Author Lynn Austen

I have another author that I really like. Her name is Lynn Austen. She's a Christian writer and has won some awards for her books. The first book of hers that I read was a part of a trilogy from the Civil War. It's called a Candle in the Darkness. It's about the war between the North and South and this particular book is from the perspective of a Southern Girl. This was very interesting to me because she doesn't quite understand what's going on and when she becomes old enough to understand she is torn. Does she stand up for what she believes in and become a traitor or go with what the "South" believes? I guess I just naively thought that all Southerners believed in slavery. I liked that it showed the conflict of not only standing up for what you believe but also standing up to your own "kind." Like a sheep surrounded by a pack of wolves. The other two books in this trilogy are from the perspectives of the North and the Slave's. I liked the Northern perspective as well, but not as much as the Southern. I don't know if it was because I read the other one first or what. I liked the character in the South better I think. I never did finish the Slave's perspective. It didn't move as well for me as the others did and I was reading several books at the time. I had to return it to the library before I could finish it. I am very passionate about the Civil War and the poor treatment of the slaves. It makes my blood boil!

Her other series is fantastic as well! I can't remember what it's called because I thought it was called the Gods and Kings Chronicles...but that's actually the title of the first book in the series. It is awesome and really strengthened my testimony and got me thinking a lot about things. Like I mentioned before she is a Christian writer. She doesn't quote from the KJV but from the NIV...which is like the Bible only written in "lay-man's" terms. The very first chapter in this book actually made my stomach turn and I almost just stopped reading it. It starts out with a human sacrifice...a human CHILD sacrifice. I can't stand things like this. I pushed myself further and told myself that if it was like this in the next chapter I would definitely not finish it. It got better...but still hard to read. It's about King Hezekiah and his life. It starts with his father King Ahaz who got his people back into idol worshiping and sacrificing. The series goes through his life and his challenges. Remember the famous Hezekiah Tunnel? I cross referenced this with the Bible Dictionary in the KJV and I remembered the Sunday School lesson we had on this story. I loved having it come to life! There are some hard things to swallow...the idol worshiping, the violence from the warring countries and the disrespect that the men of God have to suffer...but it's also a great story on what happens when you follow the Lord's teachings. I totally recommend this series to everyone! It will get you thinking about things and really strengthen your testimony!

I've read some of her other books that are not a part of a series and I have loved them all. Some of them start getting to be the same ideas and follow the same patterns as the others, but in the end I find myself closing the book and feeling like I want to be a better person. I cry, laugh, get angry and feel humbled after all of her books. She is a great writer and even though she quotes from the NIV she has a pretty strong foot planted in the soil of the gospel :). If I ever meet her I'm going to give her a Book of Mormon and say "Here, right a story about this!"