How is it possible for me to go merrily along in life one moment and be broiling towards a fellow Christian the next? Who is this unfortunate soul, you ask? No one I know personally, lucky for him and me. He's a narrow-minded individual even though he's saved by the same blood that covers me and all his fellow believers. Most of the time I love being a Christian, following Christ, learning His commandments and realizing how much He loves me. Then, sometimes, I meet a few of His other children that frustrate me no end.
There's a marvelous movement in the Christian publishing world right now, that of the vampire Christian fiction. Tracey Bateman has written a few books about vampires and there's another author Charity's reading at the moment that is also written from a religious viewpoint. I couldn't be happier! Why, you ask? Because what are the kids reading right now? Think about it. They're reading VAMPIRE books! The secular, sexy, unhealthy kind that gives them all kinds of bad, bad, very bad mental images.
Soooo, what is the teen market demanding? Vampire fiction. What should the Christian publishing world be giving them? Vampire fiction. It's a no-brainer to me. Imagine what good Christian writers can do with creatures who are potentially soulless and in need of redemption! Can there be redemption? Is it possible? Do they still have souls? There are all sorts of possibilities that can be examined if vampire fiction makes it into the Christian publishing market.
Which leads me back to my original paragraph that ranted without much detail. In my hunt online I ran across a brother in Christ, seemingly sane, who compares vampire Christian fiction with Christian porn. As in a, "If we allow this into the Christian world then this will follow." Say what? He belittled any Christians who read or watch anything to do with vampires. Now, I'm not saying this man has to read vampire Christian fiction. I don't read Amish fiction and have no opinion on it one way or the other. He can do the same. What troubles me the most, though, is how he is tearing something down that is just starting to make an impact. Authors are tentatively feeling the waters on this taboo subject matter. Loud and belligerent voices like his are only going to send them fleeing back to the types of books that every Christian author writes.
Whether he likes it or not there is a group of avid Christian readers who aren't being fed. Their literary interests are being ignored and they are those of us interested in fantasy, science fiction, and the supernatural realm. I LOVE these types of books but they are non-existent in the Christian publishing market right now. They're thought to be dangerous, evil, precipitating an unhealthy interest in magic and the supernatural. Hello? If Christians write these types of books, don't you think there will be some smidgeon of God's truth hidden in there somewhere? What about C.S. Lewis? Or J.R.R. Tolkien? The latter who, by the way, this blogger insulted, upsetting me even more.
What I'm really saying is that Christian readers who are avid lovers of these genres need to make their voices heard. We have to speak up or there will never be a genre added to Christian fiction for us. I, for one, don't want to see that happening. Fortunately I found a publisher whose original purpose, the reason for its existence, was to publish Speculative Christian Fiction as they have termed it. It's Marcher Lord Press and I encourage you to give their books a glance and see if your libraries carry any of them. If they don't, consider putting in a request. I know that's what I'm going to do!
I have run across various individuals in the past that are not worth getting upset over. I spit nails when I read that one particular Christian group thinks the book "Christy" by Catherine Marshall is bad, because it contains a scene that involves premarital sex -- even though it is not graphically depicted or written as acceptable. I can see not permitting a very young teenager to read it, but I don't think it could influence an adult to consider pursuing sexual immorality because of it.
ReplyDeleteThat same person also denounced C.S. Lewis for living with an older woman -- the mother of his WWI buddy that he cared for, for the rest of her life.
I guess my point is that there are always going to be individuals we disagree with, but we do not have to let their narrow-minded views insult our likes and dislikes.
My parents are not happy about Christian Publishers going into Vampire Fiction. Dad thinks that is highly inappropriate. I do not agree with him, but I can see his side of the argument. I agree with you -- I would much rather have Christian teens and young adults reading books by Christians in their favorite genres than turning to secular authors, who have skewed moral viewpoints.
God can speak through anything -- and does, frequently, if we know where to look.
I just pray that Christians keep pursuing the genre that interests them in publishing. If not even Christian sci-fi can get published, then there's an issue. My sister doesn't read Christian books because they're never in the genre that interests her. All you find in CBD catalogs are page after page of historical romance or Amish fiction. No sci-fi and no fantasy, which is a real shame because I think there are a lot of unpublished authors out there who've probably written some humdingers in those genres. Not everyone reads the same thing and I pray that Christian publishers start letting authors try out some new ideas, something that hasn't done before. I think they'll be surprised by the positive reception Christian sci-fi and fantasy can bring.
DeleteI think they will. And I think that Christian writers can always get published in secular markets as well. The Father Tim books are very religious, and not published through a Christian publishr. It can be done!
ReplyDeletePossibly there are fewer Christian sci-fi novels because the market hasn't been there. Sci-fi isn't exactly a mainstream interest. But as popularity grows, Christian publishers will go wherever they think they can make a buck.