CL winter 09-10 - Evangelical Church Library Association

10 10 Church Libraries • Spring 2010
A A U U T T H H O O R R I I N N T T E E R R V V I I E E W
W
Bringing History
to Life
by Kara Hackett
On the brink of a new novel,
Lynn Austin has much to be
proud of. Yet, after winning
five Christy Awards (for excellence in
Christian fiction)—more than any
other author—for her historical fiction,
she remains humble, attributing her
greatest accomplishment to the upbringing
of her three children.
“This may sound cheesy, but I
would just like to be remembered for
doing my best to be a good mother and
rearing my children to believe in Jesus
Christ,” Austin said. “That is a rare
thing today.”
Becoming a Novelist
Since her novelist debut in 1995, this
self-taught author’s interest in the story
of King Hezekiah has continued to
resonate, calling forth her passion for
a God who uses imperfect people for
His perfect purpose.
“The first book I wrote was Gods and
Kings, which became a five-book series,”
she said. “The books are biblical
fiction, based on the life of the Old Testament
king Hezekiah. He has always
fascinated me. After I read his story I
kept thinking, Why isn’t he as well known
as Abraham or Isaiah?
“I found Hezekiah’s life and journey
of faith to be inspiring and decided
to ‘bring him to life’ through fiction.
He led an entire nation in a time of turmoil
and remained faithful to God, but
he wasn’t perfect. That is another rea-
son I enjoyed Hezekiah’s story: I could
relate to him. And that’s what I love
about the Bible. You would think that
if there were to be a holy book, all of
the people in that book would be holy
as well, right? But the men and women
in the Bible made mistakes as we do,
and God was able to use them anyway.”
Using Her Creativity
Although Austin writes from a Christian
worldview, she has captivated
fans of many faiths, bringing history
to life with her vivid storytelling techniques.
Before she began writing, her
creativity and passion for the past distinguished
her among her peers.
“I was a very creative child,” she
said. “I had a good imagination, and
my parents encouraged my creativity;
but I never considered writing. Even
in high school I was never recognized
for my writing. But I had a history
teacher who asked me to stay after
class one day because he liked a paper
I had written. He wanted me to write
history books; and, in a way, I ended
up doing that by writing historical fiction.”
Bringing History to Life
Austin’s creative mind incites her obsession
with history, specifically biblical
and American history, allowing her
to revisit the past and share her endeavors
with others.
Lynn Austin
“When I read history books, I can
picture it all in my mind like it’s a
story,” she said. “History is much more
than the facts you find in textbooks. It’s
about the people of each time period
and how they lived their lives.
“After the God and Kings series, my
next novel was Eve’s Daughters, which
is loosely based on the lives of the
women in my family. I was inspired
by their strength and their faith, even
though they went through some difficult
times. As I began to research the
historical background of the time periods
of my mother’s, grandmother’s
and great-grandmother’s lives, I found
a wealth of information and ideas for
more stories. The women in my family
are all strong people, but their strength
comes from their faith in God. All of
the other historical fiction I’ve written
seemed to grow out of this first book.”
Writing accurate historical fiction
requires extensive research. Austin’s
latest novel, Though Waters Roar, spans
the antislavery movement; Civil War;
temperance movement; and, finally,
women’s suffrage movement.
“I began by reading several reference
books on the women’s suffrage
movement; and they all talked about
the connections between that movement,
the women’s Christian temperance
movement, and the antislavery
movement,” she said.
“So I branched off from there and
read books about all three movements.