Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

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10 Things You Might Not Know About Lynn Austin

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1. I grew up in New York State in the Hudson Valley about 60 miles north of New York City. As the middle sister of three, I’m blessed to have two built-in, lifelong, best friends.2. I was a huge fan of the Beatles as a teenager and heard them perform in person twice—once in Atlantic City, and once in Shea Stadium in NYC. The stadium held 56,000 screaming Beatles’ fans and afterward it seemed like most of them were trying to board the same subway train home that I was. I was nearly crushed to death but it was worth it, of course.3. I left New York to go to Hope College in Michigan where I met my husband Ken. He was a music major and I was struggling through a required music history/appreciation course. He offered to tutor me—and we fell in love. I got an A in the course.
4. The summer before we married, I worked as an attendant in a mental institution. I was a psychology major in college and wanted some practical experience. Well, I got plenty of it!—along with some valuable insights that help me create realistic characters.
5. I worked as the secretary to the Dean of Students at Yale while Ken was earning his Master’s degree there. At the time, I had no idea that all the typing I did every day would be good practice for being a writer.
6. A year after we were married, Ken got a summer job performing with the Alaska Festival of Music. We decided to drive from Connecticut to Anchorage in our tiny, two-seater sports car. Being poor students, we camped out along the way in an army-surplus pup tent and cooked our meals on a propane stove.7. After Ken graduated, he won a job performing with the National Symphony Orchestra in Bogota, Colombia. I taught 4th grade in a Colombian school for a year until our son Joshua was born. I do NOT recommend giving birth for the first time in a foreign language! By the time they laid Josh in my arms, I was so confused I started talking to him in Spanish. Ken said, “What are you doing, Lynn? He speaks English!”

8. Our son Ben was born in Canada when Ken performed with the Thunder Bay Symphony in Ontario and our daughter Maya was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba when Ken played in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. At least they spoke English in Canada! All three of our children have dual-citizenship.

9. To research my first novel, “Gods and Kings,” I lived in Israel for a month and volunteered on an archaeological dig. Our son Josh, who was 14, went with me. His dream was to uncover a skull—he and his site team found an entire skeleton!
10. You may have figured out by now that Ken and I love travel and adventure. We have always kept active, whether it’s skiing (downhill and cross-country), backpacking, hiking in the mountains, and now cycling. We just returned from a 2 ½ week trip to Florida where we pedaled a total of 220 miles. The exercise makes up for all the hours I spend sitting at my desk.
So, do you share any similarities with my crazy life? Any Beatles fans out there? I would love to hear from you!

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Lynn Austin

Lynn Austin, a former teacher who now writes and speaks full time. Lynn was recently inducted into the Christy Award Hall for Fame for winning eight Christy Awards for her historical fiction. One of those novels, Hidden Places, has also been made into a Hallmark Channel movie. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and make their home near Chicago, Illinois.

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Comments

  1. Wow, Lynn! I learned a LOT of things I didn’t know about you! What a fascinating life you’ve led! I love how adventurous you and your family are! I cracked up at your Ken’s “He speaks English!” comment about your newborn! 🙂

    • It has been fun, Deb! There were times I wished it was less “exciting,” and I could have done without the long, Canadian winters, but I wouldn’t trade it for any other life.!

  2. Loved all that I learned about you, Lynn! Even after traveling around Germany with you and thinking I knew you pretty well, I learned new things! What a blessed life with so much adventure and so many surprises. And through it all I see God’s guiding hand and you and Ken following his lead. Love it!

    • It’s always so amazing to see God’s hand in our life when we reflect back, isn’t it? If only we had that perspective every day! By the way, when are we returning to Germany?

  3. So much fun learning about you, Lynn! I am a Beatles fan – they began when I was in college – but never got to see them. Lucky you!

    My husband went to Vietnam when I was 7 months pregnant with our first child. When his unit was sent to Okinawa to regroup, he asked me to fly over so he could meet his son. My mother drove me to D.C. so I could get my passport in a day. Then I flew for the very first time ever from Virginia to Okinawa with a seven month old.

    Our daughter was born two years later when we were stationed on the Island of Cyprus. Her birth certificate is in Greek, Turkish, and English. She also has dual citizenship.

