I Guess I'm Not Surprised

[Mr. Otis]

Our publisher got word from Barnes & Noble today that my wife's novel, The Armageddon Strain (http://www.mytharc.com/novels.shtml#armageddon), was left out of consideration for their "Discover Great New Writers" promotion--because of the book's implicit Christian worldview.

I guess B & N hasn't heard that the Left Behind novels have sold about 64 million copies through secular outlets.

What was surprising was that the reviewer for B & N admitted to not even reading the book. Apparently the decision to disqualify Armageddon was based on her read of Sharon's first novel, Winds of Evil (http://sharonkgilbert.com/), which our publisher included with the submission to demonstrate the quality of their products.

A quick check of the debut authors currently featured by Barnes & Noble (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/bookstore/index2_cds2.asp?PID=1376&start=11&userid=BQv1kKpaH U&cds2Pid=1376) reveals two titles (out of 18) that might be considered "religious". One is a retelling of the story of Esther, and the other is the tale of a missionary overseas.

Investigating further, I notice that none of the blurbs or reviews of the Esther novel mention God or religious faith; instead, they focus on "the yearnings of a woman's heart and the obligations imposed on her by fate."

Fate?

The protagonist of the other novel is "a modern-day missionary in Taiwan" who "charts a journey away from reflexive faith and toward a broader understanding of the world and its ways."

I see. Reflexive faith is bad, and a broad understanding of the world is good.

Sigh. Well, count it all joy.

[Dr. Daniel]

Yup, down here Barnes and Noble have racks of books all aimed toward the teen-age witch, one huge hint to what they value.

Dr. Daniel

[Mr. Otis]

The local Borders isn't much better: Christian fiction was relegated to one rack at the very back of the floor area devoted to books, facing away from the store entrance. There was probably more space devoted to The Da Vinci Code and all of the gnostic titles related to it.

[wgjones3]

Remember, though, that most publishers and retailers of Christian fiction are really rebadged secular publishers and/or secular bookstores. They're not looking for something that will draw people closer to God per say, they want something that will sell. Put a secular mind in charge of a Christian publishing house and he/she is going to want secular ideas "that sell."

Sorry to hear about your wife's struggles to gain recognition, Mr. Otis.

[Mr. Otis]

Thank you, William, but actually, I have no cause to complain. Forgive me for what in retrospect sounds like a pout.

God has really blessed us and some very exciting things are happening (Winds of Evil was selected by Family Christian Stores for its annual Back-to-School catalog!). I was just a little taken aback that the reviewer rejected her book without reading it because of the Christian worldview.

As I say, though, I'm not too surprised. The surprise would be an out-of-the-box glowing reception from a secular distributor or reviewer. In fact, that might be cause for worry. :)

[wgjones3]

No need to appologize for anything. The fact they wouldn't review your wife's book even though it deserves review is what I was speaking to. I don't think your post sounded like a pout, btw.