You got the inside scoop about my short story series in Spotlight on Seasons of Kane. Welcome to Part 2, where I share inside information on my stand-alone Christian YA short stories! Dive into fun facts, behind-the-scenes intelligence, and author insights that will enhance your reading experience.
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Hi, I’m Lauren Thell, author of Christian YA fiction and blogger for teens who are ready to exceed the world’s expectations.
In This Article
Stand-Alone Christian YA Short Stories By Lauren Thell
One White Dark Night
“If trouble had a face, this was it.”
One White Dark Night
The setting for this story came directly from my experience as a waitress in college. Slow evenings spent rolling silverware, cleaning coffee makers, waiting tables alone… It’s a great setup for something to happen.
The original plot, however, was about a waitress being teased by a group of construction workers.
Raine considers the diner to be a safe haven from the teasing her malformed hands invoke. But then the teenage boy with the bruised face arrives.
Little does she know the desperation he hides beneath his alarming exterior.
Have you ever gotten a nudge from God that you should do something or say something to someone? They usually don’t come when you expect it, as happens with Raine.
Fun Facts About One White Dark Night:
- Though it doesn’t say so, this story is set in Minnesota, where winter seems to go on for-ev-er. Alexandria is in west-central MN, about 60 miles from the border of the Dakotas.
- Raine’s character was based on a real girl I read about years ago who was born without thumbs and learned to adapt. Imagine holding a water glass or using scissors without thumbs. She could do it all!
The Green Grass Grows Again
“The thought of talking to an actual human outside her home sent hope floating to the top of her heart. And yet . . . What if he’d heard?”
The Green Grass Grows Again
Some stories take a lot of work to pull out of my mind and put into a coherent form, and some just roll right off as fast as I can type the words. This short story fits the second category.
Mia is a Christian whose social standing is overturned by an innocent mistake made all too frequently by modern-day teen girls, with both legal and psychological consequences. And after a month of exile, she’s itching to move on. So when she finds herself attracted to the socially-awkward boy next door, is it because she’s desperate…or because she never really looked at Jayden before?
If you’ve ever suffered the consequences of a simple decision gone wrong, you’ll understand Mia’s predicament. And if you have a thing for cute nerds, you’ll want to see how Jayden’s role plays out in the story.
Fun Facts About The Green Grass Grows Again:
- Like Seasons of Kane #4, this book is set in my college town of La Crosse, WI. The Pearl is a real old-fashioned ice cream shop—a must-visit if you’re ever in the area. I highly recommend the marshmallow sundae!
- Ever paused to consider how those tall buildings with all the windows stay clean? There are actual people whose job it is to climb buildings and wash windows. Jayden is a window washer. This idea was inspired by the window washers I saw in La Crosse.
- The title, The Green Grass Grows Again, comes from what happens after a field of dry, scrubby brush is burned off. Come back days later and see the beautiful green grass that has filled in. God does this to our souls as well.
- Isaiah 43:4 (Jayden’s tattoo) is one of my favorite Bible verses because it is the one place in the Bible where God actually says the words “I love you.”
Gwendolyn Grace And All The Other Chicks
“Compared to my stepfamily, I look like the Incredible Hulk. It’s painfully obvious I don’t belong.”
Beatrice
This was my first attempt at writing a story in the first-person point-of-view, and I loved how it turned out so much, I switched all my current novels to first-person POV as well.
I also wanted to go against the norm that all stories should feature beautiful, feminine women and muscular, handsome guys. Some people just don’t fit the standards for their gender’s body type, such as Bea with her tall, husky form, and Kai with his scrawniness.
But that doesn’t mean they don’t have a story to tell.
As a rule, an author should know something about what she’s writing about. (Though I’ve become a pseudo-expert in a lot of things since I started writing.) Which is why chicks—not horses—played a big role. I grew up raising chickens, and my family has them again now. We raise our chickens from the chick stage, and they’re adorable when they’re little!
But the story isn’t just about chickens and people who stray from conventional appearances. This is a story about working through grief.
Fun Facts About Gwendolyn Grace And All the Other Chicks:
- When Beatrice says, “Chickens have a fetish for shiny things,” this is absolutely true in real life. One of my neighbors had a chicken pluck an earring right out of her ear. I, personally, don’t dare walk amongst my chickens in sandals with painted toenails.
- When the power goes out during a winter storm on the farm (as happens in the story), it truly is a game against time. Water pipes can freeze, animals still need to be fed, and life still has to carry on. My husband still remembers milking their whole herd of cows by hand with his dad and brother when a storm knocked out the power for three days. If you’ve never done that before, it’s a lot harder than most children’s books make it seem!
