Interview with Author Lynn Austin! Part Two

Welcome back to part two of our interview with author Lynn Austin (Don't forget to leave a comment to win one of Lynn's books!)

Jill: Do you have any concerns or opinions about the direction and future of Biblical fiction in the CBA?

Lynn: I think that good Biblical fiction will always have as its goal a deeper understanding of Scripture. In other words, the novels bring the Bible story to life and flesh it out so that readers are better able to understand the Bible and how it relates to their own life. That was what I tried to do. To me, it’s very much like old-fashioned expository preaching. I believe that this approach to Biblical fiction will always find willing readers.

The other type of Biblical fiction is the kind that has a hidden agenda. The authors have an ax to grind or have already made up their minds what they want readers to believe and they set out to make their case. This approach is more like the style of preaching that pulls out passages of Scripture from their context to prove the sermon’s main points. The goal isn’t so much a better understanding of the Bible as it is to sway the reader to the author’s point of view. If this approach becomes the norm for Biblical fiction, I doubt if it will have much of a future in the CBA.

Jill: I read a quote once that referred to Biblical fiction as the “ghetto” of writing—as though it was at the bottom rung of the Christian fiction ladder. How would you respond to that thought?

Lynn: That was exactly the attitude that I encountered when I finished my first “Chronicles” book and tried to get it published. It is also the attitude in many Christian “literary” circles today. I have no doubt that some critics consider my Biblical fiction a black mark on my record as an author. The reason this is so, I believe, is because in the past, much of Biblical fiction was very poorly written. The genre has changed a great deal over the years and there are some wonderful examples in the marketplace today—but old opinions die hard. Unless critics read the good examples (and many critics admit that they haven’t done so) they are not going to change their opinion and give the genre the respect it deserves.

I have to say, as an author, that I don’t give much time or thought to what “they” say. If I’m in the “ghetto” of writing, so be it. I wrote the “Chronicles” because the story and the characters fascinated me. My goal was to bring the Bible to life so that readers could better understand Scripture when they read it for themselves. I have received many letters from readers that have told me the books have done just that.

Jill: How has God used Biblical fiction in your own life, personally speaking?

Lynn: I think that for me, the biggest benefit I’ve gained from reading Biblical fiction is that it showed me that the people in the Bible were real people, just like me. It’s easy to read the stories of the great heroes of the faith and imagine them as larger than life—people who never struggled with their faith or had doubts or questions. But well-written Biblical fiction portrays these people as very human, very fallible individuals—just like me. Now when I read Scripture, I am able to put myself in Noah’s place, or Elijah’s place or Esther’s place and believe that what God did in their lives He can also do in mine.

Jill: What one thing have you learned that you would pass on to writers interested in writing in this genre?

Lynn: I would advise authors to choose a lesser-known Bible character and let the more well known ones play supporting roles in your novel. Most readers don’t know much about my main character King Hezekiah, for instance, and even less about his wife, Hephzibah. But these same readers probably have formed an opinion about what the prophet Isaiah was like, and they don’t like to read stories that damage that view in any way. The more well-known the character, the more likely an author is to annoy readers if their new portrayal doesn’t match their pre-conceived one. The other advantage is that readers won’t know how the story of a lesser-known character will end.

Jill: When I’m studying the life of a Biblical character, I often wish I could transport back in time and view the scenes in real time as on a movie screen. Which Bible character’s life would you like to view in that way if you could?

Lynn: I would love to view King Hezekiah’s life. I would love to stand alongside him on the morning that he awoke after a long, desperate night of prayer to discover that 185,000 enemy Assyrian warriors had died in their tents during the night. What a celebration must have followed! I know it sounds corny, but I spent so many years writing and researching this dear man’s life that he will probably be the first person I want to meet in heaven. (After Jesus, of course!)

Second on my list would be Isaiah, closely followed by Jeremiah. I have a feeling that if we did view their lives on a movie screen we would see that they were very much like us with our daily struggles to remain faithful and serve God.

I agree! Thank you, Lynn! I appreciate your insight, and I love your writing. I hope your Biblical series sells well and that one day you can write your "Restoration Chronicles" series in this genre. To bring the Bible, particularly the Old Testament to life for readers is a daunting task but well worth the effort.

I hope you have enjoyed my interview with author Lynn Austin. Don't forget to leave a comment to enter the drawing for a free book - a copy of the first book in the "Chronicles" series - Gods & Kings.

Join us tomorrow for Beth's interview with author Cindy Thomson!