Lana Christian is an award-winning author of business and faith-based writing. Since 2021, she has won a dozen honors for her biblical fiction and nonfiction writing. HerLana’s journey into fiction creative writing began after surviving the greatest battle of her life. A near-fatal case of Lyme disease left her homebound and forced her to reevaluate/reinvent her life. That’s when God nudged her from decades of clinical and medical writing into the unexpected world of historical fiction. Armed with a master’s degree in counseling, a career's background as a clinical laboratory scientist and medical educator, and a lifelong love for science, history, and archaeology, Lana uses her lifelong love of science and archaeology to craft immersive stories rooted in truth, grit, and faith. Her writing is shaped by personal resilience, cross-country healing journeys, and a passion for uncovering the hidden intersections of culture, politics, and belief. Whether she’s diving into first-century Persia, exploring the clash of religion and power in the 1500s, or writing award-winning devotions, or hiking mountain trails (or pretending to from her fourth-floor flat), Lana lives for creating those “aha” moments through both her writing and everyday life. She believes Her greatest desire is to create an immersive reader experience with “living history” that goes beyond what the reader thinks they know, overcoming against the odds, and letting God lead the adventure.
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Survival Secrets
On the run from Herod and the Nabataeans, Akilah makes a desperate decision to venture into the unforgiving Wilderness of Paran. To reach Egypt’s safety, his caravan must survive the elements while maintaining their anonymity and protecting the secrets they harbor. Their knowledge of Yeshua is one of many secrets that jeopardize their lives. When calamity tears one Wise Man away from the others, the group’s resolve and newfound faith start to crumble. Farther from their goal of returning to Persia than ever before, they encounter Yeshua’s family again. Its ramifications raise the stakes for their cost of belief in the Hebrew God. Two thousand miles away, Akilah’s estranged cousin, Farzaneh, wrestles with the same as she tries to uncover secrets her husband took to the grave when he embraced the Hebrew faith. As life shifts radically for everyone, each person must risk trusting an unfathomable, sovereign God.
- ISBN: B0FJDFWYF7
- Publisher: Scrivenings Press LLC
Interview with Lana Christian 2025
When Lana Christian describes writing as an adventure, she means it in every sense of the word. For her, the journey to becoming an award-winning author of biblical fiction wasn’t a straight path paved with publishing dreams. It was forged in the crucible of near-death illness, personal loss, and a faith that refused to quit.
After surviving a nearly fatal case of Lyme disease, Lana found herself homebound, with her life upended and no clear direction forward. Her ordeal included multiple solo cross-country moves just to get treatment. That’s when God gave her a nudge. It wasn’t toward recovery alone, but toward reinvention. After decades of writing in the medical field, she was called to something far more creative, and far more personal: historical fiction rooted in truth, grit, and unwavering faith.
Lana’s life theme, “Go Beyond,” echoes through every page she writes. It's inspired by both stories she loves and the ones she lives. Films like The Pursuit of Happyness and Amazing Grace mirror her own experience with illness, grief, and redemption. During her darkest moment, when she considered ending her life to relieve her family’s burden, Lana heard God speak words that would shape her future: “It’s not your job to die for anybody. I already did that.”
That moment of clarity and divine intervention led her not just to survive, but to thrive. It also led her to write with a boldness born from firsthand knowledge of how deeply light can pierce the darkness. It’s a depth that readers feel profoundly in her work.
From Science to Story
Transitioning from clinical writing to immersive historical fiction may sound like a leap, but Lana credits her science background for giving her the tools to succeed. "You have a story to tell in both cases," she says. "Its nature and structure differ, but you need at least four skill sets to do both: relentless research, attention to detail, storytelling ability, and the discipline to meet deadlines."
That meticulous approach is part of what sets her biblical fiction apart. She goes beyond exploring the events of the past by recreating them, all the way down to what characters would have eaten, worn, and believed. Her research for Survival Secrets, the second book in her Wise Men series, even introduced her to the Nabataeans, a little-known ancient people whose complex culture and secretive society added layers of intrigue and authenticity to her plot.
The Wise Men series reimagines the well-known story of the Magi with a lens rarely explored: that of Persian priest-scholars navigating a dangerous and divided world. Lana’s research revealed that the Magi were far more than three gift-bearing men on camels. They were members of an elite religious council in the Parthian Empire, a superpower that rivaled Rome.