    • You’ve had an exciting life, too, Betty! It must have been stressful when your husband was sent to Vietnam. I’ve heard that Cyprus is very beautiful–and I’ve never been to Japan. Lucky you!

  4. Hi, Lynn. Yes! I was a huge Beatles fan! I was 8 years old in 62, but it wasn’t long after then when I realized that how cool their music was an how totally cute Paul was. I went to lots of concerts as a teenager and in my 20s, but never saw Paul with the Beatles or Wings or anything else. Oh well.

    You and your family have had quite some adventures. Thank the Lord those days were “safer” than now-a-days. Just keeping writing! Thanks for your books and your top ten list.

  5. What a fun and informative post! You wrote, “Being poor students, we camped out along the way in an army-surplus pup tent and cooked our meals on a propane stove.” We have this in common. My dad was a high school teacher. Two different summers our family traveled through Europe, staying in campgrounds. Then we moved to Germany and lived there for 4 years. We traveled (and stayed in campgrounds and ate food cooked on a propane stove) during EVERY school vacation.

    We saw so many things and had so many adventures! But after all that, my mom and sisters and I decided we’d had a lifetime’s worth of camping. We haven’t camped since. :)))

  6. What a fascinating life you’ve lived, Lynn. Wow! What instrument does your husband play? I’ve always loved the symphony. I, too, was a Psychology major in college and use that background not only in parenting but in character development. 🙂 You are an inspiration, Lynn.

  8. Love getting to “Know ” you. 😊 My cousins and I were Beatle fans when we were in the 7th grade (during the 60’s) so when the annual school talent show came up we entered the contest dressed as the Beatles in white buttoned up shirts , black pants and our hair styled with the big Beatles bangs. We pantomime the song “We Love You”. And when it got to the part “yeah, yeah,yeah” then “Ooooo” we shook our hair and bangs ! The junior high classes went crazy! Even funnier is that we were all girls and African Americans! LOL fun times!

  9. Okay, SO jealous that you got to see the Beatles live. I still have my original Meet the Beatles album on vinyl. Although I don’t currently own a turntable to play it on.

    • I have all their albums on vinyl, too. But my kids bought me CD collections so I can actually listen to them. I still can’t believe that my parents let me go to those two concerts. I never told them how we were nearly crushed and trampled. Wonder what my kids haven’t told me?

      • Lynn, after my daughters were grown and we had become friends as well as mom and daughters, they started telling me some things they did as teens. I laid awake at night worrying about what could have happened to them years before. After that, I told them to keep those secrets to themselves from then on. LOL!

  10. Lynn, wow, what a life!!! I love the Beatles, too. I had a boyfriend way back before Big D came into my life, who loved the Beatles. So I knew everything about them. I still remember the night they appeared on the Ed Sullivan show. My daddy was hopping mad at my sister and me for watching!!!

    You are amazing. No wonder your books are so great! I’m in high cotton with all of you talented ladies!

    • Thanks, Lenora. It has been a fun life, so far. I’m not quittin’ yet! We’ll have to have a Beatles sing-along sometime when we all get together.

  11. Yes. I was a Beatle Fan until they split in the 70s . I remember when they first came to America and were guest on the Ed Sullivan Show. I remember them singing She Loves You ya ya. Also I was born in Canada and lived there for 21 years. I met my husband in Ontario Canada . We married in Ft. Thomas Ky. I’m now a naturized citizen of the United States.

    • I’ll never forget that Ed Sullivan show, either. Beatlemania was a cultural phenomenon and I was glad to be part of it. Such innocent fun. I got tired of them too, as time went on and they got into drugs and things. It was a shame.

  12. While most were crazy about the Beatles, I was in “love” with Herman’s Hermits! I got to see them in 1968 in Birmingham. A few years ago I met Peter Noone on one of his tours and got autographs and my picture made with him!

    • I remember Herman’s Hermits! Lucky you for getting to meet Peter and get his autograph. Although I “saw” the Beatles in person, I didn’t get anywhere close to them. And I think I have a hearing loss from all the screaming.

  13. I’m not a big Beatles fan. But, like you, I’m the middle of three sisters (+ two brothers) and love traveling! Next week we are heading to Kona to view the lava flow. 🙂

  14. I have two sisters and I am also the middle one.I love the Beatles you were lucky to get to see them in person.I enjoyed reading about your family history.

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