Thank you for your kind words!
Yes, I used hnau deliberately. It is such a good word that can be used to describe "reasoning beings" with saying "reasoning beings" or "humanoids" or making up my own word. I wondered how long it take before someone noticed it.
I would NOT be so bold as to suggest that anything I write is even remotely related to Lewis. I love his writing and I think the Space Trilogy is absolutely incredible. I would simply say that I just borrowed some concepts from Lewis.