Home From CBA

[Mr. Otis]

We finally arrived back in St. Louis this afternoon after our adventure in Atlanta. Educational, exciting, productive, tiring--that pretty well sums it up.

In a nutshell, the self-help--and I use that description purposefully, although I'd be glad to be proven wrong--titles seem to be the ones getting the biggest push from the heavyweight publishers. Frankly, I think some of these titles sell because of a cult of personality following the author rather than serious Bible teaching between the covers.

There was very little science fiction to be found, unless one considers Ted Dekker as such. Fantasy was pretty much limited to Shadowmancer and a couple of titles aimed at younger readers. I noticed a couple of mystery titles, some thrillers, and a lot of historical fiction and romance.

Left turn: Doesn't Christian romance fiction seem like an oxymoron? I mean, can you write bodice-ripping fiction for Jesus?

All in all, I'm glad I went. We met some very nice buyers and bookstore owners, Sharon's new novel arrived from the printer just in time, and there are things brewing that could be verrrry interesting.

After Sharon's trip to the CBA Advance convention in Indianapolis this spring, copies of Winds of Evil showed up for sale at Amazon.com within a week of the convention. One was even advertised as "signed by the author"! We're curious to see how long it will be before "used" copies of The Armageddon Strain hit the web. I think some of the buyers finance their convention trips by selling off all the free books they collected when they get home.

[wgjones3]

Sounds like you had fun. Thanks again for the updates from Atlanta--and I'm happy to hear you survived the traffic down there. :D

[Merry]

Thanks for the excellent inisght, Mr. Otis! But I read this last entry of yours and couldn't help but wonder, self-help books? Yikes! Do we Christians read THAT many self-help books? Or is it a question of is that being all the Christian publisher's put out? Wondering..... :confused:

Merry

[Mr. Otis]

Instead of "self-help", maybe I should have used the word "psychobabble". I have no problem with a multitude of books on apologetics, analyses of scripture, and so on, but much of what I saw seemed to be the personal opinion of the pastor/teacher/author/guru, and much of it seemed to be about what we can do to improve ourselves.

Clearly we need help, but our strength is in the Lord, not ourselves.

[Merry]

I know what you mean. I've seen the books in our local Christian store and I've often had this fiendish urge to write a satirical version of one or two of them. But then, I always get convicted over the whole 'foolish jesting' thing...who knows..... ;)

Merry

[ChristChild]

The lack of sci-fi is disappointing, but expected. The "powers that be" will keep pumping out the same old end times stuff as long as people eat it up, while ignoring other sci-fi.

The psychobabble is the tickling of the ears books, instead of good Biblical principles.

The Christain market is simply boring and predictable. Hopefully some of the booksellers will get a brain soon and offer some fresh, exciting titles.

I believe Christian romance can be done well, but since I haven't read what's out there, I don't know if it's any good. Is it still the "Little House on the Prarie" type of books, as many of them appear to me? What is with all the books with Amish/Pilgrim/whatever looking women on the covers? Do they even write about present-day romances, or is everything circa 1870? :confused:

Sorry, the market frustrates me at the moment,
Shane

[Merry]

I've had reason to fume a bit over this subject today. When you think about it, we live in a Cortinthian-style culture (i.e. depraved to the max) but we are required to write about it through Victorian glasses. Good Lord, did Jesus write self-help books? No, He told parables, fictional stories. There were some people could relate to, and some He had to explain.

Our main calling as Christians is to preach the Gospel. However, the way that happens is not etched in stone. How many people have been won via the self-help scene? I would venture not too many. You know what interested me in Christianity initially? Not all the people who shoved the Gospel of John in my face, it was Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land with its' one obscure reference to Christianity relating to how the story character's apparently loved each other and I was hooked. I had to find out more.

So yeah, Shane, I hope Christian publisher's wake up. There's a world of people out there dying because they have never heard the Gospel in a way that relates to them. And I can almost hear the complaint: 'But science fiction is not God's Word.' I KNOW! But it can be a perfectly fine way to plant seeds and perhaps if those seeds are planted and grow then maybe the people will reach for the one self-help book they'll ever really need.......Sorry about the yelling, just a bit ticked about this today.

Presently, not so Merry :mad:

[wgjones3]

Well, that goes back to the whole argument of being a Christian writer or being a writer who's also a Christian. Do you write for a CBA market--which is basically preaching to the chior--to win souls? Or do you write to give them an alternative to the depravity over in the ABA bookstore?