You + Me = Forever
“We’re best friends. This is what best friends do.”
Val
Who doesn’t love a good friends-to-lovers story? Just like Gwendolyn Grace was the first story I wrote in first person, this was the first story I wrote that switched between two points of view: Val’s and Zach’s. It was a fun challenge, especially since one of the characters is a guy. (It’s quite interesting to spend time in a guy’s head.)
A question I’ve pondered for the past few years: What makes Christian fiction “Christian”? Is the mention of Jesus in a favorable light, or the presence of characters who pray, go to church, and strive to follow Biblical teachings? There seems to be an ongoing debate between authors and readers alike. Most mainstream fiction neatly avoids matters of faith (or ridicules it), but I’ve also noticed the flip side of the coin, where Christians criticize YA Christian fiction that isn’t Christian enough.
My goal for fiction writing is not to preach, but to show Christians in action and how they handle adversity, peril, fear, frustration, etc. Val and Zach’s story is a romance more than it is “religious,” but everything they do is influenced by Christ’s love for them and the Biblical values they have been taught.
I hope that will always be evident in my fiction writing.
Fun Facts About You + Me = Forever:
- Horses + Me = Disaster! I am more like Val in this story: I enjoy horses and ponies from a distance. In fact, one of my most vivid memories of riding a pony is actually evidence of God’s active intervention in my life. I was just a kid when the pony I was riding decided to take off at a sprint across the field, against my will. I screamed, I tried to get it to stop, I finally jumped. Then my foot got caught in the stirrup. This is where the story should have turned gruesome. Imagine being dragged over rocks, trapped under the hooves of a galloping pony, unable to free yourself… But the pony stopped. God must have pulled the reins. Needless to say, I don’t ride horses much anymore.
- I have an aunt, however, who loves horses and is very good with them. Her name also happens to be Val (a coincidence or a subconscious choice, I’m not sure). Zach’s horse “Nicker” got his name from one of Aunt Val’s horses.
The Day Hanna Hosanna Helped Cootie Judy
“After that, I stopped returning his smiles. Or he stopped smiling. I’m not sure which because I was too intent on putting distance between us to look at him. After that, I stopped returning his smiles.”
Hanna
As far as high school social hierarchies stand, Hanna lands somewhere in the middle. Which is why she can’t risk the fall associating with an outcast like Jude Rohmann would cause.
And so she’s placed in a moral predicament right off the bat.
Have you ever met someone who makes you uncomfortable for reasons you can’t describe? Not necessarily because he’s a creep but because he’s so…different. That’s who Jude is for Hanna, the boy who smells weird, talks funny, and walks with his head down and his hair in his eyes.
But there’s more to this story than simply deciding whether or not to defend an underdog from bullies. Because there’s more to Jude than Hanna ever knew.
Fun Facts About The Day Hanna Hosanna Helped Cootie Judy:
- The opening bullying scene was taken right out of an experience I witnessed in high school. If you’re dealing with bullies, please read How to Deal With Bullying: 4 Tips For Teens.
- Hanna is an artist who’s enamored with “word art”—pictures made of words. The inspiration for her talent comes from Pennsylvania artist Dan Duffy, owner of Art of Words and creator of this piece, which actually plays a part in the story:
This drawing is made up entirely of the words from Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem The Raven. Awesome, right?
Treasure Hunters
“When Axl saw Dominique slip away with Cato, an idea sprang to mind.
Treasure Hunters
He would make sure they found ‘treasure’ tonight.”
This short, twisty adventure is unlike any of my other Christian YA short stories in that it contains dreamlike elements.
It starts innocently enough in a dark field on Halloween night. Axl wants revenge. Cato wants answers. But for Dominique, an adventure with Cato—whom she does not have a crush on—turns into a night of harrowing mystery, peculiar occurrences, and a reminder of where genuine treasure is found.
Fun Fact About Treasure Hunters:
This short story was born from a simple writing prompt: “Two people are digging in a field. One finds treasure, the other finds a body.” There were times during the writing and publishing processes when I felt like a treasure hunter coming up only with bodies.
More Resources for Christian YA Fiction Lovers
You don’t have to have all the answers.
but, hey, why not?
Bring me your questions about faith, life, God, the Bible… and I’ll help you find the answers.
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Other helpful content:
- Resources For Christian Teens Navigating the Mainstream YA Fiction Market
- 6 Red Flags to Watch For In YA Christian Fiction
- Standout Characters In YA Novels: A Few of Lauren’s Favorites
Happy reading!