Featured Author: Christen Ballard

Some stories arrive early and refuse to let go.

For Christen Ballard, storytelling began almost as soon as she could type: first through handwritten journal entries encouraged by her mother, then through superhero tales created for her nieces and nephews. Those early stories weren’t just play; they were the foundation of a lifelong calling to write.

Inspired by her love of Frank Peretti, Christen now steps into the world of Christian supernatural fiction with her debut novel, Threshold of Darkness, a story that has quietly followed her since childhood.

The seed was planted when she was just eleven years old. While hiking with her family, she discovered a staircase in the middle of nowhere, leading nowhere. The image stayed with her, sparking a story she tried to write again and again under the working title The Steps That Lead to Nowhere. But life intervened: growing up, summer work at LeTourneau Christian Center, and eventually earning a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing placed the story on the shelf.

Years later, in what Christen describes as God’s perfect timing, she returned to it. What once existed only as fragments finally became the story it was always meant to be, reborn as Threshold of Darkness.

Threshold of Darkness

Christian Thriller

In Threshold of Darkness, Naomi Potter leaves everything she knows behind to be with William, only to watch him vanish through a mysterious Door. Left with grief, doubt, and terrifying questions, Naomi is drawn into a struggle where comfort and deception blur, and neutrality is no longer an option. Neither the Light nor the Dark will allow her to remain undecided.

Book Excerpt

Nomi was sitting at the kitchen table, grading the last papers of the school year when she heard it: the sound of a key turning in the old metal lock on the door at the top of the stairs. Her stomach dropped. There was only one person who had that key—her significant other, William. "Oh no, please no!" she whispered as she leapt to her feet. She had warned William about that door. From the moment they'd found it, half buried in the dirt when they dug the house's foundation, she had told William there was something evil and unsettling about it. Unlike Naomi, however, William had been drawn to it instantly, insisting on installing it as the attic door, though Naomi had begged him not to.
"William?" she called, holding onto the banister. "What are you doing?" She began creeping up the stairs, straining to hear what he was doing. When she reached the top, she found William, bracing himself, working to pull the door open.
"William! Don't!" she cried, as an inky darkness began to ooze out of the ever-widening crack.
William, however, didn't seem to see it, though it was slowly making its way towards his stocking-covered feet. He continued inching the door open, until an unseen force blasted it outwards. A low, hissing sound followed the blast, giving Naomi the chills, but leaving William transfixed for just a moment. Then, before Naomi could reach him, he stepped into the blackness, disappearing instantly.
"William!" she shrieked, lunging forward to grab him, reaching for where he had been only a second before, but he was gone. Tears ran down her cheeks, but she had no time to mourn, because right then, Naomi noticed the darkness extending past the Door's threshold, running along the wall, slithering towards her feet, encircling her. She leapt up and tried to step over it, but she could feel a heaviness pushing at her, moving her slowly towards the same blackness her boyfriend had stepped into only a moment earlier.
Though she tried to fight it, it continued to push her back. As she tottered on the edge of light and dark, Naomi flailed and screamed, "Dear God! Help me!" At this, the blackness shrank back, giving Naomi the opening she needed to flee towards the stairs. Pausing at the top, she turned back towards the open door and watched as the Darkness began to spread with renewed vigor. She realized to stop the spread she would have to shut the door. Trembling, she spoke a quick prayer and ran to the door, pushing with all her might until BAM! The door slammed shut and Naomi’s shoulders drooped in relief. She stood for a moment, breathing heavily, before sliding down to the floor and sobbing helplessly.

Faith is woven deeply into Christen’s writing, particularly through her exploration of light and darkness, choice, and the danger of standing on the fence when truth demands a decision.

An earlier version of the novel’s prologue appeared in Kentucky Living Magazine, and her poem “Why?” was published in Upon Arrival (Spring 2019). When she’s not writing, Christen enjoys time with her husband, daughter, and their cat, Dixie.

📘 Threshold of Darkness is available on Amazon for pre-order: https://a.co/d/0bPpGWk9

Find Christen Online

TikTok: @guidinglightstories

Instagram: @guiding_light_stories

Christen Ballard writes as a witness, inviting readers not just to read, but to reflect, question, and step carefully across the thresholds we all face.