WHAT IS CHRISTIAN FICTION?
Christian fiction is my passion but not many people know exactly what that is.
Some people think that Christian fiction is a story that excludes blood and guts. They think that every character has to be sugar-coated and completely moral.
I’m here to tell you that’s complete rubbish.
Part of the reason I love writing Christian fiction is because I can write about flawed characters that learn through life’s hard knocks. Kind of like me.
I believe Christian fiction represents faith in Jesus Christ, and books titled as such should include a call to that faith. It’s not about other religions. It is not about spirituality. It’s about a specific faith where the Bible is the Word of God.
If you don’t believe in this particular faith, that’s up to you. Don’t read Christian fiction if you aren’t interested in it. Make sure you understand the definition of Christian fiction before reading this type of work.
For example, I would not read a whaling book if I was trying to learn about fly-fishing. I would be sorely disappointed. So, for those people who read Christian fiction and are disappointed because they don’t find what they are looking for, remember to always understand what Christianity means first before reading the genre.
I am a Christian and I’m not perfect. I don’t think anyone that calls themselves a Christian can say that they are. Reality is, we struggle with day-to-day life like everybody else. We stumble into problems, do bad things, and fail just like others do.
The only difference between my faith and yours is Jesus Christ. My faith believes that Jesus Christ is the son of God and died on the cross to redeem us of our sins and give us eternal life.
To me that means I am saved by grace. When I do bad things, my Saviour redeems me and helps me grow into a better person, one step at a time.
I write Christian fiction books about characters like me going through difficulties, and then they learn to be better people because of it. Does that mean none of them have flaws? Does that mean we can’t write about pain?
I write stories about flawed people learning to overcome. For me, that’s what Christian fiction is all about. If it’s not real life then I don’t want to read or write it.
Throw some difficulty into the story. Make it real, not fluff. I write about believable things and that means pain, misery, and hardship. Sometimes that means gore. Sometimes that means blood and guts.
The common denominator of Christian fiction is guiding your characters through their own turmoil, and then bringing them out the other side.
If I couldn’t do that, I wouldn’t want to write Christian fiction. I also don’t like to read about Pollyanna characters who never seem to have any hardships whatsoever. That’s shallow and fake, and I don’t want that in my stories.
WHO CAN WRITE CHRISTIAN FICTION?
Anyone can write Christian fiction. Anyone can claim they are a Christian. But if you don’t know and practice Christianity it won’t be believable.
I understand Christianity because I am Christian. I can therefore write about my experiences and incorporate them into my characters.
I suppose anyone can write about anything just by researching. But no amount of research will give you the passion you need to write in this genre.
In order to write in the Christian genre it must be believable, and that means you have to feel it to the core.
Nothing replaces first hand experience.
I wouldn’t write a book about being a nurse during World War II if I didn’t have some sort of experience in the field.
Sure I can dream things up, or research. Most of us writers do. But what I’m saying is that whatever you write about, it has to be believable.
In order to be believable, you must either spend some time in that field whether that be riding along with a police officer because you’re writing a detective series, or shadowing a nurse for a day to see what she goes through at work.
When it comes to a deep-rooted faith however, it’s not so easy to learn the ropes or fake it. Ride-alongs don’t exist when it comes to your faith, and job shadowing just won’t cut it. Christian fiction is the direct result of opening your heart and putting it down on paper.
You have to feel it.
If you can do that, then write your heart out. The Christian genres is waiting for you!
GENRES WITHIN CHRISTIAN FICTION
I don’t dismiss any genre within the Christian fiction realm. I think Christianity, and the message behind it, can be brought forth through any type of storyline.
That means Christian thrillers.
That means Christian horror.
Yes, there is a growing movement for the Christian fiction horror genre.
If you find it offensive, don’t read it. But there are many who have been converted to Christianity simply because they read their favorite horror genre and relate to it in some way.
I think of, BoneMan’s Daughters, by Ted Dekker as an example. It’s a very disturbing thriller about a serial killer who abducts girls. I’d go as far as categorizing it as a Christian horror because of its horrific content.
I find nothing wrong with this genre. If you can incorporate a Christian message into a story, it doesn’t matter what genre it is.
We watch TV shows with blood and guts all the time yet it doesn’t seem to bother us. We watch shows like Jason on a Halloween weekend, or The Walking Dead TV series without batting an eye.
Yet, Christian fiction horror is controversial. Why?
Can’t the message of Christianity come through any type of story? I believe it can. I write like that. I want my readers to experience life like it normally is: Messy and scary!
If you can bring faith into a book about zombies, go for it! I did that very thing with my Blood War series. Check out my first book in the series, The Prion Attachment.
I want to to be real and raw when I write Christian fiction. If I have to sugarcoat things and shape my characters into Pollyanna do-gooders, I’d rather not write at all.
We can learn some of the best lessons in life by going through the worst nightmares.
