Into the Fire

Christian readers of novels are an enigma. It's not that they're readers of many genres. It's not that they are of all ages. It's not that they favor reading series over standalones or vice versa. 

What amazes me about some Christian readers are these two factions: the legalists and the refusers. I'll explain. First, the legalists expect clean fiction that adheres strictly to their doctrinal tendencies. They tend to be intolerant of those authors who expand their stories with supernatural events, conversations, or confrontations. They also seem to be repelled by any real depiction of how the worldly act or what they do even though it's not glorified in the story (and never graphic). They shun certain words and rarely fail to demonstrate how appalled they are in reviews noting that the author occasionally used unseemly words such as "hell" or "damn" without true profanity. But, in their favor, Christian literature offers many, many novels to fit their strict criteria. 

Other Christian readers of novels have proclaimed they never read Christian fiction because it's too preachy, too unrealistic, too boring in whatever genre they favor. It's quite possible they haven't been introduced to the right Christian novels to suit their tastes.

There are so many fabulous, multi-talented fiction writers in the Christian Fiction genre. However, to find Christian authors of true thrillers is difficult. Maybe it depends on one's definition of "thriller" or type of thriller. 

If you're a reader of Christian novels, where do you stand on this subject? 

Father, thank you for the stories and characters you've given me. Thank you that I've been writing since childhood. Thank you that you made it a part of my life. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.