Into the Fire

The following topic was provided by Faith ‘n Fiction Saturdays @ My Friend Amy’s Blog.

“Today’s Question
Christian fiction is growing as a market, but there are still many unexplored storylines and under-represented genres. What issues or ideas would you like to see tackled from a Christian worldview? Or, what setting would you like to see? Which genres would you like to see more books?”

This is an easy question for me really. I would love to see some sagas that aren’t historicals or fantasy/specfic. I think authors B. J. Hoff and Michael Phillips own the market on historical sagas. And since I prefer contemporary novels, I’ve only read one Michael Phillips book several years ago. And it’s still amazing to me that Robin Parrish got a hardbound, huge specfic first novel of a trilogy produced by Bethany House.

Many years ago Lori Wick wrote a saga titled Pretense about two sisters beginning when they were children and following them into their adult years. It was a fascinating story. Lori Wick has written many novels since then but none have been sagas, and Pretense is the last book of hers that I read. If you look at Brandilyn Collins earlier suspense novels such as Eyes of Elisha and Dread Champion, you’ll notice they’re longer books. Even my friend Robert Liparulo’s thrillers will be shortened with his new release Deadlock, the sequel to Deadfall.

Clearly many of the professionals have had to keep with the current trend of shorter novels if they want to remain published in spite of having proved they can hold onto their audiences.

It seems certain publishers make exceptions to the rules if they especially like an author (and no doubt their platform), but for the most part novels are smaller these days, and regardless of how well a writer writes, condensing some of these stories doesn’t do them justice.

I know complaints without solutions get tedious for everyone, so . . . here’s my suggestion. Printers charge less for larger print runs. However, it seems to me if a publisher uses a specific printer for all of their publishing needs, there should be an element of give and take in measurable costs for smaller runs for larger books (not hardcover). Even if the publisher only contracts a small number of larger novels, at least it would be a start for those saga loving readers like myself. We are out here. And we are all ages. My teenage granddaughters long for larger novels. They whip through these 300 page books in a day or less when time permits.

Shorter novels have a tendency to get forgotten more quickly. If a reader must linger with the characters or storyline for longer periods, they tend to remember both more intimately.

So, what’s missing for me? Contemporary sagas.

Father, you are the creator of every good and perfect gift. Your variety in creation is magnificent. May we emulate your creativity and versatility in our writing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.