Tag: Christian fiction

A Night to Remember  – Danny and Wanda Pelfrey

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This story is the second installment featuring a brother – a former police officer and investigator – and a sister – who is a law school student – getting involved with investigating crimes and finding the culprits.

You will find the authors’ synopsis on Goodreads.

The “God” Element

The characters provide some advice, rely on God for their lives, pray often, and are open to being guided. They portray the epitome of the Christian life; be kind, do good, help others, make a positive difference, and guide and protect.

MY LIKES

A tertiary character`s redemption. Among all the tragedies occurring in this story, his storyline is the one that touched me the most. Buster is his name.

Another of my likes is seeing the main characters’ lives evolve and watching them seek guidance from God rather than hastily react to their circumstances. They reflect and seek ways to grow rather than make a mess and hurt others. They are unafraid to explore what does not feel right and wait on the Lord.

Many characters have positive arcs; they changed their ways for the better and now live better lives, extending the blessing they received to others in the community. Many of them are humble people, and that’s very noticeable.

MY DISLIKES

It is not a great dislike, but it is noticeable. The main characters don’t sin, barely make any mistakes, and have a word of wisdom ready for anyone who crosses their paths. Even their struggles, if any, are short-lived. I understand this is a mystery novel, and psychological arcs are not a primary focus, but they seem to live in a shallow way despite their reliance on God. I like characters with depth and arcs that are manifested, not “hinted at.” Only Riley does it more to my taste; other characters do not seem “this serious” about their lives. That’s just my personal preference.

If you want to read this novel for the mystery genre, you will be pretty happy. I did not find hints pointing me to the culprit; they were too subtle for me, and it was fine with me.

Takeaways

This novel is as good as the first novel I reviewed from these authors, and although the storyline is quite different, you can feel the similarity aside from the fact that the main characters are the same people.

The last chapter took me aback. It raised a question in my mind, and once I answered it, it left me with only a few words: “That was God‘s will.”

A Warrior’s Redemption – Guy Stanton III

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This indie and self-published author has been busy with his craft from 2013 to 2019 while he wrote and published 26 speculative fiction novels. I cannot help but wonder how many drafts of stories have been set aside and are waiting to be picked up when the time comes for them to be brought to completion. I have read most of his works, nearly 80% of them. Of them all, one story – the first one I read – stands out because it had the most effect on me.

My likes

For a first novel, I was impressed. Guy is a skilled storyteller. This review of his book (Goodreads) tells you why. I don’t think I need to say more, the reviewer nails what makes this first book give a long-lasting impression.

My dislikes

The books could use professional proofreading, but if you don’t mind typos, you will thoroughly enjoy the stories Guy tells.  This is a professional bias on my part; I have done a lot of proofreading in my daily job and grammar and typos fling themselves at me. Regardless of this, his strength is the story, without a doubt.

My vision for Christian fiction: why it matters by David Bergsland

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In his post, David Bergsland says something important about Christian fiction.

It’s all about relationships

As we know, in the everyday world, discipleship is a result of relationship. That’s how it works between Jesus and each one of us individually. We develop an intimacy with the Lord which enables Him to purify us and make us fruitful. This is the only way discipleship comes to fruition—between two people who know and trust each other. This is why marriage is such a powerful tool for discipleship from the Lord. He can use your intimacy to confront each other about areas which need to be fixed, to encourage one another in missions of great difficulty, and to raise and mentor children.

That type of thing is what the Lord wants to do in your life. AND, that is what the Lord hopes you will do with the worlds, characters, events, and relationships you create in your novel. Whether you write romances, thrillers, fantasy, action/adventure, or any other genre of fiction, He is calling you to bring reality into your books.

Source: My vision for Christian fiction: why it matters

4 Reasons to Read Christian Fiction

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Why do readers of any genres read?

Ask them and you will typically get these answers:

  1. I read to escape my boredom, to be entertained.
  2. I read to be distracted.
  3. I read to feel, to change my mood, to make me forget my mood.
  4. I read because I like to believe life is more than what I see in my waking life. It is where I meet honorable people (characters).

Why do people read Christian fiction?

  1. Because they crave the Light. The common, all-too-human ugliness and darkness are what they see in their every day life. They want to believe there is still light (good people) in this world.
  2. Because they look for God, consciously or not. It is hard to find something you don’t know how to look for. You cannot find evidence if you don’t know what you are looking for. How do you recognize God? How do you see his footprint? People need to learn how to look for God’s work and figure out where God begins and where they end. The line is blurry for too many people.
  3. Because they seek a way to get to God. Too often, God is viewed as this deity perched up on the highest shelf, thus unattainable by humans. Christian fiction is their hope to find a way to get to him. It gives a tangible manifestation of their quest and if they read the right story for them, they will hear God’s whispers and find their way to him.
  4. Because they crave hearing from God. Of course, the Bible is God’s Word, but it is still cryptic. They are epic stories that relate very little to our humdrum lives. Christian fiction is a bridge. It can take epic lessons and apply them to our lives and it can take our lives and turn it into an epic story that has God’s name written all over it.

There are only a few ways to write stories that resonates deep within the reader:

  • Dig deep, get to the root of most human painful experience (abandonment, abuse, negligence, etc.), and you will create a story to which many readers can relate.
  • Look beyond appearances and let God’s works shine through. Show your readers how God works when He says “let there be light”.
  • God is not linear in his works, He is universal… He controls the chain of events, the ripple effect, and the consequences. One act, his word, doesn’t go back to Him without doing everything it was meant to do. Nothing – absolutely nothing – gets lost. For lack of better words, his work is holistic, multi-purpose, complete, and perfect.
  • God works where and when we can’t. Look for God in the impossibilities, in behaviors unnatural to human nature.

God can use anything – did he not use a donkey to speak to a prophet? – to ‘speak’ to anyone. A story is as good as anything to spark a real desire to know God or hint toward a way to find him.

Related links:

4 Reasons to Read Inspirational Fiction

Purpose for Christian Fiction