other Christian fiction author or author who either chose or by default was placed
in the Christian fiction genre, but I am a Christian who is a Christian fiction author
who writes Christian fiction for a Christian fiction imprint. That is my choice on
purpose.
For those who feel Christian fiction is “too preachy”, why should they try one of
your books?
My books are anything but preachy. Don’t get me wrong, my books will take you to
church, but not the brick and mortar building. I’m talking about the church vessel
versus the church building. My characters, storylines, subject matters and themes
get all up in your heart, mind, and gut. One book may have you hunched over in
laughter, another may have you hunched over in tears, while another may have you
hunched over in pain. Yes, pain.
Although romance is the number one selling genre, I write about just the opposite.
We all may never experience the happily ever after that is required—that is part of
the romance fiction formula—but we all, at one point in our lives, will experience
pain.
I have books where no one ever steps foot in church. I have a book where the
opening scene is in a strip club. I have a book where the character is in jail more
than she’s in church. I have a book where the God thing and prayer isn’t working,
so the main character tries a joint and a Percocet. Come on now! That’s real life.
I know some people tend to think that Christian fiction isn’t anything more than
a church sermon or a gospel song in print. Let me just say that if my writing was
a style of music, it would be a mixture of Gospel Jazz with the Fresh Prince-Will
Smith kind of hip-hop. Like Will Smith back in his days of rapping, I give readers
a real-life message without all the hardcore keepin’ it real cursing and explicitly. I
add a little humor as well to break up the monotony of some of the issues that may
get quite heavy. All while there is this gentle message from God playing softly in
the background; not necessarily words, but just a feeling that is ignited within the
readers being.
Disclaimer: Yeah, a little Tupac might slip in here and there, but it’s the radio edited
version.