, along with children’s activities, oyster demonstrations, harvesting displays and Chesapeake-related documentary screenings. More details coming soon.
Write What You Know Writer’s Workshop
November 12, 2022 – Time TBA – Leonardtown Library, Leonardtown, MD
Amy will be giving a workshop for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). She will talk about how to write a more authentic and readable novel by writing about what you know – the people, places, and events that have shaped your own life. More details coming soon.
November 19, 10am-4pm & November 20 10am-3pm – Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels, MD
Amy will be selling and signing her books at the annual event just in time for Christmas! The Festival will feature artisans from around the country selling coastal and sea-glass related jewelry, home décor, art, and more. The two-day festival ticket includes entrance to the festival, live music, and all the exhibitions and historic structures on the campus of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.
Want To Read More from Amy?
Subscribe to my newsletter for information on upcoming books, cover reveals, and insider information. Do you know what my next book is about? My newsletter subscribers do!
What I was writing about one year ago this week: I Surrender.
Would you like Amy to speak to your parish, your women’s group, your reading patrons, or your book club?Did you know that Amy leads women’s retreats?
Contact Amy’s assistant to schedule Amy’s visit–in person or via Skype or FaceTime. Now is the time to schedule a visit for this fall or winter!
Amy Schisler is an award-winning author of both children’s books and sweet, faith-filled romance novels for readers of all ages. She lives with her husband and three daughters on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Her books, Picture Me, Whispering Vines, and Island of Miraclesare all recipients of Illumination Awards, placing them among the top inspirational fiction books of 2015, 2016, and 2017. Whispering Vineswas awarded the 2017 LYRA Award for the best romance of 2016. The Good Wine, the sequel to Whispering Vines was released in June of 2021. Island of Miracleshas outsold all of Amy’s other books worldwide and ranked as high as 600 on Amazon. Her follow up, Island of Promise is a reader favorite. Amy’s children’s chapter book is The Greatest Gift, and her most recent suspense novel is Summer’s Squall.
Amy’s second book in the Chincoteague Island Trilogy, Island of Promise, was awarded First Prize by the Oklahoma Romance Writer’s Association as the best Inspirational Romance of 2018 and was awarded a Gold Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards 2019 for Inspirational Fiction. It is the 2019 winner for Best Inspirational Fiction in the RWA Golden Quill Contest, Best Romance in the American Book Awards, and a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award of Fiction. Amy’s 2019 work, The Devil’s Fortune, a finalist in the Writer’s Digest Self-Publishing Awards and winner of an Illumination Award, is based, in part, on Amy’s family history. The third book in Amy’s Chincoteague Island Trilogy, Island of Hope, was released in August of 2019. Amy’s book, Desert Fire, Mountain Rain begins her new Buffalo Springs series. Book two, Under the Summer Moon, was released in December of 2021.
Amy’s new book, Seeking Tranquility, was released on June 15, 2022. Buy your copy now!
When I had my first child, my mother and grandmother stayed at the house to help me. I don’t know what I would have done without them. My husband couldn’t get off from work, and I would have been on my own. Here we are, twenty-six years later, and I’ve taken up the mantle and am at my daughter’s house helping take care of her newborn.
When Rebecca told me that her husband had two weeks of paternity leave and would be there to help as well, I honestly didn’t think too much of it. Sure, he’d be there, but what good would he be? If Rebecca needed guidance and help from someone who had “been there,” she would have me. Anthony certainly wouldn’t have anything to add to the equation. I pictured him coming home from the hospital, tired and hungry, eating whatever I made before going to bed and returning to the hospital the next day to bring Rebecca and the baby home. From there, I assumed he’d make an appearance during the day, but his primary role would come into play at night with diaper changing and then handing off Evelyn for feedings.
Any day now, possibly by the time this goes to print, I will be a grandmother. For the past nine months, I have marveled at how I could be a grandmother already. It seems too soon. I’m excited, but I don’t feel ready. I don’t have enough life experience yet. I’m still busy screwing up my children’s lives! I still make parenting mistakes all the time. How can I help my daughter navigate her own life as a new mother?
I was lying in bed last night, unable to put my mind to rest, when I thought, I don’t know how to do this yet. My mother and grandmother were so good at it, so perfect, and I’m so much younger than they were when they took on this role.
You must be logged in to post a comment.