You who know me can imagine what a stunning conclusion it was when I finally figured out my novels and manuscripts in progress would probably not fit into the current CBA fiction. A longtime avid and abundant reader of Christian fiction, you'd think I would've noted the restrictive nature of the stories I read. But being obviously slow on the uptake, I thought these stories could include a little more pop, a few more dashes of realism.
Mike Duran in this post made some astute observations about the majority of CBA authors. Those who comprise this stable have a lot in common besides their gender and age range. There is a type of writing that is produced by these talented individuals and their editors for their particular publishing houses. That's not to say they're identical in their styles and certainly not in their voices, but there are far more similarities in the books produced than there are differences. In other words there is a uniformity of language and lack of certain circumstances that identify them with a type of work.
Now is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. Then it's a good thing? Well. Not necessarily.
Restrictions and requirements set a tone and determine the direction publishers want to take their products in hopes of appealing to their "masses", their niche groups in the market. And this is certainly and adamantly their right. I've wondered "aloud" here multiple times (as Mike voiced) why this is enough. Isn't there room for a bit of stretching in this market?
Nevertheless, I am who I am as a writer, but that puts me in a crazy place. Kind of un-typed for where I thought I belonged.
Lord, you know where I am, where I need to be, and where you want me. I want to be where you want me. End of story. 😉 In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Into the Fire 
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