SLIM TO NO CHANCE OF SUCCESS by LANA CHRISTIAN

SLIM TO NO CHANCE OF SUCCESS by LANA CHRISTIAN
Friday, November 1, 2024 by Patti Shene

FEATURED BOOK: New Star

AUTHOR: Lana Christian

PUBLISHER: Scrivenings Press

GENRE: Biblical Fiction

SERIES OR STAND ALONE: Series

TARGET AGE: 18−90

IT IS MY PLEASURE TO WELCOME AUTHOR LANA CHRISTIAN TO THE OVER 50 WRITER. LANA TALKS ABOUT TWO OF HER LIFE ASPIRATIONS THAT OTHERS DEEMED IMPOSSIBLE, BUT SHE KNEW DIFFERENT.

SLIM TO NO CHANCE OF SUCCESS

Lana Christian

“You’re doing what?”

A relative gasped in disbelief as I told her I was moving cross-country. Driving—alone—to seek treatment for late-stage Lyme disease.

“There’s no way this can succeed.”

Humanly speaking, she was right. I was desperately ill. Newly divorced after thirty-three years of marriage. Financially on sinking sand. How could I navigate a 2,200-mile drive, move where I knew no one, earn a living, and hope that a doctor I’d never talked to could help me after four others had failed? The risks were great. The chances of success were slim.

That was ten years ago.

While still weathering the aftershocks of those life quakes, God nudged me to write a story about what happened to the Wise Men.

By then, I was sixty-one.

I didn’t even know what biblical fiction was.

Talk about another endeavor with slim chance of success. The publishing industry is challenging enough, but that goes double for breaking into the biblical fiction niche.

I’d already had a lengthy writing career—in health care. Did that count for anything?

Here’s the thing: God didn’t need me to be young or able-bodied to start a new chapter of my life as a faith-based author. He simply needed me to trust Him and be faithful to Him.

He gave me Isaiah 64:3-4 as encouragement. I jotted this paraphrase:

EXPECT the impossible.

CELEBRATE the unseen.

And PRAISE God for it!

I printed that as big as I could and taped it on my bedroom door so I would see it all the time. (It’s still on my door.)

Isaiah 64:3-4 reads like this in the Berean Standard Bible:

3When You did awesome works that we did not expect, You came down, and the mountains trembled at Your presence.

4From ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.

I revisited those verses countless times, claiming and trusting that God would do what I couldn’t anticipate or imagine. I wasn’t always patient in my prayers. But whether I was asking for protection and provision, inspiration and guidance, or courage and perseverance, I continued to pray that God would do exactly what He said He would. Something awesome I couldn’t expect.

Because the Great I AM is the Great I CAN.

It took seven years to get from initial inspiration to a four-book contract with a wonderful traditional publisher.

I wonder if the Wise Men had Isaiah’s words to encourage them. To follow their convictions, they bucked their culture, government, and official religion. Humanly speaking, they risked everything—with little to no chance of succeeding in their quest.

It really is true that if God brings you to it, He will see you through it.

Blurb for New Star

Akilah, a highly respected priest-scholar in Magi society, considers all his astronomy discoveries well-deserved stepping-stones to a more fulfilling life. But the appearance of a new star challenges his priorities. As Persia totters on the brink of an undesirable king coming to power, Akilah declines a position that could turn that tide. Instead, he studies a star that doesn’t appear in any almanac or religious writings. Except Jewish.

When he connects the star with prophesies of an eternal child-king, it plunges Akilah and his colleagues into three countries’ religious conflicts and circumstances beyond their imagining. Akilah realizes his knowledge of Jesus could potentially destroy Magi society and its power over Persia’s official religion and government. Untrusting of his Council, a thousand miles from aid, and bound in a potentially career-ending contract, Akilah must decide how far he will go to protect what he knows of Jesus—and whether the cost of his belief is worth the risk.

Amazon purchase link

Lana Christian is an award-winning author in business and creative writing. Since 2019, she has won six faith-based writing awards, including one from Baker Publishing Group for her short story about Lot. She loves making Scripture come alive by writing devotionals and biblical fiction. Her author website includes her blog, “Encouragement from Living History.” Connect with her on X (Twitter) at @LanaCwrites or her website.