L. A. Racines

Author Bio:

Born and educated in Quebec, I spent two years as a teacher in Nigeria during the Nigerian civil war, came home to marry a theological student and then spent the following decades raising a family,working within the church in a variety of capacities, working outside the home in various non-profit organizations including Christian Direction and Cause Canada in Montreal, the Toronto City Mission and The National Broadcast Reading Service in Toronto, and Unionville Baptist Church in Markham, Ontario. In December 2003 I needed fresh direction in my life and received a word of prophecy about books I was to write. There were several clues embedded in the prophecy and they were all close to my heart. For the next twelve years I studied the history of the Roman Empire and then wrote the first of a series of books set in the early Fifth Century. The events in the first book take place as a violently anti-Christian pagan Gothic leader from northern Europe led a major invasion into the Western Roman Empire with at least a hundred thousand people who were fleeing Hunnic domination. The story is told from the point of view of a young Gothic Christian girl, a survivor of one of the Hunnic massacres, and also from the point of view of a young Roman soldier from the Gallic aristocracy who joins the Roman Army as a career move and then gets assigned to lead the resistance against the hordes of barbarians intent on reaching Italy. The denouement comes a year later as the Roman Army finally corners Radagaisus and his followers at Florence.
the book has been described as well-written, a page-turner, exciting, intriguing, informative, romantic and 'religious', since the Gospel is shared in a culturally sensitive way, as is the experience of the peace and presence of God in times of trial. Both men and women have delighted in the story, and MANY people have read it several times because they love the story and the characters in it, and don't want the experience to end. This year A Shield in the Shadows tied for Winner in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the category of Christian Fiction. It is currently a finalist in the Historical Fiction category of The Word Guild Awards. I find out on June 24th!
A Shield in the Shadows is available online through Xulon, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, LifeWay Christian Books, and christianbook.com.

A Shield in the Shadows

In 405 AD, a raid by a band of marauding Huns destroys a Christian village in the heart of barbarian Germania. Among those forced to flee are the pastor and his strong-willed sixteen-year-old daughter, Theona. They lead a tiny group of survivors on a quest to find a new, safer place to settle, and ultimately…