An angelic answer to Harry Potter?

Move over Harry Potter, local priest and author Lynda Rose has an exciting but altogether more angelic answer to the world of wizards for young readers this summer. As 'Assignment Earth' wings its way to bookshops across the country Lynda talks to Sally Jarman about the inspiration and hopes for her first children's fantasy novel.

Adventure, excitement and, above all, angels these were the bedtime story requests that led Oxford author Lynda Rose to dream up the Heavenly world of trainee angel, Raffael (Raffie to her friends), and her reluctantly heroic involvement in what proves to be a fast-paced cosmic battle of good versus evil.

When the stories were a hit with daughter Christabel, Lynda and publishers Lion Children's Books realised they might well entertain a wider audience, and in June this year the book made its debut. (See page 14 for our reader's review).

As with her four popular adult novels, Lynda says her first priority is to entertain. But as a Christian she says her faith undoubtedly colours her storytelling.

With Assignment Earth she hopes readers will come away with a subtly different view on life than they might have by reading, for example, Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings.

'I found Harry Potter very exciting,' Lynda says, 'But drawing children into a world of witches and magic has the potential to do tremendous harm and it saddens me so much that kids are being encouraged to focus on such dark forces. It's unhealthy. There's no such thing as a good witch!' Though Raffie's experiences open her eyes to the fact that there is good and bad at work in all worlds ­ even among angels ­ Lynda says the overall message is one of hope and encouragement that we are never alone in our fight and can take strength and courage from that.

The precious nature of every individual life is another strong message as we follow the daring angel's nailbiting adventures, including a tricky assignment to safely accompany pre-birth souls to Earth.

These themes are also a reflection of Lynda's own journey from Eastern spirituality to Christianity and her natural instinct to be a passionate defender of the vulnerable in society.

Finding the Church of England 'too dry' as a teenager she says she became focused on Transcendental Meditation at university and practised it for 10 years before God recalled her very clearly.

'My son Dominic became very ill and some friends recommended we see someone involved in a ministry of healing. We went along and straight away the man asked if I was involved in Eastern religions.

'When I asked how he knew he said God was telling him I was on the wrong path and was calling me back.' She heeded the call and says that rediscovering her Christian faith connected her again to the realities of Christ's love for each of us from conception onwards, and his cherishing of our individuality.

'There are so many alternatives tempting people today with talk of finding our spirituality. But exploring Christianity again and how wonderful we all are to God, I realised how Eastern meditation had in the end left me feeling alone and quite empty.' As her faith deepened she felt called to give up her training for the Bar in London (in her final year) and study instead for ordination at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford.

She was one of the first wave of women to be ordained a deacon by the Church of England in 1987, and after a curacy in St Clement's she became a priest in 1994.

But even as she contemplated a life in parish ministry, Lynda says her writing was becoming increasingly important to her. She also experienced placement at Oxford prison and made a radio documentary on the city's homeless.

Looking back, she feels hers has definitely been a calling to ministry through writing and media work.

'I didn't realise it at first but I think the books and radio have given me the potential to reach far more people than I would have done in a parish,' she says, 'And it has allowed me to continue to argue for issues I feel passionate about, which is important for me.' Something she feels very strongly about, is the value of life from conception to the grave, and fitted in with her strict daily writing schedule is her work with national charity LIFE at its Oxford centre.

'I just can't sit back when life is being devalued either through abortion or euthanasia. I say from personal experience of watching my mother die without the value that should have been afforded to her, just because she was old, that it  is just wrong.' As for Assignment Earth, Lynda says that if the story helps children connect to the bigger issue of good and bad influences surrounding us, or opens any child''s mind to the perception of Christianity and of the enormity of God's love for all of us, then she will be delighted.

And for Raffie fans there is more to come. Assignment Earth is the first of a planned five-part series of the rookie angel's adventures.

Order this title from the Door bookshop.