Navigating the Minefield That is Christian Fiction
It can be treacherous for readers and writers
I think we can all agree that the vast majority of so-called Christian fiction is total crap. It’s a virtual desert for readers who appreciate a good story and a conundrum for writers who feel called to write in a genre that is often rightly maligned. Yet it is just as important to those who love the genre as any other type of fiction, and it’s high time it was made at least marginally better.
For those unfamiliar with the genre, most of the books fall into one of these broad categories:
Romance (including the surprisingly popular Amish Romance). In the Christian fiction category, the Romance genre is as popular as it is with general fiction. The major difference is that the sex scenes are neither hot and steamy nor sweet and romantic; they are non-existent. What you get is 300 pages of innuendo and longing looks, except with Amish Romance; with that you get 300 pages of bonnets and longing looks, with the newlyweds riding off into the sunset in a horse and buggy at the end.
Horror/Thriller. Frank E. Peretti singlehandedly launched the modern Christian Horror genre with his 1986 novel This Present Darkness and its 1989 sequel Piercing the Darkness. After Peretti, the best-known author of Christian…