TRADITIONALLY PUBLISHED VS SELF-PUBLISHED
I’m a self-published Christian fiction author. I believe that’s the best way to go especially if you want full control over your work.
When you are traditionally published, it’s a one-time thing and you have the book that you have and that’s that. If there’s a typo or some grammatical mistake, you just have to live with it.
But, as a self-published author, if you find a typo or grammatical mistake you can fix it by uploading a new version. I have done this many times.
I can also completely redo my book once a year if I want to. If my readers are unhappy with some aspect of the story. I can change that.
But not with traditional publishing companies.
Book royalties are different as well when you compare traditional publishing with self-published work.
You can get one-lump-sum for your book when traditionally publishing your work. For example, you may be offered an advance of $10,000 and then never see another dime after that.
Whereas, self-publishing allows you royalties for as long as you have your book published on a platform like Amazon or Smashwords.
Not only that, but I get 70% royalties through Amazon, and traditionally published authors may get a whole lot less than that.
When it comes to marketing, self-publishing a book is harder. You have to do all the work yourself, and that may mean no sales at all.
However, when your book is published traditionally, you still have to do book signings and pound the pavement to market your book.
Given the differences, I would far rather self-publish any day.
BEST CHRISTIAN FICTION BOOKS
If you haven’t checked out my Christian fiction suspense thrillers yet, you will find them listed below. If you click on the book covers, it will take you directly to Amazon to purchase the book.
My hope is that you will purchase my Christian fiction books. More importantly, my hope is that you will be changed forever because of the life-changing messages brought through each and every story. (Click on the book cover to go to Amazon)
What if your son was killed in front of you, and the murderer got away with it? Would you hunt him down even if it destroyed your soul in the process?
Deep Bay Vengeance – Synopsis
Her son is murdered and she hates the man who did it. She’ll do anything to catch him, even if it turns her into the very monster she is tracking. When Loretta’s only son gets killed during a bank robbery, she sets out to find his killer no matter what the cost.
The story brings us to a remote fly-in-fishing camp in Northern Saskatchewan where three very different people come together for very different reasons. Together they pursue truth, discover faith, and expose corruption of the human spirit deep in the heart of Canada’s north.
Lost in the wilderness with no place to hide but a hunting lodge, familiar characters run into diamond smugglers in book two of the Deep Bay series.
Deep Bay Relic – Synopsis
When a rustic lodge in Northern Saskatchewan becomes the nesting ground for diamond smugglers, Carla Reece finds herself in the middle. She and a myriad of others fall victim to circumstance and have to find their own way out of the wilderness.
Survival becomes a quest for truth and self-discovery, with faith their only weapon against a foul ancient creature hidden in Deep Bay since the beginning of time.
What if your newborn was abducted and fell into the hands of a human trafficking scam? What would you be willing to do to get your baby back?
Deep Bay Legacy – Synopsis
Stolen from the hospital, an abducted newborn falls into the hands of a murderer. Detective Grayson is on the case, but not without the father of the child. Together, they stumble upon a human trafficking scam, and find out the hard way, that family has more to do with it than they realize. (Book 3 in the Deep Bay Series)
A BLOOD-BORN VIRUS INFECTS MILLIONS OF PEOPLE CAUSING POST-APOCALYPTIC CHAOS.
The U.S is hit with a pandemic of biblical proportions. You might survive if you have the missing link. But most have become lost in a world of walking corpses.
Terrorists have poisoned the water system resulting in a world wide biological incident, and newlyweds Nadia and Manuel Espinosa fight to survive the aftermath of a devastating pandemic.
Faith and family provide the link Nadia has been searching for in her dreams. Now, faced with a quest to survive in a world full of Locos, she realizes she holds the key to purify the world. Like the days of Noah, she is called to salvage God’s people, to save them from a plague so evil, it destroys body, mind, and soul.
As a definite blood connection sheds light on the origins of the sickness, there is only one path to redemption: Christ! “And when I see the blood, I will pass over you and the plague shall not be unto you to destroy you.” Exodus 12:13
Just as the Blood of Christ heals, without it, you will surely die. “And the Lord will send a plague on all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. On that day they will be terrified, stricken by the Lord with great panic. They will fight their neighbors hand to hand.” Zechariah 14:12 and 13.
A VIRUS HAS AFFECTED MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN THIS POST-APOCALYPTIC WORLD. (BOOK 2)
The earth is ravaged with sickness, and the post apocalyptic world is proving a difficult place for Nadia to survive. Left to fend for herself in the bitter cold prairie winter, she finds refuge in a survivalist’s camp, only to discover it isn’t what it seems.
A quest for a cure, and a surprise that will change her life, she continues her journey through a new land to purge the demons that have been after her from the beginning. (Book two in the Blood War Series)
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Author Kathleen Morris
Kathleen Morris is a successful published author, blogger, and YouTuber. She enjoys writing about things she’s passionate about and making a difference in the world.