Author Interview: Lana Christian

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Survival Secrets by Lana Christian, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours

Christmas is around the corner, and if you’re looking for a Christmas story with a twist, may I suggest Survival Secrets by Lana Christian. It’s book 2 in a series about the Wise Men’s search for Jesus.

Here’s my interview with the author so you can get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the inspiration and work involved in the story.

Author Interview

What led you to go from medical writing to faith writing?

I was home and quite ill on December 10, 2017, so I watched Shadow Mountain Community Church’s service online, which included a live Nativity. This may sound corny, but it was like God shined a light on each part of that Nativity, starting with the star, and whispered in my ear, “There’s a story to tell here.”

My first research for the book was a natural outgrowth of my science background—I dove into all the theories people had about the star. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, on that same date in 2023, my publisher inked the contract for this series.

How did God use a life-threatening disease to turn your life around?

I almost died twice from an undiagnosed case of advanced Lyme disease. At my lowest point, I prayed for God to take my life. I told Him it would let the rest of my family resume living a normal life. God answered me swifter and more vehemently than I’d ever experienced. In an almost audible voice, He said, “Lana, I died for you. It’s not your job to die for anybody.” That gave me the courage to believe God still had plans for me.

Tell us about your new release Survival Secrets.

Survival Secrets picks up right where New Star leaves off. The Wise Men are on the run from Herod and other enemies (see Matthew 2:12), which forces them into a desperate decision and a dangerous trek to try to reach safety.

Finding Yeshua has already cost the Wise Men dearly, but now their newfound faith gets its first real testing. Will it be enough to sustain them through the hardships they face?

They need to maintain their anonymity to survive. They need to keep their knowledge of Yeshua secret to protect Him and His family. They also harbor other secrets that could have devastating consequences if revealed. When confronted with compromising their morals or their beliefs to survive, what will they choose?

In separate arcs, each Wise Man has to confront doing something he despises or dreads and has to choose whether to respond in faith. There’s also a lovely character arc about the lead Wise Man’s cousin, who’s on her own faith journey 2,000 miles away. All in all, it’s a story of new faith, the dangers of exercising it in a world that enforced national religions, and the Hope of God that pervades even incredibly difficult circumstances.

How does your love of science and history come into play in your fiction?

I’ve been a science geek ever since 7th grade. I love how science and nature continually affirm that God created everything. As a medical writer, I constantly see how medical research reaches a point where they can’t explain something further, so they say, “This warrants further study.” Then I do a happy dance like, “Yes! Go, God!” It shows me time and again how we can’t know a fraction of what God knows and created.

Researching history was a natural outgrowth of my day-job skills when I started writing biblical fiction, and it did the same: it showed how God is ultimately in control of the nations—despite man’s plans. To write biblical fiction requires first doing lot of research. The Bible is always my starting point for that. Then I dive into world history of the day. Being meticulous in research and conveying history accurately makes every scene believable.

What do you hope readers will get out of this book? 

Several things:

What God brings you to, He will see you through.
Time and again, the Bible shows us people pushed or drawn into the wilderness for a time of testing and refining. The Wise Men experience that in Survival Secrets as they flee from Herod and other enemies.

God can work through every situation to bring good from it.
We don’t need to have everything figured out. We just need to trust Him. If we give Him space in our difficulties, He will show up large and in charge in ways we can’t imagine or engineer.

Our insufficiencies point us to our all-sufficient Heavenly Father.

God is the God of hope, even during our darkest hours.

What are you working on next? 

I’m writing Book 3 of this series. I also have several devotional books in different stages of development. I’m fleshing out a duology about a midwife in 1500s England. And I have a modern-day retelling of Lot’s story on the back burner.

Who is your favorite woman in the Bible?

Esther. She faithfully lived a life she would not have chosen for herself. She lived in isolation behind palace walls, immersed in the most powerful pagan culture on earth. Sometimes I wonder if she thought her purpose in life had ended after she crushed Haman’s plot against the Jews. But, if we read between the lines, we get a glimpse of how her godly life may have influenced her stepson.

As Vashti’s son, Artaxerxes had every right to hate Esther. She’d taken his mother’s place. As king, he decreed a national religion that Esther would not practice. But look what he did. In the seventh year of his reign, he commissioned Ezra (a Jewish scribe in his court) to reinstate biblical teaching and practices in Jerusalem.

Twenty years into his reign, Artaxerxes authorized Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, helped finance the work, and appointed Nehemiah as governor of Judah. We don’t know if Esther was still alive then, but her life is a shining example of how one brave, godly woman can influence history in ways beyond imagining.

What is your favorite Scripture?

Isaiah 64:3-4

The entirety of those verses reads: “When You did awesome works that we did not expect, You came down [descended], and the mountains trembled at Your presence. From 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 printed the essence of this on a “poster” and taped it to my bedroom door so I could see it first thing every day and throughout the day. The poster said,

EXPECT the impossible.
CELEBRATE the unseen.
And PRAISE God for it!
(Isaiah 64:3-4, Job 9:10)

It constantly reminds me that God is always up to greater things than we can possibly imagine, so we need to thank Him in advance for them!

Anything else you’d like to share?

The front matter of Survival Secrets contains a one-page synopsis of “what’s happened so far”—in case you haven’t already read New Star. But I’d encourage you to read both books. New Star is the Wise Men’s backstory. It provides context for why they were motivated to search for Yeshua/Jesus. Readers say the series makes the Bible and history truly come alive for them.

About the Book

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.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

More in This Series

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About the Author

Lana Christian is an award-winning author in business and creative writing. Since 2021, she has won a dozen awards for her biblical fiction and nonfiction. Her debut biblical fiction novel, “New Star,” has garnered six awards to date. She was a 2025 Selah Awards finalist in the Devotions Online category and also won an award from Baker Publishing Group for her short story about Lot.

Lana is a science and history geek who loves hiking, secret staircases, and masala chai tea. Her greatest desire is that her stories will immerse readers in another place and time they may know little about but come away with an experience that exceeds their expectations.

Connect with Lana by visiting lanachristian.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a $15 Amazon gift card + Plum Deluxe tea sampler*

(1) winner will receive a $15 Amazon gift card

*tea sampler will include a packet of each of the following Plum Deluxe teas:
No Obligations Decaf (a hazelnut almond black tea and author’s fave)
Comfort Blend Cinnamon Orange black tea (caffeine)
Magical Butterfly Herbal tea (butterfly pea flower + berries)
(a close substitution may be made if one kind of tea is not available)

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight September 29, 2025 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on October 3, 2025. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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