Her discoveries reframed the biblical narrative with new intensity: “It was countercultural and counterintuitive for them to study a star that only appeared in Hebrew prophecy. What they risked, and what it cost them, adds an entirely new dimension to the Nativity.”
That cost and the characters’ inner struggles carries into Survival Secrets, where the Wise Men must now live with the fallout of defying Herod and following a prophecy that changed everything.
The Boldness to Go There
Lana doesn’t shy away from emotional intensity or spiritual depth. From the reverent depiction of the Wise Men meeting Yeshua, to the gut-wrenching portrayal of Farzaneh’s trauma, to the stomach-turning mindsets of Herod and Antipas, her writing pushes past comfort to find truth.
To do that, she admits she has to get "prayed up" before diving into difficult scenes. “Depicting brokenness often means going to the most broken places in yourself,” she says. And yet, it’s that vulnerability that breathes life into her characters and reminds readers that faith doesn’t always follow a linear path. And that's okay.
Two decades ago, someone told Lana her writing was a sword, and to keep wielding it. She’s taken that calling to heart. In a cultural climate that often waters down or shies away from biblical truth, Lana writes unflinchingly, yet compassionately.
She sees faith-based fiction as a bridge: “It offers immense opportunities to reach readers who may have never cracked open a Bible … who are facing challenges they think no one else understands.” Her goal is never to preach, but to walk with readers through history, and through the questions that define us.
As a research-heavy writer, Lana understands the temptation to include every fascinating detail. But she’s also ruthless when it comes to editing. “Use research like seasoning,” she advises. “A light sprinkle enhances the book. More gags the reader.” If a detail doesn’t serve the story, it’s cut, no matter how golden it may seem.
That mindset led her to scrap over two-thirds of her first draft of Survival Secrets. That bold move that ultimately produced a more refined and compelling narrative.
Why She Writes
If ever Lana needed a reminder of why she does what she does, it came from a journal editor who reviewed New Star, the first book in her series. The editor praised not only the emotional engagement of the story but the courage it took to portray ancient spiritual inquiry with such relevance and heart. For Lana, that feedback was the confirmation she needed: her writing mattered.
Lana’s personal faith journey continues to shape her characters. She knows what it’s like to shout at God, to wrestle with the enemy’s lies, and to pray even when it hurts. Those moments infuse her fiction with emotional honesty. Her characters don’t tie their faith up with a bow. They live it out, messily and bravely, one step at a time.
“Truths like faith and forgiveness are processes,” she says. “But praise God we can asterisk every hardship with ‘God is greater.’”
Next up? Lana is hard at work on Book 3 of the Wise Men series, as well as a historical duology set in 1500s England, several devotional projects, and a contemporary retelling of an Old Testament story. Her pen shows no sign of slowing down, nor does her passion for helping readers go beyond the surface of history, and into the heart of what it means to believe.
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Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having an active imagination and a flair for the dramatic. Today, she has honed those skills to become an award-winning author and speaker who works as a homeschool mom and independent contractor, helping others become their best from the inside out. She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, in Kentucky. They have a daughter and son, and 2 cats. She has sold over 25 books so far, three of which have won annual reader's choice awards. She is represented by Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. (www.tiffanyamberstockton.com)
After surviving a nearly fatal case of Lyme disease, Lana found herself homebound, with her life upended and no clear direction forward. Her ordeal included multiple solo cross-country moves just to get treatment. That’s when God gave her a nudge. It wasn’t toward recovery alone, but toward reinvention. After decades of writing in the medical field, she was called to something far more creative, and far more personal: historical fiction rooted in truth, grit, and unwavering faith.
Lana’s life theme, “Go Beyond,” echoes through every page she writes. It's inspired by both stories she loves and the ones she lives. Films like The Pursuit of Happyness and Amazing Grace mirror her own experience with illness, grief, and redemption. During her darkest moment, when she considered ending her life to relieve her family’s burden, Lana heard God speak words that would shape her future: “It’s not your job to die for anybody. I already did that.”
That moment of clarity and divine intervention led her not just to survive, but to thrive. It also led her to write with a boldness born from firsthand knowledge of how deeply light can pierce the darkness. It’s a depth that readers feel profoundly in her work.