Myself, at this stage in my writing abilities, I'm more comfortable preaching to the chior so to speak. Of course, I'm still learning the craft. But I honestly don't think I would have written my first novel any differently if there was no CBA market at all. I hope, someday, to be talented enough to write novels that aren't catagorized as Christian but could be equally at home in the featured books section at Barnes and Nobel as they are in the featured books section of Family Christian Bookstore. Like you said, Merry, it's far more convincing to have a true Christian presense in a book than to have a bunch of idiotic cartoon characters who want to sit and have a Bible study everytime something bad happens. That's just not life, as much as some people want it to be. Life is darker, more textured, and often much more complicated than many of the so-called "Christian" novels want to portray. And, proofing my manuscript, I can see where I've fallen into that trap with my first novel.

I've never really understood the idea of winning souls through "Christian" books. Sure, you get one or two people who receive them as witnessing tools and give their life to Christ, but you have countless thousands who will dismiss it out of hand because of the "Christian" label.

I'm not trying to poke a sacred cow, but it's just something I've observed.

[ChristChild]

About science fiction not being God's Word -- none of the other "Christian fiction" of any genre is God's Word, but it can have parts of God's Word in it to reach people, as you were saying. I wonder how much of the non-fiction Christian books are actually based on only God's Word and are not just human tradition and bias. Hmmm.

I believe God gave us our imagination to dream and reach beyond our base existence and to improve ourselves in the here and now. His Word, of course, is our Guide, but He gave us the ability to imagine, which promotes creativity on our part. As long as we do so in a way that is not an affront to God, the stories we write can bring glory to Him and be a stimulus for others to consider Christ, as your testimony shows. If people would look around at His incredible creation, they would see that God's creative imagination is beyond anything we could conceive. We were created as part of His imagination and creative power.

I don't believe we have to be boring zombies as Christian -- quite the contrary -- Christians should be at the head of the fields of exploration, science, and imaginative fiction, within the framework Christ has established for us.

Shane

[Mr. Otis]

I hear you guys, and I have to say that we've been so blessed to have found a publisher that agrees wholeheartedly. That's why my wife and I write what we do--to get books into the hands (and ideas into the minds, heh heh) of non-Christians.

I'm no expert on CBA fiction, but from what I've read, we're breaking some "rules". Sharon's first novel includes a rape scene. The detective in my next novel is divorced--and glad! Many of our characters--good ones--are non-Christians who (gasp!) don't get saved in the final chapter!

Sort of like the people we actually meet in the street.

But the overarching story line that connects the novels together is that there is very definitely a hidden battle being fought all around us in which we all take part, even though most people don't even know they're on a battlefield.

Our gut feeling is that the market is changing, and must change for independent Christian bookstores to survive. The bulk of the top selling Christian fiction titles today are sold by secular outlets like Wal-Mart, Target, and Sam's.

Sadly, I don't see the CBA helping much. The big announcement at the convention was a new TV campaign from the CBA to drive buyers to local Christian bookstores. Great. But where are all of the spots to be placed?

CBN.

Hello! The choir is already in the loft! We need to get into the street!

[wgjones3]

Your right, the market does have to change, but I don't expect it to change until the big corporations involved start seeing their profits go down the drain.

[ChristChild]

About the preaching to the choir concept. I believe that a large portion of professing Christiandom is "religious," but has never accepted Christ and been saved or "born again" as the Bible says we must be. I think there are many who consider themselves Christian who would be open to reading a "Christian" fiction book that contained the gospel message and would then realize that a true acceptance and relationship with Christ is needed -- not their "religion." The Lord could use the gospel alluded to in a fiction novel to bring this to their heart. Christ preached to the "choir" in the synagogues of His day, because He knew the "religious" would at least be open to His message and to Him.

A person not open to the gospel will reject the gospel if they read it in any novel, no matter if you promote it as "Christian" or not. If you try to "sneak" the gospel on them, they will only resent you as an author and never buy your books again. If you present the novel as Christian, they won't read it anyway -- so you won't reach the lost that way either, but you may reach the "religious." Then, if you just write secular books, you still will never get across the gospel to the lost, as it won't be in the book. They might enjoy your story, but it won't be a work that leads them to Christ, so you won't get them to consider Christ that way either. The only way you'll ever get a lost person to read your "Christian" or gospel-containing novel, is when the Lord opens the person's heart to spiritual consideration of Him and things related to Him -- which is out of your hands. But if the gospel is in your work, then God can use it when and where and with whom He sees fit. Until this happens, no "Christian" book will ever bring a lost person to a saving knowledge of Christ. I leave who the Lord uses my works to influence in His capable hands.

