Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

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A New Wave of Christian Fiction

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Hi friends and happy Wednesday! 

I read a great article by Christianity Today on the growth of Christian Fiction. If you haven’t had a chance to read the article and you’re a fan of Christian fiction, I highly recommend taking a look. 

The article focuses on the growth and range of Christian fiction over the last few years. Christian fiction started out as Christianity Today says: “novels written by evangelicals, for evangelicals, and about evangelicals living out their faith.” 

Christian fiction began with the lovely books by Grace Livingstone Hill and Janette Oke. They wrote wonderful stories, but Christian fiction has greatly expanded since then. With genres like suspense and dual time and even creepy novels by Jaime Jo Wright who was specifically mentioned in the article. 

Chris Jager, fiction buyer for Baker Book House, which is one of the largest independent Christian bookstores in the United States, says twenty-five years ago she couldn’t carry three-fourths of what they carry now. Three-fourths. That’s amazing. 

These books are not just gentle romances, though those exist and do well, but so do books dealing with far more serious struggles such as sexual abuse, trauma, addiction, and in my upcoming release, mental illness.

Avid reader, Susan Poll, says, “Christian fiction has definitely broadened its content.” 

When I read Christian fiction, I find stories with authentic characters who aren’t perfect. These characters ring true to life as none of us are perfect. They have flaws and struggle and sometimes make the wrong choices. We get to watch them grow and change throughout the story and then find a satisfying ending. An ending filled with hope, redemption, restoration, or any manner of themes that strengthen and bolster our faith.

Isn’t that what we want? Stories that give us characters we care about, that we can identify with, who struggle but we see Jesus at work in their lives and in the end, there is hope. And, just maybe, we walk away with something more than just entertainment. Maybe we walk away learning something new, deepening our faith, or seeing something from a perspective we hadn’t considered before.  

I love Christian fiction. Both reading it and writing it. I love the beauty it brings and the way it deepens my faith. Even if the faith isn’t overt, it’s still there, hidden in the covers, resonating through the story being told. There are so many wonderful Christian fiction authors and genres out there. Stories like All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes, A Shadow in Moscow by Kathrine Reay, and A Million Little Choices by Tamera Alexander.  

I hope you’ll take the time to devour the stellar books out there. 

Question for you: 

What do you love about Christian fiction? 

As always, thanks for joining me this week 

Best, 

Dani

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Dani Pettrey

Praised by New York Times best-selling author Dee Henderson as "a name to look for in romantic suspense," Dani Pettrey has sold more than half a million copies of her novels to readers eagerly awaiting the next release. Dani combines the page-turning adrenaline of a thriller with the chemistry and happy-ever-after of a romance.
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Comments

  1. When I read Christian fiction, I love that there is always a love for God and how it is shown by the characters. Also that I won’t have to dodge the “bad” language or sexual content in other top sellers.
    I always get a message from the story and appreciate it

  2. I love Christian Fiction for all the reasons you state.
    The characters feel real and go through real struggles and there are valid solutions that are Biblical and strengthens our faith by reading them. They are full of hope and light in this dark world! At least the quality ones I have read. I also love historical CF because I love history and learning new things through the old.
    Wonderful article, Dani.

    • Aww. Thanks so much, Paula. I’m thrilled you enjoyed it.

      I love hope and light in this dark world too. Thanks so much for stopping by.

  3. I believe it will continue to expand as general market books get more bleak and full of dirty content. I always raise an eyebrow at articles that claim Grace Livingston Hill started the genre, though! I’m a collector of vintage Victorian era books and there was a huge variety back in the day: authors like Pansy, Emma Marshall, RM Ballantyne, George MacDonald, Susan Warner, ALOE, Evelyn Everett-Green, Gordon Stables, Deborah Alcock, Emma Leslie, and many others. Entire publishing houses focused on hundreds of books of backlist (some authors wrote 200-300 in their career), the most recognizable putting out dozens of new books a year, like Ballantine and Thomas Nelson. It’s nice to see some of that variety and volume coming back.

  4. During my prayer time this morning, I was nudged to pray for our Christian authors. I so appreciate that your faith is shared through interesting books that cover so many themes. I never have to worry about worldly content, and I end each book being encouraged in my walk with Jesus.

  5. Hi Dani, can you share a link to that article. I’d like to read it.
    Thanks!
    Carrie

  6. I love Christian Fiction for all the reasons you stated. I like that I can read stories like yours with suspense and romance, but it doesn’t cross the line into something I don’t want to fill my head with. I like to see characters feel real, struggle with sin, and the trials of this life, and find a way to get back up and face it again. I also enjoy the prayers, scripture, and redemption that Christian authors weave into their stories.

  7. I absolutely love that I can pick up a book by Janette Oke or a book by you, and find characters who depend on God during their struggles and hardships. God (and His authors:-) remain the same no matter how much time passes. Thank you for what you do! (I love that my two favorite Christian authors: Janette Oke and Dani Pettrey are in the same article!!!)

  8. Great post, Dani, and thanks for mentioning AMLC. Appreciate you, my friend. And congrats on the mention in the article, too.

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