Q&A with Daniel Chambrello

I love the escape from the chaos of life. I also love seeing where a story will take me; often, it’s a different direction than I expected. However, the peace and tranquility and the beautiful connection with creative energies are what I love most.

I wrote Beyond the Light of the Willow Tree in so many different places—airports and airplanes, under trees, in a nook at Bell Rock in Sedona, Arizona, in parks, in my car with rain thudding down on the roof, in parking lots while I waited for my daughter’s band practice to end, under the moon and stars on our deck, in the woods while taking a break from hiking, and so many more—and each time, no matter what was going on around me, I felt deep peace and tranquility.

A beta reader said to me, “Your book is like a hug from above.” If someone had asked me just before I wrote the first words in a notebook while sitting in the bleachers of my daughter’s robotics competition in March of 2016 what my goal with this story was, I could have answered, “For readers to feel like they are being hugged from above,” and that would have captured my goal perfectly. So, what I think readers will love most is the comfort and soothing that will come from being reminded of the universal truths that have us so safely wrapped in our Creator’s light. We are living in turbulent times. People are seeking truth and comfort.

There’s also adventure and storylines of deep love in Beyond the Light of the Willow Tree, and it will provide inspiration and support for readers to begin questioning paradigms that they may never have thought about, or to begin examining their current ones through a new lens.

Beyond the Light of the Willow Tree is my debut novel. I am currently writing the story that comes before it. Like Beyond the Light of the Willow Tree, with the way it alternates between timelines and even jumps back and forth in time in the ancient Rome timeline, my new story is told in another unique and interesting way. I am so excited to see how it continues to unfold.

I have many ideas for future books. For now, my vision is to continue to write inspirational spiritual fiction. This is my calling. I intend to explore the high-level universal truths that I shared in Beyond the Light of the Willow Tree more deeply in future stories, while also introducing additional truths of oneness and love.

I now have my first ever social media account. I can be found on Instagram @danielchambrellowriting.

Beyond the Light of the Willow Tree is available globally through many large, small, and niche online sellers, including, of course, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart. It is available as an eBook, a paperback, a hardcover with a dustjacket, and an audio book. It can also be purchased by going to my homepage.

My favorite classic is Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. My favorite line from the book is “The knight’s sole responsibility is to succor them as people in need, having eyes only for their sufferings, not for their misdeeds.” In other words, and as I understand the message, let’s not think about why a person needs help, support, and love; let’s just help, support, and love them. We need more chivalry in life.

Mitch Albom is my favorite author. His writing feels like it comes from a genuine place of love and kindness and a mission to make the world better. His stories are interesting, inspiring, and magical, and they provide hope for so many. His book the five people you meet in heaven is my favorite, while the time keeper and for one more day are tied for a razor-thin second place.

There absolutely is. Every word of Beyond the Light of the Willow Tree is written with the deepest levels of compassion and empathy in my spirit. Life is hard. For some, the challenges are tremendous. I have never lost sight of this. Every single time before I started writing, I prayed for clarity, wisdom, and guidance to share my understanding of universal truth and who our Creator really is in a way that allows readers to feel understood and honored for their journeys. I believe all journeys here are courageous­­; some really push the limits of the human spirit. I’m in awe of these. 

Combining fiction adventure, self-help, philosophy, and parabolic storytelling, Beyond the Light of the Willow Tree is at its core a story that confronts perhaps the most difficult question in life—why am I here? With kindness and gentleness but head-on, my original story takes readers on an exciting journey of freedom, faith, loss, mortality, meaning, love (lots of love), and the illusion of death. Beyond the Light of the Willow Tree will take readers to the very heart of the human condition.