From Science to Story
Transitioning from clinical writing to immersive historical fiction may sound like a leap, but Lana credits her science background for giving her the tools to succeed. "You have a story to tell in both cases," she says. "Its nature and structure differ, but you need at least four skill sets to do both: relentless research, attention to detail, storytelling ability, and the discipline to meet deadlines."
That meticulous approach is part of what sets her biblical fiction apart. She goes beyond exploring the events of the past by recreating them, all the way down to what characters would have eaten, worn, and believed. Her research for Survival Secrets, the second book in her Wise Men series, even introduced her to the Nabataeans, a little-known ancient people whose complex culture and secretive society added layers of intrigue and authenticity to her plot.
The Wise Men series reimagines the well-known story of the Magi with a lens rarely explored: that of Persian priest-scholars navigating a dangerous and divided world. Lana’s research revealed that the Magi were far more than three gift-bearing men on camels. They were members of an elite religious council in the Parthian Empire, a superpower that rivaled Rome.
Her discoveries reframed the biblical narrative with new intensity: “It was countercultural and counterintuitive for them to study a star that only appeared in Hebrew prophecy. What they risked, and what it cost them, adds an entirely new dimension to the Nativity.”
That cost and the characters’ inner struggles carries into Survival Secrets, where the Wise Men must now live with the fallout of defying Herod and following a prophecy that changed everything.
The Boldness to Go There
Lana doesn’t shy away from emotional intensity or spiritual depth. From the reverent depiction of the Wise Men meeting Yeshua, to the gut-wrenching portrayal of Farzaneh’s trauma, to the stomach-turning mindsets of Herod and Antipas, her writing pushes past comfort to find truth.
To do that, she admits she has to get "prayed up" before diving into difficult scenes. “Depicting brokenness often means going to the most broken places in yourself,” she says. And yet, it’s that vulnerability that breathes life into her characters and reminds readers that faith doesn’t always follow a linear path. And that's okay.
Two decades ago, someone told Lana her writing was a sword, and to keep wielding it. She’s taken that calling to heart. In a cultural climate that often waters down or shies away from biblical truth, Lana writes unflinchingly, yet compassionately.
She sees faith-based fiction as a bridge: “It offers immense opportunities to reach readers who may have never cracked open a Bible … who are facing challenges they think no one else understands.” Her goal is never to preach, but to walk with readers through history, and through the questions that define us.
As a research-heavy writer, Lana understands the temptation to include every fascinating detail. But she’s also ruthless when it comes to editing. “Use research like seasoning,” she advises. “A light sprinkle enhances the book. More gags the reader.” If a detail doesn’t serve the story, it’s cut, no matter how golden it may seem.
That mindset led her to scrap over two-thirds of her first draft of Survival Secrets. That bold move that ultimately produced a more refined and compelling narrative.
Why She Writes
If ever Lana needed a reminder of why she does what she does, it came from a journal editor who reviewed New Star, the first book in her series. The editor praised not only the emotional engagement of the story but the courage it took to portray ancient spiritual inquiry with such relevance and heart. For Lana, that feedback was the confirmation she needed: her writing mattered.
Lana’s personal faith journey continues to shape her characters. She knows what it’s like to shout at God, to wrestle with the enemy’s lies, and to pray even when it hurts. Those moments infuse her fiction with emotional honesty. Her characters don’t tie their faith up with a bow. They live it out, messily and bravely, one step at a time.
“Truths like faith and forgiveness are processes,” she says. “But praise God we can asterisk every hardship with ‘God is greater.’”
Next up? Lana is hard at work on Book 3 of the Wise Men series, as well as a historical duology set in 1500s England, several devotional projects, and a contemporary retelling of an Old Testament story. Her pen shows no sign of slowing down, nor does her passion for helping readers go beyond the surface of history, and into the heart of what it means to believe.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having an active imagination and a flair for the dramatic. Today, she has honed those skills to become an award-winning author and speaker who works as a homeschool mom and independent contractor, helping others become their best from the inside out. She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, in Kentucky. They have a daughter and son, and 2 cats. She has sold over 25 books so far, three of which have won annual reader's choice awards. She is represented by Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. (www.tiffanyamberstockton.com)
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