I am sick of all the fiction out there that doesn't consider God or have any characters that are trying to live for and follow after Christ, so my novels will contain some of these characters, while most of the others do not.

I see saved Christians reading the novels to finally have an imaginative story written from a perspective like their own that also takes their faith seriously. I see the Lord using the novels to wake up many of the "religious" to the reality of Christ. I see the Lord using the novels to get the the gospel message to a lost person who is finally starting to open his heart to spiritual concepts, who also likes sci-fi/fantasy and decides to give a "Christian" novel a shot.

Shane

[ChristChild]

I hear what you are saying about the reality in your wife's first novel. I have characters in my novels that don't get saved right away, or possibly never. I try to have a mix of varied characters as well. If if have a sex scene, I try always to allude to what happened in a manner that gets the point across, but is not gratuitous, and the scene must be a part of the overall story. I try never to use profanity, though I let the reader know when someone curses. I think it is all in how you handle controversial material, and how you use it to show the questionable character of some of your characters.

Shane

[waterfallbooks]

Y'guys should check out Dave Long's blog - www.faithinfiction.blogspot.com - he discusses bringing CBA fiction to real life. He's also a Bethany House editor.

As a writer of Christian romance and one who read CBA novels almost exclusively, I must say that some of you really need to visit a good Christian bookstore. Wal-Mart doesn't have a tenth of the CBA fiction selection. The romances aren't "bodice-ripping", though each publisher does have their own standards of what they will or won't accept.

Praire romances are way out. Even Janette Oke hasn't written one for a while. The Amish books are Beverly Lewis' - she grew up in an Amish community (though her family wasn't Amish themselves) and includes Amish characters in every novel of hers I've read.

Chick-lit is the newest trend. Young singles try Flabbergasted and A Delirious Summer (my review of the latter's here - http://www.christianbookpreviews.com/christian-book-detail.php?isbn=0800759583 ). For moms, I've heard nothing but good about the Yada Yada Prayer Group novels. And more is on it's way.

Fantasy is growing. A third of the major CBA publishers have recently or will soon release fantasy titles. The upcoming Narnia film should contine this trend. I'm writing a book roundup on CBA fantasy/scifi, and I had narrow down my list quite a bit.

[Mr. Otis]

Actually, Katie, I followed a link from your blog to David's (thank you!). My wife and I dropped him a note before CBA to see if he'd be there, but he wasn't.

I'd love to spend more time reading and writing, but alas, I can't quit the day job yet. The good thing is that the day job pays well enough that it allows Sharon to stay home, read Alex Jones' website and other important conspiracy news (did you know Michael Moore is a shill for the Illuminati?), and write full time. And I am more than happy to ride on her talented coattails.

I'm sure I mischaracterized Christian romance fiction because I haven't read any, so forgive me for speaking from ignorance. It just seemed like an oxymoron.

And I would dearly love to visit a good Christian bookstore. Haven't found any within 20 miles. (Oh, wait, except for a Family Christian Store, a fine, fine establishment which just picked up my wife's novel for their Back to School catalog, and probably the finest chain of Christian bookstores anywhere. :D)

Seriously, there is a store called Kingdom Treasures across the river from us in Fairfield Heights, Illinois which has been described as similiar to Barnes & Noble. If we had one on this side of the river, we'd be there every Sunday right after church.

[Merry]

I'd love a good Christian bookstore in my town. The one we have is......well, I don't want to call them behind the times, but there's a prominent picture of President Eisenhower on the back wall. I've even thought of vandalizing the place just to make it more interesting. Last time I walked in there I came out with a strange desire to wear my hair in a bun. I know, I know, support, don't tear down so I am going to be giving waterbrookfalls site's a good going over. After all, there must be a way to start reversing some of this 'stuff.' 'might as well try to help fix it.

[wgjones3]

If you really need a good CBA store... go online.

http://www.bookchristian.com

http://www.christianbook.com

http://www.half.com

;)

My church actually has a bookstore. Problem is, its only open for an hour after services, and it only carries the books the pastor tells them to order. I.E., no fiction. They are taking pre-orders for The Passion and selling them at Wal Mart's price, which I'm sure is close to if not at keystone.

[Merry]

Thank you for the websites, William. Hmmm, having a bookstore as part of the church? Now that is an interesting thought...it would be just a neat thing to have a local place where you could just walk in and pick up a decent reference book or a Tourniquet cd, or a copy of Eternal War for that matter...
interesting...

Merry