by Lynn Lannin

I must confess. I haven’t always loved to read. Strangely enough, I have always loved to write.

As a child, my grandmother, who raised me, always read to me sometime during the day, and again at bedtime. She ordered a children’s magazine subscription for me, which I loved, but it fed something else that would become my passion for years…crafts! Suddenly, I couldn’t sit still long enough to read because my creative mind was constantly coming up with my next craft project.

I was probably in second or third grade when I was introduced to The Bobbsey Twins, and because it was so interesting, I couldn’t hardly put the books down. I still loved my crafting, but found time for both. During this time, I wrote cute little poems that my grandmother would display proudly on the refrigerator along with my drawings. After reading all the Bobbsey Twin books, she kept my interest in reading by introducing me to Helen Steiner Rice poetry.

Then the teenage years hit, and between studying all day at school and having something they used to call homework, for well over an hour in the evening, I had no interest in reading. A social life began, and I didn’t pick up a book for enjoyment for years. Music began to consume my life, and I was honored to win a spot in the All-City Choir all four of my high school years.

I still wrote poetry, kept journals, and wrote down the stories I heard from older family members. Things about their childhoods, before electricity and indoor plumbing, and the years during the Great Depression, when they barely had enough to eat to stay alive. They told how they met their spouse, and how the world was a different place back then. I was intrigued. Those stories, combined with watching westerns on TV, took me to a time in history I would love to explore. My dad’s collection of Louis L’Amour westerns lined the shelves, filled with my future research.

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My mother-in-law was the first person to put a book in my hand as an adult, introducing me to a world I would stay in for years – Mystery! That book made me feel the cold wind blowing, hear the rain beat against window panes, and see the fury of the ocean below the cliffs’ edge as the waves crashed against the jagged boulders… My introduction to Mary Higgins Clark – Where Are the Children. Oh my! Suddenly, I was obsessed. For years, I read her books, along with Coleen Coble and a few others, between diaper changes and housework, whenever the children took a nap.

As the years rolled on, and I had exhausted all of Mary Higgins Clark, my husband (a professional truck driver), told me about a fifteen-minute radio broadcast on the Christian station, where a narrator read a chapter from a book every day, that I may enjoy.
ENTER – Janette Oke! This series hit every expectation I had for reading enjoyment. Action, romance, history, devastation, joy, and a direct path to how the Lord was always in control, even when we didn’t understand.

By the end of the week, I visited the local Christian bookstore and purchased the series! I couldn’t wait an entire weekend for the next chapter! I even took the books on vacation with us and read out loud while my husband drove. I remember getting so emotional during a tender scene that I was crying so hard no one could understand what I was saying!

When my youngest children were in middle school, I gathered all my old notebooks filled with stories accumulated over the years, and started writing novels and books of poetry. But, sadly, at that time there was no self-publishing, and with five kids, (four still at home), there was no money for agents to find a publisher. I put it on hold for the next 25 years.

I read all of Janette Oke’s books, and several others, and then Mary Conneally became my favorite. One day, I sent her an email, as a fan, saying how much I enjoyed her writing. I never dreamed she would reply, but, within hours, she did! That was how I learned about self-publishing, and God had led me that direction.

Since then, I have published 51 books, and was even blessed to lead a woman in Australia to the Lord, who contacted me after reading one of my books. That was worth more than all the gold in the world. We messaged while I had my preacher on the phone, and she became a child of God!

I have had countless people contact me with personal stories of how my books have been a blessing to them in many different ways…and to me, that’s what it’s all about.

It took a lifetime to get here, but God was in it all along. He got my attention and showed me where my place was, let me learn from some of the best in the industry, and taught me patience. It’s been worth the long journey. I will live to honor Him.

 

 

 

Lynne Lanning has such an effortless way of evoking emotion from her readers. Her characters are so realistic that the reader can feel their pain during trials and their joy during triumphs. Reviews state: “…it’s as if Mrs. Lanning lived through this herself.” “Couldn’t put it down…” “A real page turner.” Lynne enjoys turning history and her love of God into enjoyable, relatable stories with practical life lessons that can benefit people today. Each story tells of true bonds of love and loyalty, mixed with tough times and decisions, with a twist of humor and sometimes devastation…the same is true in life. With a blend of her own family members and heritage along with lots of fiction, it’s hard to tell where reality stops and fantasy begins.