About the Book

Book: The Young Samaritan

Author: J. Schuyler Sprowles

Genre: : Faith Based/ Inspirational

Release Date: January 20, 2024

Is survival enough when faith is tested?

“The Young Samaritan” is a gripping coming-of-age story set in a tumultuous time, where faith, identity, and survival intersect on an extraordinary journey.

Joshua, a young Samaritan boy, is forced to flee his home, thrust into a world that is as dangerous as it is unfamiliar.

Along the way, he encounters a mysterious woman who delivers a haunting vision, a wild dog that stays loyally by his side, and a reclusive uncle whose life is shrouded in secrets. Amidst the chaos of his flight, Joshua discovers uncommon love in a forsaken land.

As Joshua’s journey leads him to a band of sojourners—led by a man called Rabbi—he becomes entwined with a group that many believe to be the Messiah’s followers.

Despite their hesitations, Joshua’s determination to stay with them leads him to a transformative path, one that will ultimately take him to the cross and beyond.

Click here to get your copy!

Author Interview

What is your favorite part about writing?
There is one word that comes to mind and it is freedom. When I write, I am free to journey
wherever I choose. My characters are of my own making and the words they speak come from
me alone.

What is your writing space like?
I need a space where I can retreat from the noise of the world and where stillness prevails. In
my case it is what my wife and I affectionately refer to as our library. It does have many books
on shelves, but also a clutter of old family photos, paintings galore and granddaughters’ toys
spread from end to end. Although I do complain about the seeming disorder, I secretly admire
this space, especially when I can close the door behind me and be enclosed in the blessed
silence this chaotic appearing space provides.

When did you become a writer?
In was during my high school years when I discovered that perhaps I had a knack for writing
stories. I’m afraid I was terrible student. I hated math and science and preferred to disrupt the
learning atmosphere with juvenile class clownery utterly frustrating my teachers. However,
whenever I had an opportunity to compose a story for an English class, I took the assignments
seriously and realized I enjoyed the process of using my imagination with words of my own. I
would even receive praise from teachers now and then that I had the makings of a good writer.
Getting this rare recognition from teachers served as confirmation that I was a good at this.

What is your work schedule/routine when you write?
When I wrote The Young Samaritan I adopted a routine that I felt would work for me.
My vow was to commit two hours a day, every single day to writing this story until I finished my
first draft of the manuscript. On many days I only managed to write a single paragraph or make
changes to the previous day’s text. On other days I wrote several pages. The key to all of this
was my commitment to devote two hours to this process every day until I wrote the last word.
I never committed to writing a set amount of words a day. That I felt would be a drudgery and
perhaps lead me to forcing the story forward just to meet my word count. However, my
discipline of devoting two hours a day to truly imagine where this story should go without being
forced into a word count was a routine entirely suited to me as a writer.

Do bits of yourself/friends show up in your characters?
Absolutely. Losing my father at an early age definitely shaped the emotional aspects of my
protagonist (Joshua) in The Young Samaritan. I also pulled from the days of my youth when I
was taken advantage by boys who I thought were my friends only to realize too late that they
were anything but. Throughout my formative years I had a wonderful and fiercely loyal German
Shepard named Count. On many days he would chase anything including rabbits or I would find
him running from angry neighbors after snatching a juicy steak off their backyard grill . When
the school bus dropped me off at the end of the day, there was Count waiting at my stop to
escort me home. In my story there is a stray dog who begins to follow Joshua and they soon
become inseparable. I attach all the characteristics of my boyhood companion to this stray dog
who I affectionately name Journey.

About the Author

A Chicago native, Schuyler as a teenager always dreamed of becoming a radio and TV talent. His aspirations led him to Hollywood where he trained as a broadcaster. He began his career as a country music DJ and news reporter in the Southwest. Ultimately he became a TV news anchor in Dallas. In time, Schuyler moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a television news correspondent. This eventually led to a decades long high-profile career in crisis management, political consulting and speech writing. Most recently, Schuyler turned to publishing, founding a family-oriented magazine in Southern California. A lifelong Christian, Schuyler admits to walking away from his faith in the past, only to discover the light of Jesus piercing the darkness to guide him back where he belongs. Inspired by the Gospels, “The Young Samaritan” is his debut novel. He currently lives in Pasadena, California with his wife Maureen.

More from J. Schuyler

The Young Samaritan was inspired by two verses from the New Testament in the Gospel of Mark (14:51 – 52). These brief verses describe an unidentified young man who attempts to intervene in the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is quickly seized by the temple guards but manages to escape their grip, leaving his garment in their hands, as he flees naked into the night. Nothing further about him is ever mentioned in the Bible.

The Young Samaritan is my vision of the backstory for this strange and provocative episode in Jesus’ journey to the cross. The Young Samaritan creates a compelling and transformational epic tale where a fictional literary character (Joshua) collides with biblical history.