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PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ARTICLE: excerpts from Publishers Weekly, March 28, 2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Faith on the Edge, by Marcia Ford "Readers are tired of novels driven by a dogmatic evangelical agenda in which flat characters interact in a sanitized world," said Dudley Delffs, an editor at WaterBrook. "They've discovered well-written general market novels that include realistic and compelling faith elements, so they would like to see the same in Christian bookstores.... Christian fiction that takes risks and breaks out of conventional molds, he says, can still get the message of the gospel across. That realism also increases the potential for crossover appeal to general market readers. Delffs points to WaterBrook author Eric Wilson as one with significant crossover potential, which Delffs attributes to Wilson's understanding of pop culture and the influence of multimedia, as well as his insight into human nature. "His characters are multigenerational and reflect some of the clashes among boomers, Xers and Millennials, all caught up in some of the creepiest, imaginative supernatural encounters this side of Dean Koontz," he says. Despite the multiple channels now selling Christian books, CBA stores remain the bread and butter for most Christian publishers, including those testing the waters to determine what those stores will agree—or refuse—to stock. "Occasionally we'll receive some negative feedback from a retailer or reader," Delffs said. "Some miss the context or bigger picture—the redemptive elements of the story—by focusing on the one word or scene that offended them. Overwhelmingly, though, the response has been more than favorable, in critical acclaim, reader response and sales numbers." WestBow's Arnold reminds readers and retailers alike that horrifying stories about the realities of evil fill the pages of the one book every Christian store has on its shelves: the Bible. The Bible deals frankly with a multitude of thorny subjects, Arnold says—subjects that many CBA publishers "strangely consider taboo." Far from glorifying or romanticizing evil, he says, authentic fiction reveals its ugliness. "The darker it is, the more repulsive it is—and the more powerful God is," he says. "We don't exist in a Norman Rockwell painting or a Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood or a Precious Moments village," Arnold points out. "Jesus doesn't save us from real life. We follow Him through the nitty-gritty real world right where we are. When we create stories that don't shy away from reality, God's power is even more visible as the true light in our fallen world." |
