Who am I?
I am Lauren Thell, author of YA fiction and blogger for Christian teens.
I am a creator.
I write contemporary Christian fiction for teens.
My characters could be your sister, your best friend, the loudmouth boy next door, the cute geek who sits behind you in biology class . . .
Realistic people who are remarkable in their own way.
I am a cheerleader.
(Not the kind that holds pom-poms.)
My aim is to embolden young Christians in their faith, that they might live what they believe.
Check out my YA blog, where I talk about . . . pretty much everything. Faith, love, life, reading, writing, boys . . .
I am a Christian.
I can do nothing to earn the right to stand before God. But that’s okay because I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. He has paid my debts—and yours too—in full. I also believe the Bible is God’s Word, and just as relevant today as when it was written.
You will find these beliefs reflected in my writing.
Who are those who "walk through fire"?
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.” -Isaiah 43:2
The world is a battlefield. Your faith will be tried and tested every step of the way.
YOU are the ones who walk through fire.
And when you do, I hope you will pick up one of my books or read one of my blog posts and find your faith strengthened. You like to read, I like to write. Guess that means we need each other!
Curious about my work-in-progress novels?
Sneak a peek at what’s happening behind the scenes! These are all my contemporary Christian YA novels, listed in order from books I’m currently pitching to agents to my roughest WIPs. Click for a brief description of each—and subscribe so you can know when they’re available to you!
(Titles are subject to change. Really, so is the content.)
Sixteen-year-old Lee is such a phenomenal actress, not even her friends know the secrets she hides. Unfortunately, her acting skills don’t work on her neighbor’s grief-stricken brother, who is himself a trained performer.
A 2023 Genesis Contest finalist
(Book 1 of 2)
Seventeen-year-old Quinn Matteson is trapped in a dangerous survival situation with her worst nightmare: her twin brother who knows what she did with her boyfriend and is determined to force her hand.
Collette’s freshman year is disrupted by the arrival of a Russian boy with a hair-trigger temper and eyes that look at her with more hate than they do anybody else. Now her parents expect her to do the impossible and treat him like a brother. But she can’t even pretend to like him because the contempt is mutual.
(Book 1 of a series)
As a teen with Sensory Processing Disorder, Rhapsodie Welles has spent her entire life avoiding stimulating environments. Until she’s paired with Sage—fidgety, loud, and over-the-top in every way—for an eight-week school project that’s bound to push her over the edge.
Weston McKay is the cockiest boy Blake has ever met, but he has something she desperately needs. Something that has the potential to ruin Nasonville High’s beloved Principal Jake—known also to Blake as Dad.
Full Biography
Formerly a piano teacher, Lauren Thell is an author of YA Christian fiction and a Jill of all trades from rural Wisconsin. She grew up on a farm that, at different points, housed pigs, chickens, dairy cows, beef cows, cats, dogs, rabbits, sheep, ponies, and one goat. Lauren was active in 4-H and showed sheep at the county fair, but music called her name. She was active in choir all through her school years and, after ditching her braces, mastered the French horn. At the ripe old age of eight, she began playing the piano and never quit.
Lauren earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Viterbo University in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. It was there that she met, dated, broke up with, then dated again Brian, the patient man who eventually became her husband.
Lauren taught piano lessons for several years in a private studio and served as the director of her church choir, but when her husband accepted a teaching position that required their family to move, she decided to make a career change too. That’s when her imagination took over and she began writing down the stories that had been brewing in her head for years.
A 2021 semifinalist and a 2023 finalist in the YA division of the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Contest, Lauren is a member of ACFW. In between writing and corralling her four lively children, she enjoys gardening, dancing, renovating her 100-year-old home, making her husband laugh, and gazing at the night sky through her telescope.
She still plays the piano.